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The Bookseller's Promise (The Amish Bookstore #1) by Beth Wiseman | Amish Fiction Review

The Bookseller's Promise

The Amish Bookstore #1

Beth Wiseman

Amish Fiction

An unrequited romance and a rare book . . .

Yvonne Wilson makes the trek from Texas to Indiana with just one goal in mind: to convince Amishman Jake Lantz to sell her client a rare book from his collection. But Jake is as strong-willed as Yvonne. On the eve of his grandfather’s death, Jake vowed never to sell the book, and he intends to keep that promise. But he can’t say more than that, having never read it and not knowing why it was so dear to his grossdaadi.

Eva Graber has loved Jake since he hired her to work in his bookstore years ago, but he doesn’t seem to notice she’s blossomed into a beautiful woman. When Yvonne shows up and seems like she might turn Jake’s eye, Eva suggests she and Jake should read the book together.

What happens after that surprises them all, and the book leads the trio deep into mysterious questions about life and death, love and loss, and the impenetrable purposes of God.

My Thoughts

A new series from Beth Wiseman and the story involves a bookstore . . . what could be better? How about a little mystery and romance? Well that's in there too.

Jake Lantz inherited the bookstore from his grandfather along with a mysterious old book. Jake's grandfather gave it all to him with the only stipulation being that he not ever sell the book. Jake made the promise and fully intends to keep it.

It just so happens that Yvonne Wilson from Texas is looking for that exact book and tracks it down to Jake's bookstore. On a whim she decides to make the trip to Indiana to try to convince Jake to sell it. That trip will change all of their lives.

Throughout the story I loved the subtle reminder that no matter the circumstances God works everything out for His people. It's often in the bleakest of times that He makes His plan known.

I enjoyed the faith journey of Yvonne and the budding romance of longtime friends Jake and Eva and I look forward to reading more about these delightful people in coming books in the series.

Disclosure

I received a copy of this book from the publisher to facilitate my review.

A July Bride by Beth Wiseman ~ A Contemporary Fiction Review

A July Bride

A Year of Weddings, Book 8

Beth Wiseman

Contemporary Fiction

About the book:

A year's worth of novellas from twelve inspirational romance authors.

Happily ever after guaranteed.

Can she forgive the man who left her at the altar?

Alyssa Pennington dated Brendan Myers for three years before she accepted his proposal. For almost a year, Alyssa's friends and family helped her plan a lovely wedding to take place in the church she'd grown up in. It was the happiest day of her life when she walked down the aisle to be united with the man of her dreams. But when Brendan left her at the altar, Alyssa was consumed by humiliation, embarrassment, and a broken heart that wouldn't allow her to trust anyone. Especially Brendan.

Brendan Myers knows he will spend the rest of his life regretting what he did to Alyssa, the only woman he's ever loved. Without her, his life is empty. In one fateful moment, he'd panicked, destroyed their future, and ruined everything. Now he plans to win her back.

But winning back his bride might prove much more difficult than he can imagine. And even if he does get her to the altar again, will she think turnabout is fair play?

My thoughts:

Of the eight novellas that I have read in the A Year of Weddings series, this one rates up towards the top. From the opening scene of Alyssa and Brendan's dream wedding I knew something had to go wrong. After all what would the rest of the story be about? I was expecting Alyssa to be the one to get cold feet, but instead it was Brendan.

Poor Brendan, almost immediately he realized that he had made a horrible mistake. He loved Alyssa more than anyone and really did want to spend the rest of his life with her. But it seems as if every gesture he makes just rubs salt in the wound instead of being a healing balm. Even Alyssa's father has told Brendan to quit. Then Brendan's worst nightmare happens. Dalton turns up and begins to pursue Alyssa. Alyssa has always had a secret crush on Dalton so it seems like a great choice.

As secrets unfold and become known a distinct story-line of redemption and forgiveness emerges. I really enjoyed how everything came together with not only the main characters but the supporting ones as well. My only complaint is that I would have liked this to be a full length novel rather than a novella. There was so much to this tale that I think it would have been nice for Beth to have the time to develop the characters more and to expound on the themes of overcoming and forgiveness. Quite frankly I think I would say this about any novella that Beth Wiseman would write. I just like her stories and this one came to a conclusion much too soon.

A Year of Weddings Series

A December Bride by Denise Hunter

A January Bride by Deborah Raney

A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant

A March Bride by Rachel Hauck

An April Bride by Lenora Worth

A May Bride by Meg Moseley

A June Bride by Marybeth Whalen

A July Bride by Beth Wiseman

An August Bride by Debora Clopton

A September Bride by Kathryn Springer

An October Bride by Katie Ganshert

A November Bride by Beth K. Vogt

Connect with the author:

www.BethWiseman.com

Goodreads

Facebook

Twitter ~ @bethwiseman

Book Review for An Amish Wedding by Kelly Long, Kathleen Fuller and Beth Wiseman

An Amish Wedding
Kelly Long, Kathleen Fuller and Beth Wiseman
Christian Fiction – Amish

Book description:

Priscilla King has dreamed of being married to Chester Lapp since she was sixteen. With the help of her sister Naomi's matchmaking skills, Chester proposes to Priscilla on her nineteenth birthday. As the wedding day approaches, problems emerge: an attendant with poison ivy, a failed celery crop, and a torn wedding dress.

At the same time, Priscilla's best friend Rose is convinced her fiancé is hiding something and she is intent on discovering the truth at any cost.

Naomi remains hopeful that she, too, will soon find her perfect match. When Chester's cousin shows up, there's an immediate attraction between him and Naomi-as well as an obstacle that may just as immediately derail their blossoming love.

Is God sending a message to stop the wedding? What is certain is that the hearts of these three women will be forever transformed by this touching Amish wedding.

My thoughts:

I am always a bit skeptical about books that have multiple authors writing about the same storyline. In most cases they just do not gel very well. There usually seems to be some glaring glitch from one story to the next.

With An Amish Wedding, I think we may have an exception to this trend. There are three novellas, A Perfect Secret by Kelly Long, A Perfect Match by Kathleen Fuller and A Perfect Plan by Beth Wiseman. Each story features a couple, with the couples from the other two stories being background characters.

One thing that I did like about this book was that the main author, Beth Wiseman, did not overshadow the other two. Kelly Long and Kathleen Fuller’s stories held their own against Ms. Wiseman’s. Each part of the book had its own voice, and I enjoyed that.

For a delightful journey into the divergent world of the Amish, pick this one up!

Buy the book on Amazon

Connect with the authors:

Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Kelly Long all share a blog along with fellow author Barbara Cameron. Visit it at www.AmishHearts.com