When I first opened “The Keeper” I was pretty much expecting another Amish novel along the same basic pattern as many of the other Amish books I have read. I was quickly reminded that Suzanne Woods Fisher has a special touch when it comes to writing about the Amish. She literally breathes life into her characters. “The Keeper” is a story about the Amish that depicts their life in a manner that doesn’t dwell on the things that make the Amish different but shows the reader how much we are all the same inside.
It would be hard for me to choose a favorite character from “The Keeper”. Each one of them had their strengths and weaknesses. Julia Lapp has always had to be strong for her younger brother and sisters since her mother’s death and even more so since her father’s severe heart problems. When her fiance Paul postpones the wedding once again, Julia is devastated and quickly finds someone to blame in Roman Troyer, the Bee Man. Roman has a reputation as a wanderer and a flirt who will never settle down, but no one knows the deep pain that causes him to fear caring for others. He agrees to help Julia make Paul jealous but things don’t exactly turn out the way they planned.
“The Keeper” has it all with plenty of action, lots of humor, emotional highs and lows, and numerous surprises. Some scenes were laugh-out-loud and others had me looking for a tissue. Loved this book. At a time when I sometimes think “not another Amish book!”, “The Keeper” was a refreshing change of pace.
This book was provided for review by LitFuse Publicity.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Julia Lapp has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. When Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding–again–she knows who is to blame. Perpetual bachelor and spreader of cold feet, Roman Troyer, the Bee Man.
Roamin’ Roman travels through the Amish communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania with his hives full of bees, renting them out to farmers in need of pollinators. He relishes his nomadic life, which keeps him from thinking about all he has lost. He especially enjoys bringing his bees to Stoney Ridge each year. But with Julia on a mission to punish him for inspiring Paul’s cold feet, the Lapp farm is looking decidedly less pleasant.
Can Julia secure the future she’s always dreamed of? Or does God have something else in mind?
See what other bloggers have to say about “The Keeper” HERE.
ABOUT SUZANNE: Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. She has many, many Plain relatives living in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and travels back to Pennsylvania, as well as to Ohio, a couple of times each year for research.
Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate many of their principles–simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily– into your life.
When Suzanne isn’t writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To Suzanne’s way of thinking, you just can’t take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone’s underwear in its mouth.
Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.
It’s a “Honey of a Giveaway” from Suzanne Woods Fisher!
Suzanne is hosting a “honey of a giveaway”during the blog tour for The Keeper! During 1/3-1/17 you can enter to win an iPad2 from Suzanne and connect with her on January 17th at The Keeper Facebook Party!
During the giveaway one Grand Prize winner will receive a Prize Pack valued at $600:
A brand new 16 KB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi
A $25 gift certificate to iTunes
A copy of The Keeper
But wait there’s more! Just click one of the icons below to enter, then on 1/17 join Suzanne for The Keeper Facebook Party! During the party Suzanne will announce the winner of the “Honey” of an iPad Giveaway and host a fun book chat and give away some fun “honey” inspired prizes – It’ll be ‘sweet”!
If you have someone on your Christmas list who enjoys Amish fiction, The Christmas Singing would be a thoughtful gift or stocking stuffer for them. The publisher is offering 30% off plus free shipping of The Christmas Singing (and any other title) through December 20, 2011. To take advantage of this generous offer, purchase the books at WaterBrookMultnomah.com and use the promo code CHRISTMAS11 at checkout.
Because of its title, many readers may expect ‘A Plain & Fancy Christmas’ to be just another warm and fuzzy Amish Christmas story. In actuality, Christmas plays only a very small role in this tale based on a highly unusual and unlikely “what if” scenario. What if two girl babies named Rachel were born about the same time in the same hospital and were accidentally switched at birth? What if one of them was an Amish baby and the other Englisch? And how would they feel if the only person who knew what happened had a touch of conscience some thirty years later and decided to let them know the truth?
So that is the basic premise behind the story related in ‘A Plain & Fancy Christmas’ which features Rachel Yoder, a young Amish widow with one daughter and Ellie Lawrence, a successful business woman in New York City. As the story progresses, each of the young women and their families experience a wide range of emotions and undergo monumental changes in their lives. As can be expected in most Amish novels, everything works out well at the end and this particular novel culminates happily at Christmas.
‘A Plain & Fancy Christmas’ is skillfully written with an imaginative plot and well-defined characters. Its emphasis is on relationships and the importance of being yourself. Although the events in the book are not likely to ever happen, it still makes for interesting reading. And that is what fiction is all about after all.
For those who enjoy Amish fiction, ‘A Plain & Fancy Christmas’ is a novel to add to your collection. And you don’t have to wait until Christmas to read it. This story would be enjoyable year round.
This book was provided for review by the Amazon Vine™ Program.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Raised in a Pennsylvania Amish community, young mother Rachel Yoder has led a simple life within her close-knit family. Widowed three years ago, she has moved back in with her parents, attempting to raise her daughter, Katie, without further emotional upheaval. Meanwhile, four hours and a whole world away in New York City, Ellie Lawrence is laser-focused on a high-powered public relations career, with too little time for her family, her friends, or even her boyfriend.
Then one fateful day, these two very different women receive shocking news of a mistake made three decades earlier and long kept hidden: Shortly after their births, the two were accidentally switched in the hospital. Shaken to the core by this momentous news, Rachel and Ellie are plunged into an exploration of who they are and where they really belong. While Ellie is eager to learn more about her Amish family and their life in the countryside, Rachel cannot help but feel jealous as she watches the only mother she has ever known bonding so easily with her natural daughter. But Rachel also knows that her own biological family is out there, and with Katie at her side she heads for Manhattan, where she establishes a connection with the raucous, spirited Lawrences.
As Ellie and Rachel make their way through unfamiliar landscapes, they face life-altering challenges and grapple with a crucial question: Will their old conventions and desires give way to new customs and yearnings? With the Christmas holidays fast approaching, it takes the love of two families for Rachel and Ellie to discover their own paths to fulfillment and happiness.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Cynthia Keller’s books speak to our conception of the American dream in more ways than one. Keller says, “My own concern about the environment made the Amish mode of living seem especially important to understand. Global warming, slow living—all the buzz words of today are addressed in Amish life. While I was writing AN AMISH CHRISTMAS, I started hanging my laundry out to dry instead of using the dryer. It got me thinking about food sources, cooking from scratch (I tested Amish recipes on my children) and wanting to learn how to make my own preserves (I’m planning to do that this year). It also made me rethink a slew of related issues, like the ways in which families find satisfaction in their lives and the influence of community.” Richly evoking the tastes, textures and rhythms of a life few of us experience but many of us secretly long for—elements of which we may be able to recreate at home—Cynthia Keller’s A PLAIN AND FANCY CHRISTMAS makes a perfect read heading into the holidays.
Cynthia Keller lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.
Since 2000, Shelley Sabga has sold over thirty novels to numerous publishers, including HarperCollins, Harlequin, and Abingdon Press. She has been interviewed by NPR, and her books have been highlighted in numerous publications, including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.
Under the name Shelley Shepard Gray, Shelley writes Amish romances for HarperCollins’ inspirational line, Avon Inspire. Her recent novel, The Protector, the final book in her “Families of Honor” series, hit the New York Times List, and her previous novel in the same series, The Survivor, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list. Shelley has won the prestigious Holt Medallion for her books, Forgiven and Grace, and her novels have been chosen as Alternate Selections for the Doubleday/Literary Guild Book Club. Her first novel with Avon Inspire, Hidden, was an Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.
Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She now lives in southern Ohio and writes full time. Shelley is married, the mother of two children in college, and is an active member of her church. She serves on committees, volunteers in the church office, and currently leads a Bible study group, and she looks forward to the opportunity to continue to write novels that showcase her Christian ideals.
When she’s not writing, Shelley often attends conferences and reader retreats in order to give workshops and publicize her work. She’s attended RWA’s national conference six times, the ACFW conference and Romantic Times Magazine’s annual conference as well as traveled to New Jersey, Birmingham, and Tennessee to attend local conferences.
Judith Graber has always been the obedient daughter. When her older brother Josh struggled with his love life, she offered wise counsel. When her younger brother Caleb flirted with the idea of leaving their order, she firmly told him he was wrong. Over the years, she’s watched her younger siblings, helped around the house, and worked in her family’s store during her spare time. Judith feels overworked, overlooked, and underappreciated this holiday season.
But everything changes when her father hires Ben Knox.
Ben Knox is the “bad boy” of Sugarcreek. Though he’s never considered jumping the fence, he’s certainly never tried to be anything close to dutiful. Two years ago he left Sugarcreek under a cloud of shame. Rumors circulated that his rumspringa had been filled with more than the usual harmless explorations.
Now he’s back and working side by side with Judith.
As the chaos of the holiday season threatens to sap all joy, sparks fly between Ben and Judith. But Judith steels herself to ignore her infatuation. The last thing she wants to be is just one more girl who falls under Ben’s spell. Ben, on the other hand, wants Judith to realize there’s more to him than his bad reputation. When he fled Sugarcreek, he was running from a disruptive home life. Now that he’s back, he wants a fresh beginning.
Could this Christmas season bring love and a new life for the unlikeliest pair in Sugarcreek?
Learn more about Shelley and her books on her Website .
MY REVIEW:
Originally reviewed for Amazon Vine™ Program on September 16, 2011.
Christmas in Sugarcreek is an easily read, sweet Amish romance that is just right for a lazy afternoon by the fire with a warm beverage. In this story, the reader returns to the small town of Sugarcreek where Judith Graber might just receive a Christmas surprise she never expected.
Judith is the quintessential “good girl”. In her opinion, everyone in her family depends on her way too much and seem to take her for granted. But being the good girl that she is, she stuffs her dissatisfaction and continues to help where needed without complaint. Just when she thinks she cannot handle another extra responsibility, her father hires a temporary employee to help her in the family store. Unfortunately that helper turns out to be Ben Knox, the former “bad boy” of Sugarcreek before he left town. Although they have both matured, Judith is not sure she can trust Ben because of everything she has heard about him. But as the two are forced to spend many hours working together, Judith slowly begins to realize that Ben is not the person she thought he was.
Yes, this is one of those “good girl” falls in love with the “bad boy” romances but it is one with a difference. Christmas in Sugarcreek teaches a valuable lesson about judging people by appearances or actions without looking to see the true inner person. Although the outcome of the story is obvious from the beginning, it is a charming and delightful read.
After having her heart broken by Gideon, the man she loved, Mattie has become a cake decorator with a successful business in a different town. She has a comfortable relationship with Sol, a good man she hopes to spend her life with. An unexpected catastrophe takes her back home where she cannot avoid spending time with Gideon. Old feelings are reawakened but Mattie is determined to ignore them. Gideon realizes he has never stopped loving Mattie but believes that a life with Sol is best for her. Old lies surface that change everything Mattie believed. Will she be able to settle for a safe life with Sol or can she take a chance on true love with Gideon?
“The Christmas Singing” is a short but sweet Christmas novella set among the Amish. I loved Woodsmall’s characterization of Mattie in all her ditziness. I also enjoyed reading about Beth and Jonah from “The Sound of Sleigh Bells” as they prepared for their wedding. Major theme of this book is forgiveness with an emphasis on how sometimes what is done with the intention of protecting someone may actually hurt them more.
“The Christmas Singing” is another good book from Cindy Woodsmall and is perfect for the holiday season.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Blogging for Books Program.
About The Book:
After Gideon coldly broke her heart, can the warmth of the season revive Mattie’s hopes?
Three years ago, at Christmastime, Mattie Eash’s life was everything she could hope for. That is, until her childhood sweetheart, Gideon, betrayed her.
Heartbroken, Mattie retreated to her brother’s home in Ohio and poured her life into the dream of running her own cake shop. There, she found someone unlike Gideon. Someone safe.
But a devastating situation forces her back home…and right into the path of Gideon Beiler.
Will learning the truth behind his rejection restore her Christmas joy—or open the door to even deeper heartbreak?
This holiday season, Mattie’s best gift might just be the harmony of unexpected truth and reconciliation.
Spend Christmas with the Amish in this story of love, romance, heartache, and restoration in The Christmas Singing.
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times best-selling author whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. She is the author of six novels, two novellas and Plain Wisdom, a work of non-fiction co-authored with her dearest Old Order Amish friend. Cindy lives in Georgia with her family.
Overall, “The Wonder of Your Love” is a warm and enjoyable Amish romance. It features Katie Ann, a widow raising a newborn son (her first) at the age when most Amish are welcoming grandchildren into their lives. Still grieving the abandonment by and subsequent death of her husband Ivan, Katie Ann meets Eli, the relative of a friend and who has raised his six children alone after the loss of his wife. Although everyone around them seems to be matchmaking, both Katie Ann and Eli are determined that their life goals are too different to ever be more than good friends.
In addition to Katie Ann and Eli’s story, the reader is provided a continued story of Martha and her growth in faith. Lucy, the woman with whom Ivan betrayed Katie Ann, and Danielle, a battered teen are also featured. Lucy’s role in the story was finally evident near the end but I was never sure why Danielle was introduced. Perhaps that will be evident in a later installment of the series.
With a theme of how man’s plans are not always the same as the plans of God, “The Wonder of Your Love” also illustrates an undeserved act of forgiveness from Katie Ann to Lucy that many would find extreme.
“The Wonder of Your Love” is an interesting read that shows the Amish in a somewhat different light than is usually portrayed. Recommended read for fans of Amish fiction.
This book was provided for review by LitFuse Publicity.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Katie Ann lost the love of her life. Then God offers her a new beginning in Colorado.
Katie Ann Stolzfus lives in the small Amish community of Canaan, Colorado. At forty she is widowed and raising her first child. But baby Jonas will never know his father, and Katie Ann wonders if her Heavenly Father hasn’t forgotten about her as well. Is it really God’s plan for her to be a single parent?
Eli Detweiler has come to Canaan for a wedding and a long vacation. Having raised six children following the death of his young wife, Eli is finally an empty-nester. He’s enjoying the slower pace of having no one to care for but himself.
When Katie Ann and Eli meet, there is an instant connection. Yet as strong as the attraction is, they both acknowledge that a romance would never work. He is done parenting, while she has just begun.
But as their friendship slowly blossoms into feelings that are as frightening as they are intoxicating, Katie Ann and Eli question if the plans they made for themselves are in line with God’s plans.
Can Katie Ann entrust her heart to another man, and rediscover the wonder of God’s love?
Read what other bloggers are saying about “The Wonder of Your Love HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Beth Wiseman is hailed as a top voice in Amish fiction. She is a Carol-award winner and author of numerous bestsellers including the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series. She and her family live in Texas.
Beth is celebrating the release of Book 2 in the Land of Canaan series with a Fabulous Facebook party on November 1st. She’ll be giving away one of her OWN paintings, several mini prize packs and a sneak peak at the next book in this heartwarming series.
CLICK the button (below) to RSVP for the party – then join us on November 1st for a book chat, Amish themed trivia contest, and more!
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Julia Lapp has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. When Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding–again–she knows who is to blame. Perpetual bachelor and spreader of cold feet, Roman Troyer, the Bee Man.
Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. She has many, many Plain relatives living in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and travels back to Pennsylvania, as well as to Ohio, a couple of times each year for research.
