Book Review: The Ebb Tide

Author: Beverly Lewis
Title: The Ebb Tide
Publisher: Bethany House
Publish Date: April 4, 2017
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: 
When a well-to-do family asks Sallie Riehl to be their daughter's nanny for the summer at their Cape May, New Jersey, vacation home, she jumps at the chance to broaden her horizons beyond the Lancaster County Amish community where she grew up. Curious by nature, Sallie loves reading and learning, and she fears that her chances of making a good match with an Amish farmer will be hampered because of it.

Though she loves taking care of nine-year-old Autumn Weaver during the week, Sallie has free time on the weekends to enjoy the shore. It is there that she meets Edward Kreider, a young marine biology student who talks freely about all he's learning and asks about her interests, unlike the guys she grew up with. Sallie wonders if this is the kind of relationship she's been longing for. Then again, Ed isn't from her community--and he's Mennonite, not Amish.

Sallie is afraid of what her parents would think about her new friendship. But that's not all she's fearful of. When unexpected danger threatens Autumn, Sallie will have to put her fears aside. Will this be a summer to remember, or one to forget?

Review:  Beverly Lewis definitely has a way with Amish Fiction. The Ebb Tide was a wonderful, light read, with just a touch of the drama that Lewis sprinkles in all of her novels.

Sallie is a different sort of Amish girl. She has dreams of travel, which totally goes against her beliefs. Her original dream was to visit Australia, but when a family member needs help, she foregoes that dream, only to have an English family offer her a chance to visit the Jersey shore, at Cape May.

She takes on the job as a Nanny for a family she's known from the restaurant. Autumn is a beautiful girl having trouble adjusting to her new baby brother.

The dynamic between Sallie and Autumn is lovely and when she meets Kevin a young man studying to be a marine biologist, she feels a connection to him, even though there is an Amish man who has his eye on her.

Lewis portrays Sallie's struggle with her faith as well as her desire to see the world in a way that's mostly believable. In some ways everything falls together too nicely for Sallie, especially as she weighs her options of joining the church and going "fancy" and having a relationship with Kevin.

There is a plus to her budding relationship with Kevin. He may be an Englisher, but he has Amish ties in his family. He's totally sweet and has a strong faith, as well.

I loved Lewis' descriptions of Cape May, so much so that I really want to visit that area some day.

This was really a lovely read.

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: The Proving

Author: Beverly Lewis
Title: The Proving
Publisher: Bethany House
Publish Date: Sept 5, 2017
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Amanda Dienner hasn't seen her Old Order family in five years when she receives word that her mother has passed away and left her Lancaster County's most popular Amish bed-and-breakfast. Now an Englisher, Mandy is shocked: Her twin sister should have been the obvious choice! What's more, the inheritance comes with a catch: The farmhouse inn will only truly be hers if she is able to successfully run it for twelve consecutive months.

Mandy accepts the challenge even though it means returning to Gordonville and the painful memories she left behind at eighteen. Still, she's determined to prove she is more than capable of running the bed-and-breakfast, no matter that its loyal clientele are expecting an Amish hostess!

The inn isn't Mandy's sole test, however. Rubbing shoulders with her married twin sister reopens wounds that Mandy isn't ready to forgive. And an Englisher guest with a difficult past of her own just complicates matters.

Can Mandy fulfill the terms of her inheritance? Or will this year in Amish country prove a dreadful mistake?

Review: I've been a fan of Beverly Lewis for a long time, but more so now that she's started writing more stand alone novels. I wasn't a big fan of her cliffhangers when she wrote trilogies.

The Proving is really a lovely story of forgiveness and coming back home for Amanda Dienner. Its a story of starting over for the Englischer, Trina Sutton.

Both characters have their own problems. I found Trina to be hard to deal with with at times. She was a bit of a perfectionist which can be aggravating at times and when it comes to her patients she was very caring, maybe even too much so, if that's possible.

Then there's Mandy. I struggled with her too. I could understand her feeling of betrayal, but how things got to the point that they were was something I struggled with, especially to the point she took it too and then keeping all her feelings of hurt and anger inside. That's not to say that I couldn't understand why she was hurt, who wouldn't be? It is just the age of the characters that made it hard for me to understand their motives.

I think if we would have had more interaction with Mandy's twin, Arie, throughout the book, that her part of the story would have had more depth. Instead, their relationship, which we are assured was once very close, is shrouded in mystery.

Mandy struggles with the Inn that she's inherited from her mother, but when Trina enters the picture things start to change. Trina is gutsy and well, she opens her mouth and her words aren't always the kindest things, but somehow you know she means well.

I love the romance that blossoms with Trina and one of the other guests at the inn, Gavin. This relationship softens her and helps her heal from the death of her fiance.  It also helps her help Mandy find a way to move forward.

I like that Mandy finds someone in a roundabout way. Karl and his son Yonnie are wonderful.

I expected a little more drama with this book, because that's such a characteristic of a Beverly Lewis novel. This had a more cozy feel to it. The plot ambled along slowly and left me feeling as if there should have been a little something more, especially at the end. Yes, things were tied up and resolved but part of me felt like so much time was wasted over so little, for Mandy and Arie.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: The Photograph

Author: Beverly Lewis
Title: The Photograph
Publisher: Bethany House
Publish Date: Sept 8, 2015
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 

Eva Esch and her sisters are in a predicament. With the passing of their widowed mother, Eva's older brother Menno plans to move his growing family into the Eden Valley farmhouse where they all grew up, leaving little room for his three single sisters. Surely, Menno reasons, at least one of them will marry this coming wedding season. Eva does hope to marry, but she isn't sure she wants to give up her sweet shop for the life of a farmer's wife, and she has no other prospects.

When younger sister, Lily, disappears in the night, leaving only a brief note, Eva fears she has been wooed away from the People by an outsider. And when Jed Stutzman, a young Amish buggy maker from Ohio, shows up in Lancaster with a photo of a Plain young woman, Eva's world begins to tilt. She feels powerfully drawn to the quietly charming stranger--but the woman in the forbidden photograph is no stranger at all. . . .

Review: I am a huge fan of Amish fiction. Beverly Lewis is one of the greats in this genre. I've always found her books to be like soap operas, especially when she wrote her sagas, that were usually 3 books.

Recently she's been writing stand alone novels and for the most part they have been fabulous, but for some reason The Photograph feels like she's phoned this one in. My high school creative writing teacher would call this one a pot boiler.

There was the usual drama going on, with Lily running off and the sister's brother wanting to take over the family farm, forcing the sisters to possibly find a new place to live as well as Eva losing out on the candy shop her father had built for her.

The trouble with this book was how flat the characters felt to me and I wished the story could have focused on Lily and her reasons for leaving. You get all the information on her at the end, but it just didn't feel fulfilling.

Menno was the story's villain, but even that didn't feel right to me. I mean, how could he not care for his three sisters, especially as they were all unmarried, and they all had recently lost their mother.

I did like Jed and Eva. There romance, though to be perfectly honest, there wasn't much of one in the story was sweet. I liked that he came to really know her through the writings on her copy of "Little Women."  The main conflict involves the photo that he finds in the book on the train to Lancaster. He mistakenly thinks the photo is of Eva.

Most books by Beverly Lewis are quick reads for me, but this one took me quite a while to finish because the story just didn't seem to go anywhere. It was like spinning wheels. It was a good enough book, but not one of Lewis' best.


Rating: 3 flowers

TLC Book Tours Book Review: For Such A Time

Author: Kate Breslin
Title: For Such A Time
Publisher: Bethany House
Publish Date: April 1, 2014
Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours
Book Blurb: In 1944, blonde and blue-eyed Jewess Hadassah Benjamin feels abandoned by God when she is saved from a firing squad only to be handed over to a new enemy. Pressed into service by SS-Kommandant Colonel Aric von Schmidt at the transit camp of Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia, she is able to hide behind the false identity of Stella Muller. However, in order to survive and maintain her cover as Aric’s secretary, she is forced to stand by as her own people are sent to Auschwitz.

Suspecting her employer is a man of hidden depths and sympathies, Stella cautiously appeals to him on behalf of those in the camp. Aric’s compassion gives her hope, and she finds herself battling a growing attraction for this man she knows she should despise as an enemy. Stella pours herself into her efforts to keep even some of the camp’s prisoners safe, but she risks the revelation of her true identity with every attempt. When her bravery brings her to the point of the ultimate sacrifice, she has only her faith to lean upon. Perhaps God has placed her there for such a time as this, but how can she save her people when she is unable to save herself?

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Review

For Such A Time is the kind of book that really touches your heart. It takes place during the last days of WWII, as things are winding down, and the Nazis are committing more unspeakable crimes against the Jewish people.

Every time I read a book about this time period, I feel sickened that one person could convince people to commit genocide. 

Stella has to be one of the strongest heroine's I've read about in ages. Though there was a bit of romance between her and Aric, the Kommadant, the focus of the novel was how she really helped the Jewish people at his camp. As Aric's secretary she had a certain amount of power and access to records of people being sent to Auschwitz.  She does her absolute best to keep them safe

Aric was not your typical Nazi either. He's sympathetic to the Jews and that's even before he falls in love with Stella.

This book is really an emotional roller coaster.  You felt the highs and lows of Stella and her quest to help her people, as well as her inner turmoil over her growing feelings for Aric. I think Stella's love for Anna, who died trying to protect her, and Joseph (who in some ways reminds me of Les Miz's Gavoroche) really display her ability to love unconditionally. Towards the end there's another little girl she tries to protect as well and the outcome there will leave you in tears.

You definitely could tell Kate did her homework to write this book. I also liked the ending, which thankfully had a happily ever after, but she did allude to the fact that someone would have to face up to the crimes that were committed during the war.

Highly recommended for lovers of historical fiction with a touch of romance.

Rating:

 About Kate Breslin

A Florida girl who migrated to the Pacific Northwest, Kate Breslin was a bookseller for many years. Author of several travel articles, award-winning poet, and RWA Golden Heart finalist, Kate now writes inspiring stories about the healing power of God’s love. For Such a Time is her first book. She lives with her husband and cat in Seattle, WA.

Connect with Kate on her website and on Facebook.

TLC Book Tours Book Review: A Beauty So Rare

About A Beauty So Rare

• Series: A Belmont Mansion Novel
• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (March 25, 2014)

Plain, practical Eleanor Braddock knows she will never marry, but with a dying soldier’s last whisper, she believes her life can still have meaning and determines to find his widow. Impoverished and struggling to care for her ailing father, Eleanor arrives at Belmont Mansion, home of her aunt, Adelicia Acklen, the richest woman in America–and possibly the most demanding, as well. Adelicia insists on finding her niece a husband, but a simple act of kindness leads Eleanor down a far different path–building a home for destitute widows and fatherless children from the Civil War. While Eleanor knows her own heart, she also knows her aunt will never approve of this endeavor.

Archduke Marcus Gottfried has come to Nashville from Austria in search of a life he determines, instead of one determined for him. Hiding his royal heritage, Marcus longs to combine his passion for nature with his expertise in architecture, but his plans to incorporate natural beauty into the design of the widows’ and children’s home run contrary to Eleanor’s wishes. As work on the home draws them closer together, Marcus and Eleanor find common ground–and a love neither of them expects. But Marcus is not the man Adelicia has chosen for Eleanor, and even if he were, someone who knows his secrets is about to reveal them all.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Review: 

I absolutely fell in love with the cover of this book from the very start. It is book 2 in the Belmont Mansion series. (Now I have to hunt down book 1!)

I've always been a fan of Christian fiction, especially in historical romance, because bodice rippers get old after awhile. For anyone overly concerned about the genre, there's faith mentioned, but other than that, this is a just a clean historical novel. 

This story takes place in the time right after the Civil War, in Nashville. It is such a beautiful read. For some reason, I've always had a fondness for books set in this time period, because it was such a tumultuous period in US history. To make things better Belmont Mansion and Adelicia Acklen aren't prefabricated.

I love when real people and places are part of the books I read. It makes turning the pages more fun. (And there are a lot of pages to be turned here)

This book was a bit daunting for me. 480 pages are more than my average read, but I became so caught up in the lives of Eleanor and Marcus that they seemed to turn effortlessly. Their relationship was one that grew out of friendship, and I enjoyed that. I also loved how Eleanor wanted more out of life than to be a society lady and the clashes between her and her aunt.

But there is more than the budding romance between Eleanor and Marcus, there's also Eleanor's father, who is suffering from Alzheimer's and is put in an Asylum. It is truly heartbreaking to read that part of the book, especially if you have loved ones that suffer from that disease, and considering very little was known about it in this time period.

Definitely a wonderful read!

Rating: 5 flowers

About Tamera Alexander

Tamera Alexander is a bestselling novelist whose works have been awarded or nominated for numerous honors, including the Christy Award, the RITA Award, and the Carol Award. After seventeen years in Colorado, Tamera and her husband have returned to their native South and live in Tennessee, where they enjoy spending time with their two grown children.

Author’s Website | Author’s Facebook Page

TLC Book Tours Book Review: The Dancing Master

About The Dancing Master

Paperback: 432 pages

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (January 7, 2014)

Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours & the publisher

Finding himself the man of the family, London dancing master Alec Valcourt moves his mother and sister to remote Devonshire, hoping to start over. But he is stunned to learn the village matriarch has prohibited all dancing, for reasons buried deep in her past.

Alec finds an unlikely ally in the matriarch’s daughter. Though he’s initially wary of Julia Midwinter’s reckless flirtation, he comes to realize her bold exterior disguises a vulnerable soul–and hidden sorrows of her own.

Julia is quickly attracted to the handsome dancing master–a man her mother would never approve of–but she cannot imagine why Mr. Valcourt would leave London, or why he evades questions about his past. With Alec’s help, can Julia uncover old secrets and restore life to her somber village…and to her mother’s tattered heart?

Learn more about The Dancing Master HERE.

Review: The Dancing Master is one part regency and one part fairy tale, or at least that's how the novel reads in my eyes. The town Alec and his family find themselves in reminds me a bit of Solemntown from Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. There is no dancing in the village. And there's a secret surrounding the why of it.

If you pay attention in the prologue you'll have an idea of what that reason is.

Alec is the real reason to read this book. I liked him a lot more than I did Julia for most of the book. I also loved the fact that Julie let a nice portion of this story be told from his point of view.

The story will have a lot of people thinking of the film Footloose, that is, if it were set in Regency England.  I love it when books imitate other things in pop culture, where it be on purpose or not. (Now please get Footloose out of my head)

But let's get back to why this story is so fabulous. It is about secrets and both Julia's family and Alec's that shape why they are in the positions that they are in.

I was really impressed by how Ms Klassen kept you guessing about Lady Amelia and her past. When all was finally revealed I was really happy for everyone that the past was the past, and even the people who behaved in a slightly villainous matter weren't all that bad.

By the time I turned the last page, I have to admit to having a few tears in my eyes for everyone involved.

This is a Christian romance, but not to worry, to me it was more a clean romance with a touch of faith. Truthfully, I love Regency Romances because they are usually more tame, so this was a perfect read for me. I look forward to reading more of Julie's books in the future.

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: The Secret Keeper

Author: Beverly Lewis
Title: The Secret Keeper
Publisher: Bethany House
Publish Date: Sept 3, 2013
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 

With her love for all things old-fashioned, Jennifer Burns has often been told she's an "old soul," but no one is prepared for the young woman's decision to set aside her modern life in favor of the Old Order Amish world. Yet Jenny does exactly that, adopting Plain dress and settling in with Samuel and Rebecca Lapp while she works as a mother's helper for the bishop's wife--a far cry from her former job as an x-ray technician.

The people of Hickory Hollow are curious about the beautiful young seeker among them, one handsome Amishman in particular. But he is not the only man vying for Jenny's affections, and Jenny faces many challenges in the Proving time the brethren have set for her...challenges of the heart, as well as the spirit.

Will Jenny's secrets keep her from the peace she longs for? Or will they lead the way home?

Review: The Home to Hickory Hollow series is a wonderful departure for Beverly Lewis. Each of the books in the series is really a stand alone novel with very little to tie them in to the other books in the series.

This book was so different from most Amish fiction that I've read. In this book you have a "fancy" women wishing to become Amish.

Jenny is totally different from typical women in their 20s. She longs for the simple life and as she goes through her "Proving" you can see that she was really meant to be Amish. In fact she has more love for the old ways of Old Order Amish than some of the youth.

She doesn't have it easy either The Lapp family have secrets and as Jenny deals with her own struggles at becoming Amish, she finds she has to cope with some of her mentoring families problems as well.

What I've always liked about Beverly Lewis' writing is that she doesn't paint the Amish as perfect. Like any religion there are problems within, sometimes with the hierarchy, such as the bishop.

I loved how Katie, who is Rebecca and Samuel's daughter, who lives under the Bann is such a huge part of the story, more as a presence rather than as a secondary character.

What I love about this book and this series in particular is how the "Fancy" world interacts with the Amish. From the beginning you could see their distrust of Jenny, even though she was doing her best to conform to their ways.

I also loved her love interest, Andrew. He was so sweet.

The only part that didn't sit well with me was when her ex-boyfriend found her. Kyle's part in the ending of the story just seemed to be a waste.

The Home to Hickory Hollow series has taken Beverly Lewis out of my guilty pleasures reads and put her firmly in must read author's list.

Book Review: The Fiddler

Author: Beverly Lewis
Title: The Fiddler
Publisher: Bethany House
Publish Date: April 12, 2012
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 

Amelia "Amy" DeVries, a 24-year-old violinist, is disillusioned with life and love after the collapse of her long-running romance. Weary of endless rehearsals and performances, Amy sets out on a road trip through the Pennsylvania mountains. She leaves her cell phone behind so life's demands can't intrude on her solitude. She doesn't know, nor care, where she will end up.

When her car breaks down deep in the mountains, Amy realizes the flaw in her "no cell phone" plan. She abandons her car and walks the winding roads, searching for help. Following the smell of woodsmoke and the sound of music, she finds a rustic log cabin. There she meets a young Amishman--and through him a community--that will change her life forever.

Review: If you haven't read a Beverly Lewis book in awhile, this might be a good one to pick up.

Why?

Its one of the few stories written by Beverly Lewis that isn't part of a continuing series, where you are left with a cliff hanger ending until the next book is published.

Rather it is a stand alone book that is part of the Home to Hickory Hollow series.

The book blurb, however is deceiving. Amelia is performing under a stage name so she can separate her two careers, one as a concert violinist and the other as a country music fiddler, both of which she does remarkably well

However the pressure to please her ailing father is what causes her to try other things. Her life isn't her own and in trying to return to her OH home after a country performance she gets lost and ends up killing her phone in a puddle and meeting Amish Michael, who is having his own set of troubles.

I love how each is drawn to each other by the things that are pulling them away from their own lives. Amelia is attracted to the peaceful life of the Amish, and Michael is struggling with his Amish faith.

I loved meeting Amelia and Michael as well as the characters that will appear in the next books, like Joanna.

In this book, Beverly Lewis finally creates a romance that is meant to be, even if it has many hurdles to overcome, but those hurdles are overcome in one book.

One of the things I especially liked about this book was Michael and his struggle with his faith. He's not unlike many of us, but even though you know he isn't going to choose to stay Amish, you know that his faith and his values will stay with him always.

Another thing that I liked with this story, is how the religious aspect of the book is more toned down. The book focuses more on family then faith, so it didn't sound as preachy as some of Lewis' other books.

This was one of the best Beverly Lewis books I've read in a long time.

Highly recommended!

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: The Telling

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.

Rating 2 flowers

Book Review: The Missing

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.

Rating: 3 Flowers

Book Review: The Secret

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.

Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: Sarah's Choice

Author: Wanda E. Brunstter
Title: Sarah's Choice
Publisher: Barbour Publishing
Publish Date: Dec 1, 2010
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Slip into romance in this eagerly anticipated book 3 of bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Brides of Lehigh Canal series. Widowed Sarah Turner has her hands full, raising three young children, tending the lock on the canal, baking bread, and washing clothes for boatmen. Although she’s not looking for love, she’s vowed not to lose her heart to a boatman. Yet she didn’t count on meeting Captain Elias Brooks. Will she follow her heart where it leads or accept the proposal of a handsome land-loving blacksmith?
Review: When I want to read a feel good book Wanda E. Brunstetter is one of the authors I usually reach for. This is the second historical novel of her's that I've read. I usually go for her Amish fiction. This series is more heavily Christian fiction and may come across as a bit preachy to some. At times it felt that way to me, but the story was so sweet that it didn't bother me.

The setting of the book is in Northeastern Pennsylvania the Lehigh Valley. The setting is one of the things that drew me to the book. I love reading books that take place in my home state. Pennsylvania is just not the most glamorous spot, so I always look forward to seeing how author's present the state, either in a historical setting or present day.

Sarah is a widow, who's husband was killed on the canal. She's working at the lock in his place to keep her three children fed and clothed. Her hatred of the canal is easy to understand. There are times when her reactions to things are a bit much, but deep down it is easy to see why she behaves the way she does.

The two men vying for her heart are as different as night and day and it is easy early on to see which is going to win her heart in the end. Elias is all that is good and Christian. He's a little too much for me at times, but he is a kind, gentle, caring soul, oh and he has a disfiguring birthmark. Patrick is everything he isn't.

Yeah, so you can guess which guy she ends up with.

I loved her son Sammy, who really is the child that gets the most time in the story. He runs off with Elias to pull the mulls on the canal, something that his mother forbid him to do.

The other thing that I loved was the dog, Bristle Face, who didn't like Patrick very much. Again, you can see what guy she's going to end up with.

So, sure it is predictable, but it is very enjoyable, light read and it made me smile. Wanda Brunstetter's books never disappoint me.

Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: A Promise For Ellie

Author: Lauraine Snelling
Title: A Promise For Ellie
Publisher: Bethany House
Publish Date: August 1, 2006
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Ellie Wold can't wait to graduate from high school. She and Andrew Bjorklund have been waiting to get married since...well, since forever, and in June they will finally wed. When Andrew announces they have to postpone the wedding, she's disappointed but takes it in stride--there must be a good reason, or Andrew's pa wouldn't ask it of them.

But Andrew is angry and can't understand why Ellie isn't upset too, especially when they'd been planning to "marry up" ever since they were in grade school. Disgruntled, he works out his frustration in stubborn determination to finish building their barn and mail-order house, working himself to exhaustion. But just when the new house is nearly finished, an unthinkable tragedy occurs. Throwing aside the vow he made to Ellie, Andrew seeks revenge...

As their plans unravel, it looks as if their love may not survive.

Is this the end of their dream?

Review: A Promise For Ellie is the first book in Lauraine Snelling's Daughters of Blessing series. Blessing is a small town in North Dakota where many of Snellings books take place. They also revolve around members of the Bjorkland family. This story takes place in 1900 and its main characters are Ellie Wold and Andrew Bjorkland.



These two have planned to marry since they were kids. From the beginning you can see that they are good for each other. Ellie is a stabling influence on Andrew who has a tendency to be a bit hotheaded. (Something that will get him into a lot of trouble later on)

I really loved Ellie. She was very sweet and hardworking. She loved both her family and Andrew's. Snelling makes that easy because all of her characters are so wonderfully written and enjoyable to read about.
I was surprised at the fact that Ellie's feelings of desire were written. This is a Christian Historical. Most books in this genre skip over physical love, but in this story Ellie feels the first stirrings of desire and to me that made things so much more realistic from that standpoint.

What I found harder to believe was how easy Andrew got off when he got into a fight with Toby Vanders and nearly killed him. I know the laws were different then, but he could have killed a man, and well, that part of the story didn't sit well with me.


This was my first book by Lauraine Snelling, and it made a good impression on me. I definitely want to try some of the other books in this series and her other series.



Rating: 4 flowers