Review of Beverly Lewis' book, The Photograph

I was given an advanced copy of this book by Bethany House so I could read it and provide an unbiased review.  Over the past several years, I have read many Amish fiction books...including several by Beverly Lewis.  I have enjoyed nearly all of them and this one was no exception.  It tells of an Amish family where both parents are deceased but the three girls remain unmarried and living in the family home. The brothers are all on their own and the youngest will soon be displacing the sisters from the family home when he moves himself and his family into the home.  (He will only have room for one of the sisters to stay.)  This is a huge worry for the three sisters but then the plot takes another turn when the youngest sister leaves in order to find a life with an "Englisher" boyfriend, and the two other sisters (as well as the brothers and several family friends) become consumed with finding her and returning her to the Amish life.

From nearly the beginning of the book, I could surmise how the story would resolve, but I still enjoyed it.  I think that is because the book is easy to read and provides a relaxing escape from the kind of world in which I exist.  For people who are not looking for some earth-shattering type of surprise ending, this book will be enjoyable.  If you are the type that doesn't like to guess well in advance how the book will end or you want lots of excitement, you may find it boring.  I read it in a couple of days and was glad to have the chance to do so since I really like Amish fiction.

Book Review of Irish Meadows

I was given a copy of Irish Meadows by Susan Anne Mason to read in exchange for an honest review.  For me, this was a difficult book to finish.  While the plot and ending were fine, for me the book was filled with too much in the way of descriptive passages and it made me struggle to sit with the book for long.  (I admit I even skipped through some parts as they were too wordy for me......made for slow-reading for me.)  From reading the reviews posted by others, I seem to be pretty much in the minority but I have to be honest and say I was happy when I was done with this book and it took a lot for me to stick with it!

BOOK REVIEW: Hearts Made Whole by Jody Hedlund

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House to read and give an honest review. This was the first book I've read by this author and based upon it, I would read others she has written.  The story is a love story in the mid 1800's in Michigan on the grounds of a lighthouse.  The love story aspects of it are not graphic (which is nice as I would be comfortable allowing my pre-teen granddaughter to read it).  Ryan and Caroline (the two main characters) have their share of difficulties...past and present...to endure and it is interesting to see how they both manage to overcome all of this.  Along the way, there are some plot twists.  I do have to say, though, that I realized quite early in the book who the major "troublemaker" was....not sure if it was a lucky guess on my part or if the book wasn't written mysteriously enough to surprise me when that person was revealed.  That was a slight disappointment for me as I'd have preferred that to be a surprise to me.   Overall....nice book.....easy read...and I'm happy I got a chance to preview it.

BOOK REVIEW: Amish Promises by Leslie Gould

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I actually read two Amish fiction books (to review them) provided by the same company but different authors in the past month and I enjoyed this one much more than the first one. This one grabbed my attention from the first few pages. It is a story that shows how families from two totally different cultures learn to relate as neighbors....often dealing with some very powerful struggles along the way. There are times when it appeared the families could not work out their problems, but they always kept trying. This was a book that I hated to see end and I am hoping it leads to a series of books as I really grew to enjoy the characters and am hoping to follow their journeys.

The Love Letters by Beverly Lewis (review)

I enjoy Amish fiction and have read many books by various authors, including Beverly Lewis. Usually I read through them quickly, but this one was a slower read for me. I felt as if it took a long time to get to the parts of interest to me and then.....when the story did get interesting to me, it was so near the end of the book that the ending was rushed. Actually, another problem I had was the same that a couple of folks have mentioned in reviews on Amazon

.....it seemed to be two stories that really had no connection with each other (except that the mother in one of the stories...Ellie.... taught sewing and had some contact with the main character in the "second" story.....Marlena). For some reason, I had a tough time making myself sit for long with this book, so each of my reading sessions was short and it took me many days to finish this book. (I got this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.) In truth, I have enjoyed other books by Beverly Lewis much more than I enjoyed this one, but if someone is new to Amish fiction, they will probably like reading this.