A Hope Springs Christmas by Patricia Davids

I always enjoy the Brides of Amish County series books from Love Inspired. This time, A Hope Springs Christmas, introduces us to Sarah Wyse. She is a widow who has lost her job during the Christmas Season. She seems to always have losses during the holiday season. She lost her husband, parents and sister. Sarah believes because she loved them they were taken from her and she refuses to marry again for that reason. Levi lives close to her and has ran her husband's carriage shop since his death. Levi promises her husband he would look after Sarah until she found a husband. Levi's daughter, Grace is Sarah's best friend. She runs to Sarah when she wants to marry her beau but she feels she can't leave Levi (her brother) and their twin brothers who they have cared for since the death of their parents. Sarah tells Grace to go to her grandmother’s house for a visit and she would take care of her brother's while she was gone. Grace asked Sarah to play matchmaker for Levi while she is gone so when she gets back she will be able to leave Levi and the twins so she can get married. Will spending more time help Levi and Sarah to overcome their fears and realize that they love each other? You'll have to read A Hope Springs Christmas to find out.
I really enjoyed this book. Two people getting over their fears to trust God enough to find true love. I also loved the twins in this story. They are quit a mischievous bunch of kids. There was a little bit of a mention of Christmas in the book, but I really did not feel Christmas when reading this book. It could have been anytime during the winter season, except for the fact that we know Sarah has lots of losses during the Christmas season. I also enjoyed briefly meeting old characters in the story. At the end of the book, Patricia Davids gives hints as to who she might write about next in the series. I will be waiting for that next book as her reads always uplift me.
I recieved a copy of this Galley through Net Galley and Harlequin and was not required to give a positve review.

The Little Amish Matchmaker Review

I've never read anything by this author, but thought I'd give this book, A Little Amish Matchmaker, a try since it is Amish and Christmas. This book is about a boy who goes to a one room Amish school.  This boy notices his brother's interest in his school teach, Teacher Catherine. The young boy tries to play matchmaker, but his brother will not let him.  We learn a lot about the young boy as he gets ready with his class for the Christmas program thoughout the book.  Will he ever be able to get his brother and Teacher Catherine together?  Read The Little Amish Matchmaker to find out.
The things I liked best about this book were that the book was short and moved fast. I enjoyed the Christmas theme and snow in the book, it made me feel like I was in the middle of a snow storm. I also thought the ending was really sweet.
There were several things I did not like about this book.  First, the first half of the book took me forever to get into.  I felt like the author kept skipping from one thought to the next and sometimes it was hard to see where she was going.  This might have had to happen since the book was so short. I also wondered what kind of Amish this book was referring to because I thought most Amish women wore dull colored dresses and did not wear red.  In this story we see Teacher Catherine wearing red for the Christmas program.  Maybe it was a dull red but this just stood out and made me wonder. 
I thought this book was okay.  The ending was sweet and it was a quick read.  I really just met the characters and the story was over. 
I was given this advance copy through Netgalley and was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one.

The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman

The Wonder of Your Love is the second book in Beth Wiseman’s Land of Canaan Series. I fell in love with Beth’s first series that a lot of the characters come from.  I really liked Katie Ann in the first book of this series and felt sorry for her.  Her husband left her for an English woman.  Katie Ann discovers she is pregnant in the first book and now she has a son.  Her husband is killed and Katie Ann knows he was her true love and believes no one else will ever be for her.  An older English lady in the community has sort of adopted Katie Ann and spends a lot of time with her and helps Katie Ann out. 

Eli Detweiler comes to Canaan to attend his nieces wedding.  He lives in Ohio with his kids.  He raised them after his wife died and they are all older now and married.  So he is ready to experience life doing what he wants.  So when he meets Katie Ann he was never thinking about looking for anyone, but Katie Ann’s elderly friend plays matchmaker.  Katie Ann’s friend wants Katie Ann to din someone to take care of her and her son because her elderly friend knows that she will not be around forever.  The couple seem to like each other, but could they make it work?  Could Katie Ann let someone else in her life after all her first husband did to her?  Would Eli be able to leave his family in Ohio to be with Katie Ann?  So many things come into play in this book.  Read it to find out. 

I really enjoyed this book.  I have wanted to learn more of Katie Ann’s story since I last left Canaan.  I also enjoyed learning more about Katie Ann’s husband’s English woman who he left Katie Ann to be with. I loved learning how Katie Ann had to learn to forgive this woman, Lucy.  There was just so much love in this book.  You left it with a warm loving feeling!   I can’t wait for the next in the series!

I was given an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and Thomas Nelson.  I was not required to give a positive review only an honest one.

A Life of Joy by Amy Clipston

A Life of Joy is the fourth book in Amy Clipston’s Kauffman’s Amish Bakery series.  I had been awaiting this book for awhile now.  This book focused on Lindsey Bedford.  Lindsey and her sister Jessica came to live with her Amish Aunt and Uncle after her parents die.  Lindsey decided to stay with her Aunt and Uncle and live Amish while Jessica went back to live with her parent’s best friends who were English like her parents.  Lindsey had been living among the Amish for 4 years now.  Lindsey’s friends start talking about taking classes in preparation to join the Amish church.  Lindsey does not feel ready to join yet.  Lindsey’s sister Jessica comes flying into town to tell them she is taking a big internship in New York and wants Lindsey to go with her. Jessica also is always onto Lindsey about taking her GED test.  Lindsey ends up having to go to help her parent’s friends that Jessica was living with before going to New York.  Her Aunt Trish as they call her has broken her leg and Lindsey must go and help her.  Will Lindsey be able to hold onto her Amish beliefs and customs while living with them or will she decides she wants to come back to the English world?  Lindsey goes on a discovery for what she wants out of life.

As with all these books I really enjoyed this one.  A lot of this book took place in the English world, so I missed all the Amish bakery scenes as in the previous books.  Even though I missed those bakery moments, I was really glad to get to go on this self discovery journey with Lindsey.  I think she really grows up and finds herself throughout this book.  It was a great chance to catch up with these characters and know what was going on with them.  I really liked how Rebecca allowed Lindsey to make the decision that she knew would be one of the biggest decisions of her life.  While Aunt Trish tried to allow her to make her own decisions, I felt like she also tried to push her into the English world as did her sister.  I am looking forward to learning more about Jessica and her relationship with Jake.  I’m hoping that will be the next book will be more about that, but we shall see.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and  Zondervan.  I was not required to give a positive review only an honest one.

An Amish Family Reunion

An Amish Family Reunion by Mary Ellis is an e-book I reviewed through NetGalley.  I am not required to give a positve review, just an honest one.

This book started out really hard for me.  I think the main reason was because I have not read her other books.  I had to struggle to remember who the characters were, and there were a lot of them.  I think the author had to do this because they were all being invited to a reunion and we get to see in their lives before they come to the reunion.  The characters quickly grew on me and I really enjoyed this book.  By the end of the book, I know I needed to check out Ellis' Miller Family series.  This book has a lot of things to deal with a death, a near death, an unexpected pregnancy, a Rumspringa trip, a break up, a couple struggling to get along, Amish writting a book and much more.  I think my favorite parts of the book were the Rumpsringa trip to Niagra Falls and when the Amish write a book.  These were topics that I have not seen in other Amish fiction books that I have read.

I'm really glad I got the opportunity to read this book.  It was a really fun read once I gt all the characters figured out. This book is available on February 1, 2012.

Falling to Pieces: A Quilt Shop Mystery (Shipshewana Amish Mystery)

For years all I read were cozy mysteries until I got into the Amish fiction genre. Falling to Pieces written by Vanetta Chapman beings both reading styles to me. I love that we were trying to fiqure out who did it while still getting the Amish feel too.

Falling to Pieces: A Quilt Shop Murder is the first book in Chapman's Shipshewana Amish Mystery series. The story starts out with Callie Harper comes to Shipshewana after inheriting her Aunt Daisy's Quilt shop. She plans to come and sell it. After meeting with someone about selling the store, she learns that she will make more money on the property if it is a running store. So, she decides to keep the store open and keeps her aunt's promise to help three Amish women sell there quilts. Deborah Yoder, one of the quilt makers, becomes friends with Callie and ask her to sell the quilts on e-bay to help them make more money on the quilts. Callie agrees and everything seems to be going well until the newspaper editor writes and artile saying Callie is taking advantage of the Amish by selling the quilts on e-bay. Callie tries to get the editor to listen to her when she ends up finding him dead. Callie becomes the number one suspect in the murder. The murder ends up breaking into other business in town. Deborah and Callie decide to do some detective work to prove Callie was not the murder. Will they ever find the murder or will Callie take the heat?

I really loved this story. It was so neat getting to know the characters. I really did not want to leave Shipshewana. I wanted to know so much more after reading the story, so I'm sure I will be reading the other books in this series. This is a hard book to put down and a very easy fun read.

I was able to read this book thanks to Zondervan publishing and Net Galley. I was not required to give a postive review but an honest one.        

Lilly's Wedding Quilt

Lilly’s Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long and second in her Patch of Heaven series.  The story opens up with Jacob Wyse stealing a horse because the horse was being abused. Lily, the local school teacher, finds Jacob in a barn where she seeks rescue from a storm.  Lily was on the way to the wedding of Jacob’s long lost love. They finally go to the event together people begin talking and a police officer interrupts the reception, Lilly tells him that Jacob has been with her.  But, he really was not and then they somehow become engaged so they do not ruin their reputations.  Lily knows that Jacob still only has love for Sarah, but she decides to go through with the wedding.  Jacob promises Lilly that it will not be a real marriage.  They move in with Lilly’s ill mother and make that their home, even though Jacob often sleeps on the floor. They each start to fall in love with each other, until Lilly feels like Jacob only wants Sarah.  Will they be able to make their marriage work?  Will Jacob ever be able to let go of his love for Sarah and move on?  Read Lilly’s Wedding Quilt to find out.

I really liked this story.  I love how you can pick up a book and be hooked with the first chapter, Kelly Long does not disappoint in that area with this book.  I kind of felt sorry for Jacob after reading Sarah’s Garden and was really glad to see Kelly Long carry on his story.  I loved seeing how a broken heart could be healed and Jacob and Lilly start learning to rely on each other and work together. I felt this book was a little steamier than most Amish romances, but it was done very tastefully.

I was given a copy of this book to review through Net Galley and Thomas Nelson publishing and I was not required to give a positive review, but an honest opinion of the book. 

This book is available from Amazon and anyone who loves Amish fiction would probably love it.

The Protector by Shelley Shepard Gray

After reading The Caregiver by Shelley Shepard Gray, I knew I wanted to read the next book in this Families of Honor Series. The Protector continued the story started in The Caregiver, but we also see some new characters. The main character is Ella. The story opens with Ella auctioning off the family farm and all the other items on the farm after the death of her mother. Loyal Weaver decides he wants to buy Ella’s family land so he can move out on his own and farm. He also buys a lot of other items. Ella knows he can manage the farm better than her, but she still feels some bitterness. Ella has loved Loyal since they were in school together but nobody seemed to ever notice Ella. Many even called her, “Plain Ella.” Only one person really visited her often while she cared for her mother and she decides to take Dorothy up on her offer to live in town in Dorothy’s duplex. Dorothy also gets her a job at the local library so Dorothy and Ella can always be together. Loyal starts to include Ella in the improvements of the farm he bought, and Dorothy gets jealous. Loyal also starts to notice Ella. Will they ever get together or will jealous Dorothy stand in the way. Read this delightful story to find out.


I would not call myself a fast reader, but the pages flew by for me with this story. I read it in about one day because I could not put it down. I could not wait to see what was going to happen next. The story has lots of adventure and excitement (some not so good.) Another charter we see from book1 is Mattie who is recovering from breast cancer. Her character is going through a lot. She does not seem to want to fall in love and have a family because she’s afraid she will not be around for most of it. Will that stop her from losing the man she really loves? I can’t wait to see what Shelley Shepard Gray has in story for this romance waiting to happen. We also see Uncle John again in this story still struggling with his love of two women. He knows if he picks one of them he will likely have to go back to being Amish and he wonders if this is God’s way of telling him to do so or not. I think the reader was given a hint as to what will happen, but I am really looking forward to reading book 3 in this series, The Survivor. I liked the theme of protectors in this book.  you could see the characters protecting each other a lot.

The Protector comes out July 1, 2011. If you love Amish fiction, you will not want to miss it! I recommend reading The Caregiver before reading this book. I was given a digital copy of this book from HarperCollins publishing and Net Galley. I was not required to give a positive review, but an honest one.

The Caregiver (Families of Honor #1)

Shelley Shepard Grey is one of my favorite Amish fiction authors. So, when I was given the chance to read the first book, The Caregiver, in her new Families of Honor series, I was so excited! I have read a lot of Amish Fiction novels but I really think this is the first one that I have read that had an abusive husband theme. The main character Lucy married a man well liked in the community. She thought she was in love with him. Soon after getting married her new husband abuses and belittles her. After two years of marriage, her husband falls in the barn and dies. Lucy’s cousin Mattie helps her through that most difficult time in her life. Lucy finds out her cousin needs a caregiver since she is dealing with cancer treatments and Lucy decides to go help her out. On the long train ride Lucy meets Calvin, an Amish man, his sister and his Uncle who is coming back to the Amish community after many years of living in the English world. Lucy finds it interesting that they are going to the same place and he is Mattie’s next door neighbor. Lucy is drawn to Calvin but because of her background she finds it hard to trust him. Will they get together? Read to find out the answer to that question. We also learn some about Calvin’s Uncle who is returning from the English world. He seems to be in love with two different women from two different worlds. We don’t learn much else about him in this book though.


I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed seeing how Lucy would deal with the death of her abusive husband. She seemed to me to be a very strong woman even if a little bit scared. I believe God put’s people in our lives at the right time and I think that meeting Calvin was more than a coinicence. They were meant to meet. Mattie’s breast cancer story line was really interesting too. She loses faith in her journey as she feels God is not there for her. I think people who go through trials, such as cancer, either turn closer to God or turn away from him. I think Mattie was just ready to give up. I hope to read more about Mattie in the next book in this series to see what happens to her. I also want to learn more about Calvin’s Uncle John and the choices he will make in his life.

I was given a digital copy of this book from Avon Inspire and Netgalley. I was only required to give an honest review. This book is currently available. If you love Amish fiction, you should pick up a copy of this book.

Plain Proposal by Beth Wiseman

Plain Proposal by Beth Wiseman is the fifth book in the Daughter’s of the Promise series. In this book, we follow Miriam Raber, who has fallen in love with someone in her Old Order Amish community and he wants to leave the community to pursue his dream in becoming a chef. I thought this was really unusual for an Amish book because not many Amish are boys are raised to cook. Saul, the boy she has fallen in love with,  however lost his mother and since there were all boys in his family he has to learn to cook to feed the family. When Miriam finds out that the rumors of Saul leaving the community are true, she decides that she will go with him because she can’t lose him. Saul later decides he can’t leave his brothers because of a problem his father has. How will it all turn out, will they stay and be baptized into the church or will they leave to pursue Saul’s dream? You have to read to find out. I liked how this all played out in the story because I was left guessing until the end about what they would do and I really thought (or maybe was hoping) it would end the other way than it ends up.

The book also focuses on Miriam’s cousin, Shelby, who comes to live with the Rabers for the summer. Shelby’s parents are divorced and Shelby has gotten into trouble and hung out with the wrong crowd so her parents decide they can’t deal with her and send her off to Amish country to live for the summer. Shelby feels like God has deserted her, but as she gets used to living in the Amish community, she finds it gives her things that the outside world never could. Will she have to go home at the end of the summer or will she finally find her way and stay with the Rabers? The story focuses on that quite a bit and Shelby relies on Miriam as much as Miriam relies on her for guidance as they become Daughters of the Promise.


I had previously read all the other books in this series and while the characters’ from the other books in the series are mentioned, I really think you can read this book without reading the other ones. I think this is because a lot of the other characters in previous books have moved to her Colorado series and this book focuses on characters from the Amish community and their family members left behind in Paradise. I left the book feeling uplifted and really liked the story. I think that I enjoyed previously books in the series more than this one, but it was still a really good story. The reader is drawn into the story and you can't put it down, as with Beth's other books.

In one part of this book we learn about someone (I can't give much more away or it will spoil this story) who wants to go visit the relatives in Colorado to tell Katie Ann something important.  I wonder if we might not learn more about this in the Colorado series as it really left me hanging and wanting to know more about what they wanted to tell her.  Guess I'll have to wait for the next one in the Land of Cannan series to see.

I was given an advanced copy of the book to review through Net Galley and Thomas Nelson publishing. I was not required to give a positive review but an honest opinion.

Plain Proposal  is scheduled to release on March 30, 2011, however Amazon says it is in stock but may take 2-3 more days for delivery for the paperback edition. You can buy it in paperback, Kindle edition, or audio book I'd recommend it to anyone who loves Amish Fiction.

Dark Road Home by Karen Harper

Dark Road Home by Karen Harper is the first book in the Maplecreek Amish trilogy. Brooke Benton, an attorney who won a case for a person who it was later discovered really did commit the crime, moves to Maple creek after being stalked from someone she thought because of the case she won. She stays with a friend of her deceased sister who owns a quilt shop. Brooke has also brought her sister’s daughter, Jennifer, Brooke promised her sister she would care for her daughter before her passing. Daniel Brand is a woodworker who left his Amish family to pursue his trade. Daniel buys the home next door to where Brooke is staying and plans to finally come home to be baptized into the Amish church. Daniel meets Brooke on the first night he comes home when he finds Brooke dancing with some Amish teens. As the teens leave on the dark road home, Daniel and Brooke hear a loud explosion like noise. As they get to the sight they learn that all but one teen, Katie, is dead and she later dies at the hospital. The driver of the car who hit their buggy left the scene. As an attorney, Brooke wants justice. This is not the way of the Amish and they frown on her trying to find the murder. Daniel decides to help her in the investigation and in the process they fall in love. The story also focuses on the depression and grief of Katie’s mom, Emma. Emma tries to take medication for her depression, but her husband frowns on the use of medicines to cope. Brooke tries to help her as loses the trust of a lot of the Amish people. As Brooke and Daniel investigate, someone starts to stalk Brooke again. Will he be safe in Maplecreek? What will happen to the forbidden love they find? Read to find out the answers to these questions.


I really enjoyed this book. There are several story lines going on at once and many twist and surprises in the story to keep the reader guessing. I have never lost a child but I think it would be hard not to be able to grieve. Emma’s husband wants her to just accept it as God’s will and move on. Emma can’t do that. I really liked this storyline. I also enjoyed seeing the growing love between Brooke and Daniel. I’ve read a lot of Amish fiction, but was able to still learn some new things about the Amish culture. The only thing I did not like is that I felt the killers were given away too early in the story, but other than that I loved it am really looking forward to reading the second book in this series, Dark Harvest.

The Journey by Wanda Brunstetter

The Journey written by Wanda Brunstetter is the first book in her new series Kentucky Brothers. Titus Fisher is 22 years old and still lives at home with his Amish parents. Titus lacks confidence in himself and feels like he is always being compared to his twin brother. He has been in love with Phoebe, an Amish woman who he has waited a long time to marry. Phoebe feels she still is not ready to settle down and become a member of the Amish church or get married. She breaks Titus’ heart when she moves California to pursue her interest in the English world. Titus decides to take an offer to move to Kentucky to work with an Amish woodworker and move away from his life and heartbreak. While there he meets Suzanne Yoder a 22 year old Amish woman who is not the average Amish woman. She lacks the ability to cook, mostly because her mother does not have the patience to teach her. She also really does not want to learn because she wants to work with her grandfather and brother in the woodworking shop, but they don’t really feel that’s a woman’s place. These two get off on the wrong foot from the start. Mostly, because Suzanne looks so much like Phoebe. They soon learn to be around each other. Suzanne’s friend Ester takes an interest in Titus. The whole mix gets even crazier when Phoebe comes to Kentucky and tries to get Titus to take her back and marry her. Will Titus pick Suzanne, Ester, or Phoebe? And will he stay in Kentucky permanently, even though his mother really wants him home? Read the wonderful book to find out.


I really loved this story. You can usually tell in stories like this that if the guy starts out hating the girl they usually end up together, but I was really left guessing who he would pick until the end. The story also contains a mystery about some money that is found that I found really interesting too. I liked seeing how Titus really grew throughout the book and started really find his way in life. He included God in helping him make those decisions and I think that really helped him in the end. Suzanne also grows in this story and people learn to accept her for who she really is and not who she is expected to be. I really loved this story and would recommend it to people who enjoy Amish fiction or inspirational fiction.

I was given an advance copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley. I was not required to provide a positive review. The Journey comes out on April 1, 2011.

Book Review-Seek Me With All your Heart

Seek Me With All Your Heart is the first book in a new series, Land of Canaan, by Beth Wiseman.  I have been waiting for this book to come out every since I read the last book of the Daughters of the Promise series.  In that book we learn that several of the characters are going to move to Colorado to start over and go where there is more farm land.  We learn the reason for those moves in this book.  We also meet the Detweiler family who move to Canaan for their own reasons.  There are several stories going on in the book, but I think the main one was the story of Emily and David.  David was a character from another The Daughters of the Promise series who feels he can never marry because he had a kidney transplant and it he might not live a long life and Emily is an new character who we learn was raped and her family moved to get away from the situation.  Emily feels she is unworthy to marry because of the rape.  David and Emily have a rocky beginning but soon become good friends.    When that friendship feels more like love what will they do since both have decided marriage is not the route for them?  You will find out in this book.

I really enjoyed getting to see the characters from the Daughters of the Promise series and really enjoyed meeting the new characters as well.  I have waited so long to find out why they decided to leave all they knew and loved to go to Canaan.  I did have some issues with the rape storyline.  I thought the Amish did not take people to court.  They tried to handle things in their communities.  So, that part of the story had me wondering a little. I did like how her parents handled the rape.  In other Amish fiction stories I've read, it felt like the parents would not even believe the girl. Other than that I totally loved the book and would recommend it to people who love Amish fiction. I look forward to reading more in this series. This is the first book I have bought for my Kindle for Android and I really enjoyed reading it that way.

Book Review: A Simple Amish Christmas

A Simple Amish Christmas by Vannetta Chapman is her first novel. It is the story of Annie Weaver, a young Amish girl who has lived in the city with her aunt during her Rumschpringe. She becomes a nurse at a children’s hospital. She receives a phone call at the hospital one day that will change her life forever. Her mother calls to tell her that her father has had an accident and they need her to come home and take care of him. They do not know that she is a nurse though. Annie ends up coming home and getting baptized and helping her community by using her skills as a nurse to help them. She immediately dislikes the town “doctor,” Samuel. Samuel is older than Annie and lost his wife and child in a buggy accident. We learn about other people in the community through her medical calls. One woman experiences a hard birth and another teen girl is pregnant possible by rape. Along the way Annie begins to fall in love with Samuel and learns her place in the community.


I really enjoyed this book. This is a perfect read for the winter. It made me want to pull out the blankets and drink some hot chocolate. I really enjoyed learning about the unusual characters. I would love to see this as a series. There was so much left to the reader’s imagination as to what happens to Samuel and Annie and the other characters. I wonder why the author picked the tile of, A Simple Amish Christmas. None of the plots seemed simple and neither did the romance between Samuel and Annie. I also was left wondering about the store in town. We seem to learn something is going to happen to the ownership, but we never really learn anymore about that, which lead me to believe the author may be planning a sequel. I definitely would read another book by this author and highly recommend this one. This book came out October 1, 2010. You should really check it out for a great fall/winter read. I received a copy of this book from Abington Press through NetGalley and was not paid for this review.

Review: A Time to Love

A Time to Love by Barbara Cameron is the first book I have read by this author. I was able to read this book though NetGalley and Abingdon Press. I was given a copy of the book for this review. The book is about a young woman named Jenny King. Jenny has been serving as a reporter in the war zone. Her goal was to bring the story of the innocent children to the people back home. As she is doing her job, she is involved in a car bombing. She is badly hurt and rushed back to the states for medical care. Jenny wakes up with a quilt on her that brings back memories of summers she spent with her Amish grandmother. Jenny’s dad left the faith and Jenny was raised as an Englisher. She has a lot of memories from the times she spent with her grandmother. She decides to go heal at her Amish grandmother’s home. Jenny has speech, memory and walking problems. As she spends time healing, she is able to reconnect with a love she found one summer visiting her grandmother. Matthew is now a widower and has three children . His sister, Hannah, lives with the family to help with the house and kids. Jenny goes through a painful recovery and finally finds love. Will she leave the work she loves behind and become Amish for love? Find that out in this book.


I really like this author’s style of writing. It reminds me of classic Amish fiction and I really like those kinds of books. The one thing that is not so classic though, is how the author added in the aspect of war and war victims and the problems the children in a war zone face. That was really unique and something I have not seen in a lot of other Amish fiction books, especially since the Amish do not believe in fighting in wars. The book gives you a look at the next book in the series and I have to admit that I wish I had not read it because it will now be hard to wait for the next book in the series. There is also a recipe at the end of the book. The cook in me likes the novels that include recipes for me to enjoy. I also enjoy reading about the food in the book. I stay hungry reading Amish fiction. This book left me wanting tea, hot chocolate, and friendship bread to name a few.

I think that Barbara Cameron will be added to my authors I love list. I highly recommend this series. A Time to Heal comes out November 30, 2010. You won’t want to miss it!

Review: Murder in Plain Sight

Murder in Plain Sight by Marta Perry is a book that I recently read through NetGalley. I was given a copy of the book to review for the publisher, Harlequin Books. The book centers on a teenaged Amish boy named Thomas Esch, who is accused of brutally murdering a young woman named Cherry. The town of Springfield has already decided he is guilty before he even has a trial. Geneva Morgan believes in his innocence and decides to hire a lawyer from a big firm in Philadelphia. Jessica Langdon, a young lawyer who has not made her employer happy is told she must go represent the boy or lose her job. Jessica decides to go and represent the boy. She finds trouble all along the way such as not knowing enough about the Amish, trying to get run off from people in the community and even being put in physical danger. Jessica decides she will not be run off and fights to find evidence to get Thomas freed. Jessica meets Geneva’s son, Trey, who tries to run her off from the beginning. They seem to hate each other in the beginning. She starts to trust Trey to help her. The two begin to fall in love as they are putting together the clues. But when the clues start to come together, Jessica wonders if he’s lied to her the entire time. Will they figure out who actually killed Cherry? Will Jessica be able to trust Trey and be happy with him? Find out the answers to all these questions as you read the book.


This book is not like the normal Amish fiction I usually read. The main characters are not Amish and you don’t get to look in the Amish lives very much, but I still loved this book. The characters were very easy to fall in love with and the” who done it part” of the story kept you guessing to the end.

I like the “Plain Sight” in the title. It’s catchy and describes the book being in a Plain or Amish setting. I recently read another book of this author and it was called Hide in Plain Sight, but it is from a different series. From what I understand, Murder in Plain Sight will have other books to make it a series, and the others will probably have the “Plain Sight” titles too.

I highly recommend this book. It will be released in December 2010. I like how the book ended with lots of things look forward to in the next in the series.

Review: Grace: A Christmas Sisters of the Heart Novel

Grace written by Shelley Shepard Gray is the fourth book in the Sisters of the Heart series. I was able to read this book through NetGalley and HarperCollins publishers.  I was given a advance copy of the book for this review. This book gives us a look back at the characters in the series and takes place at the Inn. I have read all of the books in the series, but I think this book could be read without ever reading the other books in the series because it is more about the new characters. I will warn you though that lots of information is given away about the other three books, so if you should decide to go ahead and read those you may know more than you want to know.

Grace gives us a look at where the characters from the series are now. I really liked seeing how they were doing. Katie and Jonathan had a 3 month old baby now named Eli. The other "sisters" in the series, Winnie and Anna, are happily married. It was really nice to get to see these characters again but the book was not really about them.

In the novel, the family is excited about Christmas and the fact that all of them will be staying for a week at the Inn to celebrate Christmas as a family. Just as they are getting ready to start the holidays, they get an unexpected piece of mail. That letter had gotten lost in the mail, so they did not get a man's reservation for his stay during the Christmas holiday and he is expected that day. We soon learn that this man is named Levi and he is also Amish. They also get another guest a young Amish woman named Melody who is almost nine months pregnant. Melody's boss gave her a gift certificate to the Inn to get away. During Levi's and Melody's visit to the Inn, they both came there to get away from unhappy events in their past. As they come to terms with those events, a friendship is formed between them that soon turns into a little more than friendship. Katie is so upset that they came and ruined the family's Christmas. She has to learn to accept them being there during the book. We also meet Melody's Englisher friend, Leah. Leah also decides to come to the Inn to be with her friend because she does not want her to be alone for Christmas. Leah takes a long time to get there, as the roads are bad from the winter weather. She meets Zach, a highway patrolman, and they instantly are attracted to each other.

God's Grace was a central theme in this book. I believe that things happen in life for a reason. You see God's hand in a lot of things going on in the book. While meeting a police officer on a road trip who you end up having a relationship with and being the only two guest at an Amish Bed and Breakfast and you find yourself falling for each other seems unlikely, I think that all things are possible with God's help. You see this theme in a lot of the books in this series too. Events seem to happen to bring people together or people just being in the right place at the right time. I really liked this central message in the story. I also like the fact that some of the events mirrored the Bible story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Shelley Shepard Gray got my interest in the book from Chapter one. I like books like that! I could not wait to see what was going to happen next. I also love reading books about Christmas. The story was described in a way that you felt like you were at the end during Christmas in the middle of a winter storm. You could see Christmas themes throughout the story, love, togetherness, and family. I also like that a lot of the recipes in the story were added to the end of the book.

I highly recommend this book. It would be a great read for the holiday season. The book comes out on November 1, 2010.

Review: Forgiven

Forgiven written by Shelley Shepard Gray is the third book in the Sisters of the Heart series.  This book focuses on Winnie.  Winnie lives with her brother and one night their barn catches on fire. Winnie is hurt and taken to the hospital.  It is that barn burning that sets her on the road to finding someone to live the rest of her life with.  Anna and Henry also finally get married in the book.  Winnie’s brother also has to learn to forgive the person who burned his barn and almost caused the death of his sister. I really liked how this book brought all of the sisters Anna, Katie, and Winnie together at the end of the book.  I loved the characters and the stories in this book.  I did get a total different view of Winnie.  I did not like her very much in the second book, but she seemed so sweet and lovable in this one. I thought this was the end of the series, but it seems like Shelley Shepard Gray is coming out with a Christmas novel that takes place with all of these characters. I loved the whole series and can't wait to read the Christmas book.

Review: Wanted

Wanted by Shelley Shepard Gray is the second book in the Sisters of the Heart series. The first book of this series, Hidden, focused on Anna coming to hide out at her friend Katie's Family Amish Bed and Breakfast. I knew that I enjoyed the first book so much that I wanted to read the second book. My library had a copy, but it was on the bookmobile. I asked them to keep an eye out for it and then one day, I found it on the shelf. Wanted is the story of Anna's friend Katie. Both of them like sisters now, hence the series title, Sister's of the Heart. Katie has a lot of secrets from her Rumpringa that she has to deal with and learn to forgive herself before she moves on in life. Those secrets that she thought she had put in the past finally come back to haunt her. She deals with them in this book. She also has taken a fancy to a widower named Jonathan. She started having eyes for him soon after his wife was killed in a buggy accident. Now Jonathan sister, Winnie, who has been taken care of Jonathan’s two daughters, wants to go meet a man she has been writing to and thinks he's her future. Jonathan asked Katie's family to let her come and help out for the two months that Winnie is out of town. It will be so hard on her to go and live with him when she has feelings for her he appears not to have any for her. Will she go and will she find the future she dreams about. All of this unfolds in this book. Katie really seems to grow up more during this time and let God help her figure out her future.

I really enjoyed this book. Shelley Shepard Gray is one of my favorite Amish fiction authors. I missed the inn setting in this book, as it was what I feel in love with in the first book. There is however still glimpses of the inn in it. This book reminded me of the importance of prayer in making important decisions in life. I can't wait for the next two in this series.

Review: Hide in Plain Sight

Hide in Plain Sight is the first book in The Three Sisters Inn series by Marta Perry. I read this for the Fans of Amish Fiction group on Goodreads for the book of the month.  I got it free from the Amazon Kindle site.  It was a short, quick read.  This is the first book I have read by this author and on my Kindle.  I love the Kindle and will be adding more books to it to read that way. I never really thought I would like it but I did! The book was a love story, but I liked the suspense and trying to find out who done it. Someone is targeting the Inn to prevent the opening of it. The love story was about two people each trying to get away from the world the other one wanted so badly.  So, how would it ever work out between them? I loved the detail that the author put into describing the mansion.  It felt like a place I'd like to visit. I was surprised by who actually was taunting the inn. The story is located in 'Amish country, but really the main characters were not Amish.  There were a few Amish characters added in, but mostly the book was about, "Englishers." I will look forward to reading the other books in the series.