Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The Wish by Beverly Lewis

Book:  "The Wish"

Author:  Beverly Lewis

Publisher:  Bethany House

Paperback, 326 pages


I always enjoy reading books by Beverly Lewis.  She is a trusted author when it comes to Amish Fiction. 

This story is about Leona, a young Amish woman, and her community.  I loved reading about the way the Amish live, their values, their convictions and their way of life. 

Leona's neighbor, and dear friend, Gloria moves away suddenly with her family.  There is some intrigue and suspense as we go along until we find out why they all moved away.

It turns out that Gloria's family became "English," which means her old order Amish parents decided to become worldly and give up their Amish life.  I have never read an Amish story from this perspective, where the parents themselves decide to leave the Amish way of life.  It was sad for Gloria, but we get to see her experience the world and then decide if she wants to come back and become Amish again.

Through it all, Leona stays faithful to the Amish ways and to the dear young man she intends to marry. I found her to be inspiring!

This was a very good read, which includes some good Biblical wisdom throughout.




*  Disclosure - This book was provided for review purposes. *


All Summer Long by Melody Carlson

Book: "All Summer Long"

Author:  Melody Carlson

Publisher:  Revell

Paperback, 315 pages

I have ready several of Melody's books and they are well written. This one is an interesting story about a young woman (Tia) who works in the family restaurant. She is called away to stay with a relative to start up a business venture. 

The business idea itself was exciting.  Tia is a trained chef and is asked to help turn a ship into a destination restaurant.  I enjoyed reading about the ship, the cooking, and all the planning and work that was involved. 

Tia meets a young man (who was a former acquaintance) who helps with the ship project.  It's nice to get to know the different characters in the story and their family and home lives. 

I appreciate that people go to church in this story.  There are some people in the book who drink, but it is a minor aspect of the story.

Overall, the setting and story line all made it an entertaining read.  I really think it would make a good Hallmark movie.




*  Disclosure - This book was provided for review purposes. *





Friday, April 15, 2016

The Atonement by Beverly Lewis

Book - "The Atonement"

Author - Beverly Lewis

Publisher - Bethany House

Paperback, 325 pages


What I like about Beverly's books is that you get a look into the daily lives of the Amish.  In this book, the main character is Lucy. She has made some very serious mistakes in the past and we see her trying to work through these while living her Amish life with her family. She doesn't think she deserves to be married as her lack of understanding of forgiveness and grace stop her from forgiving herself for past troubles. 

(It is not really a peaceful story, like her book, "The Secret Keeper," which was my favorite.) 

In this story, there are visits to a grief counseling support group, lots of volunteering among the homeless and helping the elderly.  There are not many happy moments of family time, or pleasant church events. There was a lot of stress and worldliness showing us more of the world's pain and the trouble of sin, rather than the joy and happiness in a devout life seeking holiness.

There are two young men interested in Lucy. It is very difficult to guess who she ends up with. But I was happy she ended up married to one of them; The right one, I thought! It made the end of the book satisfying.

Beverly includes an epilogue so we can "see" what happens to Lucy later. The book ends with an author's note, where we get some background information about the story idea and who has helped Beverly in the process.


*  Disclosure - This book was provided for review purposes. *