Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Seasons of an Amish Garden by Amy Clipston - Review. all four stories in the series are in this book





BACK  OF  THE  BOOK  BLURB

ENJOY A YEAR OF BEAUTIFUL SEASONS IN THIS NEW STORY
COLLECTION, AS YOUNG AMISH COUPLES MANAGE A COMMUNITY
GARDEN AND HARVEST FRIENDSHIPS AND LOVE ALONG THE WAY.

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

As the young people of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, plant a garden in memory of their friend, Katie Ann begins to worry that her older brother, Ephraim, is dating her best friend. What if she somehow loses them both? But Christian, a new boy in the community, also works in the garden. Falling for him may be exactly the distraction, and lesson, that Katie Ann needs.

HOME BY SUMMER
Clara Hertzler is surprised when Jerry Petersheim, her old friend, comes to the garden to drop off his younger sister--especially because Jerry has been gone for years and now seems to be living as an Englisher. As the friends get to know each other again, Clara pushes Jerry to examine why he abandoned his Amish beliefs. Will Clara help Jerry renew his faith in God, and will they find love beneath the summer sun?

THE FRUITS OF FALL
Tena Speicher has come to live in Bird-in-Hand after her fiance left her for an English woman. When a homeless veteran comes to the harvest stand one day and asks for food, Tena is not sure how to respond--but Wayne intervenes and offers to let him stay in the barn. Afraid to trust Englishers, Tena must learn, with Wayne's help, that everyone is a child of God and deserving of kindness.

WINTER BLESSINGS
Ephraim and Mandy have dated for some time and now have plans to marry. But after a series of unexpected events and misunderstandings, they wonder if they should go their separate ways. What will happen when their friends at the Amish garden conspire to bring them back together?



MY  REVIEW
Some great short stories with a lot of lessons to be learned. Amy does a great job of taking you through the lives of these Amish young people and the struggles they are going through in their personal lives as they are doing so much to help others.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers; book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Together Forever by Jody Hedlund - Review of the second book in the Orphan Train series




BACK  OF  THE  BOOK  BLURB
Will the Mistakes of Their Past
Cost Them a Chance at Love?

Determined to find her lost younger sister, Marianne Neumann takes a job as a placing agent with the Children's Aid Society in 1858 New York. She not only hopes to offer children a better life, but prays she'll be able to discover whether Sophie ended up leaving the city on an orphan train so they can finally be reunited.

Andrew Brady, her fellow agent on her first placing-out trip, is a former schoolteacher who has an easy way with the children, firm but tender and friendly. Underneath his charm and handsome looks, though, seems to linger a grief that won't go away--and a secret from his past that he keeps hidden.

As the two team up, placing orphans in the small railroad towns of Illinois, they find themselves growing ever closer . . .until a shocking tragedy threatens to upend all their work and change on of their lives forever.


MY  REVIEW
Love this series, of course I really enjoy every one of Jody's books that I've read. This is a very touching series and tells the heartstrings that are pulled on a caring person having to let children go to homes that they know nothing about when they have become attached. In a way this same thing happens today, not by train, but having to find homes for children whose parents can not care for them be it for health reasons, lack of a job and not able to care for them, neglect, abuse, drugs or any other number of things if this world. Put yourself in Marianne's position and think about how you would handle what life has dealt you.

Saturday, January 5, 2019

The Teacher's Bride by Kathleen Fuller - Review of the first book in the Amish Brides of Birch Creek series




BACK  OF  THE  BOOK  BLURB
If there is one thing Christian Ropp will not allow in his classroom---or his life---it is chaos. So why is he drawn to Ruby Glick, a woman who seems to bring mayhem wherever she goes?

Christian Ropp moves to Birch Creek to accept a teaching position in the rapidly growing Amish community. He's determined to put the rambunctious school in order as well as check another task off his list:  find a wife. Of course, that would be much easier if women were like textbooks, straightforward and logical.

When an accident puts Christian out of commission, a new community member named Ruby Glick takes over his classroom. But Ruby's exuberant teaching style clashes with Christian's careful methods, and he worries his students will never be the same.

With a track record of catastrophe, Ruby always feels too clumsy, too distracted, too . . .much. Desperate for a chance to prove that she can do more than make mistakes in her life, she throws herself into her new teaching position. But when Christian can't seem to stay out of her way, she finds herself slipping into old, chaotic tendencies.

What she doesn't anticipate is that Christian's heart is slowly catching up with his mind---and she, too, must decide whether to follow logic or love.


MY  REVIEW
I have read many of Kathleen's books and enjoyed every one of them. When I finish one I'm always anxious to move on to the next in the series, as I am with this one and I see it won't be out until JUNE!!! This was another great story and so many more I can see coming from Birch Creek. Grab a copy and enjoy!

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers; book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.