The Farmers' Market Mishap

This is a sequel to The Lopsided Christmas Cake by Wanda E. and Jean Brunstetter. This was an easy reading sweet tale of the twins, Elma and Thelma. Thelma is now married and expecting a boppli while Elma is single and caring for the store that they inherited. Thelma seems to want Elma to renew or rekindle some feelings for Delbert, but Elma doesn't seem to respond in the way good-hearted sister Thelma would like her to. But with being very busy at the store, Elma will probably need a little help to get the work done.

The story is sweet and a relaxing read. I enjoyed it as I do other books I have read from these authors. It seems a bit shorter in length but still tells the story well.

I received an ebook copy for NetGalley for my review which I have given. All thoughts are my own.

I loved the opportunity to become "reacquainted" with twins Elma and Thelma in "The Farmers' Market Mishap" after first reading about them in the Lopsided Christmas Cake. These sisters share such a special bond and their traits truly c0mplement each others beautifully. In the Farmers Market Mishap, Elma is adjusting to being on her own in the house near the store she and Thelma run, as Thelma is settling in to married life and expecting her first child. Elma is also faced with mounting home repairs in the home she and Thelma inherited from their grandparents. Thelma helps in the store some but her pregnancy requires her to rest quite a bit. When they host a booth at the farmers market, Elma meets an Amish blacksmith from a nearby town, Ben, who is instantly attracted to her optimism and humor. Elma must learn to balance her desire for a relationship against her belief that she must stay in town near her sister. Meanwhile, Ben works on pursuing a relationship with her in the hopes of persuading her to move to his town and live with him and his widowed mother. Elma is faced with challenging decisions. As well as entertaining the idea of rekindling a relationship with a close friend of her brother I laws.
A Farmer's Market Mishap is a realistic and beautiful story about family relationships and responsibilities. I strongly recommend this.

In this delightful sequel to The Lopsided Christmas Cake by Wanda E. and Jean Brunstetter, we join twins Elma and Thelma once again as they try to navigate life apart. Thelma, now married to Joseph, is expecting their first boppli. Elma, still single, is trying to manage running a household alone and care for their store while Thelma rest and runs her home.
Elma loves her sister but often wishes she was married and expecting as well. She tries hard not to be jealous and directs her emotions into making the store great. Thelma wants nothing but Elma to find happiness and pushes hard for her sister and Delbert to start courting once again. Elma wants nothing more than to find love and get married, but does she really want it with Delbert? It didn’t really work out so well the first go around.
When Elma unexpectedly meets a handsome Ben Wagler at the farmer’s market, a new hope begins to take hold. The only obstacle is that he can’t leave his home as he is caring for his mother and running a business and she knows that she can’t leave her beloved twin behind or her grandparent’s legacy. Just when the end appears, Ben makes a sacrifice so grand that Elma can’t help but accept.
This was a quick read, but that was in part to the fact that I just couldn’t put it down! As always, the characters were well developed and had such emotion and depth, the reader just couldn’t help but fall in love with them. I can honestly say, that I am expecting another book to find out what the future has in store for Ben and Elma after they are wed.

I received a complimentary ebook copy from the publisher and NetGalley in return for providing my honest opinion.

This is the sequel to the Lopsided Christmas cake. Elma's twin sisterThelma just recently married Joseph. They live across the street from her. Thelma is expecting a baby. Elma and Thelma run a General Store together that used to be their Grandparents. Elma is lonely and wonders if she ever will marry. She meets Ben at a Farmers market when he knocks over some of her fruit display. Ben and Elma hit it off and start to date. They have one problem. Ben lives in Grabill which is a distance away. Elma tried relationships like this and they never worked. Elma will never leave her sister and the general store and Ben will not leave his mother and his job and home. Will they have to part or will they find love? A cute story with some laughs.

Elma wants to be married, she wants the life her twin sister has, including the coming boppli. She can't bear to move away from her sister and from her general store that she inherited from her grandparents. This is the beginning of The Farmer's Market Mishap by Wanda Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter.

The two authors have put together a book with parallel stories that collide at the Farmer's Market. Elma's sister wants her to marry Delbert--a man she courted before with no results. Benjamin Wagler's mother wants him to marry a local girl, but the mishap at the Farmer's Market puts Ben and Elma together in a way that thwarts everyone's efforts to bring them together with other people. But it is a dog that cements their relationship forever.

It's been a number of years since I've read a Wanda Brunstetter book, but this was a nice reintroduction to her writing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. She's taken out the smarmy sweetness and added a reality that gives a new realism to her books. Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a bushel of vegetables from the Farmer's Market

My thanks to Barbour Books (Shiloh Run Press) for allowing me to read and review this book.

The continuing story of Elma and Thelma. Thelma is married and expecting a baby. Elma still lives alone across the street from Thelma and still runs her grandparents store after both Sister inherit the store. Elma finds that she is needing help with in the store and hires Lizzie. Lizzie is little help but she does enjoy talking. Delbert who once dated Elma but they are different as night and day.
Elma decides to take some produce to the farmers market to sell. While there she meets Ben who has his own mishap with a basket of fruit at Elma's table. Later both Ben and Elma can't stop thinking of each other but the one thing that holds them back is that Elma will not leave Topeka and Ben will not leave his home town. What would you do in this situation?
Ben's dog disappears while making a delivery of flowers and ends up at Delbert's house. Not finding the owner Delbert gives the dog to Elma. She names him Freckles (Ben calls him Hunter). Needless to say that Elma tells Ben she can not see him. Her sister has twins and a disaster happens. While helping at the disaster Freckles/Hunter gets out and when Elma sees Ben at the disaster she and Ben realize they both know the same dog. Will a dog finally bring them together or will they part ways. I was very pleased with this book and hope that there will be a 3rd book to Elma and Thelma's story. Found myself laughing, crying and cheering while reading this book.

Thank you so much Wanda for another wonderful book.

You always know you will enjoy what you are reading if the book is written by Wanda E. Brunstetter. One reason is she uses real places as the settings for her books. I've been lucky enough to have visited Topeka, Shipshewana and surrounding Amish communities in Northern Indiana and it draws me into the story more. It is a very friendly group of Amish communities. Brunstetter does a great job in conveying their friendliness.


This is the second book to feature the twins Thelma and Elma. The focus is more on Elma and her journey to finding last love. The first book had me in stitches at times and this book had some funny dialogue but I found it a bit more serious.


The Brunstetters are pros when it comes to using descriptive words without being overwhelming. I can picture Elma as if she was a real person. When an author succeeds in doing so I am a devoted fan.


Personally I don't think you have to read The Lopsided Christmas Cake before reading The Farmers Market Mishap but you might appreciate Elma and Delbert's friendship more if you do. I hope to see another book in the future featuring the twins Elma and Thelma.


Thank you to NetGalley and Barbour Publishing for an ARC to read and review with my honest opinion.

I loved this book! I have twins and gave seen the connnection to each other first hand. Twins Thelma and Elma have inheirited their grandparents general store and run it together. Thelma has married and moved across the road. She is expecting her first child. Thelma tries to set her sister up with her husband's best friend but they seem to only be destined to become friends. Elma meets Ben at the farmers market abd they enjoy each other's company but live a long way from each other. Will either man steal Elma's heart?
There are lots of twists and turns in the story that keeps the reader engaged. The characters have reak concerns, fears, losses and hurts to deal with. Reliance on God is the answer to all of them. This is one you will not want to miss.

The Farmer's Market Mishap is the second book from Wanda Brunstetter's Lopsided Christmas Cake series. The reader is taken back to Topeka, Indiana with twins Elma and Thelma. Thelma is now married with a little one on the way, while Elma lives alone and staying busy running the family's store. Elma wonders if she would ever find herself married. She tries to find a connection with Delbert and then something happens at the store that could change everything.

I thought The Farmer's Market Mishap was a pretty good and short read. The scenes with Elma and Ben were so sweet and loved had a little dog brought them together. I knew the two were from two different worlds but was rooting for them. There were a few moments I found myself laughing out loud and others I wanted to cry. I think this was a good lighthearted and easy to read story and I recommend it for those who love Amish fiction.

Four stars.

I received this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

This is the sequel to The Lopsided Christmas Cake, where we met twin sisters, Thelma and Elma Hochstetler. Together, they have operated the general store in Topeka, Indiana that was left to them by their grandparents.

The twins have always been inseparable, but now we find that Thelma has married Joseph and is expecting their first child. Elma has had to take over the majority of the work in the store, plus the upkeep of her home and animals. As a woman in her early thirties, she finds herself very lonely and feeling left out with no prospect of a husband in the future. Thelma tries to get Elma and Joseph’s best friend, Delbert, together. Elma also meets Ben Wagler at the Farmers’ Market after a mishap of him bumping and spilling a basket of her produce she is selling. They take an instant liking to each other, however, Ben lives in another community, Grabill, which is 50 miles away where he works, lives with and provides for his widowed mother. Elma doesn’t see herself being able to develop a friendship with Ben as she would never want to leave her twin sister, and Ben’s life is so far away.

Will Delbert win Elma’s love, or will things work out for Elma and Ben?

This is a very quick, enjoyable read. I was able to read it in a day and would highly recommend it those fans of the Brunstetters and the Amish genre.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

Friday, May 26, 2017

The Farmer's Market Mishap by Wanda Brunstetter

I anticipated that I would love this book so I saved it for my vacation. I read this while we drove home. I guess you could say I devoured this book as the scenery flew by my window.

Elma was on her own after her sister married. She was trying to keep her shop going, taking care of her home and being there for her pregnant sister. At times, she felt overwhelmed and so lonely. Was she destined to be a spinster? She adopted a cat and a stray dog but she wanted so much more.

At times, Elma was so envious of her sister. Elma prayed often and knew that GOD would bring her the answers. She needed to be patient.

I loved that Elma didn't settle for second best. She could have. Her sister tried to play matchmaker. Elma stood firm. Then a mishap happened at the farmer's market that changed her life.....was she willing to take a risk?

I loved this story. It is so refreshing to read about families who love each other and will do what it takes to take care of them. This story shows that at times we must make sacrifices for ones we love and that dreams can come true.

I always finish Ms. Brunstetter's books wanting more. Thank you for giving me so much enjoyment especially today as I travelling down a boring highway.

I love when I find an author that is consistent in her writing. She always delivers well developed characters and the story flows so easily. Who am I talking about? There are several, but there is one that really sticks out. Wanda Brunstetter has joined with Jean Brunstetter to brings readers a delightful story that is consistent in telling a beautiful story about faith, a bit of romance and family.

I absolutely adore the twin sisters Elma and Thelma . They are very family oriented and I love how they are always there for each other. I think that it is funny that Thelma is trying to get her twin married off. Elma is very dedicated to her shop and I liked her honesty about being a bit jealous of her sister who is married and expecting a child. Poor Delbert is really trying to win Elma's attention, but I don't think it is looking good for him. He sure doesn't give up. He helps fix things around Elma's house and is always available when she needs something. He's a good man, but I wanted to tell him to back off a bit.

The Farmer's Marker is a fun adventure and I loved how it was described. Vendors with fresh juicy fruits, vegetables ready to cook and pies that melt in your mouth. What seems to be an innocent meeting between Ben and Elma at the market will change the course of many lives. I loved Ben from the start. He is a hard worker and helps his mom out whenever needed.

I loved the story so much because it captures families and neighbors helping each other . Will Ben and Elma develop a relationship? Will Thelma and her husband have a boy or girl? To get these answers grab a copy of this lighthearted beautiful written story and fall in love with the character. I can't forget to mention Hunter. Hunter is a dog that is very important to someone in the story. Can this dog bring happiness to a couple?

I received an advanced copy of this book from the author. The review is my own opinion.

The Farmers' Market Mishap, co-authored by Wanda Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter, who have collaborated on a number of Amish books, is a sweet and captivating sequel to their previous novel, The Lopsided Christmas Cake. Although a sequel, this book is easily a stand alone read. Elma and Thelma, twins who have lived with or near each other all of their lives, are both on the same page when it comes to wanting a husband for Elma. But what if that husband doesn't live in their community? With a store to mind and Thelma's baby on the way, why can't Elma just be satisfied with Dell, a man she dated before? Or maybe Elma should just be satisfied to be a lonely old maid and great-aunt to the new wee one. Attempts at matchmaking abound throughout the story--will one of the attempts lead to romance? A spilled basket of apples and a dog, lost by one and later found by another, might just be the keys to married life after all. The Farmers' Market Mishap is a charming story of family and learning to trust in a God who hears our prayers. All in all, a lovely story with a satisfying ending. Included at the end of the book are a couple of the recipes that were referenced in the book--Elma's Healthy Blueberry Crisp and Thelma's Tasty Potato Salad. I was hoping for the recipe for Elma's brownies!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

Fans of Amish fiction will highly enjoy!

This lighthearted novel was a perfect read for me on an international flight. I highly enjoy Amish fiction, fantasizing about a 'simpler' life. But, like most things, it all boils down to -- how can I find someone to love and cherish me? what should I do, God, things aren't easy and clear? Many other reviewers have summarized the plot elements, so I will not. I'll just conclude by suggesting that fans of Amish fiction will not be disappointed by this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Barbour for the loan of a time-constrained e-copy of the book for review, with no obligations.

This was a delightful novel!!
To me, this is directed more toward the youth.
There were some funny spots and I laughed until my started watering so bad. Wanda is a great writer.! She know where and how to add some humor in her stories and even the Amish aren't perfect. They make mistakes just like we do.
I very strongly recommend Wanda and Jean's books!!
They will entertain you and you can go wherever your imagination takes you!!
I love Christian fiction simply because you can visit places with your imagination. It really doesn't matter who wrote the story.
I enjoy being taken into the Amish world so unlike ours! God works wonders in all of our lives no matter if your Amish or English!!
Thank you for another fantasic story Wanda and Jean!!

I love reading about Thelma and Elma. These two twins have always lived and done everything together. However, Thelma recently married and Elma is feeling lonely. When she meets Ben at the farmers market, will she find love? A long distance relationship seems to never work especially for her.

This is a great story of finding unexpected love, overcoming fear, and trust. The characters are well developed and easy to come to love. I received a copy through Netgalley. The review is strictly my own.

The Farmers’ Market Mishap, coauthored by Wanda and Jean Brunstetter, picks up where The Lopsided Christmas Cake leaves off. When I started this series, Elma was so serious that I favored her twin sister, Thelma. This book changed my mind. Both of these books were five stars (err, coffee cups) for me but this book was my favorite. Here’s why…

So many times I read a book and I know who ends up with who from the first chapter. I can’t stand that. I don’t like an author shipping their character off to the first guy she meets. Those wham bam romances are so predictable and a character like Elma is just much too sensible to fall for that foolishness.

I feel like the time alone for Elma really smoothed her rough edges. By the time she fell in love; it was for all of the right reasons and not sheer desperation.

We saw how selfless Elma was at the end of The Lopsided Christmas Cake. She gave her sister the freedom to love Joseph; even though it meant learning to live by herself for the first time in her life.

For me, in this book, I realized how selfish Thelma could be. I won’t elaborate but I was frustrated with her. Of course, everything works out how it was supposed to but I couldn’t help but be a little angry with Thelma.

The conclusion was absolutely perfect for this book. Thelma’s surprise? I honestly didn’t see that one coming—it was a bit predictable and I probably should have but I didn’t. Just perfect!

Overall, Elma has the best romance. I feel that Elma took her time to get to know her chosen life partner before rushing down the aisle. It’s not that I don’t like Thelma. I do! But, I love that Elma’s journey to love ever after wasn’t rushed. Wanda and Jean definitely saved the best for last!

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Netgalley, Wanda's Clippity Clop Club. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. All opinions are my own.

Elma and Thelma are Amish twins running a family store together. After Thelma marries and begins her family, while they continue to run the store together, Elma begins to wonder if she will ever have love, marriage and family for herself. Is she too picky, perhaps?
At the Farmer's Market, Ben, accidentally knocks over some produce in Elma's stand, thus the title of the book! The two share an attraction, but with Ben living fifty miles away, it poses a difficulty in a relationship.
This one is definitely one more hit from Wanda E. Brunstetter that you'll want to read!
I was given a free ecopy of this book from the publisher, Barbour Publishing, Inc and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Farmer's Market Mishap is a realistic story, but aren't most of Ms. Brunstetter's characters abundantly real? This story finds you chuckling and you don't even realize it unless your friend, spouse, dog, or cat ask you what's so funny? You find yourself pulled right on into the story - you feel like you are one of the community you are vested into the characters and the story - you yourself want to find a beau for Elma but all of a sudden you realize hey this isn't real - I cannot call Hal or Elma - although he would have been a perfect gentleman - well that's ok - reading on - what happens to Elma? Will she get her wish? let me tell you what her incredible wish is............nah - can't you have to find out for yourself - that is the fun way - Will GOD grant her the desire of her heart? Will Hal get the desire of his heart? GOD moves in their lives and they rely on HIM - so see HIM move....it is worth it.

I highly enjoyed "The Lopsided Christmas Cake" by Wanda E. Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter that I knew I would enjoy the sequel "The Farmers' Market Mishap" just as much.

The twins Thelma and Elma are living in separate homes. Elma is not taking living on her own so well now that her twin sister Thelma is married and is starting a family with her husband. They still run the general store.

Elma meets Ben Wagler through a mishap at the farmers’ market, he lives 50 miles away in Grabill. Though Elma has tried long-distance dating and it did work out for her, will she give Ben chance?
Elma has a habit of putting others before her own needs. Can she learn to take a risk at following the desires of her heart?

I look forward to reading more books co-written by Wanda and Jean in the future. And if Jean decides to write on her own, I'll be glad to read her books, too.

I received this book through Net Galley and I was not required to give a positive review.

A delightful Amish romance!

I thoroughly enjoyed looking in on Elma and Thelma again. They are very well developed and presented. It was fun seeing how Thelma and her husband Joseph have moved on with their lives since the end of the first book in the series. The bond that the twins have is a little strained because of the natural distance with this change. Yet their love for each other is the same.

I found the differences in the men that come into Elma’s life very clear and easy to pick up. It was fun to see how her relationship with each of them progressed. I knew from early in the book who I wanted her to end up with.

I received a free eBook copy of this story through NetGalley. I have chosen to write this review to express my personal opinion.

Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*