An Amish Mother for His Child

by Patricia Johns

What a difficult situation! Adam’s wife passed away. He has been raising his daughter Amanda Rebecca on his own, but now feels he needs a mother for his daughter and a “proper wife” for himself. Verna is an Amish woman of thirty. The community  matchmaker decides they could fulfill each other’s needs and perhaps come to love each other in time. Without much more than meeting each other, the two are united. Adam promises to move from Oregon to Pennsylvania, and they set up housekeeping in a rented house. Amanda Rebecca is a sweet almost five year old, and Verna is so happy to be her new mamm. Likewise, Amanda Rebecca takes to Verna quickly as Verna makes the child feel comfortable with the new relationship.

The couple starts out with separate bedrooms and both work to please the other, but it is hard to get communication going. Adam and his first wife had difficulties with that too, and Adam had several traumas in his childhood that hold him back. Verna is fairly independent for an Amish woman, and she insists as part of their agreement that she will continue to teach court ordered knitting lessons to teenagers. The young people have tattoos, piercings, and good hearts in spite of some bad choices. On most things, however, Verna submits to Adam’s leadership in the family as she wants to please him and have a good marriage.

An Amish Mother for His Child details the struggles and successes they have along the way and one big family crisis that occurs. Will they come to a compromise or have to separate? Will they ever be united by love? This is a good story, and I enjoyed it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Christian, Romance

Notes: #4 in the Amish Country Matches Series, but although I have not read any of the others in the series, they don’t seem to have character overlaps and so this worked well as a standalone.

Publication:  December 26, 2023—Harlequin

Memorable Lines:

As an Amish woman, I stand out all the time when I go into the city. People stare at me. It might not be a tattoo, but my clothing shows that I’m different, and I won’t change it to blend in.

If there was one thing she’d learned from teaching that class, it was that she couldn’t change anyone. She couldn’t even make them into decent knitters. All she could do was love them as she found them.

“And you think this is a wise choice?” Adel’s tone said that she thought it was dumber than a bag of rocks.