Blog Tours: Their Pretend Amish Courtship

THEIR PRETEND AMISH COURTSHIP

By Patricia Davids

May 23, 2017

$5.99 US; 224 pages

ISBN: 978-0-373-62278-8

Blurb:

Fannie Erb isn’t looking for a husband – especially if it means she has to leave behind her beloved horses to go find one. What she needs is a way to assure her parents that she’s not hopeless when it comes to love. And her family friend, Noah Bowman, might just be her solution.

A fake relationship would free them both from unwanted matchmaking plans, but how could Fannie predict that pretending to date the handsome boy next door would awaken genuine emotions? By summer’s end, they’ll be free to go their separate ways, but Fannie’s growing feelings are transforming her neighbor into the only man who might ever reign in her adventurous heart.

Review: Fannie and Noah have a strange relationship when it comes to Amish romance. They have a fake engagement. That's not what you usually expect from anything about the Amish. I was really surprised at this premise, which is one of the reasons I wanted to read this book.

Fannie is very headstrong and has ideas that don't fit the Amish way of life, Noah does too. Both are enjoying a very long rumspringa, they are nearing 22 and neither have been baptized into the Amish faith, much to the chagrin of their parents. Throughout the book, I really couldn't see either of these two becoming members of the Amish faith. The things that they wanted out of life seemed to "English" to me.

I had a lot of issues with the characters, because they did act much younger than their years and they didn't seem to know what they really wanted. It got frustrating. Fannie was the character that bugged me the most, because I couldn't understand her not trying to explain so many things to her parents and then to Noah, when their relationship really seemed to be developing beyond the lines of friendship and more into a real courtship.

I did enjoy watching the two of them grow into more mature individuals as the story progressed. There was a bit of a surprise at the end that really left me gobsmacked.

Its a good clean romance, but for me, a longtime reader of Patricia's Amish romances, it wasn't quite up to her usual high standards.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: The Amish Nanny

Author: Patricia Davids
Title: The Amish Nanny
Publisher: Love Inspired
Publish Date: July 15, 2014
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: 

A reclusive Amish logger, Ethan Gingerich is more comfortable around his draft horses than the orphaned niece and nephews he's taken in. Yet he's determined to provide the children with a good, loving home. The little ones, including a defiant eight-year-old, need a proper nanny. But when Ethan hires shy Amishwoman Clara Barkman, he never expects her temporary position to have such a lasting hold on all of them. Now this man of few words must convince Clara she's found her forever home and family.

Review: I think I fall a little more in love with Hope Springs with each book. The Amish Nanny sees Clara Barkman finding love. If you are following the series, her character was introduced in The Shepherd's Bride, which was her sister Lizzie's story.

I loved that book, but The Amish Nanny is even better.

I'm a sucker for books with young children, especially those in need of some extra TLC, and Micha, Amos and Lily are all in need of that, having lost both of their parents tragically.

Ethan is trying to be a good guardian to his young nieces and nephews, but as a single guy, he's in over his head. That's where Clara comes in.

It is easy to see the chemistry between these two, and Clara's connection to the children is marvelous. However, both Ethan and Clara have fears from their past that are keeping them from being happy together.

There's quite a few things that help them overcome these fears, but one is almost a tragedy, that really added a little bit of drama to an otherwise sweet romance.

I loved Ethan's backstory, with his brother and his ex. They really shaped the man he has become. We learn a little more about Clara as well, but if you read the previous book, you'll know what her demons are. We also get an idea of what might be in store for one of the other Barkman sisters.

I always look forward to Patricia's books and this one was really fantastic.

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: The Shepherd's Bride

Author: Patricia Davids
Title: The Shepherd's Bride

Publisher: Love Inspired

Publish Date: March 18, 2014

Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: 

Shunned by the Amish community, shepherd Carl King has given up on his dream for a family. Yet when captivating Lizzie Barkman shows up at the sheep farm where he works, Carl sees the wife he once dreamed of. Lizzie is looking for a new start, for herself and her sisters, and discovers Carl to be a kind and gentle man who cares deeply about the Amish way of life. But he is under the bann. Is it possible that this forbidden man holds the key to her family's safety—and the one to her heart?

Brides of Amish Country: Finding true love in the land of the Plain People.

Review: I'm a sucker for Amish romance! I love Patricia Davids' Brides Of Amish Country Series. She really brings real life to her stories. In this case the hero, Carl is under the Bann for a secret he won't share with the community. Its a pretty big secret too.

Lizzie is trying to save herself and her sister's from her nasty uncle and a bad marriage to an abusive man for her sister Carla. So she takes her savings and gets on a bus in search of her grandfather.

I liked that nothing was really easy for her, when it came to trying to bring her sisters to Hope Springs. You get to see how hardworking, loyal and loving Lizzie is and how strong and devoted Carl is. Lizzie proves her mettle when working with the sheep.

There's a lot of conflict between Lizzie and both her grandfather and Carl, but as things progress they smooth out more than a bit. It takes a coydog to really bring the two of them together and get his secret out in the open.

I loved Lizzie's granddad, who can only be described as an old codger. His nickname is Wooley Joe.  He's a lot softer than he lets on. He's been through much in his life and lost his daughter, so it gives him some rights at being curmudgeonly.

This is a great read for lovers of Amish fiction and romance.

Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: Plain Admirer

Author: Patricia Davids
Title: Plain Admirer
Publisher: Love Inspired
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley

Book Blurb: 

Love is Only a Letter Away

So what if Joann Yoder's Amish community deems her a spinster? She's content to stay single. In the meantime, she's working hard to finally buy her dream house. So it's problematic when she's fired from her job to make room for the owner's nephew, Roman Weaver. His blue eyes aside, she simply can't stand him! Good thing she has the secret letters she's been exchanging with a mystery man to keep her going. But who is writing her letters? And could she possibly fall for him in real life, too?

Review: Patricia Davids writes really lovely Amish romance. These aren't books like Beverly Lewis or Wanda Brunstetter. These stories are love stories. Readers already know Joann from the last book.

This book is about two seemingly opposite personalities attracting...but as you read the story, you find out that Joann and Roman really aren't all that opposite at all.

I loved how they each took little jabs at each other. You could really understand it from Joann's point of view. She was being ousted from a job that she loved just so the owner's nephew could find work. The fact that she managed to be civil to him while teaching him a job she had been doing and doing well speaks volumes for her.

It is no wonder sparks flew between the two. Joann is a maedel (spinster) and Roman is a goodlooking Amish man trying to recover from an accident that left him with little use of one arm.

The arguments between Joann and Roman really made the story come alive. Of course so did the letters that they shared though neither of them know that they are writing to the other at the time.

I really loved how they came together in this story. Definitely one of Patricia's best.

Patricia Davids' Brides of Amish Country series is much like Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series. You get to meet new people and revisit old friends with each book, so each story is new, but familiar.

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: A Hope Springs Christmas

Author: Patricia Davids
Title: A Hope Springs Christmas
Publisher: Love Inspired
Publish Date: Dec 1, 2012
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley

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!

Rating: 5 flowers