The Protector (Families of Honor #2) - Shelley Shepard Gray

GENRE: AMISH

PUBLISHER: AVON INSPIRE

PUBLICATION DATE: JULY 1, 2011

RATING: 7 OUT OF 10

Following her mother’s death, Ella Hostetler plans to make a fresh start and start living life for herself rather than those around her. Having auctioned off the family farm to Loyal Weaver, she moves into a flat in town and starts her job as a librarian. But Ella can’t seem to break the ties with her past as Loyal keeps trying to involve her in the renovations he’s making to her old house, and her landlady, Dorothy, starts warning her against making changes in her life. Although Ella had previously thought she was destined to be an old maid, having missed her youth due to caring for her mother, Loyal’s attention suggests otherwise. But Dorothy seems less than pleased by this new development, warning that Loyal is nothing but trouble. Is Dorothy’s possessive and controlling behaviour rooted in something more than a desire to protect Ella? And is there finally a chance for Ella to find love in her new friendship with Loyal?

The second book in the Families of Honor series was very slow to start, and I struggled to get into it. It wasn’t until about halfway through the book that I felt it really got started and finally caught my attention. Ella isn’t your typical romantic heroine; instead of pining after the hero and bemoaning the lack of love in her life, she was quite independent and content to live in her little flat and work at the library. I appreciated that she didn’t fall for Loyal immediately and was content to just be friends with him. Their romance was the kind where a friendship slowly turned into something more and one day they suddenly realised how much they cared for each other. This was a refreshing change from the other Amish romances I’ve read lately.

The relationship between Ella and Dorothy was quite disturbing, and initially I wasn’t sure where it was heading. In places Dorothy’s possessive control over Ella made her seem a bit caricatured, especially as her behaviour isn’t fully explained until later in the novel. However, it was interesting to read about a friendship riddled by jealousy that wasn’t rooted in something as simple as a feud over a boy, but a long-term hurt that had never been let go of. I’ll admit that this storyline still seems a bit bizarre to me, even after finishing the book, but it wasn’t something that I’d ever seen featured in an Amish novel so Shelley gets credit for trying something new.

If you’ve read the first book in the Families of Honor series, you’ll be pleased to get the chance to catch up on the characters from The Caregiver. Loyal’s Uncle John features throughout the novel, now working at the local coffee shop, and we witness him trying to choose between two very different women, one Amish and one English. Mattie and Graham, who will be the focus of the final book in the series, pop in and out of the story and give us the chance to see how Mattie is recovering from her chemotherapy. Lucy and Calvin also appear a couple of times, as well as Katie, the youngest sibling in Calvin and Loyal’s family. A few chapters in the book are told from Katie’s perspective, which took a while to get used to but was a nice touch. My only complaint with Katie would have to be that, on occasion, her speech did not sound like that of a five-year-old. Sometimes Shelley captured her voice just right, but at other times Katie would utter a sentence that seemed far too mature.

While I wouldn’t class Shelley Shepard Gray as one of my favourite authors of Amish fiction, I’ve also never read a novel by her that I’ve disliked. She’s an author who manages to consistently produce entertaining and enjoyable novels. Although I don’t always connect with her characters as strongly as I do in other Amish novels, her books contain all of the elements that fans of this genre are looking for. If you’re a fan of Shelley Shepard Gray, you won’t be disappointed with this addition to her Families of Honor series.

Review title provided courtesy of Avon Inspire.

Something Old (Plain City Bridesmaids #1) - Dianne Christner

GENRE: ROMANCE
PUBLISHER: BARBOUR PUBLISHING
PUBLICATION DATE: AUGUST 1, 2011
RATING: 6 OUT OF 10

Nineteen-year-old Katy Yoder is looking forward to cherishing friendship and the single life when she moves in to a renovated Dawdi house with her best friends, Lily and Megan. Katy is satisfied with her lot in life, working as a cleaner for various local families, and isn’t quite ready to settle down and get married just yet, unlike many other Mennonite girls her age. Still suffering from the hurt she experienced when her long-term boyfriend, Jake, left to join the English world, Katy would rather not entertain thoughts of dating anyone else until she’s sure that she’s completely over Jake. But her simple little world is soon disrupted when Jake himself returns to the church, not looking any worse for wear from his worldly adventures and keen to help get involved in rebuilding the church hall – a project which Katy is also participating in. No matter what she does, Katy can’t seem to avoid Jake, and his constant presence makes her wonder whether she can ever get over their past relationship. Jake is keen to pick up where they left off before he went to university, but Katy doesn’t want to settle for “damaged goods”, especially after seeing his English ex-girlfriend. Can Katy put aside her judgements of the English world and accept Jake for who he is now, ignoring his past transgressions?

As a fan of Amish fiction, it was fascinating to read about a Mennonite community and learn about how different – or similar – their way of life is. The mentions of electricity and cars came as a surprise initially, but some similarities remained, such as prayer kapps and the distrust of the internet. But as much as I enjoyed learning about a new way of life, I did struggle to view the Mennonite lifestyle through the eyes of Katy. She had a very narrow-minded perspective of the world, to the extent that any form of dancing was a sin and drinking alcohol immediately brought about drunken and lewd behaviour. As someone from a church which engages in dancing as a form of worship and who appreciates a good Shiraz, naturally I was a bit bemused by Katy’s black and white view on life. It’s particularly interesting to note that I’m nineteen myself, and have been living away from home for two years and am engaged to get married next year – a lot of similarities to Katy. But despite these connections, I still found her outlook on life to be very narrow-minded and judgemental, and her attitude towards her relationship with Jake very immature. I’m not saying this as someone with a wealth of life-experience who can view events in hindsight, but as someone who’s actually at a very similar stage in their life to Katy. To be honest, if I came across someone like her in a class at my university, I wouldn’t be rushing to become friends with her, particularly if she was going to call me a sinner when I attended a dance class or went to the pub.

That said, Katy does redeem herself. It just takes a very long time for this to happen. In a sense, this is a coming-of-age story, where Katy slowly comes to realise that her attitudes are wrong and gently matures throughout the course of the story. I’m not sure whether this book is being marketed for the adult or young adult range, but I definitely think it would be better suited for girls in their mid-teens, perhaps 14 – 16 year olds. If I, at nineteen, struggled with Katy’s immature behaviour, I’m not sure how someone my mum’s age would react. Maybe they’d have more patience, or maybe they’d be even more frustrated! But as Katy’s attitudes were very typical of a teenager – I’m sure I probably shared some of her limited world-views as a fifteen-year-old – this is probably a book that would appeal more to the young adult market. There are a lot of life-lessons to be learnt from this book, about everything from friendships to living to arrangements to relationships with parents to boyfriends to job-hunting. The friendship between Katy and her house-mate Lily is very typical of the ones I remember from high school, and would probably be easily recognised by girls of this age.

The romance between Katy and Jake was all over the place, and one of those ones that could have easily been made more manageable if the two of them sat down together and talked and actually listened to each other. One pet peeve of mine in romance novels is when everything blows up in a relationship because of a Big Misunderstanding that could be cleared up if the characters slowed down long enough to talk it over. I’m afraid this book had a few BMs in it. Naturally, these BMs can be attributed to Katy’s immaturity, but this doesn’t negate how irritating it was for me as a reader. As pleased as I was that Katy eventually got the guts to talk to Jake about his time “in the world” and forgive him for his mistakes, I couldn’t help but wonder if the book would have been more interesting if Jake had truly rebelled in his time at university and Katy had had to come to terms with Jake truly being “damaged goods” in her eyes. As it was, Jake had merely gone to a few parties, drank a few beers and shared a couple of kisses with one girl. Katy spent a lot of the book worrying about whether Jake had still remained pure in his time at university, and I know from personal experience that a lot of nice Christian girls end up marrying guys who did far worse than Jake in their rebellious periods, so I think the book might have been more interesting if Katy had bigger and more serious relationship hurdles to overcome. Alas, the issue of remaining pure until marriage and then marrying someone who never considered the importance of purity in their youth has yet to be covered in any book I’ve read. But back to Katy – naturally, as this series is titled Plain City Bridesmaids, the book ends in a wedding. Despite my misgivings about the BMs scattered throughout their relationship, I am happy that our hero and heroine put aside their preconceived ideas about relationships and accepted each other for who they are. I just with that the book hadn’t suddenly jumped to a wedding, as I felt that Katy and Jake’s relationship was still quite young and immature, and they needed more time to make sure that they can actually remain a couple without blowing up again over a tiny issue, before tying the knot.

If it appears that I’m ripping this book to shreds, I do apologise. The problems that I encountered when reading this book aren’t to do with flaws in the plot or characterisation or even the writing itself, but the simple fact that this book seems to have been written for a younger audience. I’m sure a teenage girl would adore this book and understand Katy’s dilemmas, not finding her as immature and narrow-minded as I did. I would caution more mature readers to be aware of the very teenage feel of this novel, although those who love YA fiction probably wouldn’t have the same frustrations as myself. Despite my misgivings with this book, I will admit that I did mostly enjoy reading it, although I did want to take Katy by the shoulders and shake her several times throughout the story.

Review title provided courtesy of Barbour Publishing.

Doctor in Petticoats - Mary Connealy

What happens when an idealistic student nurse encounters an embittered army doctor in a stagecoach accident? How will she react when she learns her training didn’t prepare her for tragic reality? How will he, an army deserter, respond to needs when he vowed to never touch another patient? Can these two stubborn mules find common ground on which to work and bring healing to West Texas?

Heading home to Texas for her sister's wedding, Beth is less than pleased to be sharing her stagecoach with a drunken vagrant. But when they come across another stagecoach that's been involved in an accident, trainee-nurse Beth knows that she needs all the help that she can get. Yet no one is more surprised than she when Alex reveals that he's actually an ex-army doctor. Finally arriving at her hometown, her relatives and neighbours welcome her with open arms, especially when they learn that she's brought a doctor with her. Despite her aspirations to treat the town's residents herself, Beth knows that a female doctor will never be allowed. But Alex is still mentally scarred from the horrors that he's experienced on the battlefield, and insists that Beth help him treat his patients. Her parents are unhappy with this arrangement, until Alex suggests something that even Beth thinks she can agree to - a marriage of convenience. Beth will work alongside Alex, helping to alleviate his fears, and giving her the chance to use her medical skills. Will their marriage remain purely practical, or can it develop into something more? And will Alex's mysterious past ever catch up with him, revealing why he's still having nightmares about the war? 

As you may have noticed, I'm on a historical romance kick right now, especially with novels set in late 1800s USA. Prairie life, homesteading and stagecoaches galore! And Mary Connealy appears to be Queen of these books! I've never read anything by her before but I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for more of her books.

I made the mistake of starting this while studying for my English exam and had to keep tearing myself away. The start of this novel, where Beth is on the stagecoach and comes across the accident, is incredibly fast-paced and sucks you right into the story. Beth's a spunky heroine and takes control of the situation, ordering Alex and the driver around so that she can take care of everyone. Her heart is obviously in the right place, even if she has to beat Alex over the head with his own hat to make him obey her orders!

The chemistry between Alex and Beth is brilliant. While Beth initially finds Alex irritating, they work well together, both as doctor and nurse and as husband and wife. It was lovely to see their relationship developing and I loved Connealy's portrayal of marriage. Not only did this couple have a wonderful equal partnership where they relied on each other, but Connealy made it clear that sex is something to be celebrated between husband and wife. Some books ignore the subject of sex in marriage, or make it seem like a duty, so I'm very grateful to this author for showing that it is something to be both cherished and celebrated! That said, there was nothing graphic or descriptive on the topic of sexuality, just a few sentences here and there hinting that a happily married couple enjoyed spending time together in their bedroom.

While reading the novel I discovered that some of the characters had previously featured in other books - which is excellent as I'd love to read more about Beth's parents! However, I'm more interested in Mandy, the sister whose wedding Beth was heading home for. I really enjoyed the subplot about her in this book, and I'm happy to see that she's the focus of #3 in the Sophie's Daughters series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I didn't completely love it. While I was initially drawn in by Beth's spunkiness and the quirky and humorous narrative, this petered out after a while. The final conflict was fun to read, but I felt like the focus shifted from Beth to Alex. Of course, I enjoyed reading about Alex too but I found that I preferred the sections of the novel that were from Beth's perspective. I'll definitely be reading more books in this series as I enjoy reading about the McClellan family, but this isn't my absolute favourite historical romance.

If you like your romances to have a quirky narrative and a spunky heroine, this is definitely one to look out for. All three of the books in the Sophie's Daughters series are already on the shelves, so you won't even have to wait to find out what happens next to the McClellan sisters! 8/10

Many thanks to Barbour and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

Rugged and Relentless - Kelly Eileen Hake

When three landowning women put an ad in the paper expressing their desire for healthy, hard-working husbands-for-hire to help them set up and run a sawmill, they never dreamed their tiny town would be overflowing with proposals from bachelors who responded promptly...and in person! Out of this logjam of potential suitors, which one will Evelyn Thompson choose? Jacob Grainger trails his brother's murderer to Hopesfall where, to keep his true intentions secret, Jacob pretends to court Miss Evelyn Thompson. Will this lumberjack-turned-bounty-hunter find himself falling for the enterprising female?

When four young women head off to the ghost-town of Hopesfall, Colorado to turn it into a bustling, prosperous saw-mill, they end up with far more than they bargained for. While Cora plans to wed her fiancee, she knows it's not safe for her friends to be alone in a town full of men. Thus Evie, Lacey and Naomi come to the conclusion that they need to find husbands - fast. But these unconventional women don't want to wait for the right man to come along and make a proposal; they plan to make sure that they get just what they want by hiring husbands! But when their unusual advertisement brings dozens of men to Hopesfall, rather than the letters they had expected, the women realise that they have a lot more on their hands than they'd anticipated. Especially with the mysterious Jake Creed who seems far too protective over the women, especially Evie. Little do they know that Jake ended up in Hopesfall purely by chance, and is actually searching for his brother's murderer. He certainly didn't expect to find himself protecting three headstrong yet vulnerable women who insist that they want to pick spouses out of the rabble of men that they've put to work rebuilding their town. Suddenly he finds himself in a race to find his brother's killer before the man in question marries one of the women that he's sworn to protect. And he definitely doesn't want Evie to get into this man's clutches...although Jake can't quite figure out why he feels so strongly about the stubborn woman he always ends up arguing with! 

The protagonists of this novel alone make it wonderful. While I adored the setting and the descriptions of the food, Evie and Jake were what made me thoroughly enjoy this novel. Like most women, Evie is insecure, but she also knows how to hold her own and assess situations. Unlike her best friend, Lacey, she doesn't rush into anything - except an opportunity to argue with Jake. She was a really endearing character and I appreciated the fact that she was self-conscious about her curves. As someone who cannot buy trousers anywhere at the moment because years of genetics have given me a more curvaceous derrière than most current fashion-designers admire, I understood Evie's dilemma! So naturally, I became Jake's number one fan when he told Evie to eat more as she was losing weight. Curvy heroines and the men that love them immediately get my vote in any novel. Jake is also a winner because of his caring attitude. While he initially sets out to find his brother's killer and discover what truly happened to his sibling, his plans change when he realises that the women of Hopesfall need protection. He sets aside his own desires in order to help them set up the town, and underneath his stubborn demeanor he's truly a caring gentleman.

The other women intrigued me as well. Despite her frilly clothes and privileged upbringing, Lacey clearly wants to look after her friends and her heart is always in the right place, even if she finds herself useless in the kitchen. Cora appears to be emotional and vulnerable to begin with, but her fight to convince her fiancee that she still wants him despite his injuries really brings out her true character. And Naomi is still a little mysterious to me. She was very quiet throughout the entire novel, yet seemed to be the more reasonable and sensible one of the group. I look forward to reading more about each of them in the upcoming books in the series. There were several interesting characters in the men who arrived in Hopesfall, yet I can't guess which ones Lacey and Naomi will choose as husbands!

One of my only complaints would have to be that the sections from the point of view of the murderer than Jake was hunting didn't really flow with the rest of the story. They felt a bit awkward and it seemed as if the author was trying too hard to be mysterious. The initial scenes with Braden, Cora's fiancee, also had a few odd moments, but this disappeared after a while. Other than that, there weren't any major letdowns but I would have liked a bit more time with Evie and Jake at the end! It was all over far too soon for me. I guess I'll have to wait for the next book to see how their story pans out.

If you're looking for an unconventional historical romance with moments of suspense and comedy, then this spin on the mail-order bride plot is definitely for you. If the protagonists don't win you over, the descriptions of Evie's delicious food definitely will! Look out for the first in the Husbands for Hire series from Barbour in March 2011. 8/10

Many thanks to NetGalley and Barbour for giving me an early chance to read and review this book.

Murder in Plain Sight - Marta Perry

There are secrets buried in Amish country...

Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—against the community's bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community… and believes in the boy's guilt.

Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic, stirred up by the biased publicity of the case; the dead girl's boyfriend; even from the person she's learned to trust the most, Trey Morgan. But just when Jessica fears she's placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future—including their own.

While so many of the Amish novels that are currently saturating the market are focused on love and romance, Marta Perry tackles an entirely different subject - can the Amish kill? When a local English woman turns up dead in a barn, along with an unconscious Thomas Esch clutching a hammer, the residents of Lancaster don't doubt for a second that he committed the crime. But his English neighbour, Geneva Morgan, is convinced of his innocence. Trey Morgan doesn't share his mother's opinion but grudgingly decides to shadow the big city lawyer that she hired in order to protect his mother's involvement in the case. Jessica Langdon isn't pleased with Trey's presence, merely wanting to settle the situation in order to keep her job in Philadelphia, but a series of disturbing threats and incidents cause her to look to Trey for help. Was the murder more than a drunken mishap? Are Jessica and Trey getting themselves involved in something sinister and dangerous?

This is only the second novel of Perry's that I've read, but I'd definitely recommend her to any fans of romantic suspense or Amish fiction. Marta certainly understands the Amish and portrays them accurately, and she's also excellent at getting your heart thumping. I was reading this late at night but couldn't bare to put it down in case something exciting happened in the next chapter! While I did suspect the murderer early on in the story, this didn't detract from my interest. I was intrigued by the connections between the threats made against Jessica, and wanted to know how everything somehow linked back to the Morgan family. Geneva Morgan was a wonderful character, as was Leo Frost. I always appreciate having well developed secondary characters in the background to move the story along. Geneva held the story together, much like the grandmother in Perry's Hide in Plain Sight (#1 in the Three Sisters Inn series from Love Inspired Suspense), and I thought it was realistic that Jessica have Leo aid her with her legal work, as she couldn't possibly handle such a complicated case on her own.

The only minor setbacks to the mystery that I'd have to mention would be being able to spot the killer early on (although maybe I just read too much Nancy Drew as a child!) and the semi-monologue that he gave at the end of the novel when he revealed himself. Like I commented in my review of Hide in Plain Sight, it just seemed a bit cheesy and predictable. I can't really put my finger on what I didn't like about what he said or the way he said it, but it irked me in some way. And while I enjoyed the romance between Jessica and Trey, there were a couple of the typical "I touched him and felt a spark shoot up my arm" moments that you always get in romance novels that I wish authors would get rid of; they're just too over-used. Their Happily Ever After ending also seemed a little bit rushed.

But despite the minor issues I had with this book, I did throughly enjoy it. If I don't get a review copy of its sequel, Vanish in Plain Sight (June 2011), then I'll probably end up purchasing it myself as I have a feeling that the loose ends that weren't completely tied up at the end of this novel will be explained in #2 in the series. Although a bit rusty in places, this is an excellent addition to the growing Amish genre and a pleasant (or perhaps not!) break from the typical baking escapades and romantic picnics. 8/10

Many thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

A Prairie Christmas Collection - Various

Apologies for the lack of posting, but I have a good excuse - I got engaged on New Year's Eve, and had to tell everyone in my family! My boyfriend (well, now fiancee) and I had already planned a trip to visit my grandparents and my aunt this week but a lot of our time was taken up making preliminary wedding plans, so I didn't get the chance to read this review. This one is particularly appropriate as it's definitely focused on love and romance...

Experience Christmas on the historical American Great Plains as retold by nine different multi-published authors, including Tracie Peterson and Deborah Raney. Follow pioneers, immigrants, and orphans through their adventures, heartaches, challenges, victories, and romances. You are sure to find more than one favorite among the nine holiday romances in this unique collection to warm your heart and inspire your faith.

This is a wonderful collection of historical romances, the perfect Christmas gift for anyone who is a true romantic at heart or simply an admirer of the good old days of wagons and bonnets. From stories of love at first sight to newly married couples overcoming problems together to widowers and spinsters finding a love they never thought they'd experience, there is sure to be more than one story in here to delight an avid inspirational historical romance reader.

Having spent most of December reminiscing with the first season of Little House on the Prairie, I was excited when I remembered that I'd received a review copy of this book from Barbour. And I definitely wasn't disappointed with this collection! While I'm not normally a fan of short stories, each of these were at least 50 pages long and had room for plenty of character development, descriptions of the great plains of the prairie and even some sub-plots. My personal favourites were "The Christmas Necklace" by Maryn Langer, which involved a mystery surrounding a woman who falls from wealth and ends up working as a maid; and "Circle of Blessings" by Deborah Raney, in which a female college student falls for her tutor and has to prove to her father that he's worthy of her affection.

I appreciated the range of different stories in this collection, featuring everything from girls barely out of their teens to older women suffering from past heartbreaks. While one might expect repetition when the setting and time period of each story is limited, I'd like to assure potential readers that this is not the case. There was only one story that I felt was a bit too contrived and predictable, and bizarrely it was the first one, "Take Me Home" by Tracey Bateman! While it was cute, I felt it was veering towards being sickly sweet. This may just be a matter of personal taste, and I'm glad that I continued reading as I was introduced to some wonderful new authors. I was surprised to discover that the final story, "Cold As Ice" by Jill Stengl was linked to "Take Me Home", featuring some of the same characters. In a nice way, these two sandwich the rest of the stories together.

If you're a fan of historical romances or would just like to relax with some short stories during the cold nights before Christmas, I'd definitely recommend putting this book on your wishlist for next winter. 9/10

I have a more detailed review, including my thoughts and ratings of each individual story at GoodReads. Click here if you're interested.

Many thanks to Barbour and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

Long Time Coming - Vanessa Miller

Faithful Christian Deidre Clark-Morris is a professional career-minded woman with a loving husband and beautiful home, but no children. Kenisha Smalls has lived in poverty her entire life and has three children by three different men. After learning that Kenisha has inoperable cervical cancer, the relationship between these two women becomes a catalyst of hope, leading them both to a place of redemption and healing.

When Deirdre and Kenisha first meet it seems like they have nothing in common, but circumstances conspire to bring them together and build a surprising friendship. Deirdre is a high school principal with a lovely husband, but she's depressed because a medical condition has left her unable to have children. Kenisha is scraping through life as a single mother on benefits, having birthed three children to three different fathers, and has just been diagnosed with inoperable cervical cancer. Deirdre initially stereotypes Kenisha, thinking that it's impossible for such a woman to be a good mother, but she finds herself drawn to her son, Jamal. When Jamal calls Deirdre for help when his mother becomes ill, she begins to see Kenisha for who she really is and finds herself called to help her. But it may well be Kenisha who ends up helping her... 

This is the first book I've read from the author, and also my first foray into the African-American genre. As far as I know, we don't have any race-specific genres in Britain, and although I've read some excellent books by black authors such as Dorothy Koomson and Malorie Blackman, I know that they don't specifically aim their books at a certain race. For this, I'm quite please as I doubt there's anyone out there aiming books at someone who is half Scottish, three-eighths English and one-eighth Indian! However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and truly don't think that you have to be African-American in order to read it.

This book will really pull at your heartstrings, as would any story about someone in their twenties dying of cancer. I really felt for Kenisha and her anguish at leaving her children without a mother. Although there were a few moments where I had tears in my eyes, I wouldn't say that this is a depressing book. The way that Kenisha and Deirdre helped each other deal with their problems was incredibly uplifting. Each of them made judgements about the other but were able to overcome these in order to become friends and support each other. The character dynamics in this story were excellent, and Kenisha's children were adorable. I always find that children brighten up a story!

I did have a few problems with this book, namely in the last third. Although I really enjoy Christian fiction, I felt that a lot of this story focused on Deirdre trying to convert Kenisha and in some places it almost came across in a "Bible-bashing" manner, where Deirdre felt that conversion was more important than simply being there for her friend and letting God shine through her actions. I'm a firm believer of showing Christ to people through the way you speak and act, and waiting for them to ask you questions, rather than trying to talk about God all the time. This was mainly present in the last third of the book, and although it didn't make me dislike it, I do feel that it brings my rating down a bit. I also found the epilogue incredibly cheesy! I do like a happy ending but this overdid it a bit.

Although I felt that this novel had its faults, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for unconventional Christian fiction. Kenisha isn't your typical heroine, but she's incredibly endearing and you'll find yourself rooting for her to let go of the past and to find peace with everyone in her life. I found it more difficult to relate to Deirdre as I felt that she'd caused so many of the issues she had in her life, but it was excellent seeing her grow as a character, and watching her overcome stereotypes and judgements in order to become friends with Kenisha. I also appreciate that the author felt brave enough to deal with so many popular issues in our society - drug addiction, single-parenthood, alcoholism, poverty, death, cancer, street crime, infertility - and that she did so in a tactful manner. So many Christian novels focus on "safe" topics, so I admire Vanessa Miller for stepping out of the mould. Definitely an author to watch! 8/10

Many thanks to Abingdon Press and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

A Time to Love - Barbara Cameron

When Jenny is injured in a car bomb attack overseas, she awakens beneath one of her grandmother's Amish quilts---and discovers something even more comforting: an invitation to recuperate back home in Lancaster County. Pennsylvania life proves healing in many ways---until she unexpectedly falls in love! After traveling the world, could she ever settle here? 

Barbara Cameron twists the typical storyline of an "English" woman falling in love with an Amish man in her first novel in the Quilts of Lancaster series. Jenny has always felt a special connection to her grandmother's Amish community, despite her father leaving the faith as a teenager. When she's injured while reporting from a war-torn country, Jenny decides to recuperate in Lancaster, where she feels at peace. There she reconnects with Matthew, a man she became friends with on her childhood summer visits, whom she discovers she still has a crush on. But Jenny's still hurting, both physically and emotionally, and she's not sure if she's ready for a relationship - let alone one with a widower who has three children and belongs to a completely separate part of society. It's going to take the help of the handsome farmer himself, his adorable children, his meddling sister and Jenny's ever-faithful grandmother to convince Jenny that God has brilliant plans for her future, no matter how bleak the repercussions of her accident may look. 

Jenny is the anti-heroine: she's insecure about her looks, worried about her future and cares more about others than herself. She's a woman that we should all be able to relate to. I loved that Barbara Cameron dared to create a character who struggled with her movements and speech; Jenny struggles with things that we take for granted yet she still manages to make new friends and fall in love. Her lifestyle is also unconventional, having spent most of her adult life in war-torn countries reporting on how children are suffering. Cameron really makes us feel the heart that Jenny has for the children she meets, and how she wonders if she's let opportunities disappear from her life because of her career. More and more women in today's society are getting married late and put off having families because they want to focus on their jobs, like Jenny, which is what makes her an appealing and modern character.

Her love interest, Matthew, is also appealing. He's an old-fashioned gentleman, always eager to help Jenny and constantly looking for opportunities to visit her, which is most endearing! Matthew is father to three children, and I have to admit that I like the storyline of a single woman falling in love with a man with a past and a brood of kids. The children added humour and lightness to the story and served to show us what a loving woman Jenny is. Not only does she fall in love with the Amish and Matthew, but Jenny becomes enamoured with his children. Annie in particular was incredibly cute and I'm sure every reader will have a soft spot in their heart for her.

I was incredibly impressed with Barbara Cameron's venture into the genre of Amish fiction and especially pleased with her unique take on the genre. Jenny had previous connections with the Amish community through her grandparents which made her involvement with the People, and her interest in Matthew, all the more believable. I also loved how Jenny wasn't a typical romantic heroine and had the same struggles that we all have - and much more. This is a fantastic novel and I'll definitely be looking out for the second in the series, A Time to Heal, in March 2011. 10/10

Many thanks to Abingdon Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

A Simple Amish Christmas - Vannetta Chapman

Annie Weaver always planned to return home, but the 20-year old RN has lived in Philadelphia for three years now. Her time of rumschpringe is about to come to an abrupt end, bringing for Annie an overwhelming sense of loneliness. She returns home and finds herself face-to-face with a budding romance with an Amish farmer and Annie has several important choices to make.

Vannetta Chapman's debut novel is far from "simple." Annie is an unconventional heroine, full of doubt and constantly striving to do the best she can for her family and her community. Samuel is insecure and and still hurting from a long ago accident that claimed his family. The protagonists of this Christmas tale have to learn that God's grace can wipe away their pasts and bring something new and wonderful into their lives - together.

A Simple Amish Christmas is full of quirky and lovable secondary characters (some of whom captured my heart in such a way that makes me wonder if Chapman plans to expand on their stories in another novel?) and has a wonderfully Christmassy and chilly setting which makes you want to wrap up under a blanket (or perhaps an Amish quilt!) with a cup of hot chocolate. Chapman has captured the essence of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania perfectly, not only in its landscape and culture but also the spirit of community that is present among the Amish. Annie's family and friends welcome her back with open and arms and encourage her to use her nursing skills to help those in need. This is a far cry from the likes of Beverly Lewis's novels where characters are shunned or flee their families because of past transgressions. Instead, I was reminded of Amy Clipston's Kauffman Amish Bakery series, where the focus is on dealing with day-to-day problems that anyone could face, inside or outside the Amish community - a pregnant teenager, a troublesome home-birth, a car accident, a misunderstanding between a new couple. I have a feeling that Chapman could be following in Clipston's footsteps to become the next bestseller in the Amish genre - and pride of place on my bookcase!

Although I found this a leisurely and unchallenging read, this debut novel is not the "Simple Amish Christmas" story it sells itself as. Annie and Samuel have to learn to trust God and each other and overcome their fears and doubts in order to reach happiness in this endearing romance peppered with challenges, subplots and snowstorms. Vannetta Chapman is an author to look out for, especially if you're a fan of the Amish genre or just a hopeless romantic like me. 10/10

I'm very grateful to have had the chance to review this book from NetGalley and Abingdon Press.