Seeds of Hope by Barbara Cameron

Seeds of Hope (Gilead, November 2017)

A heartwarming tale of discovering love right in front of you

Miriam Troyer has had a secret crush on Mark Byler since she was a teenager, but she knows they can never have a relationship: Mark is a big-city attorney and an Englischer. Her Amish community is too far removed from all he knows–and she loves her quiet way of life.

Mark has always loved his visits to his grandfather’s farm, but he’s convinced the Amish life isn’t for him. There’s so much of the world to see and experience, and the excitement of his successful law practice can’t be matched by the slow pace of life found back home in the country.

But when things go wrong and his firm distances itself from him to try to save themselves, Mark finds himself back at his grandfather’s farm. Could life in this simple world be worth living after all? Especially when the teenager he remembers has grown into a woman that could be his future. Suddenly, these two people whose lives seem so far apart may get a chance to really see each other for the first time.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

{MORE ABOUT BARBARA CAMERON}

Barbara Cameron has a heart for writing about the spiritual values and simple joys of the Amish. She is the best-selling author of more than 40 fiction and nonfiction books, three nationally televised movies, and the winner of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. Her books have been nominated for Carol Awards and the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award from RWA’s Faith, Hope, and Love chapter. Barbara resides in Jacksonville, Florida.

Find out more about Barbara at http://barbaracameron

My Take : This was a typical Amish and English falling in love story.  I enjoyed it and will be looking forward to other in this series.  I enjoy reading Amish book that are set in Lancaster County as I live in Lancaster County and like to see if I recognize any of the landmarks.  I found it interesting that the Englischer in this book is a lawyer as they usually don't have such a lucrative job.  I enjoy by luxuries but I also enjoy the simpler life.  I liked how the author made the romance to seem to be plausible.  This was a bit predicable but still enjoyable.  Recommended if you enjoy Amish love stories.  

I received a review copy from Litfuse in exchange for honest review. 

Christian's Hope by Ervin R. Stutzman

Christian’s Hope (Herald Press, October 2016)

When Christian Hochstetler returns to the Amish after seven years in captivity, he finds that many things have shifted.

Captured as a child during the French and Indian War, Christian has spent much of his life among Native Americans, who cared for him and taught him their ways. Now that Christian is home, his father wants him to settle back into their predictable Amish life of farming, and Christian’s budding friendship with Orpha Rupp beckons him to stay as well.

Yet Christian feels restless, and he misses his adoptive Native American family—who raised him as their own son. When faced with a life-altering decision, will Christian choose the Amish identity that his father desires for him? Or will he depart from his family and faith community yet again?

Christian’s Hope tells the story of the younger brother of Joseph and son of Jacob, whom readers have come to love in the first two books in the Return to Northkill series. Based on actual events and written by a descendant of the Hochstetler family,Christian’s Hope brings the sweeping epic of the Return to Northkill series to a soul-stirring end.

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{MORE ABOUT ERVIN R. STUTZMAN}

Ervin R. Stutzman is author of “Jacob’s Choice,” “Joseph’s Dilemma,” “Tobias of the Amish,” and “Emma, A Widow Among the Amish.” Born into an Amish home in Kalona, Iowa, Stutzman based the Return to Northkill series on the life of his ancestor, Jacob Hochstetler. He has been featured on TLC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?”

Find out more about Ervin R. athttp://www.mennomedia.org.

My Take:  This is the third book in a series but I don't feel like you had to have read the other books to enjoy this book.  This book is a different kind of Amish story.  The Main character was kidnapped by Indians when he was young.  He is reunited with his family and other Amish but isn't really accepted because he preferred is life with the Indians. The Amish don't accept him because he is different from them.  There are other things that go on in the story that were interesting.  This series is based on a true event.  This was not your typical Amish book.  

I received a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

A Sister;s Wish and An Amish Family Christmas by Shelley Shaprd Gray

A Sister’s Wish (Avon Inspire, September 2016)

In Shelley Shepard Gray’s third book in her Charmed Amish Life series, a respectable young woman finds herself falling for an Amish man from the wrong side of the tracks.

Amelia Kinsinger is the perfect Amish woman—at least according to her neighbors. And while Amelia takes pride in her role as homemaker, she’s also harboring a secret: She’s been in love with bad boy Simon Hochstetler for as long as she can remember. Too bad he’s about as far from “perfect” as an Amish man could get… but that’s exactly why she’s so drawn to him.

Life hasn’t been kind to Simon. He ran away from an abusive home at fifteen and things went downhill from there. Eventually, Simon landed in prison. But the experience changed him. Now back in Charm as a grown man, he’s determined to make a new life for himself and not think too much about his wild past…unless it pertains to Amelia.

He’s loved Amelia for years. To him, she represents everything good and kind in the world. When he realizes that she returns his affections, he starts calling on her in secret, even though her older brother Lukas—who just happens to be Simon’s best friend—has made it perfectly clear that Amelia deserves better. Simon disagrees and believes he’s the only one who can truly make her happy.

But when Amelia gets hurt, it sets off a chain of events that forces them to consider their future together—and face their past mistakes. There’s a chance for love… but only if Simon dares to trust Amelia with the secrets of his past.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

My Take: I really enjoyed this installment of the Charm Amish series.  I was glad to see Amelia get the respect that she deserved.  I was a bit surprised to see Amish treat Simon bad because of his past.  God forgives and the Amish claim to forgive  especially after the person has joined the church.  I was sad to learn about Simon's family life.  No one in the church bothered to reach out.  That just makes me sad. 

An Amish Family Christmas (Avon Inspire, October 2016)

In Shelley Shepard Gray’s fourth book in her Charmed Amish Life series, an unlikely Amish romance reveals that Christmas is a time for family, miracles—and love.

Ever since his father died in a tragic fire, Levi Kinsinger has felt adrift. Newly returned to Charm, Ohio, Levi is trying to fit into his old life, only to discover he seems to have outgrown it.

But when Julia, his young widowed neighbor, asks for his help with a Christmas project, Levi finds a sense of purpose for the first time in months. She and her daughter are new to Charm and could use a friend, a job Levi takes personally. Soon enough, friendship grows into attraction, but Levi can’t help having doubts. There’s something about Julia that doesn’t ring quite true…

Like Levi, Julia Kemps has survived her fair share of hardships—but only by hiding the truth of her past. Being an unmarried mother in an Amish community was unthinkable. Feeling hopeless, Julia did the only thing she could do: she moved to a new town and pretended to be a widow. But meeting Levi, she’s hopeful for the first time. Little by little, she begins to imagine telling him her darkest secret, and eventually…perhaps even sharing her life with him.

Christmas is a time for family, and as the holiday draws closer, Julia and Levi will have to face their pasts together…in order to find the healing, support and love they so desperately desire.

My Take:  I really liked this fourth book in this series.  I liked getting to know Levi the fourth Kinsinger sibling.  I Also liked getting to know Julia and her daughter.  This book brought home the fact that the Amish are still tempted the way we all are.  Again there was a situation in this book that I was surprised that the church didn't help.  I was very sad about this too.  

Learn more and purchase a copy.

Shelley Shepard Gray is a “New York Times” and “USA Today” bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

Find out more about Shelley athttp://www.shelleyshepardgray.com.

A SISTER’S WISH AND AN AMISH FAMILY CHRISTMAS BY SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY | BLOG TOUR AND 5-BOOK GIVEAWAY

Author: Shelley Shepard Gray

Don’t miss books three (A Sister’s Wish) and four (An Amish Family Christmas) in Shelley Shepard Gray’s Charmed Amish Life series. In A Sister’s Wish, when Amelia gets hurt, it sets off a chain of events that forces Amelia and Simon to consider their future together—and face their past mistakes. There’s a chance for love . . . but only if Simon dares to trust Amelia with the secrets of his past. In An Amish Family Christmas, Christmas is a time for family, and as the holiday draws closer, Julia and Levi will have to face their pasts together . . . in order to find the healing, support and love they so desperately desire.

Enter to win a book pack (a copy of A Sister’s Wish and a copy of An Amish Family Christmas) from Shelley. Five winners will be chosen! Click the image below to enter to win. The winners will be announced November 7th on Shelley’s blog!

I received a review copy of these two books in exchange for my honest opinion.