Review: Back to the Good Fortune Diner by Vicki Essex

Harlequin, January 2013

RATING: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)

Tiffany Cheung hightailed it out of the small town of Everville, New York as soon as she had the opportunity. For years, she’s been trying to make a name for herself in publishing, attempting to put her English degree to good use in Manhattan. But when she loses her job and can’t pay the rent on her apartment, her only option is to move back in with her parents. Her family is embarrassed by the way Tiffany’s career has worked out, but they’re delighted that she’s available to help out at the family diner. Tiffany is not so pleased at this prospect, and when the opportunity arises to tutor her high school crush’s son in English, she immediately accepts.

Tiffany hadn’t realised that Chris Jamieson had returned to Everville, let alone that he’d dropped out of college when his girlfriend got pregnant. Now Chris is a divorced, single-parent attempting to make his dad’s farm into a profitable business venture. Chris doesn’t want to project his lost dreams on to his son, but he can’t help but wish Simon would make of his life than he did. Tiffany tutored Chris in high school, and he hopes that she’ll help Simon make his way through summer school unscathed.

What neither of them expects is for the spark Tiffany and Chris had in high school to be reappear, especially considering that Tiffany has no plans to stay in Everville permanently. Given that Chris is tied to his farm, is there any hope for their romance to last beyond this summer?

Back to the Good Fortune Diner immediately grabbed my attention when I was flipping through the publisher’s catalogue, even though I’ve only dabbled in the Superromance line once before. It might not be obvious from my profile picture, but I’m Anglo-Indian, and I’m always pleased to come across a mixed-race heroine in the romance genre. The fact that Tiffany was Asian-American was enough to inspire me to read this book, and it helped that I’m a big fan of small-town stories and reunion romances.

Tiffany is actually the second Asian-American heroine I’ve encountered this year, since I read Camy Tang’s Sushi for One? back in January. Both novels featured single women nearing the age of thirty and struggling with their families’ projections for their futures. I have to say that I related to Tiffany more so than Lex, the protagonist of Sushi for One? Admittedly, I didn’t think I’d have a lot in common with either woman, given that I got married at the age of twenty and that my Indian family has managed to avoid pigeon-holing me into the traditional career route of doctor/lawyer/minister. But as Back to the Good Fortune Diner progressed, I realised that I had more in common with Tiffany than I initially thought, and I’m sure I won’t be the only reader who is pleasantly surprised by the message in this novel.

Several reviewers have commented on the fact that Tiffany isn’t always the most likeable heroine, and I commend Vicki Essex for taking this risk. Even if I disagreed with some of Tiffany’s actions, I didn’t want to shake her for making such silly decisions because I could understand her reasoning. Tiffany is scared of taking risks, and constantly has her defences up, a throwback to the bullying she experienced as a child. Although the bullying I experienced at school wasn’t linked to my ethnicity (given that my skin is more akin to that of a vampire than my Indian grandfather) I, too, would be shocked if someone who had looked down on me at school suddenly wanted to go on a coffee date. Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile our past memories of a person or a place with the present-day reality, so I didn’t blame Tiffany for the way she acted at certain points throughout the novel. I’m sure that anyone who has had trouble fitting in—whether for issues of race or not—will be able to relate to Tiffany’s problems in Everville.

Despite their different racial backgrounds, Tiffany and Chris’s families have a lot in common, mainly their constant projecting of ideas about their children’s futures. This is something I’m so, so thankful that I never experienced, but I didn’t stop me from sympathising with Tiffany and her brother, Daniel, or Chris and his son, Simon. I appreciated that Vicki showed that parents having visions of their children’s futures isn’t limited to any specific ethnic group, and your race doesn’t determine how you deal with parental pressure. Tiffany and Daniel had very different responses, with Tiffany running away to Manhattan and Daniel attempting to align his life to his parents’ vision. On the other hand, both Chris and Simon get defensive about their respective parents pushing them towards a certain future, which causes a lot of tension in their family.

I hadn’t realised that the Superromance novels contained sub-plots, so Daniel’s story was a pleasant surprise. It did take me a while to warm up to Daniel and his dilemma over introducing his non-Asian girlfriend to his family, and admitting to them that he might not want to run the family business when his father retired. Initially I didn’t care much about Daniel and just wanted to get back to Tiffany’s story, but he grew on me as the novel developed.

I realise that I’ve not actually discussed much about the romance yet, which might seem odd given that this is a romance novel. The theme of fitting-in and Tiffany and Chris’s character growth is tied tightly to their romance, with all of the elements depending on each other in order for their relationship to survive. I suppose you could say that their romance is typical of small-town stories where one character returns and discovers that the sparks are still there despite not having seen each other in years. Personally, I like those sorts of romances, and I appreciated that what was keeping Chris and Tiffany from admitting that they wanted their relationship to last was actually their own fears and misconceptions about the future.

This was wrapped up in what I felt was the major theme of the novel—Do you really know what you want? Sometimes we think something is the best path for us in life because it makes the most money, or because it fulfils our parents’ dreams for us, or because it validates our university or career choices. Or sometimes it’s simply because it’s the safest route. I know I’ve been guilty of this lately, and it’s taken me a while to admit to friends and family that I want to devote the next few years of my life working on my writing, rather than getting further qualifications or taking a safe job. Tiffany and Chris’s fears really spoke to me, and I have a feeling that they’ll hit a chord with other readers as well.

There isn’t a lot that I disliked about this novel, but if I had to pin-point anything, I had a couple of issues with the secondary characters. As I mentioned before, it took me a while to warm up to Daniel, but it was quite the opposite with Chris’s father, William. Regardless of how completely un-politically correct he might be, he seemed pretty realistic at the start of the novel. However, he had a complete turn-around later in the book when someone confronted him about his treatment of Tiffany, and I didn’t find it terribly believable, given how adamant he had been about his earlier beliefs. Perhaps if his change of character had been more drawn-out I would have bought it. I also wish that Simon’s conflict had been resolved more. He seemed a little forgotten in the rush to conclude Tiffany and Chris’s romance.

My small issues with the secondary characters are honestly all I can criticise about this novel, which has been a wonderful introduction to the Harlequin Superromance line. If you like romances that feature dynamic characters, believable conflicts and appealing settings, this is definitely a line to check out, and I highly recommend starting with Back to the Good Fortune Diner.

Disclaimer: This is a mass-market romance and contains three, brief sexual scenes, as well as a few instances of foul language.

Review title provided by Harlequin.

Book Review: Threads of Grace by Kelly Long

Thomas Nelson, February 2013.
RATING: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)

Seth Wyse has longed to court widow Grace Beiler ever since she arrived in their Pennsylvania community, but his imaginings of their life together are nothing like the reality. When Seth discovers that a clause in Grace’s husband’s will means that she may have to relinquish custody of her autistic son to her harsh brother-in-law, Seth knows he has to help her in any way he can. Grace isn’t so keen on marrying the young, charismatic Seth, but she’ll do anything to keep her son safe. But each of them brings secrets into their marriage of convenience; for Grace, this means the truth about her first marriage and her husband’s brutality, and for Seth, it is his forbidden love of painting. Grace is scared to let herself fall in love with Seth, and Seth knows he needs extra care when it comes approaching his new wife. Together, they must figure out how to forge a life together, and protect Grace’s son, Abel, from his uncle.

Having read the second Patch of Heaven novel back in March 2011, it was a long wait for Threads of Grace. I will start out by saying that I didn’t enjoy the third instalment in the series quite as much as the previous two. I’m not sure if this is just because I didn’t connect with Grace quite as well as Sarah and Lilly—the heroines of the previous two novels—or simply because my reading tastes have changed a little. Either way, Threads of Grace was still a very enjoyable read. It felt a bit shorter than Kelly’s previous novels, but in all honesty, this could just be because I gobbled it up in less than twenty-four hours.

One of the things I so admired about Kelly’s second novel, Lilly’s Wedding Quilt, was that it was one of the first Amish novels I’d come across that explored some rather edgy or taboo topics. Two years later, I’m pleased to see that more authors are delving into previous unexplored issues (teenage pregnancy in Beth Wiseman’s His Love Endures Forever and infidelity in Kathleen Fuller’s Faithful to Laura are two recent examples). But as with Lilly’s Wedding Quilt, I was pleased to see that Threads of Grace addressed some contemporary issues that are just as relevant to the Amish as they are to us Englishers, and without sounding preachy. Grace’s abusive marriage was dealt with incredibly sensitively, and I found her hesitance in her relationship with Seth rather realistic considering her past experience of marriage. Those who have autistic friends or relatives will be pleased with how Grace’s son, Abel, is depicted, and I know that the descriptions are realistic because Kelly has openly talked about being the mother to autistic children. One thing that I know I can rely on with Kelly’s writing is that she doesn’t sugar-coat the Amish lifestyle, and she depicts her Amish characters as men and women who struggle with very similar issues to those of other faiths and lifestyles.

What surprised me most about this novel was that it featured yet another marriage of convenience. As Kelly has shown in Lilly’s Wedding Quilt and her novella in the An Amish Love collection, she’s great at rendering realistic contemporary marriages of convenience, but I didn’t expect to come across two plots a similar vein in the same series. Despite this, I enjoyed reading about Grace and Seth’s gently blossoming love for each other. Although I didn’t connect with Grace as well as I did with Lilly, I appreciated being able to witness her slowly coming to trust Seth. The scenes in which Seth and Abel interacted were particularly heart-warming, but I did wish we’d had more insight into Seth’s struggles and flaws. Although the details about his love of painting and Grace’s dilemma over whether she should allow her husband to teach her son to paint were interesting, his love of painting seemed to be his only major flaw. He seemed just a bit too perfect, especially considering what we knew about his wild past.

My biggest gripe with this novel probably has to be the subplot about Grace’s younger sister, Violet. Violet follows Grace out to Pennsylvania when her parents die in an accident, and Seth’s family invites her to live with them. Initially Violet seemed to have a lot of potential, but something about her storyline just fell flat and didn’t resonate with me or grab my interest. At Seth and Grace’s wedding, Violet spots an attractive young Amish man and makes it her mission to make him fall in love with her. She spends the rest of the novel pursuing this young man and convincing him to court her. The storyline never really concludes, so I have to assume that it’ll be picked up again in the next novel, but all in all, it really felt like it was just filler for in between the sections about Seth and Grace. I wish I could say better things about this part of the novel, but I just never found it terribly interesting.

Although I felt that certain aspects of this novel could have been improved on to make Threads of Grace a more compelling read, it was still worth the two-year wait. Fans of realistic Amish fiction will be pleased at the way the novel explores the issues of spousal abuse and autism, and Grace and Seth’s sweet romance is sure to warm every romantic’s heart. I hope this is a series that Kelly plans to continue, and will be keeping my eye out for her next offering.

Review title provided by Thomas Nelson.

Review: The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow by Olivia Newport

Revell, January 2013.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars (Very Good)

Housemaid Charlotte Farrow has managed to hide the existence of her child from the Banning household and their staff, mainly due to the help of Lucy, the Banning’s daughter. But now Lucy has left home to travel with her husband and a family emergency has forced Charlotte’s childminder to return her son to her at no advance notice. With no idea how to hide Henry from the other staff in the Prairie Avenue house, Charlotte allows them to come to the conclusion that the child was abandoned in the garden because the mother knew of Lucy’s charitable work. Charlotte struggles to keep up this facade as the Banning family decides what to do with the child in Lucy’s absence. But soon her infant son’s presence in the house isn’t Charlotte’s only problem, and the reappearance of Henry’s father forces Charlotte to reassess her present situation and make some hard decisions about her son’s future. Will Archie, a fellow servant, and his political connections be a help or a hindrance to Charlotte’s situation? Can she allow herself the opportunity to fall in love while she faces so many pressing dilemmas?

I’d like to start my review with an amusing story about my reading experience of The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow. It appears that my Kindle edition of this book is glitched, as I left the book at the 50% mark last night, under the impression that the book still had a way to go even if the chapter I was reading at the time seemed to be wrapping up quite a few things. I was honestly intrigued about where the novel was going to go from there, as so much had already taken place. Today I picked my Kindle up again, read a couple of pages and found myself at the Acknowledgements and Author’s Note! Evidently, something went wrong in the conversion of this book and 47% of it is blank. I basically read an entire novel in one afternoon! I believe that’s a credit to Olivia Newport, as this book was obviously so engaging that I didn't realise quite how much of it I read in one sitting.

I’ve been eagerly anticipating this book since I read the first book in the Avenue of Dreams series, The Pursuit of Lucy Banning, back in April 2012. The only change in my reading experience between these two books is that I discovered Downton Abbey a couple of months ago. My husband and I devoured the first two seasons in a couple of weeks while studying for our end of semester exams, and I can tell you, these books are a Downton Abbey addict’s dream. Although this series is set in Chicago towards the end of the nineteenth century, there’s a similar exploration of relationships between servants and masters, and the two separate worlds that they live in. Having studied a fair amount about the position of servants in Victorian Britain while at university and watched Downton Abbey, I find the topic fascinating, and particularly liked Olivia’s portrayal of the relationships between the below-stairs staff, especially the cook, butler and Sarah, the latter of whom I’m hoping will reappear in another book. 

Although the romance between Charlotte and Archie isn’t as central as those in other historical novels from this period, I appreciated the insights into Archie’s interest in the changing face of politics and the treatment of workers. It was interesting to hear about new opportunities opening up for working class people, jobs that would take them outside the service lifestyle and give them more independence, such as factory and clerical work. Although I’m not a scholar of this particular time period in United States history, it appears that Olivia has researched this topic quite thoroughly, as her depictions of political events and the staff’s treatment of Archie’s views seemed realistic.

As for Charlotte and Henry, I really felt for her struggle to care for her son without bringing her true relationship with him to light. Regardless of whether her son was born inside or out of wedlock, it was impossible for a woman with a child to hold down a steady job in this period, particularly one in service. Charlotte truly does have a dilemma: if she reveals her relationship to Henry, she’ll lose her job and have no way to provide for him, but if she lets another servant care for him, she can continue to earn money and hopefully eventually be able to find another childminder for her son. Charlotte has to temporarily let go of her son in order to build a life for him. I actually got a little emotional reading about her struggle, and how she forced herself not to go to her son even when she desperately wanted to, for fear of giving herself away. When she eventually makes an incredibly difficult decision that she believes is in Henry’s best interests, I may have shed a tear or two.

The storyline about Henry’s father, which propels Charlotte into acting to protect Henry more than ever, wasn’t quite what I’d expected. But when I thought about it, I really can’t remember what we discovered about Charlotte in the previous book. She was a bit of a mystery in the first novel in the series, and the revelations in The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow make her all the more an intriguing character. I don’t want to give too much away, but there are several scenes towards the end of the novel that made it very hard to put the book down. I was only a little disappointed with the outcome of the situation, finding it a little bit too convenient. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that I do wish that some Christian historical novels would delve into the topic of divorce, rather than conveniently getting rid of a husband through another method. There are times, particularly when it comes to abusive relationships, where divorce is the only possible outcome, but I’ve rarely seem it explored in Christian fiction. I know that it’s not an ideal solution to a problem, but if more books explored the topic, perhaps it would be easier for modern women to openly discuss their marital problems. Furthermore, discussing divorce within different historical contexts would make for a rather interesting novel. I did appreciate that Olivia touched on it a little in this novel, and allowed her characters to discuss it as an option.

My only other complaint about this book would be that the ending felt a little rushed. Initially, I thought this was because when I originally finished the book, I didn’t realise how close I was to the end of the book due to my glitched Kindle conversion. But I did go back and reread the last chapter and it seemed like an awful lot was wrapped up and concluded. I did wish we’d been allowed to see a bit more of Charlotte and Henry’s new life, but hopefully that’ll be touched on in the next book in the series. While I have a feeling that the third book will explore the life of Sarah, another servant in the Banning household, I would also like to see more of Emmaline, Lucy’s aunt.

Although The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow didn’t capture me quite as much as the previous book in the Avenue of Dreams series, it still had a thoroughly compelling storyline.  Fans of the series will be pleased to encounter a similar mixture of romance, suspense and upstairs-downstairs relationships, all within a well-researched historical context. The 1893 Chicago Exposition makes a fascinating backdrop for this series and I can’t wait to see what Olivia Newport comes up with next.

Review title provided by Revell.

Review: Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life (So Far) by Ann M. Martin

Pearl Littlefield’s first assignment in fifth grade is complicated: She has to write an essay about her summer. Where does she begin? Her dad lost his job, she had to go to a different camp—one where her older sister Lexie was a counselor-in-training (ugh!)—and she and her good friend James Brubaker III had a huge fight, which made them both wonder if the other kids were right that girls and boys can’t be good friends and which landed one of them in the hospital. 

And there’s much, much more on the list of good and bad things, as Ann Martin takes this appealing character into new adventures through which young readers will see that good or bad, life is what happens when you’re making other plans. (Feiwel & Friends, October 2012)

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars (Very Good)

My only major complaint about this book would have to be that the title really doesn't relate to the book. Although Pearl does discuss good and bad things about her life, the book focuses on a single summer - not her entire life - and the phrase in the title never comes up in the novel, as the title of the first book did. Other than that, this book was a wonderful sequel to Ten Rules for Living with My Sister, with a slightly more mature Pearl who has a better understanding of the world and the dynamics in her own family. 

I think a lot of preteens will be able to relate to Pearl's struggles with being old enough to see the problems her family is facing, but not being old enough to help out, as her teenage sister can. I could see how Pearl had matured from the last book, but she still had some little quirks and mannerisms that made me realise how young Pearl still is. I think Ann M. Martin accurately captured the way that ten year olds speak and think, and there were many phrases that made me want to laugh out loud. Others weren't so funny, but were still touching, like when Pearl's father loses his job and the first thing Pearl wonders is whether this means he'll have more time to play Boggle with her. She understands what losing his job will mean for the family and their finances, but as a child she's still happy that her dad will be around more to play games. This section of the book, and many others, felt so honest and realistic. 

As in the first book, I loved the dynamics between Pearl and Lexie, and although they weren't quite as amusing as in the prequel, it was touching to see Pearl comforting Lexie when her boyfriend broke up with her and Lexie protecting Pearl from bullies at camp. I don't have a sister, but the presentation of their relationship seemed fairly realistic. 

I loved the way that Pearl's love of art was continued from the first book, but developed out of making posters for her door into designing her own notecards and stationary. I often wonder how many kids can really relate to all the sewing and knitting in Ann M. Martin's Main Street series, but general art is something that I imagine more kids enjoy doing. 

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. When I finished Ten Rules for Living with My Sister I had immediately wished that Ann would write a sequel, but I didn't imagine it would happen. I stumbled across this book on Amazon purely by accident about a week before the novel was due to release and it was a lovely surprise to learn that I could read more about Pearl and Lexie. Obviously these books have been a big success. Publishers Weekly described Pearl and Lexie as a modern-day version of Ramona and Beezus, and perhaps that is part of the reason why I like these books so much. I'm so glad that Ann M. Martin is continuing to write children's books. Having grown up with the Baby-Sitters Club books, I hope that Pearl and Lexie and the Main Street books will appeal to my daughters, if I have any. But who knows, maybe Ann will have another series by the time my kids are old enough to read chapter books? Highly recommended to girls aged 8 - 10. And I'm sure plenty of adults will enjoy Pearl's antics as much as I did. 

Review: The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen

Bethany House, January 2013.
RATING: 4 out of 5 stars (Very Good)

Emma Smallwood has grown up in her father’s academy for boys, and has witnessed the school’s gradual descent into failure following her mother’s death. Determined to help her father get back on his feet, Emma takes matters into her own hands and writes to the parents of one of her favourite former pupils, hoping that they’ll offer to send their two youngest sons to her father’s school. She’s surprised when the recipient of the letter, Sir Giles Weston, responds with an offer for her and her father to move to Ebbington Manor in Cornwall to tutor his youngest sons. Emma doesn’t expect her father to accept the offer, but he decides that a change of scenery might be good for them. 

Emma is secretly hoping for the chance to meet Philip Weston again, having long held on to fond memories of their time together at the academy. She’s not so keen to run into his older brother, Henry, given the pranks he used to play on her as a child. But Henry has matured far beyond Emma’s wildest dreams, and she’s surprised to find herself far more interested in the older Weston brother, especially given her prior feelings towards Philip. 

Life at Ebbington Manor definitely isn’t as straight-forward as Emma anticipated. The younger Weston brothers talk of a ghost, and Emma would normally dismiss such talk, if it weren’t for the mysterious noises she hears at night and the distinct feeling that someone visits her room while she’s sleeping. The presence of Lady Weston’s ward, Lizzie, is unexplained and the girl appears to be hiding something. Even more mysterious are Henry’s attempts to build a warning tower to bring aid to the ships that are often wrecked during storms along the Cornwall coast, and the reaction this brings from local wreckers, some of whom seem too involved in the Weston family’s affairs. 

Can all of these circumstances create a suitable environment for Emma and her father to recover from her mother’s death, and possibly form new relationships? Or is their visit to Cornwall far less simple than they anticipated?

Not being quite as obsessed with Jane Austen as some women, I never felt the desire to pick up a Regency romance until my book group chose to read Julie Klassen’s The Maid of Fairbourne Hall back in March. After devouring the novel in a matter of days, I immediately realised my mistake in avoiding her novels for so long, and have been eagerly awaiting the publication of The Tutor’s Daughter ever since. Although I didn’t love this novel quite as much as Julie’s previous book, I still immensely enjoyed it, and may have stayed up long past midnight to finish reading it.

What I appreciated most about The Tutor’s Daughter was Julie’s ability to make all of the characters come alive, regardless of how small a part they played in the novel. I noticed this when I read The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, and was pleased to discover that she continued her manner of developing characters in the lives of the Weston family and their friends. Although a few characters may initially seem a little villainous, their motivations were revealed as the novel developed. I particularly appreciated the way that Henry’s feelings about his stepmother were put across and this made me sympathise with him all the more. Even the younger Weston brothers are given distinct personalities, which makes the revelation towards the end of the novel all the more surprising. 

I don’t want to go too far into the details of the plot, but I will say that the plot twists weren’t easily anticipated. Sometimes the suspense in a romance novel isn’t as dramatic as it could be, because you know the hero and heroine are going to get out of their perilous situation and be married by the end of the novel, so you don’t have to worry too much about them. This wasn’t so much the case with The Tutor’s Daughter, and even though I knew that the hero and heroine would somehow find a way to be together, there were still several points in the novel where my heart was pounding and I was worried that they wouldn’t live to see the next morning. It makes me sound rather silly, as if I’d forgotten how romance novels work, but I’ll defer responsibility to Julie’s wonderful writing. 

I’d also like to credit Julie for making Cornwall come alive and inspiring me to put it on my “Must Visit” list. Since I’m one of the few readers of this novel who actually lives within driving distance of Cornwall, I probably should visit it someday. Interesting unintentionally, this is the second novel I’ve read in the last few weeks that was set in Cornwall, and both books made the location seem far more fascinating than any school history lesson or friend’s holiday stories have in the past. As always, Julie includes her snippets from history books or local newspapers at the start of the chapter, detailing Cornwall’s history and facts about shipwrecks and tutoring in the period. These details are also scattered throughout the novel as Emma investigates Cornwall’s history. The history might not be as detailed as other historical novels, but there’s enough to get a feel of being in the fictional Ebbington Manor in Cornwall in the early nineteenth century.

The one factor that holds me back from giving this novel a higher rating is actually Emma herself. As fascinating at the details about Cornwall and shipwrecks were, along with the development of the minor characters in the novel and their motivations, I didn’t actually feel like I got to know Emma all that well. She wasn’t a terribly distinct character, compared to some romantic heroines, so it was very easy to imagine yourself in her place and feel as if you were visiting Ebbington Manor and trying to figure out the family’s secrets. I think this is good, to a certain extent. But it wasn’t until close to the end of the novel when Emma began to make some changes in her life that I realised that this was the first real sign of character development that I’d witnessed. Emma does have some flaws, but I felt like they were abandoned a little in the development of the main plot. It was very easy to place myself in Emma’s shoes and see Ebbington Manor through her eyes, but I didn’t relate to many of her conflicts or flaws. At times, I actually felt like it was easier to relate to and sympathise with Henry, given his many relational and moral conflicts.

Likewise, as well as I felt that Emma’s spiritual conflict was handled, it wasn’t the most inspiring conflict. I seem to have come across a spate of novels recently where the main character’s spiritual journey simply focuses on them reclaiming their lost faith. I did feel that Emma’s journey was the most realistic presentation out of those I’ve come across lately, so I’ll credit Julie with that, but I do wish that authors would be a little bit more creative when it comes to the spiritual side of their novels.

Although I wasn’t quite as enthralled with The Tutor’s Daughter as I was with The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, I will freely admit that my issues with the novel are fairly minor. Julie’s long-standing fans are sure to be pleased with this latest offering, and any Christian historical romance fans who have not yet picked up a Julie Klassen novel are definitely missing out. 

Review title provided by Bethany House

Book Review: Accidentally Amish by Olivia Newport

Escape the helter-skelter of the modern culture and join software creator Annie Friesen, hiding at the home of an Amishman. With her high-tech career in jeopardy, Annie runs from fast-paced Colorado Springs—and straight into the hospitality of San Luis Valley’s Amish community. There she meets cabinetmaker Rufus Beiler, and the more time she spends with him, the more attracted she becomes. When Annie finds she shares a common ancestor with Rufus, she feels both cultures colliding within her. But is her love for Rufus strong enough for her to give up the only life she’s ever known? (Barbour, October 2012)

This was Fans of Amish Fiction's January book group choice, over on GoodReads.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars (Very Good)

I think that if it weren't for the historical storyline, I probably would only give this book 3.5*. While the contemporary storyline was a good mixture of Amish, romance and suspense, the writing and characters weren't as strong as in Olivia's first novel, The Pursuit of Lucy Banning. It does seem as if historical fiction is where she's stronger, at least for now. 

That said, there were plenty of elements that I appreciated about this story. This is the second series I've read that's set among the newer Amish settlements in Colorado, and it's definitely interesting to read about how different Amish groups live depending on their regions and farming opportunities. Olivia lives in Colorado, and she was able to evoke the feeling of the small towns and Amish communities in her area. 

The city that Annie worked in never felt quite as real, and neither did her job. Mainly, I believe this is because my husband is a computer programmer and the descriptions of Annie's jobs seemed incredibly vague given my knowledge of the subject. But for those who don't deal with software engineering on a regular basis, the descriptions of her work might not be so vague. 

As for the romance, it was slow moving, but that's because this is the first book in a series. Given that there are so many Amish romances where an English character's conversion to the faith feels rushed, I appreciated that the book didn't end with everything neatly tidied up. As confident as Annie was about making changes to her life, I think she still has a long way to go and I'm interested in reading more about her. As strange as it might seem for a computer programmer to become interested in the Amish lifestyle, I got the impression that Annie got far more involved in the business world than she intended and no longer enjoyed her job, so the changes she made at the end of the novel made sense.

I also liked the sub-plot about Rufus's sister, Ruth, and I hope that the next novel delves more into the family dynamics and Ruth's attempts to reconcile with her family while still becoming a nurse. I felt like her story was a realistic portrayal of someone who left the faith before baptism for educational reasons, and I appreciated this change from the usual stories about people who leave to "explore the world". Ruth kept much of her faith while studying nursing.

The storyline about the construction company wasn't really resolved, which was a bit disappointing, but I'd be interested to see how that panned out, even if I preferred the other storylines. I had mixed feelings about this sub-plot as I wasn't sure what kind of message it was giving about justice, retaliation and turning the other cheek. I'm intrigued to see where it goes.

Ultimately, I liked the contemporary storyline, but at times the historical plot caught my attention more. I haven't read many stories about Amish settlers in the eighteenth century, so the story of Annie and Rufus's ancestors was fascinating. It really captured just how difficult life was for new settlers, if they made it through the long journey. Jakob's struggle between sticking to his faith and wanting to remarry was very heartfelt, and although the novel focused far more on the contemporary storyline, I still became attached to the historical characters. I hope that Olivia continues their storyline, or at least focuses on some other ancestors, in the next book.

I ended up writing a lot more about this book than planned, so obviously it touched me more than I realised. Ultimately, I didn't enjoy this book as much as The Pursuit of Lucy Banning but it was a compelling and original story. For those who like dual-time narratives of a lighter fare, this would definitely suit. I might not have connected with Annie as much as some Amish heroines, but this novel definitely brings something a little different to the genre. I'll be looking out for the second book in the series later this year.