Tag Archives: Amish

Pine Creek Marriage by Amity Hope – a Review

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Pine Creek Marriage by Amity Hope – a Review

 

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Description
Love may blossom where it’s least expected in the delightful and heartwarming Pine Creek series from Amity Hope.

Widow Amelia Baumann has sworn to never love again. She’s content to live peacefully in Pine Creek at her friend Mary’s warm, comfortable farmhouse. But then Samuel Kurtz shows up and becomes Mary’s permanent guest, making it hard to keep her feelings in check. Especially after Samuel’s six-year-old niece, Ruthie, whom he’s been raising as his own daughter, completely steals her heart.

When the bishops from another district threaten to send Ruthie to live with her distant aunt, so that she’ll have two parents raising her instead of just Samuel, he hatches a plan.

Amelia reluctantly agrees to a marriage of convenience with Samuel–only because she loves Ruthie and can’t bear to see her torn from the only father she’s ever known. Not because Samuel’s kind green eyes and charming laugh draw her in. And as long as she and Samuel are in agreement that they will simply remain friends…what could possibly go wrong?

Each book in the Pine Creek series is STANDALONE:
* Pine Creek Courtship
* Pine Creek Marriage

 

 

Review 

Pine Creek Marriage by Amity Hope is the 2nd book in her Pine Creek series.  Can a marriage of convenience turn into something more? This is a heartwarming story of two people thrown together for the sake of a little girl. But it turns into something more…..

Living with her friend Mary, Amelia is enjoying the quiet life. Losing her husband was a blow, so Amelia now throws herself into caring for her friend, and being there for her community. But meeting Ruthie and Samuel stirs up feelings Amelia needs to bury, that path will only lead to more heartache! 

Samuel is coming back to where he had happy childhood memories. He’s now a father, but Ruthie isn’t his daughter, she’s his niece? His family isn’t happy with the arrangement, so he’s moved away from his home and family, and had arrived on his aunts doorstep looking for sanctuary. 

Ruthie just stole the book for me. She was just too cute. Her attitude and comments had me smiling every time she appeared. So will either of them voice their true feelings? Or will the feelings they begin to have for one another never get voiced? 

Book two in this sweet romance will have you falling in love with additional characters, Ruthie and Mary for me made this book. Ruthie is a cute six year old and Mary is Amelia’s friend. It’s not necessary to read the first book (I haven’t) it won’t spoil the enjoyment for this book. 

So if your looking for a sweet romance or just wanting a slower paced romance, then grab this book and enjoy. Nicely written and really well thought out. 

Reviewed by Julie

Copy provided by Publisher

 

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The Amish Cowboy’s Homecoming by Ophelia London – a Review

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The Amish Cowboy’s Homecoming by Ophelia London – a Review

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Description:
Grace Zook has always held a talent with horses, ever since she was a child growing up in her quaint Amish village of Honey Brook. Now, as an adult, she’s become a master trainer—but still struggles to prove to her father that she is worthy of taking over the family’s horse farm. With a fiery new stallion coming soon, Grace knows this challenge is her chance to prove she can finally take the reins. 

When widower and horse whisperer Isaac King is offered the lead training job on a new farm out of town, he’s thrilled to finally make a name for himself and provide some permanent roots for his young daughter. But not only is the stallion seemingly unbreakable, so, too, is the owner’s headstrong daughter Grace, who has drastically different ideas about how to handle the impossible horse. Yet somehow, he can’t seem to get the confident, beautiful woman out of his mind…even though as his boss’s daughter, she is completely off-limits. 

There’s too much at stake for Isaac to gamble his future on Grace…even though suddenly, he can’t imagine one without her.

 

 

Review:

The Amish Cowboy’s Homecoming by Ophelia London is the second book in her Honey Brook series. 

Grace is a hard working woman, she loves working on the family farm with her father. Horses are what she knows and loves, and is hurt and angry when she finds out she won’t be the one to break on the new stallion! Hasn’t she proved herself by now?! 

Isaac needs a stable home for his young daughter and when the opportunity arises, he takes it with both hands. What he doesn’t expect is anger and resentment from the boss’s daughter! But they need to work together, she’s just going to have to back down….. 

There is a lot of tension for a while, both Isaac and Grace have things to prove. But as they start to work alongside one another other feelings start to emerge. Grace is confused, shouldn’t she hate the man that took her job? And Isaac knows he shouldn’t have those thoughts about the boss’s daughter. 

Grace has to contend with a lot of things, one being the old fashioned ideas of women not working outside of the home, of only being a wife and mother! 
Isaac is rather old fashioned that way too, so for the two of them to work out their feelings had me smiling. Isaac’s daughter is so cute and you have to love the way he always thinks of her comfort and safety. 

The author captures both the emotions and the details in this story. We catch up with previous characters from the other book, but it’s not a requirement to read the first book. It’s a lovely story, and it was great catching up with the Amish community of Honey Brook. But if your expecting passion and sexy times, then this book may not be for you. 

Reviewed by Julie

Copy provided by Publisher

 

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Never an Amish Bride by Ophelia London – a Review

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Never an Amish Bride by Ophelia London – a Review

 

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Description:
Welcome to charming Honey Brook, Pennsylvania, where bestselling author Ophelia London will bring you on a moving and unforgettable journey through faith, forgiveness, and ultimately love.

Everything changed for Esther Miller with the death of her beloved fiancé, Jacob. Even years later, she still struggles with her faith and purpose in the small, tight-knit Amish village of Honey Brook, especially now that her younger sister is getting married. All she wants is to trust in the Lord to help her find peace…but peace is the last thing she gets when Lucas, Jacob’s wayward older brother, returns to town. 

Lucas Brenneman has been harboring a secret for years, the real reason he never returned from Rumspringa and the truth behind his brother Jacob’s death. Honey Brook still calls to him, but he knows his occupation as a physician’s assistant must take precedence. With sweet and beautiful Esther he finds a comfort he’s never known, and he feels like anything is possible…even forgiveness. But she was Jacob’s bride-to-be first. And if she knew the truth, would she ever truly open her heart to him?

 

 

 

Review: 

I must admit I don’t usually read books on religion, they either tend to bog the book down on religion, or try and cram their beliefs down your throat!

In Never an Amish Bride by Ophelia London, I didn’t get that.  What I got was a lovely story about two people who should have been together from the start, reconnecting and finding one another again. 

Esther was two weeks away from being a bride….. That was two years ago, she didn’t  marry the man she was betrothed to, he died. Not being able to move forward, Esther mourns for her dead fiancé, watching her siblings and friends marry. Will she forever remain a single woman? 

Lucas left his old life behind him, moved on and became a doctor’s assistant. His love for his brother made him the man he is today, the frustration and anger towards his community and father was put across well. I got the impression he wasn’t happy with his way of life, and when he lost both Esther and his brother, it gave him the strength to go. 

When they accidentally meet up, panic and confusion is uppermost in Esther’s mind. What is Lucas doing back here? Why now? Confused Esther goes back home to think about Lucas. 

Lucas has always loved Esther, he knows she’s the only woman for him. But getting her to see him proves difficult, and then there is his family and council to face. Does he really want to come back to this place? And will Esther and his family listen and forgive him for turning his back and walking away? 

I liked this book. We had Esther and Lucas finding their way back to each other. Misinformation and fear kept these two apart for too long. It was nice that Lucas found his family again, forgiveness on both sides was needed, as was the long talk they had before Lucas came home. 

If a slow burn romance is your thing, then this one is for you. 

Reviewed by Julie B

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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The Loyal One by Shelley Shepard Gray – a Review

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The Loyal One by Shelley Shepard Gray – a Review

 

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Description:
When Katie Steury hires her old friend Harley Lambright to remodel her rundown old house into a charming bed and breakfast, she does so with trepidation. Though they are longtime friends, they’ve always had a rocky relationship, thanks to her being partly responsible for his most recent breakup. But while they may not always get along, she needs someone to trust with her secrets, and Harley is nothing if not trustworthy and loyal.

Katie has always reminded Harley of a bright hummingbird—she is small and flighty, moves a mile a minute, and she possesses a very sharp beak. He’s hesitant to accept the job because of his history with Katie. But when he realizes that Katie’s been hiding her mother’s hoarding, he agrees to help her because it’s clear she needs someone on her side.

Both soon discover that clearing the debris in one old house also means they have to do some clean-up in their lives, forcing them to reevaluate their past and their future. This somewhat painful process reveals that Katie isn’t the only one with secrets. As the house gets a second chance, so, too, does their relationship. Now all they have to do is open their hearts—and hope and pray that their new bond will also stand the test of time.

 

 

Review:

The Loyal One by Shelley Shepard Gray is the 2nd book in her Walnut Creek series. The Loyal One returns to Walnut Creek and the group of 8 friends that we got to know in the first book, who all have decided to stay in town and be there for each other.  This is a mixed group of men and women, who are Amish, Mennonite and English.

This story revolves around Harley Lambright and Katie Steury, who have always been friends, but neither of them thought of any thing beyond.  Katie is in the midst of trying to fix up her run-down house, and hires Harley to remodel the house into a bed and breakfast.  Katie has always been outspoken, and at times this used to rattle Harley, but now he is sympathetic to her concern for anyone to see the condition of the house where her mother hoarded things.  Katie does not want her friends to see how she lives now, and is trusting Harley to keep her secrets.  But this is a group of friends that stay together no matter what, and when they accidently see the house, they will bond together to help Katie, especially to allow them to help her and not be embarrassed.

Slowly the relationship between Katie and Harley grow beyond friendship, as both change their ways and begin to understand each other, not to mention their new feelings.  The Loyal One is a sweet story about romance, friendship, family and bringing everyone together.  It was really nice to see everyone again, but most importantly it was wonderful to see despite their different backgrounds and personalities, they will always be friends and help each other.  There was also a side story showing the friendship building between Harley’s brother Kyle and Gabby, who is English.  This was a nice feature to see Kyle bring out Gabby and her brother to spend time with his family.   Very nicely done.

The Loyal One was a simple story of friendship, family, love and a sweet slow built romance, with a great group of secondary characters. I look forward to the next book in this series, which is well written by Shelley Shepard Gray.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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Vow of Silence by Melynda Price – a Review

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Vow of Silence by Melynda Price – a Review

 

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Description:
A killer is hiding in plain sight…

The last thing Homicide Detective Josiah Troyer wants is to return to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and his Amish roots. But a madman is killing young girls and Josiah’s expertise with the tight-knit community is very much needed by the FBI. Unfortunately, going home means dealing with his past and the woman he left behind.

Hannah is desperately trying to rebuild her life after the death of her Amish husband, and now, the murder of her sister. Protecting her young son from the violence is her only goal––and then she runs into the last man she expected to see, her ex Josiah. He left her eight years ago to work with the Englishers and forgiving him hasn’t been easy.

But the killer has Hannah in his crosshairs, and she and Josiah will have to work together if she’s going to survive.

 

Review:

The last place homicide Detective Joe (Josiah) Troyer wants to go is back home to Lancaster, PA. He casted aside his Amish roots eight years previously and is now a detective in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Joe left behind his Amish roots for a new life, leaving behind his one and only true love Hannah Beiler, with no intention of ever looking back.  But there is a serial killer preying on young Amish girls and the FBI has decided that Joe is the only person that can go there and get the answers they are so desperately looking for. He thought of ways of getting out of going, but when he saw one of the victims, things became personal.

Cassie Beiler, Hannah’s sister was recently killed. And the last thing he wanted to do was return and have to face the woman who’s heart he broke.  But he also knows that no one else will be able to infiltrate the stoic silence that is the Amish way.  And seeing as how he was once part of their community he knows more of the ways of the Amish than anyone else in the FBI currently. But Joe has been excommunicated and shunned. Getting back into the community to get answers isn’t going to be as easy as anyone thinks.

The moment he returns to Lancaster and sees Hannah for the first time, he is brought back to everything that made him fall in love with her. And he begins to realize that he may have made a mistake in leaving. This is a second chance romance story and the author did an amazing job laying out the groundwork of Josiah and

Hannah’s previous relationship.  You could feel the love between them previously and how quickly it returned when they were reunited. Hannah Beiler has lost her husband eight months ago, and now her sister has been killed.  Someone is preying on young Amish girls. Hannah vows that she would even make a deal with the devil to find out who killed her sister. So when Josiah returns, that is exactly what she does.

Casting aside her anger and hurtful pride, she decides to help Josiah find out who could be doing this. But the moment they are alone together she realizes that even with all the hurt he brought her, she is still very much in love with him. She realizes that even talking to Josiah can cause problems for her within her community, problems that she just doesn’t need right now.

Can she cast her heartache aside and forgive Josiah, and help him find the killer of her sister and the other young Amish girls?  What will Josiah have to do to get back into the community that has sworn to shun him?  And where in the midst of everything can Josiah and Hannah find a peace with each other, and explore the renewed feelings that seeing each other again has brought about?

One of the best parts of this book is the POV of the serial killer.  In between the new found love and trust that Hannah and Josiah are building are chapters that completely bring you to the edge.  The mind of the serial killer, the way he thinks and the actions he lays out are disturbing and just plain creepy.  But you devour the book so quickly, because you want to know what he is going to do next. 

This author (Melynda Price) brought me right back to my roots of Pennsylvania and everything was absolutely spot on. From the Amish ways, to their dialect, to their shunning of members that do not return after their rumspringa.Even to how when one leaves the Amish ways, their families are lost to them and how some struggle to find a semblance of themselves while having no family around to help you.

 A wonderfully chilling, second chance romance that I recommend for a cold weather cloudy day.

Reviewed by Erin

Copy provided by Publisher

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