I was hooked when I read the first sentence of the description, “If God wills it, Mary Yoder will do it, even if that means using crutches for the rest of her life.” The rest of the description settled it. Had to request this one. Mary was badly injured in a buggy accident as a ..read more

The story starts with Nelson Bontrager who is about to propose … and then … Ella Yoder has a problem. She has several — the man who is about to purchase the empty warehouse next to the family store, the warehouse Ella had planned to use for expansion. Her sister, Junia. And Ella was tired ..read more

In "Courting an Amish Bishop," part of "The Heart of the Amish" series, two unlikely characters find themselves intertwined. Simon Graber, a young widowed bishop, and Stella Schmucker, a healer, are brought together by the illness afflicting Simon’s son and his community. Despite their initial single-minded focus on their work and their apparent disinterest in complicating their lives with romantic relationships, they find themselves drawn to each other amidst the crisis. This book, received as a digital review copy, garners high praise for blending serious themes with the lighter, evolving ro ..read more

The author/publisher description is, well, perfect. It discloses just the right amount of information without giving away the plot. And those of us who love the Kate Burkholder series know that Katie will go through some rough times, that she will get the perpetrator or perpetrators in the end, and that the murder will not be an ordinary one. And yep! I'm a Kate Burkholder series fan. BTW, I have to remind myself it's the Kate Burkholder, not the Katie, series. This was a page-turner for me. Click "Read more" to find out why ..read more

Some girls don't have to even try. Boys just are attracted to them. I bet you knew someone in high school like that. I did. And, of course, I was one of the ones that didn't. Turns out that the same thing happens in the Amish world. Rachel is such a girl. Her best friend growing up was Josh. But in the eighth grade (that's the final grade in an Amish school), he distanced himself from her. She never knew why. But Josh knows why and he does love Rachel even though he is courting another girl. Boys still flock around Rachel like bees even though she gives them no encouragement. And the girls cal ..read more

My description ... Ever feel like a square peg being forced into a round hole? That's Barbara. Her mother is a quilter. Her grandmother is a quilter and by George -- BARBARA IS GOING TO QUILT *AND* BE A GOOD QUILTER! Oh, her mother is not shouting but she might as well. Her parents send her to Indiana for the summer. Her task? Help her grandmother in her quilting shop. The Indiana community is different than her reserved Kentucky one. The difference? Understanding grandparents and a young Amish man (unmarried, of course) who has a landscaping business ..read more

My description ... What kind of heart does a person have to kill an Amish man on his way to work? To brutally kill. To escalate the brutality. No wonder the title of this book is An Evil Heart. Another in the Kate Burkholder series ..read more

Description in my words ... » Adam Lantz is looking for the ideal & proper (I think he really meant perfect) Amish woman to be a mother to his child. » Community matchmaker, Adel Knussli, had set up the marriage of two strangers. » Verna Kauffman, age 30, wanted a family & was willing to marry Adel's chosen man for her. Verna learns after the marriage Adam's childcare rules. Plus, his strict standards on almost everything. And that his demeanor was very, VERY formal. Can these two create a home for the little girl? A home for both adults which has a comfortable atmosphere. A loving hom ..read more

Two people who are struggling to feel comfortable in their new circumstances. Martha Eicher took care of her widowed father & two sisters. Now all are married and she no longer feels enjoyable living with her dad and new wife. Even her best friend is getting married in a week. She feels like a fish out of water. Asher Lantz, a bachelor, now father to his niece & three nephews, is struggling to balance taking care of the farm, workshop AND four preschoolers. Asher needs someone to take care of the children and his home. Martha needs to move away from home. And you guessed it, Martha ste ..read more

In the small-town Missouri setting of Promise Lodge, widower Lester Lehman is finally doing so much better. His life has found purpose. He lives in a *real* lakeside tiny house. But there are these two Amish ladies who decide they need a man -- they want Lester! That alone makes for some comedy. Both of those women are so -- to me it was more important for each to beat the other one -- Lester was just icing on the cake. New to the Promise Lodge community, Marlene Fisher is protective (for good reasons) of her grown brother Mose. She has dealt with several men and none of it ended well. But Les ..read more