Friday, August 28, 2015

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.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

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!