book review: "an amish love" by beth wiseman...

Three stories are wrapped into one book, all taking place in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In “A Marriage of the Heart,” Abigail Kauffman can’t believe that Joseph Lambert isn’t as taken by her as the other men in the community. In an attempt to get back at him, she tells her father Joseph tried to kiss her. Outraged that Joseph would try to take advantage of his daughter, Abigail’s father demands a marriage between the two. When an old friend comes to visit Joseph, Abigail learns of her husband’s past, putting their growing love to the test.

Ellie Chupp loses her sight in a car accident in “What the Heart Sees.” This same accident kills Christopher Miller’s fiancée and he leaves the community, angry that the one responsible wasn’t punished. Five years later he returns only to find out his sister is engaged to the man who was driving the car. Can Christopher learn to forgive as Ellie has done?

In “Healing Hearts,” Naaman Lapp decides he needs to take a break from his family. After thirty-one years of marriage, Naaman leaves to visit some family, not knowing when or if he’ll return. Levina doesn’t understand why her husband left and is further confused when he returns eleven months later. The Amish faith requires her to forgive but can she truly forgive Naaman? When a sheriff comes looking for her husband, Levina wonders if he returned on his own or came seeking refuge. Can she trust him again?

Out of the three stories, “A Marriage of the Heart” was my favorite. I liked how even though each story was written by a different author, all mention characters from the others. I felt like there was too much background with “What the Heart Sees.” It seemed to me that the story kept building and building and then quickly ended with Christopher asking Ellie on a date at the very end. The story seemed to be more about each of them separately and their internal struggles than their growing relationship. “Healing Hearts” was my least favorite of the three but not for any specific reason. This made for a good read and I overall enjoyed it.

I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson and all opinions are my own.