40 something reader of romantic fiction, YA, Paranormal and any other book that might strike my fancy.
Lover of music and photography and travel even if it is only in my local area.
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Showing posts with label 2012 amish reading challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012 amish reading challenge. Show all posts
Book Blurb: Amish widow Sarah Wyse does not see wedding bells in her future. Still, she can't think of a better way to spend the Christmas season than helping her handsome, shy neighbor Levi Beachy find a wife. But once the single ladies of Hope Springs start visiting his buggy shop, Levi sends the town's eligible men Sarah's way. Neither expects to find love—but with help from the close-knit community, they just might mend each other's broken heart.
Review: Patricia Davids' Amish mini-series for Love Inspired, is one of my favorite collections of books. A Hope Springs Christmas is the latest offering and it is a welcome addition to anyone's book shelves.
Sarah is a character that it takes awhile to warm up to. She's not very upbeat, focusing on all the bad things that have happened to her during the holidays. Now that's not to say she didn't have the right to. She lost a husband and a sister at Christmas and now the holiday is approaching and the store she finds herself without a job.
Its through strange circumstances that she's thrown together with Levi.
I loved her terrible attempts at matchmaking, but even more I loved Levi's attempts at matchmaking for her. Those were some of the funniest scenes in the book.
I had a hard time warming up to Levi's brothers. The twins were beyond trouble makers, and their pranks caused a lot of harm to people. I couldn't believe that got away with what they did so many times, without much in the away of punishment.
From the start, I loved Levi. He was a shy boy, well, man, and I love the shy quiet types. I liked how he dealt with the women, Sarah tried to push in his direction as well as how they all really brought him out of his shell.
I can't wait for more of this series. Patricia write great Amish romances!
Author: Anna Schmidt Title: A Groom For Greta Publisher: Love Inspired Historical Publish Date: Oct 2, 2012 Buy: Amazon Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley & the publisher
Book Blurb: Everyone in their small Amish community expects Greta Goodloe to marry her longtime sweetheart—Greta included. So when he publicly ends their engagement, in front of newcomer Luke Starns no less, she is utterly humiliated. At least she can take comfort in matchmaking between Luke and her quiet schoolmarm sister. Yet the more she tries to throw them together, the more Luke fascinates her.
A serious, no-nonsense schoolmarm should be exactly what Luke wants in a wife. Still, he can't help but be charmed by Greta's warm smile and impulsive ways. Does he dare to stray from the sensible choice and take a chance on happiness?
Review: This was one of the best romances I've read in a long time. I couldn't put it down until I finished reading it and considering that it is 280 pages, well that's really saying something. Lately I've been having a hard time reading books the length of a Harlequin Romance!
So what was it about this story that made it stand out from all the others I've been reading
Greta, Lydia and Luke were really engaging characters. Greta at first seems a little flighty and flirty but that isn't the case really. She's really just a people person. And Luke and Lydia both appear serious but they have their own secrets too. Luke's deals with his past life in Canada, and Lydia's deals with a certain someone that we meet near the end of the book.
I also liked the setting of the book, Depression Era Florida.
It is so nice to read Amish stories that aren't always set in PA or OH!
Plus, even though Love Inspired is a Christian line, this book was pure sweet romance, which isn't something that you get with a lot of Amish fiction out there. This is really a love story between Greta and Luke, and it has some ups and downs do to the way the two of them find each other.
Greta has just been jilted by her sweetheart, just a few days before they planned to announce their engagement and Luke thinks he wants to wed Greta's sister Lydia. How the two finally decide to court is quite amusing, but you'll have to read that for yourself. I will give you a hint that Lydia has something to do with it.
But things aren't always easy and fires and secrets make their courtship a little bumpy.
Anna tied the story together nicely without making things too obvious. This is a great afternoon romance and one that I can see myself revisiting again down the line
Today we are welcoming Laura Bickle, author of The Hallowed Ones to A Chick Who Reads!
Writing a novel is a lot like falling in and out of love. It's a relationship with stages. There's flirting, bliss, angst, reconciliation, and letting go. There are beginnings, middles and ends. And also sometimes shouting and tears.
Beginnings are tough for me. Nothing intimidates me more than staring at a blank page. There's absolutely nothing there but a sea of white. I chew on my lip and doubt myself. Can I conjure something from blankness? What if it never comes together? Beginnings are anxious.
I reluctantly tap out a first line. A hook. It’s like saying “hello.” I squint at it, chew on my lip some more.
Is this concept worth pursuing? Is it attractive enough to chase through the next several months, through research and dreams and headaches? Will it still love me when I get the flu? Is it going to be one of those easy relationships, with effortless flow? Or will this one be like pulling my own teeth? Will there be door-slamming and crying?
There's no way to know. It could be wonderful, or it could put me in a funk for months. I futz and mumble to myself and stare at the first five pages, dawdle around the first chapter. I fret aloud and talk to the cat about the new relationship.
The cat usually ignores me. I screw up the courage to take the plunge. I decide that I like the idea. I flirt with it a bit, chase it around like a butterfly. I court it. Sometimes, I can be trusted to even put on a clean T-shirt and a pair of jeans that does not have holes in it while typing. I'm trying to impress it. I even make an outline. There is lipstick and also chocolate.
And it flirts back with me...with snatches of phrases. Images. I type and scribble notes, fearful of losing anything. Typing, typing...
And then I'm suddenly at the middle. I'm all of a sudden in a committed relationship with the book. I can feel it taking shape, developing a life of its own. It starts to have its own moods. Sometimes, it's cloying. Sometimes distant.
But we fall into a rhythm, greet each other at the same time every day. A standing date.
We start using the “love” word. Usually, it’s a showdown to see who will say it first.
We talk. We do more than that. The book and I have discussions. In the middle, there are multiple ways for things to go. I try some things that work. I try some that don't. I pull out the note cards, fuss with my outline. I spread cards out on the floor all around me, trying to analyze and dissect what's working, what's not. I get frustrated, gossip about the book with my friends, seeking outside advice.
Sometimes, it's a test of endurance, pushing through. But I can see to the end. When I have the ending firmly structured, the last ten thousand words fly. It's bliss. I see where all the tendrils of thought and plot threads I had developed in the beginning curve back around. I think I understand the story, now: the hidden symbols, the growth of the characters. I understand what it is about the story that attracted me to it. I understand what I'm afraid of about it.
The end is the best part. It gathers momentum, takes wing.
And flies right out of my hands. I type THE END on the last page.
And I feel a pang of sadness. It's gone. It's moved out of my life, out of my mind and my heart. There's still some tweaking to be done. Editing. Smoothing. But that part feels like the post-mortem of the relationship. At this point, I’m just looking at old photographs.
The story's gone. I did what I needed to: I gave the story a voice. And it left me. The nest's empty. Lonely.
And the only solution is to fill it again, with another egg of a story. Another beginning.
THE HALLOWED ONES
Laura Bickle
Reading level: Ages 12 and up
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Graphia (September 25, 2012)
ISBN-10: 0547859260
ISBN-13: 978-0547859262
BUY: Amazon
THE HALLOWED ONES By Laura Bickle If your home was the last safe place on earth, would you let a stranger in? In this captivating thriller, an Amish settlement is the last safe haven in a world plagued by an unspeakable horror… Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers are free to experience non-Amish culture before officially joining the church. But before Rumspringa arrives, Katie’s safe world starts to crumble. It begins with a fiery helicopter crash in the cornfields, followed by rumors of massive unrest and the disappearance of huge numbers of people all over the world. Something is out there...and it is making a killing. Unsure why they haven’t yet been attacked, the Amish Elders make a decree: No one goes outside their community, and no one is allowed in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man lying just outside the boundary of their land, she can’t leave him to die. She refuses to submit to the Elder’s rule and secretly brings the stranger into her community—but what else is she bringing in with him?
Advance Praise for THE HALLOWED ONES "This is a book to make you fear the shadows--a horrifying and gruesome tale of faith, and things that blink red eyes in the night. I began reading in the daylight, and read on into the late hours, leaning close, biting my lip. I could not look away; I was obsessed. Katie is an unbreakable soul." --Lauren DeStefano, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of the Chemical Garden Trilogy
Review: This book has so much going for it, that it is impossible not to want to read it.
Dystopia!
Amish!
Vampires!
Now there's a combination!
And guess what?
It works!
Katie isn't a typical Amish teen! She wants her Rumspringa (running around years). She wants to experience the world outside. And when bad things start to happen, she wants to know why.
She felt like a typical teenager, and I have to admit, I loved reading a story about the Amish that wasn't Christian fiction. Sure God and the religion a huge part of the story, but it isn't a constant praying thing. This makes the characters, Katie and Elijah come across as more human. That makes this book a whole lot easier to read than some works of Amish fiction.
Oh and did I mention Katie has...GASP SEX!
I know, perish the thought, but how do you get more Amish people if you don't have sex?
Then there are the vampires/monsters/darkness!
They are super scary and they don't sparkle!
The other character that you really have to mention is Alex, the guy she brings into the Amish community when he is injured. He's an Englisher from Canada and he's much more likable than Elijah, the boy Katie is best friends and thinks she's going to marry.
Katie is a typical teen in this book, but she also grows and shows a great strength of character, especially when the vampires get into the community and wipe out Ruth and her family.
The ending leaves you hanging a bit, so I hope this book is going to be part of a series, because I really want to know what happens to Katie.
Rating: 5 Flowers
About the Author Laura Bickle's professional background is in criminal justice and library science. When she's not patrolling the stacks at the public library, she can be found reaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs. She has written several contemporary fantasy novels for adults, and THE HALLOWED ONES is her first young adult novel. Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and five mostly-reformed feral cats. For more about Laura, please visit her website at: www.laurabickle.com.
Author: Tricia Goyer Title: The Memory Jar Publisher: Zondervan Publish Date: Oct 23, 2012 Buy: Amazon Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: Every year, 30--40 young Amish men descend on the cozy little town of West Kootenai, Montana, arriving in the spring to live there for six months and receive 'resident' status for the hunting season in the fall. They arrive as bachelors, but go home with brides! Sarah Shelter has lived in West Kootenai for the last ten years and wonders if she will ever fall in love. Since the tragic death of her best friend, she carries her memories in a jar along with the small items connected to them. For just as long, she's also been carrying around her emotions instead of allowing them to penetrate deep into her heart. Now she's met a kind and gentle man who may be able to break down the wall. But can Sarah risk her heart to finally achieve her dreams?
Review: This was one of the best Amish romances I've read in a long time. There is really so much to love about the characters and the story here. Let me share them!
1. Sarah's friendship with Patty. Even though Patty died several years before the story starts, her friendship shapes Sarah's life. She still makes her who she is today. The flashbacks really help bring their friendship into perspective.
2. Jathan is so very human. He struggles to do not only what his family wishes for him but also what he wants to do.
3. Sarah's faith. Sarah isn't a typical Amish woman. This story is Christian fiction and yes, her faith is important, but you see it more personally with her than as a community. I like how her faith helps her deal with Patty's death and even with the issues with Jathan.
4. The memory jars! I really loved the concept. I thought it was sentimental and touching. Sarah has many things that we often wish we had, something that connects us to a special moment in our lives.
A great book to start the series! I can't wait for more! Oh and the cupcakes made me so very hungry!!!
Author: Ruth Reid Title: Brush Of Angels Wings Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publish Date: April 10, 2012 Buy:Amazon Review Copy Provided By:NetGalley Book Blurb: He doesn’t plan to stay Amish. She doesn’t have a plan.
Then an angel draws their hearts toward God . . . and each other.
A buggy-racing champion, a hardworking field-hand, and a terrible cook, Rachel Hartzler does not fit her Amish community’s standards for an eligible bride. Hurt by their rejection and still grieving the loss of her brother, Rachel is ready for change.
She’s not, however, ready for Jordan Engles. Rachel’s father hired him to help tend the fields so Rachel can learn to cook and sew, thus increasing her chances of finding a husband. She can’t understand why her father doesn’t want her help and blames Jordan for trying to replace her beloved brother.
Jordan plans for his time on the Michigan farm to be short. Before his mother passed away, he promised her he'd give her Amish roots a chance. Upon her death, uncertain about what else to do, he came to stay with his Uncle Isaac in Hope Falls. He's curious why his mother left the community she obviously loved. But it doesn't take Jordan long to conclude that the strict lifestyle and the three hour church services are not for him.
But there isn’t just human interaction at play. Nathaniel, an angel of God, sees the potential in Jordan and Rachel’s hearts from heaven’s perspective. His goal is to shepherd them toward the path of healing and love.
When tragedy strikes, then strikes again, this angelic being is sent to guide them toward the healing and abundant life promised in God’s Word – if only they will listen.
Review: Ruth Reid is one of my favorite authors in the Amish fiction genre. She manages to create the drama that seems to go along with these books, but somehow manage to bring about a happy ending.
In this story Rachel is still grieving the loss of her brother, she is indirectly responsible for an accident that injures her as well as one other personal tragedy. She manages to have a love/hate thing going on with Jordan. Then there are the angels, the heavenly angel and the angel from that other place. Both are using their influence on Rachel and Jordan.
Rachel was a character that is a bit hard to like at first. She's stubborn and nasty. (the result of the angel and devil on her shoulder kind of thing).
Both Rachel and Jordan have some growing to do before they can find happiness. Rachel more so than Jordan. Rachel's shortcomings were a little too typical. She can't cook, therefore she can't find a husband. As I read, it seemed more like she had the attention span of a fruit fly which was why she failed at cooking. And when it came to the pie that Jordan ate early on, that failure was a deliberate mistake.
The accidents and losses are what brings the two together and help them grow. I like that Jordan left the community for awhile to get to know his father. I would have liked more of a relationship to have developed between the two..and it would have been nice to learn more about his mother, Gracie. You only get bits and pieces about her.
This book has so much sadness. If you are one that is brought to tears easily, you'll be crying many times while reading this book. I know I was, especially when Sadie has her baby and the events that follow.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the exchanges with the angels too. This series is unique in this genre. I can't wait for the next book.
Author: Karen Ann Hopkins Title Temptation Publisher: Harlequin Teen Publish Date: June 26, 2012 Buy:Amazon Review Copy Provided By:Net Galley Book Blurb: Your heart misleads you.
That's what my friends and family say.
But I love Noah.
And he loves me.
We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms. It should be
ROSE & NOAH
forever, easy.
But it won't be.
Because he's Amish.
And I'm not.
Review: I love Amish fiction. I'm a sucker for it, so when I saw this new YA Amish book, at NetGalley, I had to dive in. Not many stories deal with the youth in the community, so this was definitely something different.
However, I found myself wondering how much research the author did when writing this book. The community Noah belongs to, is obviously Old Order Amish, but they didn't allow rumspringa? That doesn't fit with much of what I know about the Amish. I could be wrong though, but that part of the story bugged me. The other thing is, the sects of Amish that they could possibly have been wouldn't have had neat tidy farms either.
The story reads much like a twist on Romeo and Juliet, but since it is a Harlequin the ending is not a downer, even though there are times when you think otherwise. Or so you think, because this is the first book in a series.
~big sigh~
Would it be so hard to write a book about the Amish that wasn't part of a series? Tell the story and finish it all in one volume?
I didn't think so.
The ending of the book is the most unsatisfactory part. Not because of anything that happens but because the last 100 pages are total drama and the last 10...Meh...the book ends very abruptly, a'la Beverly Lewis.
OH and I know this isn't a Christian novel, but the religious aspect of the Amish was swept under the rug in this book and that is really taking a huge part of the culture away.
There still is quite a bit to like about the book. The characters are strong. I liked Noah better than Rose. Noah's behavior was pretty much what you'd expect for a young Amish man. Rose however seemed to be a smart girl that was pretty stupid sometimes. She had to ask her father about the Amish. Uh, what about the internet? I don't think a 16 year old, falling desperately in love wouldn't Google Amish to learn more about their ways.
I'm definitely going to check out the rest of the series, because I have to know how things turn out for the young couple.
Author: Beverly Lewis Title: The Telling (Seasons of Grace Book 3) Publisher: Bethany House Publish Date: April 6, 2010 Buy:Amazon Book Blurb: Grace Byler leaves Bird-in-Hand in a fancy car to search for her mother in Ohio. But what if Lettie Byler doesn't wish to be found? Meanwhile, Lettie continues her private quest to find the missing piece of her life. As clues take her from state to state, she is increasingly torn between the family she has left behind and the yearning for her long-lost child.
Struggling to come to terms with a grave medical diagnosis, Heather Nelson is determined to forgo traditional medicine--to her father's chagrin--in hopes of finding answers and healing in Amish country. But first, she offers to drive her Amish friend, Grace Byler, to Ohio.
Will mother and daughter, and one seriously ill graduate student, find the answers they long for? Or will "the telling" cause them all further pain?
Review: This book is truly groan worthy. The only reason I suffered through it, is because I read the first two in this trilogy.
I love Amish fiction, and I think that's why I'm drawn to Lewis' books. She's the Danielle Steel of that genre. And like Steel, too many books has taken away the "goodness" in her stories.
Everything is too formulated now. Perhaps that's the fault of a publisher that wants to make money off trilogies, when Lewis' stories would better be told in one longer volume.
That's the problem with the Seasons Of Grace trilogy. Book one sets up the story with a cliff hanger, book 2 meanders along, and book 3 wraps everything up in a nice bow. By the end of book 1 you knew exactly what was going to happen in book three and you knew who Lettie's first born was. Anyone reading could make that guess. It made the trilogy rather disappointing.
Then there was the story surrounding Heather, who is diagnosed with advance Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a disease she shared with her adoptive mother. I couldn't quite believe that naturopathic treatment alone would bring her to a cancer free state.
This whole trilogy didn't work well for me, plus it put Grace's relationship with Yonnie on the back burner. I would have liked a little more romance in this book. It needed something, anything to make it worth finishing. After 4 days I managed to eek through 331 very painful pages. It will be a long while before I pick up another Beverly Lewis book.
Author: Emma Miller Title: Leah's Choice Publisher: Love Inspired Publish Date: April 17, 2012 Buy:Amazon Review Copy Provided By:Net Galley Book Blurb: With dreams of marrying an Old Order Amish man, Leah Yoder plans on raising children in the peaceful Delaware community. But when Mennonite missionary Daniel Brown arrives to share his story with their church, Leah is fascinated by him. She spends time with Daniel in a forbidden courtship to learn how she truly feels about him. Before long, Leah has a choice to make. Should she stay with her community…or leave with the man she believes God has placed in her life's path?
Review: This is one of the books in Miller's series Hannah's Daughters. It is a little slow moving in comparison to the others. I kept wishing Leah would make her choice or at least admit to her feelings about the young Mennonite (Daniel).
I actually enjoyed the side story of Johanna and Wilber over Leah and Daniel. There was more intrigue there, and the outcome at the end of the book between these characters. Their story had more substance, domestic abuse and depression. In the case of Leah and Daniel it was really just making a choice about what religion to follow. It was easy to see from the beginning, before Daniel even enters the picture, that Leah is hardly likely to join the Amish church. She's twenty one and hadn't been baptized. That's pretty unusual for an Amish woman. Miller didn't even give her another choice. Daniel was the only man that showed her any interest. So in that respect, the outcome was pretty obvious. This is a romance novel, after all.
What I did like about the story was how accepting the family were toward her decision. That's not to say they were happy about it, but they also didn't cut Leah from their lives. I also liked the family ties between the sisters. There was definitely a lot of love here. The scenario was also a different one. It was hard to believe a tale of Amish fiction was going to end with the girl not becoming a member of the community.
Even though this was a slower read for a short book, it was veered off the usual path, so it was worth the effort.
Author: Kelly Long Title: Arms Of Love Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publish Date: April 3, 2012 Buy:Amazon Review Copy Provided By:Net Galley Book Blurb: Pennsylvania in the late 18th century, once called William Penn's Woods, was an assortment of different faiths living together for the first time in American history. Included in this tapestry was a small and struggling population called Amish.
Surrounding this peaceful people were unavoidable threats: both Patriots and the British were pillaging land and goods for the sake of the war, young Amishmen were leaving the faith to take up arms and defend freedom. A simple walk in the untamed forests could result in death, if not from bullet or arrow, then from an encounter with a wild animal.
Amid this time of tumult, Adam Wyse is fighting a personal battle. To possibly join the war efforts and leave his faith, which would mean walking away from the only woman he's ever loved: Lena Yoder. But for that love he's made a promise that may keep them apart permanently.
When Adam withdraws from Lena, she's forced to turn to his brother, Isaac, for support. Must Lena deny her heart's desire to save Adam's soul? And will life in this feral and primitive New World be more than this peace-keeping people can withstand?
Review: Kelly Long's Arms Of Love is a different kind of Amish novel. It takes place during the Revolutionary War. The Amish weren't considered backward then, they were just different, much like the Quakers. (Only the Quakers allowed a little bit more adornment on their clothing)
I have mixed feelings about this book. In some ways it is really fantastic. Kelly does a great job of giving us a glimpse of what the Amish were like when they first settled in Pennsylvania. It wasn't all a bed of roses, especially when you are a pacifist during war time.
Surprisingly enough, Kelly shows Adam and Lena as sexual beings. They don't have sex, but they have desire for one another. That's something you won't see in a lot of Amish fiction, because they keep it too Christian. (And you know Christian people don't do that) Sex is naughty...those babies are delivered by the stork!
Makes you wonder how those Amish people have all those kids!
But back to the story. Adam and Lena made a great couple. The historical detail was wonderful. The story was well written but a little bit lacking. Too much of what happened just seemed too easy or too unbelievable.
1. The resolution of the conflict between Adam and his father. This is just way too crazy to deal with.
2. Lena's snakebite! She was bit by a rattler and she recovered remarkably fast...On her wedding night, no less.
3. Samuel and Ruth's courtship. He didn't grieve for his wife very long.
4. Isaac, Adam's brother just didn't seem human to me, at all.
This isn't the greatest story about the Amish, but it is a good one that is worth reading if you are a fan of the genre.
Author:Beverly Lewis Title The Missing Publisher: Bethany House Publish Date: Sept 8, 2009 Buy:Amazon Book Blurb: Twenty-one-year-old Grace Byler longs to find her missing mother and to uncover the secret that drove her to leave them three weeks before. Grace suspects the reason has to do with her father and his reserved, uncommunicative ways. This conviction led Grace to break off her betrothal to her quiet, staid beau, and she is now resigned to remain single. But when the young Amishman she thought was courting her best friend takes a sudden interest in her, Grace is befuddled and wonders if he can be trusted. "Englisher" Heather Lang has come to Amish country to relive fond memories of her mother and to contemplate a grave medical prognosis of her own. While in Bird-in-Hand, Heather meets Grace Byler and the two young women strike up a fast friendship, amazed by how well they click. Following the only clue they have, Grace and Heather travel together in hopes of finding Grace's mother and bringing her home. Will they find what they're looking for...or something much more?
Review: The Missing picks up where The Secret left off, such is the nature of all Beverly Lewis novels. They are like a three part made for tv movie that airs on Lifetime or Oxygen or some other girlie channel.
Certain aspects of this story were wonderful, while others were just too laid out. There are things I know are going to be found out in book three without even having to turn a page, and that makes me wonder why I'm going to read The Telling. I guess it is because, once you start something, it is hard to stop it.
In this book Grace is still trying to find clues as to where her mother had gone. There's also a new guy who wants to court her, Yonnie, who just happens to be the guy her best friend, Becky likes.
Ah the drama of being Amish.
We also see Lettie, Grace's mother and her journey to find the child she gave up for adoption some 20 + years before.
Lastly there is the english girl, Heather, suffering from Stage III non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Guess who she is? She wants to try a natural way to beat cancer. (And even though that won't be dealt with in this book, you know she will)
This story dragged, yet it was an easy read. I liked Lewis' characters, well, not so much Heather, because I really found her abandonment of traditional medicine a bit stupid, especially at Stage III of any cancer.
I'll be picking up The Telling, so I can see the rest of the story through. I have to say, I don't know why Lewis can't just write one longer book, rather than dragging her stories out through 3.
Author: Karen Harper Title: Return To Grace Publisher: Mira Publish Date: Feb 21,2012 Buy:Amazon Review Copy Provided By:Net Galley Book Blurb: In the shadows of a graveyard, a SHOT rings out…
Hannah Esh fled the Home Valley Amish community with a broken heart, throwing herself into her worldly dreams of a singing career instead. But as much as she tries to run from her past, something keeps pulling her back. On a whim, she brings four worldly friends to the Amish graveyard near her family's home for a midnight party on Halloween. But when shots are fired and one of her friends is killed, Hannah is pulled back into the world of her past.
The investigation into the shooting uncovers deep-buried secrets that shock the peaceful Amish village to its core. Determined to prove her value to the community she left behind, Hannah attempts to bridge two cultures, working closely with both handsome, arrogant FBI agent Linc Armstrong and her former betrothed, Seth Lantz, now widowed with a young daughter.
Caught between Seth and Linc, between old and new, Amish and worldly, Hannah must choose her future. Unless a killer, bent on secrecy, chooses it for her.
Review:Return To Grace combines two of my favorite genres, Amish Fiction and Mystery. What I loved about Karen Harper's writing is that she doesn't instill a lot of Christian elements that are found in most books containing Amish characters. She made both the English and the Amish "real."
Seth, who was Hannah's original sweetheart, got a girl pregnant, and that's why he had to break things off with her, causing her to leave the Amish before she was baptized.
Let me tell you the things that were awesome about this story:
1. I loved Hannah and Seth and how they were tied together from their past through the present and how their relationship blossomed through the murder investigation.
2. It was impossible to guess who the real culprit was in the killings, though you had a few clues toward the end of the story.
3. The story had great secondary characters that you really connect with like Ray-Lynn and the Sheriff.
4. A gripping mystery that keeps the pages turning. This isn't a cozy, but it isn't quite a thriller. It starts with a shooting on Halloween and then balloons from there.
5. She portrayed Seth as a sexual being! It isn't all prayer caps and whoopie pies! There was no sex, but there was sexual tension between the characters.
There were a few things that bugged me.
1. Why was Hannah Goth? I would have liked to have known a little more about how she turned to that lifestyle.
2. Her father told a huge lie to a record producer about her, so she wouldn't get a recording contract? Not very believable.
3. Her ease of turning away from Linc (the FBI agent) at the end. I would have liked a little more indecision there.
All in all though, the good outweighed the bad, and Karen Harper is now on my list of must read authors. This was a superb book and one I'd highly recommend if you like mysteries or Amish fiction.
Author: Kate Lloyd Title: Leaving Lancaster Publisher: David C. Cook Publish Date: March 1, 2012 Buy:Amazon Review Copy Provided By:NetGalley Book Blurb: Can a splintered Amish family reconcile?
More than anything else, thirty-something Holly Fisher longs for family. Growing up in Seattle without a dad or grandparents, she wonders what it would be like to have a heritage, a place of belonging. Holly is furious when her mother, Esther, reveals a long-kept secret: Holly’s grandmother and uncles are still alive and begging Esther to return. And Holly is shocked when she learns that the family she’s never known lives on a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, farm—as part of an Amish community her mother once abandoned.
Guilt-ridden Esther, terrified to see her mother and siblings, begs Holly to accompany her on a visit to Esther’s mother before she dies. But can their journey to a conflicting world heal their emotional wounds and finally bring them home?
Set in the heart of contemporary Lancaster County, Leaving Lancaster explores the power of forgiveness, family reconciliation, and love where least expected.
Review: Leaving Lancaster is a lot different from the Amish fiction I usually read. This book deals with a woman that was raised Amish, but didn't get baptized into the church. Esther and Samuel ran off to California. In the process, they got married and Samuel got drafted and sent to Vietnam, where is becomes MIA.
The book takes place in the present. Esther runs The Amish Shoppe in Seattle and Holly is her daughter. They seem to have a good relationship until a letter arrives from Esther's mother, who Holly believed was dead.
I can understand the distrust that grows between mother and daughter but there are times when both parties seem so nasty toward the other. Esther hates seeing Holly in Amish garb. Holly doesn't understand why Esther hid so much.
There reactions are pretty much human nature. Esther is afraid of returning home after so many years, to people she's hurt in the past.
I loved watching her relationship with Nathaniel grow as the book went on, especially as Holly had a crush on him for a bit.
This book is a tale of coming back to the fold, of love and forgiveness. I think the struggles of the women in this story set this book apart from a lot of the Amish fiction out there. Most deal with younger women or young widows. In this case, Holly is 39 and Esther is in her early 50s. This was refreshing. I also loved their devotion to Anna, Esther's mother.
The only thing that kept this from being a perfect read was the ending. It felt rushed and there were some things I would have liked answered, about Esther and Beth and about Anna's illness. Perhaps that's for another book.
Author: Beverly Lewis Title: The Secret (Seasons Of Grace Book 1) Publisher: Bethany House Publish Date: March 31, 2009 Buy:Amazon Book Blurb: In the seemingly ordinary Amish home of Grace Byler, secrets abound. Why does her mother weep in the night? Why does her father refuse to admit something is dreadfully wrong? Then, in one startling moment, everything Grace assumed she knew is shattered. Her mother's disappearance leaves Grace reeling and unable to keep her betrothal promise to her long-time beau. Left to pick up the pieces of her life, Grace questions all she has been taught about love, family, and commitment.
Heather Nelson is an English grad student, stunned by a doctor's diagnosis. Surely fate would not allow her father to lose his only daughter after the death of his wife a few years before. In denial and telling no one she is terminally ill, Heather travels to Lancaster County--the last place she and her mother had visited together. Will Heather find healing for body and spirit?
As the lives of four wounded souls begin to weave together like an Amish patchwork quilt, they each discover missing pieces of their life puzzles--and glimpse the merciful and loving hand of God.
Review: Beverly Lewis writes dramatic Amish fiction. Her books aren't about young Amish people courting and falling in love. There is always some drama with the church or with the family that will take 3 books to resolve.
In this book the drama surrounds Gracie Byler's mom, who leaves her husband and children behind. This is something that is simply not done in the Amish community. Lewis lets us see a little of Lettie's struggle within herself without giving away her secret. It is easy to feel sorry for this woman. She has something that she wants to share with her husband and her family, yet her husband is quiet and reserved and she never seems to be able to communicate with him.
There's also a young woman who comes to Lancaster after receiving a bad diagnosis from her doctor. Heather Nelson is obviously going to figure into this story at some point, more than just as a random Englischer. I have a feeling I already know who she is, but I want to read the other 2 books anyway.
The problem I have with Heather is her disbelief in modern medicine. Her mother died of cancer. At 24 she's received a similar diagnosis. We aren't sure though, because Lewis doesn't tell us. She just gives us this stubborn young woman that refuses to believe she's sick. Truthfully, I wanted to smack her senseful.
Gracie and her family are much more likable and they are faced with their own crisis. Their mother leaves and they are left with the aftermath and gossip. Gracie holds up well and she comes across as a loyal, loving daughter. I think she's probably one of my favorite Lewis heroines.
I do have one bone to pick with Beverly Lewis. She grew up in PA. How is it that Pittsburgh is spelled incorrectly twice in this book? That really irked me. Still, it is a good read for fans of Lewis and Amish fiction.
Author: Amy Clipston Title: A Life Of Joy Publisher: Zondervan Publish Date: January 31, 2012 Buy:Amazon Review Copy Provided By:Net Galley Book Blurb: Take a trip to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, where you'll meet the women of the Kauffman Amish Bakery in Lancaster County. As each woman's story unfolds, you will share in her heartaches, trials, joys, dreams ... and secrets. You'll discover how the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle can clash with the 'English' way of life---and the decisions and consequences that follow. Most importantly, you will be encouraged by the hope and faith of these women, and the importance they place on their families. In A Life of Joy, the fourth installment in the series, eighteen-year-old Lindsay Bedford has reached a crossroads. Should she stay in the small Amish community she's known and loved for four years or return to the English life in her hometown in Virginia where her older sister is a college student? An extended visit to Virginia might just tip the scales as Lindsay reconnects with friends, joins a new church, works on her GED, and is pressured by her sister to stay and 'make something of herself.' Will Lindsay leave her aunt Rebecca and become English or settle in Bird-in-Hand and join the Amish church? Legions of Clipston fans want to know. Full of well-researched Amish culture, Clipston's book is true to form, delivering the best of the Amish fiction genre wrapped around a compelling story, with characters who will touch the hearts of loyal fans and new readers alike
Review: A Life Of Joy is quite different from most of the Amish fiction out there. Why? The main character, Lindsay, grew up English, and came to Lancaster County to live with her sister and aunt when her parents died. Her older sister Jessica, left the Amish way of life behind, but Lindsay embraced it. This story revolves around Lindsay and her struggle to decide whether she wants to join the Amish church.
This story has a lot of family struggles. Lindsay and Jessica don't see eye to eye on how they want to live their lives. Jessica is very much a worldly girl and she often foists her view on her sister, who is very comfortable living the "plain" life.
Linsday has many challenges to face. Her parents good friend is hurt in a fall, and she is sent back into the "English" world for a summer. This is really her rumspringa (running around time), for those familiar with the Amish Culture. Her aunt Rebecca discovers she's pregnant shortly before she leaves, and she almost successfully keeps the difficult pregnancy from her, so she can enjoy Virginia. I can understand why Rebecca would do that, though at times I struggled with the reasoning of the Amish to not tell people when they are "In the family way."
There are times when you aren't sure if Lindsay is going to return to Pennsylvania, but her heart belongs in Bird-In-Hand. She no longer fits in with her old friends in Virginia, but she does take the time to explore things when she is there. What she learns is not very surprising, because she really seems to have embraced the Amish way of life.
I really enjoyed Clipston's characters. They seemed more real than some in other Amish fiction. Their struggles where more "real life." This is Book 4 in the Kaufmann Amish Bakery series. I haven't read the other 3 books, but I definitely want to go ahead and find them. I love books set in Lancaster County. It is a place I'm familiar with from family vacations. Reading books set in this location always makes me feel like I'm back there.
If you like Amish fiction and are looking for an author besides Lewis or Brunstetter, Amy Clipston's series will delight you.
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Author: Patricia Davids
Author: Anna Schmidt
Author: Amy Clipston
