Review of:  The Amish Quiltmaker’s Unexpected Baby

Jennifer Beckstrand

Kensington, $7.99 (341p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4924-1

Beckstrand begins the first of a new series with this redemptive tale featuring Esther, who at age 30 and not yet married, is considered an “old maid” in her Amish community.  After the death of both her parents and subsequent inheritance, Esther relocates to Byler, Colorado for a fresh start [pp. 1-44].  However, she is surprised when her estranged younger sister Ivy shows up at her doorstep with her newborn baby only to run off a day later, stealing her cash and leaving Esther to care for her infant [pp. 1-44].  Esther’s anger at her sister is intensified as she recalls how she felt years prior when she found Ivy kissing her fiancé three days before her wedding [p. 147].  When Esther called off her nuptials as a result of the betrayals, Ivy left her family and the Amish community altogether, turning to man after man to take care of her [p. 147 ff].  Readers discover that deep down, Esther blames herself for Ivy’s leaving and has carried the guilt for nearly a decade [p. 149].  In the course of caring for Ivy’s daughter, Winnie, Esther meets Levi, who with 11 younger siblings, knows how to take care of babies and, along with his extended family, helps her bond and care for the child [p. 3 ff].  Esther and Levi are drawn to each other despite their initial misgivings regarding their age difference, as Levi is six years her junior [p. 53 ff].  When Ivy returns to Byler and tries to manipulate Levi into marrying her [p. 189 ff], both he and Esther realize their true feelings for each other.  Readers will root for their future as well as Winnie’s in this heart-wrenching story about the tragic consequences of shame.  All is redeemed in the end, but Ivy’s actions are so despicable that one will wish that justice had been better served in the end.

Review of:  A Patchwork Past

Leslie Gould

Bethany House Publishers, $15.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-7642-3523-8

In the second of her Plain Patterns series featuring quiltmaker Jane Berger, Gould brings readers an illustrative work about the plight of refugees and the value of caring for others as ourselves.  Jane, an elderly spinster, runs a quilt shop in the Amish community of Nappannee, Indiana in addition to writing historical research articles for the local newspaper.  She becomes intrigued with the life of her ancestor, Mary, who aided Irish immigrants during the Chicago Fire of 1871 and recovers an old journal with more information that she recounts to Sophie Deiner, a young woman newly back in town to recover from lupus flare.  As Sophie learns about Mary, she reflects on the likeness between their personalities, as Sophie also cares deeply about the welfare of refugees after befriending an immigrant family through her work at a co-op.  When one of the family members is wrongfully detained and threatened with deportation, Sophie joins attorney Jasper Benjamin in fighting for justice.  The matter is complicated by Sophie’s past relationship with Levi, a farm manager who supports deportation and has a tendency towards violence.  Through her commitment to serving those less fortunate, Sophie finds forgiveness for Levi as well as her parents who believed lies about her character when she’d left town after becoming pregnant.  When Levi and Sophie’s family learn the truth that she’d miscarried, they realize the error of their ways and experience spiritual growth.  A particularly timely work with themes of systemic discrimination, faith, and family.  [March 2021]

Review of:  A Double Dose of Love

Kathleen Fuller

Fans of Amish romance won't be disappointed with this adorable story!!  I'm excited to see it is the first in a new series by Kathleen Fuller.  Identical twins Amanda and Darla venture to a new community to experience life away from home for the first time.  Darla is intent on finding a husband, while Amanda is intent on keeping on eye on her impetuous sister until she can convince her to return back home to their parents.  The sisters' relationship rings very true to life, as they get into various quibbles and quarrels but their underlying love and care for the other always wins out in the end.  While exploring Birch Creek, the girls met identical twins Zeke & Zeb - who certainly have their own sibling rivalries.  I found the brothers' characters to be a little more three-dimensional and relatable than the sisters, who were so vastly different in personality traits that Darla seemed to be almost more like Amanda's child instead of an identical twin.  The relationships between the four were beautifully developed throughout the course of the book, and I loved seeing how the characters matured as a result, finding forgiveness as well as love.  I especially enjoyed the matchmaking elderly ladies Delilah & Cevilla, who added a special flair to the story and town of Birch Creek!  I can't wait to read the next book. 

Review of:  An Amish Homecoming

Rosalind Lauer  

Zebra, $8.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-4201-5211-1

The first in this new series set in the fictional Amish community of Joyful River is sure to capture the hearts of fans of Christian romance.  As 18-year-old Essie and her beau, Harlan, prepare for engagement and marriage, their plans are interrupted when Essie’s three wayward English cousins come to live with her family following their mother’s death [p. 1-27].  Lauer’s tale centers on Essie and her cousin Serena, also 18, but the polar opposite of Essie’s steady, unassuming personality [p. 28-40 ff].  Serena’s spirited, prideful ways are quick to get under Essie’s skin [p. 40 ff], though the cousins discover that their values are far more similar than they’d first assumed after Harlan’s mother and sister are injured in a buggy accident [p. 158 ff].  The girls come to trust and rely on each other as they each navigate romances complicated by familial and financial concerns [p. 163-164 ff].  Lauer’s world-building is skillful as the characters and situations are so true to life they nearly walk off the page.  Biblical themes of faith and love echo throughout the work as the young adults learn to appreciate the things that matter most to them [p. 276-277 ff].  Readers will be satisfied with the happy endings and eagerly await the next tale about the community of Joyful River.  [March 2021]

Review of:  The Preacher’s Son

Patricia Johns.  Zebra, $8.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-4201-5236-4

Johns kicks off the first of a new series set in Bountiful, Pennsylvania, with a cautionary tale of dishonesty’s aftermath and the tragedies left in its wake.  When community preacher Abe Yoder is sentenced to prison for swindling people out of their money for the purpose of a fake charity [p. 2 ff], he leaves his son Isaiah to shoulder the burdens of guilt and shame.  After the bank repossesses his house and land to pay for his father’s crimes, Isaiah is forced to beg for work at a local book bindery owned by Nathaniel Glick [p. 8].  The owner’s daughter, Bethany, who works at the bindery, is struggling with her own loss as her former fiancé, Micah, broke off their wedding in favor of leaving the Amish community [p. 3].  However, Bethany discovers not long afterward that she is pregnant with Micah’s baby [p. 81].  Isaiah has always secretly loved Bethany but never courted her as his friend Micah expressed interest first.  Unlike both his friend and his father, Isaiah is committed to practicing the values in which he believes, even it means suffering social ostracization [p. 3 ff].  He and Bethany initially bond over their shared notoriety in the community, but gradually realize they share common values. They help each other learn how to forgive and trust again, and in so doing, fall deeply in love and find new hope in a shared future together.  A complicated yet inspirational work as Johns introduces characters and lays the foundation for future books in the Amish community of Bountiful.  [Feb 2021]

Review of:  A Perfect Amish Romance

Shelley Shepard Gray

Gallery Books, $16.00 (320p) ISBN 978-1-9821-4839-3

From the author of the beloved Walnut Creek novels comes the first in the “The Berlin Bookmobile” series featuring Sarah Anne, a 60-something widow who accepts a part-time position delivering library books to the Amish community [pp. 1-6 ff]. Sarah Anne tries to live up to her own expectations of the “perfect” librarian and keeps a journal of her activities and interactions to learn from [p. 5 ff]. As she forms personal relationships with the readers she serves, she becomes a trusted and compassionate confidante [p. 17 ff]. However, Sarah Anne has difficulty treating herself with the same grace [p. 19]. Through sharing her love of books and hearing people’s own stories she learns to let go of rigid standards and embraces the opportunity to give and receive kindness and mercy [p. 292-294]. Readers will be delighted with Sarah Anne’s gentle matchmaking between Aaron, a young Old Order Amish man secretly seeking to obtain his GED, and Kayla, a New Order woman in her 20’s who agrees to tutor Aaron as she mourns her mother’s early passing and father’s descent into depression [p. 16]. The romance between Aaron’s younger sister, Tiny, and her childhood friend, Joel, is similarly fraught with themes of perfectionism and hidden struggles which subtly run throughout the work [p. 57 ff]. Gray’s characters feel like intimate friends who deal with loss and longing and are shaped by transformative powers of love, hope, and faith. A set of discussion questions is included as an appendix. Book clubs will find this work a treat and readers will eagerly await future installments in this imaginative and tenderly written series.  [Jan]

Review of:  Marrying Matthew (The Amish Mail-Order Grooms Book 1)

Kelly Long.  Zebra, $8.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-4201-5165-7

In this marriage of convenience tale, readers are introduced to Tabitha, the 20-year-old sole heir of her father’s successful lumber and wood-working company located in the remote Amish community of Blackberry Falls, PA [p. 1-2]. Due to fears of Tabitha being kidnapped for ransom, her father has insisted that his half-brother Abner serve as her security guard ever since she was born [p. 3]. Little does her family know, Tabitha has taught herself how to carve wood in secret, despite the craft being forbidden to women [p. 78]. She is determined to marry on her own terms, without the possibility of a suitor who is only seeking to inherit her father’s fortune. Hence, she takes an ad out in the newspaper for an Amish mail-order groom and is pleasantly surprised when it is answered by handsome Matthew King who comes to Blackberry Falls to wed [p. 1-22]. However, Matthew has secrets of his own, as do the other major characters in Long’s work [p. 3 ff]. Through the romances of Tabitha and Matthew, as well as Abner and housekeeper Anke, each finds the courage to trust that true love requires [p. 201 ff]. However, detailed descriptions of sexual desire are overly abundant throughout [p. 9 ff], and Long’s treatment of Amish culture borders on disrespectful (the Bishop is the town’s buffoon [p. 19 ff]; roles are reversed [p. 250, 252]; the characters are all obsessed with sex [p. 9 ff]; there are supernatural/ pagan elements [p. 43, 69, 133, ff]; and none of the characters act with the propriety, modesty, or biblical values of the Amish).  Definitely not a biblically-based book, and only superficially Amish (sadly).

Review of:  The Amish Cookie Club Courtship

Sarah Price.  Zebra, $8.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4919-7

Readers of Amish fiction are in for a treat with the third in Price’s Amish Cookie Club series featuring four best friends and their families in the community of Shipshewana [p. 1].  In this installment, Wilma suggests that Edna hire her 19-year-old unmarried twin daughters Rachel and Ella Mae to assist with her cooking and baking business [p. 3]. However, the members of the Cookie Club figure out that Wilma’s true intention is to set them up with Edna’s bachelor sons, Jonah and Jeremiah [p. 7].  Edna reluctantly agrees to hire the girls as she needs the assistance, but frets as they have a reputation for bickering and lack of work ethic [p. 7]. As she gets to know the twins, she realizes that behind their similar appearances are two very different personalities, each with their own gifts [p. 139]. She realizes that they have never been allowed to develop separate identities and encourages the two to engage in activities apart from each other, which helps them mature and softens their competitiveness [p. 96 ff]. Despite her initial misgivings Edna realizes that the girls would in fact be excellent love matches for her boys and plays matchmaker as she finds ways to set Jeremiah up with Ella Mae and Jonas with Rachel [p. 97 ff]. However, when Rachel develops an interest in Jeremiah rather than Jonas, things quickly go awry with Edna’s best-laid plans [p. 111]. Price’s coming-of-age tale will charm fans with good-intentioned characters and a community filled with faith and friendship. [Nov]

Review of:  Amish Christmas Twins

Shelly Shepard Gray, Rachel J. Good, Loree Lough

Kensington

Publication Date:  9/29/20

I just finished reading an advanced copy of Amish Christmas Twins, a collection of 3 absolutely heart-warming stories by 3 of my favorite authors:  Shelley Shepard Gray, Rachel J. Good, and Loree Lough!!  I couldn't recommend this collection more, especially as we await the holidays in the hope of Christ. I loved that each of these inspirational romances features children, reminding readers of the true meaning of Christmas and the miracle of the birth of our Savior. 

The first story, "The Christmas Not-Wish" by Ms. Gray, finds orphaned siblings Jemima and Roy being placed into yet another foster home.  Fans of Ms. Gray's "Walnut Creek" series will be excited to see Elizabeth Anne (E.A.) and Will Kurtz take on the role of foster parents!  4/5 stars

The second tale, "New Beginnings" by Ms. Good, features Elizabeth, a young widow working at a year-round Christmas shop whose grief and anger with God over her losses nearly keeps her locked in the past.  Thankfully, her new-found friendship with Luke, her late husband's best friend, helps them both rediscover their faith in God and the miracles that come of trusting the Lord.  I actually cried at the beautiful ending!!  This was my favorite of the collection!  5+/5 stars

The third story, "Twins Times Two" by Ms. Lough also features crossover characters from her series "A Little Child Shall Lead Them." I loved that I recognized Emily, Willa, Max, and Frannie!  This story was absolutely adorable as twin cousins not only discover the value of responsibility and hard work, but also develop generous and giving hearts, including uniting estranged neighbors Jubal and Abigail right in time for Christmas!  4+/5 stars

Review of:  The Stone Wall

Beverly Lewis.  Bethany House Publishers, $26.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-7642-3327-2

From beloved author Lewis comes a resplendent tale of love, loss, and faith in the Amish community. Lewis deftly weaves different perspectives and time periods together through the interconnected stories of Anna and her maternal grandmother, Eliza, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease [p. 10]. Anna, recovering from a breakup, leaves her hometown to live with her mother’s cousin Sadie and her husband for a change of pace despite her parents’ disapproval and concern for Eliza’s health [p. 23 ff]. Unlike her mother’s family who are Beachy Amish, Sadie and her side of the clan are Old Order. Soon, Anna is faced with choosing between two suitors – Mart, who comes from a more modern sect similar to Anna’s and represents the more acceptable choice, or Gabe, an Old Order widow with a young troubled child who stirs Anna’s heart [p. 198 ff]. As her bonds with Gabe and his daughter grow, Anna ponders the deep divisions between the Amish communities and discovers that many paths lead to the same God [p. 310 ff]. The redemptive union of Gabe and Anna is all the more poignant set alongside Eliza’s fleeting memories of losing the man she loved because of the same insular divides [p. 46 ff]. The symbolism of the stone wall [p. 71 ff] adds a lovely dimension to Lewis’ work which will delight readers with the abundance of historical and cultural detail.

Review of:  Jeb’s Wife

Patricia Johns.  Zebra, $7.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4913-5

Johns continues her inspirational romance series set in the small Amish community of Abundance [p. 4]. This story features Leah, a 30-year-old unmarried woman whose fiance broke their engagement upon discovering her inability to bear children [p. 2]. Her grief is intermingled with a sense of insufficiency – perhaps she is unlovable? [p. 56].  Upon returning to Abundance following a brief stint teaching school in a neighboring community, she finds her younger brother Simon beaten as a result of unpaid gambling debt [p. 9]. In order to save Simon’s life she agrees to marry Jeb, a scarred widower who lost his first wife in a fire [p. 40]. The two agree that the marriage will be strictly for business-purposes, as Jeb can only inherit his late uncle Peter’s estate if he marries within four weeks of Peter’s death [p. 12]. Leah will then have enough money to be able to pay off Simon’s debt [p. 20]. As Jeb and Leah attempt to convince the community that the marriage is a love-match, they form a friendship as they share their daily life and learn to trust the other [p. 126]. The arrangement becomes complicated when romantic feelings develop [p. 129]. Johns crafts a town and characters that feel intimate, with rich back stories and relationships. This is a series readers will fall in love with and eagerly await the next installment.

Review of:  Romancing Nadine

Amy Lillard.  Zebra, $7.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4958-6

Lillard continues her beloved Wells Landing series with this tenderly-written tale of love in the golden years of life. Nadine Burkhardt has been widowed twice and has moved with her daughter-in-law and disabled adult granddaughter to the small Amish community for a new start.  One day in church she notices a 60-ish man with bright blue eyes staring at her [p. 6] and cannot stop thinking about him and wondering who he is. She learns that he is Amos Fisher, a bachelor who recently moved back to town [p. 9]. Amos falls in love with Nadine the moment he sees her, as he knows in his heart that God has brought them together [p. 19].  However, convincing her of this proves to test his patience and leads him to question his relationship with God [p. 33 ff].  Nadine reacts angrily to his attentions and announces to Amos and her family that she is uninterested in finding love again at her age [p. 33]. However, despite her protestations, she likes the man and enjoys his company, finally agreeing to be friends [p. 152].  When Amos suddenly falls to the ground as they are visiting an art festival, Nadine realizes that her fear has kept her from acknowledging that she has fallen in love with him [p. 299 ff].  Lillard does an excellent job of populating Wells Landing with true-to-life characters grappling with the challenges of life, faith, and love. An inspirational and heartwarming tale.

Review of:  Amish Generations: Four Stories

Kathleen Fuller.  Zondervan, $15.99 (370p) ISBN 978-0-3103-5954-8

Popular author Fuller (Hearts of Middlefield, Amish of Birch Creek) will delight fans of inspirational romance with her new work.  Generations features four stories of love and faith, with each being a stand-alone tale.  In “Young Love,” 20-somethings Fern and Dan learn to overcome pride and open their hearts to trusting others as they navigate their relationship [pp. 3-94].  “Long-Awaited Love” describes Everett’s and Jemima’s story.  Both in their mid-thirties, Everett takes accountability for selfish decisions made in his youth and repairs his relationship with his father.  In so doing, he recognizes Jemima’s virtue of generosity.  Conversely, she grows in maturity by applying Everett’s example of setting boundaries with others and learning to honor her own needs [pp. 95-184].  “Second-Chance Love” is a tale of discovering love after loss as middle-aged widowers Ben and Lora Beth bond through letters after meeting each other at a local event [pp. 185-265].  Fuller’s writing particularly shines in the fourth and final heart-warming story, “Never Too Late.”  Elva, whose abusive husband has passed away after 45 years of a broken marriage and unfulfilled prayers, finds God to be faithful at age 63 when she finds true love with Jerald, a 70-year old bachelor [pp. 266-348].  A Glossary and Discussion Questions round out the work.  Book sellers will want to stock their shelves for this soon to be bestseller.

Review of:  The Amish School Teacher

Jerry Eicher.  Good Books, $14.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-6809-9597-8

Beloved author Eicher brings fans of Amish romance a new drama that doesn’t disappoint.  In the community of Adams County, Ohio, Marcus Yoder works tirelessly on his family’s farm as the eldest of seven siblings after the passing of his father [p. 4 ff].  When Mary Wagler arrives to begin her new position as the town’s schoolteacher [p. 1 ff], Marcus’ stoicism is tested by her incessant questions and nontraditional ways.  Can Mary break through the walls he has built around his heart?  She becomes determined to win his approval by proving that she can take care of herself as well as the school without help [p. 64 ff].  However, despite her efforts, Mary comes to realize that she can’t do it all by herself [p. 82 ff].  She must learn to let go of her pride in order to accept help from others.  In doing so, she sees Marcus in a new light [p. 99 ff].  They slowly become friends as he learns to trust her and is finally able to express the grief he has long held inside [p. 159 ff].  Eicher does a nice job of fully developing his characters and readers will cheer for this sweet couple as they find their way together.

Review of:  Home to Stay

Loree Lough.  Kensington, $7.99 (341p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4924-1

In the New Order Amish community of Pleasant Valley, Max Lambright has rebuilt his home and his life after losing his entire family as a child to a series of tragedies [p. 10].  Now an adult and successful building contractor, he has many friends in the community but no family of his own [p. 12].  When he meets Willa Richards, the new live-in helper for Max’s business partner Dan and his wife Anki, Max is struck by Willa’s assertiveness as an Englischer from out of town, yet her respect for the Amish way of life [p. 3].  Most of all, he notices the love Willa has for her baby daughter and the lengths she has gone to in order to escape from a life of drugs and crime [p. 33 ff].  Willa, as a newcomer to the community, is determined to turn her life around to provide for her child [p. 16 ff].  She genuinely cares for her employer and his wife, Anki, and begins to feel like a part of their family [p. 51 ff].  Yet Willa harbors a secret fear that her abusive ex-boyfriend may one day come looking for her and little Frannie [p. 232].  As she and Max finds themselves forming the tender bonds of a new relationship, each must confront their fears leftover from the past to move forward in faith and love.  Dan and Anki’s story, as a backdrop to the main characters, is a cautionary tale.  Lough writes with compassion for her characters and readers will be drawn in accordingly.  However, Willa’s tirelessness and the level of her ex-boyfriend’s depravity require some suspension of disbelief to buy into this inspirational romance.

Review of:  Promise at Pebble Creek

Lisa Jones Baker.  Kensington, $7.99 (277p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4748-3

The beloved Hope Chest of Dreams series continues with Baker’s latest inspirational tale set in the Amish community of Pebble Creek.  Hannah, the youngest of ten siblings, works at the family’s bakery but dreams of adventure [p. 1].  Despite her mother’s disapproval [p. 5], Hannah continues to read popular suspense novels and secretly writes her own tales of intrigue at night in her bedroom by candlelight [p. 65 ff].  When Marcus Jackson, an Englischer from Chicago comes to town and a romantic spark is ignited between them [p. 1], Hannah finds herself caught in a real-life drama between two ways of life.  Marcus, who lost his parents at a young age and whose brothers turned to a life of crime, is determined to start a new life after giving himself to Christ [p. 18].  However, the community of Pebble Creek turns a suspicious eye on the outsider once a store is robbed and things go missing [p. 48].  Can he and Hannah find a way to be together?  Both must consider the meaning of faith and sacrificial love as they navigate their relationship.  This is a captivating romance written with a tender hand.  Baker excels at weaving in generational and biblical themes, and the glimpses of Hannah’s outlandish stories will be sure to put a smile on the face of entranced readers.

 Review of :  The Trustworthy One

Shelley Shepard Gray.  Gallery Books, $16.00 (304p) ISBN 978-1-9821-0093-3

Bestselling author of more than eighty novels, Gray brings readers the final installment in the Walnut Creek series featuring the Eight, a tight-knit group of friends from varying backgrounds, most of which are Amish [p. 1 ff].  In the Trustworthy One, readers meet the Troyer sisters, Kendra and Naomi, who reconnect back in Walnut Creek years after each of them left their abusive childhood home [p. 29].  As the eldest sibling, Kendra bore the brunt of their father’s anger and mother’s neglect, and while she has obtained an education and created a new life for herself, she finds she must still deal with the internal scars that prevent her from fully trusting the kind attention of handsome Nate Miller [p. 16 ff].  Naomi, the youngest of the Troyer clan, idolizes Kendra but struggles to make friends at school [p. 113 ff].  When she finds out that her sister has a hidden past [p. 184], Naomi’s dreams are shattered.  In order to save their relationship and be able to allow other people into their lives, both must learn the meaning of forgiveness and faith.  Gray’s tale is woven with biblical themes that will appeal to Christian readers; however, the incorporation of an additional storyline about another childhood tragedy told through Kendra’s journaling was disjointed and extraneous.  Readers should begin with the first in the series to familiarize themselves with the cast of characters. 4 stars.

 Review of:  Thursday’s Bride

Patricia Johns.  Kensington, $7.99 (328p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4912-8

After her husband Wayne dies in a tragic accident, Rosmanda Lapp finds herself a newly widowed young mother of twin babies living with her parents-in-law in the Amish community of Abundance [p. 2].  While her marriage had been happy, Rosmanda knows down deep that she married Wayne as an effort to repair her reputation after a secret scandal in her hometown [p. 7].  Her guilt eats away at her as she tries her best to meet the high expectations for a respectable Amish daughter-in-law and mother [p. 15 ff].  She knows she must marry again soon or find a way to earn an income to care for herself and her daughters [p. 28 ff].  When her brother-in-law returns to Abundance to help with the family farm, Rosmanda is terrified of her own feelings and pull toward Levi, as he is the “wrong” type of man – too stubborn, too competitive, with a history of drinking that led to his brother’s fatal accident [p. 32 ff].  Meanwhile, Levi finds himself drawn to Rosmanda, but struggles with his own past sin and does not believe he is good enough to love her [p. 31 ff].  As they begin to trust each other, each must face the spiritual task of forgiveness [p. 4 ff].  Their budding romance is tested when Rosmanda’s past follows her to Abundance and her secrets are set bare [p. 115 ff].  Johns writes with a dexterous, tender hand, fleshing out her characters as complicated and compassionate human beings trying to navigate their way through life and love.  Readers will be drawn in quickly to this story to find out how these relationships unfold.  A set of discussion questions would make an excellent Appendix. 4 stars.

 Review of:  Loving Jenna

Amy Lillard.  Kensington, $7.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4956-2

The first in a new trilogy set in the Amish community of Wells Landing, Oklahoma, Loving Jenna centers around the budding romance between two unlikely heroes.  Jenna and Buddy are both seen as “less than” by their community due to their respective cognitive slowness.  Jenna, her mother and grandmother have just arrived in town wanting a fresh start after losing both her father and grandfather (p. 1 ff).  Jenna longs to make friends and socialize like the other young women; however due to a childhood traumatic brain injury her mother forbids any act of independence.  Jenna meets Buddy at church (p. 21) and learns that he has Down’s Syndrome.  The two quickly form a friendship, connecting over their shared challenges and desiring to be seen as capable of more responsibility by their families.  When their relationship takes a romantic turn, their families try to keep them apart.  However, as they determine to be together, their courage in pursuing love changes everyone.  Lillard does an excellent job of depicting real-life challenges faced by those with mental disabilities with accuracy and compassion.  This story is sure to inspire and warm the hearts of readers.  5 stars

 Review of:  Abraham

Jennifer Beckstrand.  Kensington, $7.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4772-8

The second in the Petersheim Brothers series, (Andrew), Abraham also features 9-year-old mischievous twins Alfie and Benji, who are determined to marry their older brothers off in order to reclaim their bedroom (p. 1 ff).  The story is set in Amish country and author Beckstrand does an excellent job of weaving educational references to the culture’s way of life throughout.  In Abraham, Alfie and Benji brainstorm tactics to get their shy, quiet brother Abraham and pretty, popular neighbor Emma to fall in love (p. 5 ff).  When the twins discover a stray dog (p. 9), they think they have come upon the perfect method of setting up the older pair, since Emma raises chickens and Abraham desires to become an Amish veterinarian.  Emma finds what she assumes is evidence that the boys’ dog has been raiding her chicken coop (p. 46 ff).  Abraham agrees to discipline the twins (p. 54) and he and Emma form a friendship based on their shared love of animals.  However, Emma’s attention-seeking and Abraham’s lack of confidence threaten to ruin the blossoming relationship (p. 97).   Luckily for readers, all ends well as they each realize their true feelings for each other and grow in personal character (p. 233 ff).   The twins are forgiven for their well-intentioned manipulations, and their mother allows them to keep the dog (p. 290).  This is an endearing romance which Beckstrand tenderly details though her pacing is inconsistent with the first half of the work containing little plot movement.  4 stars.