Journey's Ending... with hope and reconciliation. A Review...

When the Soul Mends - Sisters of the Quilt, Book 3... by Cindy Woodsmall, as reviewed by Tami.

A book full of re-connections and rediscovery. Hannah Lapp has gone through a long journey in 2 other books to get to the point she is in book 3. From a tragic rape, rejection and fleeing to the unknown... to the strong confident nursing student we meet in "When the Soul Mends". I had not read the other 2 books of this series (and seem to be getting the end of alot of stories with my review books) but was able to get the idea of the story by reading this book, I do think that the book would have had more impact and made more sense if I had read the other 2 books.

A well written story of hope about Hannah Lapp as she journeys home to help her sister - and reconnects with family, friends and an order and pace of life that is a part of who she is. Being pulled between helping her sister and attending school and being engaged to an 'Englisher' with whom she is helping raise 2 children. The 2 worlds and pace of life are highlighted and compared neatly in this book... without blame or making the other better. And served to show how Hannah was part of both... yet like all of us a time of choosing comes around.

I really enjoyed Hannah's growth to discover that it's okay to want the things that bring joy to your soul. To listen to ones inner voice is what brings peace in the long term. 

Ms Woodsmall did a great job bringing the characters to life and making all the situations believable. I loved the reconciliation theme and the longing to have that peace in ones soul that passes all understanding.

I am sure this is a great series... enjoy it~

3 of 5 stars.


Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The words and thoughts used to describe the book are strictly my own.

Seek Me With All Your Heart - Review

A Review of 'Seek Me with all your Heart' by Beth Wiseman

Unlike most Amish books, this one is not set in the traditional settings of the Pennsylvania Dutch areas. But is a tale of leaving hurt and trouble, memories and pain, burdens and preconcieved notions behind and starting fresh in a new area... namely Colorado!

2 families move into the area with in 6 months of each other. Both families are looking for a fresh start... and having left behind all their support - family, friends and church - they forge ahead looking to create new friends and church family.

The 1st family, Emily Detweiler’s family, abruptly moved to Colorado after tragedy struck in Ohio. But Emily can’t get far enough to escape what happened there. Something I did not know happened in Amish communities - and yet, people are people and evil and unrestrained behavior, sadly, happens in all cultures today. Their tale is of healing, and renewing faith and hope in the future.

David Stoltzfus is not happy when his family relocates from Pennsylvania to Colorado. Nevermind that they haven't told him why. David struggles not only with this unwelcome move, but also with the fear that a health condition could keep him from living his life in full. Again, he is struggling with the unknown... the Amish way of not being too open with their children and spouses is highlighted here, and a glimpse is given to us of how the Amish deal with Medical troubles and money - gives insight to the care and community they left behind. This gives a common thread for Emily and David's character - hope... what it is and if they have any for the future.

This book is a delightful read with quirky characters thrown in to lighten and liven up the story and make it more relate-able to readers who do not read many Amish stories. Beth makes this a fun and easy read - and the heavy parts and unanswerable parts are not so oppressive that you do not see the golden thread of hope and Love from God in them.  I believe this is the first book in the series and truly look forward to any more books Beth Wiseman does.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

I received this ebook for free through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program in exchange for my unbiased review.

The Secret by Beverly Lewis

I was loaned two Beverly Lewis Books, these are not the 1st books of hers I have read... but they are the 1st I've read that were only the beginning of a series. (I tend to like to read a whole series at once - sequentially.)

'The Secret' it is Book one of "Seasons of Grace" Series by Beverly Lewis. Like all of Beverly Lewis books this one had the slow paced reading to set the stage of the Amish world and had all the beauty and richness the setting gives in ones imagination. The Secret is about the Byler family and the unexplained behavior of the mother, Lettie. It gives glimpses in to relationships we can all relate to and sometimes face - people who do not communicate well, workaholics and 'lost souls' who wander around looking for meaning. Added to the old charm of the Amish is the new fangled “Englishers” who visit the area in search of simplicity.

This book was riddled with questions and anguish that comes with secrets that impact families. This being the first book in the series… we the readers, are left with some frustration as many of the intriguing points are not resolved in this book. Hence we look forward to the next one in the series. The majority of the book focuses on Grace Byler – the oldest Daughter in the family. She seems to be most impacted by her mother’s decisions and has the most questions and life decisions to make without the normal aid of family that most Amish have. Interjected in the story is an Englisher who comes to stay the summer and has anguish of her own and whose future and happiness seems undetermined at this point.

There is a lot of heartache and pain in this book – and I found it to be uncomfortable, the Amish characters tried to embrace faith and hope, while the Englishers searched for solace and simplicity. Neither are fulfilling at this point.

I am not sure if I would recommend this book, it is a hard read… there is a lot of raw emotion covered by the simplicity of the Amish. Quite a lot of High drama, if you like that – then you will like this book.