An Amish Home – Four Authors plus Four Novellas equals Literary Magic!
Okay. So I’m just going to list the authors: Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Ruth Reid, and Kathleen Fuller. If you are familiar with the Amish genre, this should be enough of a review for you to go ahead and get your copy of An Amish Home. For those readers that are not familiar with these authors – or need a little more cajoling – here is a brief synopsis, as well as my take, on each novella. Bottom line? Grab it!
A Cup Half Full by Beth Wiseman takes readers on a journey with Sarah Lantz and her new husband Abram. Sarah has been left unable to walk following a buggy accident and Abram is riddled with guilt over it. Abram remodels their home to aid Sarah. Sarah struggles to accept a life she never dreamed of. Can Sarah and Abram find their way home to one another?
My take – A Cup Half Full was well written. The storylines were very believable. The novella did seem to end abruptly. That being said, it may have seemed abrupt because I wanted to know what happened next!
Home Sweet Home by Amy Clipston tells the charming, yet heart-wrenching story of Englischers Chace and Mia O’Conner. Chace and Mia have had one hardship after another. When Chace’s Amish employer offers his daadihaus will it be a place of refuge or just more storm and stress and strife?
My take – Home Sweet Home was an enchanting read. I found myself pulling for Chace and Mia every step of the way. I could easily see this being a full-length novel, as there seemed so much more to explore. Well done, Amy Clipston – yet again!
A Flicker of Hope by Ruth Reid shares the amazing story of Thomas and Noreen King. Fifteen years ago, they were inseparable love birds, finding their way as newlyweds. As the years went by, so did their pull towards one another. When a devastating fire takes away all of their earthly possessions, what is left? Can they find their way back to each other – to home?
My take – A Flicker of Hope was a riveting read. It takes readers seamlessly between the present-day angst of a seasoned couple and the courting/newlywed euphoria fifteen years prior. I found myself pulling for Thomas and Noreen through every travail.
Building Faith by Kathleen Fuller brings readers on an interesting journey. Faith Miller is a young Amish maedel – not so unusual. But? But she also has a love for carpentry – definitely not the norm in an Amish community! She is overjoyed to be asked to build cabinets for her cousin’s new home…until she finds out that she will have to work with Silas Graber – her ex-fiancé! Neither is thrilled, and both have personal reasons for doing the project, but might this be the olive branch that’s needed?
My take – Building Faith was a great novella to end the book. It has its light-hearted, funny moments as well as some scenes that really tugged at the heart. As with the other three novellas, I would have easily read another 100 pages about this couple’s journey!
I was given An Amish Home in exchange for my honest review. It was phenomenal. Often when there is a collection like this, there is a novella (or two) that falls short. That is not the case with An Amish Home. Each one was strongly written with intricate storylines and engaging characters. I didn’t want it to end. This quartet of authors has found literary magic and I hope they team up again for another collection. Now – if you still are reading this and haven’t snagged a copy: What are you waiting for? Geh!
Susan Ferrell and her husband make their home in the Atlanta Metro area. Although Susan struggles with chronic migraine headaches, she stays very busy as a stay-at-home mom to one very precocious little girl. While catching her breath, she feeds her Amishaholic tendencies by reading vast amounts of Amish literature!