Home » Posts tagged 'Englisch'
Tag Archives: Englisch
An Amish Mother for His Child–family love
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.
Her Secret Hope–Amish friendships
Her Secret Hope
by Shelley Shepard Gray
In the course of reading the Amish trilogy, A Season in Pinecraft, the reader is taken on a trip to Pinecraft, Florida, where a lot of Amish visitors like to go during the cold winter months. Englisch tourists come as well, but with so many Amish, the Amish stand out less and have more accommodations for their lifestyle. Three girls who don’t have friends among their hometown peers, end up together in Pinecraft where they develop a strong friendship with each other. Her Secret Hope focuses on Lilly Kurtz who moves to Pinecraft two years later to be with her friends and begin a new independent life working in the Marigold Inn cleaning rooms.
There she meets Eddie and his grandmother who becomes friends with everyone she meets. Eddie has taken her to Disney World, but after that adventure she is ready to rest, have meals brought to her, and (gasp!) watch DVD’s in her room. She is quite taken with the hardworking, kind Lilly and tries to do a little matchmaking. There is already some attraction between Eddie and Lilly. In trying to make conversation and get to know Lilly, Eddie pushes too hard as Lilly has a secret that she doesn’t want to share for fear it will cause Eddie to reject her as she has been looked down on so often in the past.
When there is a traumatic accusation at the inn, Lilly’s friends and co-workers stand up for her, but unfortunately her boss does not. This dramatic twist brings climactic change for Lilly and Eddie. Secrets are shared and hard decisions are made. Read this novel to see if all of the friends remain in Pinecraft and if love can survive the worst of times.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance, Fiction, Christian
Notes: # 3 in the Season in Pinecraft trilogy, but could be read as a standalone.
Publication: November 7, 2023—Revell
Memorable Lines:
Lilly was beginning to feel like she’d asked for a hot fudge sundae and had been served a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead. The treat was good and she appreciated it, but it wasn’t what she’d hoped for.
Everything didn’t need to have a reason or be a big deal. She really did need to stop overthinking every little thing. All that mattered was that she was making a friend, and she’d learned that one can never have too many of those. It was better to count her blessings instead of worry so much.
No, she still wasn’t falling in love, but what she was experiencing was really good. She was making friends and gathering great memories. Both were things to be grateful for.
Gingerbread Danger–compulsive thief
Gingerbread Danger
by Amanda Flower
Bailey is a prominent chocolatier who owns and manages a candy shop in Harvest, Ohio, with her grandmother. She returns to New York occasionally to film episodes of a cooking show. In Gingerbread Danger, she has just opened a candy factory, Swissmen Candyworks, now selling her famous candy online. Her best seller is Jethro the polka-dotted pig bars, fashioned after her mother-in-law-to-be’s potbellied pig who is frequently left with Bailey for pig sitting duties. Fortunately, Jethro gets along well with Bailey’s huge rabbit Puff and her grandmother’s cat.
A young man falls off the icy roof of Bailey’s candy factory when he is setting up a sign for Harvest’s latest tourist attraction for the Christmas season—a life size version of the board game Candy Land. Is his fall an accident or murder? Meanwhile, Bailey’s parents are in town. Her mother has hired a wedding planner to create the wedding she has always dreamed of for herself, but this one would be for Bailey who really just wants a simple wedding. There are also multiple robberies occurring at Amish stores in Harvest. An Amish Robin Hood seems to be at work. Now Aiden, Bailey’s fiancé, has to try to keep her safe while she insists on investigating; and as sheriff, he is playing “whack a mole” with all the crimes in what should be a quiet tourist town.
Gingerbread Danger is a good cozy mystery, at Christmas, or year round.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1.#9 in the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries. I advise reading some of the other books in the series first for character development, but I recommend all of the books in this series. They contain a good mystery, humor, and both Englisch and Amish characters.
2. Do you like gingerbread? There is a gingerbread house contest for Bailey’s staff that produces a standout food artist. Also included is a recipe for Maami’s Gingerbread Fudge!
Publication: October 22, 2024—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
At times people could be so caught up in their own lives that they were unaware of the suffering around them. It happened to everyone. I was guilty of it myself. Now I couldn’t say it happened to me when I was standing twenty feet from a dead body…
Grief. It was a feeling I knew well…There was a ringing in my ears that wouldn’t go away for weeks. It was as if I was tuned in to every electric hum around me…I was in the candy shop. I was present. But at the same time, I wasn’t. My soul felt as if it was somewhere lost in space.
“I told my husband that I should at least be there to represent the mothers in the district and show our support. He told me nee.” She sniffed. “He is my husband and I must do his bidding, but if he thinks he is getting a roast when he comes home, he is sadly mistaken.”
The Amish Matchmakers–romance for the matchmakers
The Amish Matchmakers
by Beth Wiseman
Two Amish elderly sisters, Esther and Lizzie, own the Peony Inn and two neighboring cottages which they rent out. The sisters have a reputation in their community as matchmakers, but in this story they turn their skills on each other. They love each other so much that neither wants her sister to be alone or lonely if she passes first. When retired Englisch dentist Ben Stotzfus leases one of the cabins for 6 months, each determines to make a match for her sister, but both widowed women are actually attracted to Ben.
Another part of the plot introduces Ben’s granddaughter Mindy. Ben was semi-estranged from that part of his family, but now that she is grown they have reconnected. Gabriel is an Amish young man who works for the sisters at the inn, mainly when they need outside work done. He and Mindy meet when an accident occurs at Ben’s cottage. A spark flies upon their meeting but they wonder if anything can come of it since Amish and Englisch romances often have bad endings.
As older adults, Ben and Esther have medical issues that they try to keep secret. Lizzie is an energetic, feisty woman who is an avid reader of romances. She has decided that the cottage is haunted by the ghost of a previous tenant even though that concept is not part of Amish beliefs. Esther frequently has to rein Lizzie in, suggesting that she get rid of books on ghosts and serial killers and calling her out on some lies.
Depending on the issue, the antics and interactions of Esther and Lizzie can be serious or humorous, but their actions, although sometimes extreme, are always well-intentioned. The setting centers around Thanksgiving and Christmas giving an Amish holiday air to The Amish Matchmakers.
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: Romance, Christian, Religion
Notes: Standalone
Publication: October 17, 2023—Zondervan
Memorable Lines:
“Gott had a plan. I believe that when things fall into place easily, it was meant to be.”
He truly did believe laughter was good for the soul, and he’d seen plenty of instances where a person’s joyfulness had prolonged their life.
He could lie, but she’d see through him. Mothers has a superpower when it came to lying.
Dating Can Be Deadly–quilts and goats at the county fair
Dating Can Be Deadly
by Amanda Flower
In Holmes County, the Amish and the Englisch have their own traditions, but in general they get along well. The Holmes County Fair draws both groups in. Protagonist Millie Fisher, known to her friend and sidekick Lois Henry as the “Amish Marple,” has been widowed for a number of years and has gradually become comfortable with that role. So, this year, Millie enters a special quilt in the fair and allows her grandson to show her two mischievous goats Phillip and Peter in the goat competition. With the fair as the background, there are many threads in the plot of this amusing cozy mystery. When Millie and Lois discover the body of one of the quilting judges and the shredded quilt of the inimitable bishop’s wife, Ruth, the two sleuths are compelled to investigate.
There are lots of ups and downs in the plot as suspects are found in the most unlikely places. There are romances for both ladies. The most compelling part of the plot for me deals with a little abandoned Amish boy whose grandfather doesn’t want anything to do with him. Millie’s heart goes out to the sweet, fearful child, and she is stuck in the middle of a legal, moral, and Amish cultural dilemma.
As always, Englischer Lois with her colorfully dyed, spiky hair and her best childhood friend Millie, a faithful Amish widow are as different from each other as they can be. They remain devoted to each other. They find themselves involved in a case that leads them into lots of adventures. Lois is famous for her tote bag in which she carries something for every emergency. Millie’s investigative skills are top notch as are her matchmaking skills. This is another fun book in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #5 in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series. Amanda Flower brings new readers into the series quite well, but I recommend reading the previous books in the series because they are good and they make the humor more predictable.
Publication: October 24, 2023—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
As soon as she said that, my guard went up. Lois had said to me once that any time an Englischer said something was very simple, it was the opposite, and they typically spoke in a way that was meant to be ambiguous.
“Sometimes when a person turns their passion into an occupation, they begin to resent it. I don’t want that to happen to me.”
You are only poor when you want more than you have.
Blueberry Blunder–Harvest celebrates with a Blueberry Bash
Blueberry Blunder
by Amanda Flower
If you need an escape from real life or from a challenging nonfiction book, I highly recommend Blueberry Blunder. Amanda Flower has once more written a cozy mystery that confounds the reader and includes a lot of humor and a tad of romance.
Bailey, a former New York chocolatier, is currently expanding Swissmen Sweets, an Amish candy shop she owns with her grandmother in Harvest, Ohio. The candy factory under construction experiences a huge setback when Bailey has to fire her general contractor and then later finds him dead in the unfinished factory. His murder is, of course, the prime focus of the mystery, but there are many other threads. Cousin Charlotte who is estranged from her Amish family because she decided not to join the church is preparing for her wedding to Deputy Little. There are lots of interactions of Amish and Englisch in this cozy, and it is a great opportunity to see that there are many differences among the various Amish districts. Aiden, Bailey’s boyfriend, resigns from Ohio’s Bureau of Investigation, and returns to Harvest to begin a business as a Private Investigator. His mother Juliet is thrilled and is anxious for him to propose to Bailey. Meanwhile, Juliet is convinced that Jethro, her polka-dotted pot bellied pig needs to frequently accompany Bailey as she goes through her day making candy and investigating crimes. Bailey is also being shadowed by an intrusive film crew of two from Gourmet Network which produces Bailey’s candy show.
There is plenty of fun to go around and lots of characters with probable motivation for murder. I very much enjoyed my return visit to Swissmen Sweets and Harvest, Ohio.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #8 in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series, but can definitely be read as a standalone because the author does an outstanding job of filling in background without boring readers of previous books in the series.
Publication: May 23, 2023—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
“Sit.” She pointed at the empty chair at the table. I fell into the chair as if I had been shot from the sky. Graceful to a fault, that was me, I thought sarcastically.
It was a clear to me that he had some of the same anger issues as his father. He might not like how his dad treated him, but I could see him going down the same bitter road himself.
I could think of about a million things that I would rather do than spend the day with the elder Littles, such as swim with sharks and get a root canal.
Once Upon a Buggy–Amish Romeo and Juliet
Once Upon a Buggy
by Shelley Shepard Gray
May and Carl at ages 16 and 17 respectively sneak off to the feed barn for some innocent time away from the prying eyes and ears of siblings. When a lightening bolt strikes the wooden structure, their lives are changed forever, as are the lives of their families when a feud develops and the formerly close neighbors stop communicating altogether. As part of the Amish community in Apple Creek, Ohio, they should have been able to get past guilt and blame, but they haven’t, especially Carl’s family because he was injured so badly.
Six years later, Carl returns to Apple Creek for the first time to visit. Scarred mentally and physically, he has made a lonely life for himself as an Englischer. He is successful, however, as a project manager for a manufacturing company. Carl wants to leave the past behind and unite the two families. His sister and May’s brother find themselves in a Romeo and Juliet scenario as they are quite smitten with each other, but know neither family would approve. Carl finds that he still has feelings for May.
The author puts lots of obstacles in the way, and at times reconciliation for the two families seems impossible. The parents in this book are, of course, Amish, and the customs are for families to stay together with the father having ultimate authority. The adult children often have to walk a fine line between living out their lives and respecting their parents.
Once Upon a Buggy is well written with lots of character development. The conflicts are realistic. I am not Amish and am only aware of their societal structure through fiction, but I was surprised that their bishop in six years had not intervened in the feud. He was helpful, however, when called on by the younger members of the families who pushed a confrontation so they could move on with their lives.
There are two scenes that particularly caught my interest. A tornado moved through their county. Because Carl is Englisch, many people find out about the tornado watch and later the warning through Carl and his access to technology. That scenario made me wonder how the Amish normally find out about tornadoes moving through. In my county in Oklahoma, we have sirens as a warning system. The families’ preparations for the event, their time of sheltering, and the community’s working together in the aftermath particularly drew my attention.
May’s family owns alpacas, and the herd has an important role in the story. I enjoyed learning more about them.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Romance
Notes: #2 in the Amish of Apple Creek Series, but works well as a standalone. I had not read #1 and didn’t feel like I had missed anything that would keep me from understanding or enjoying this book.
Publication: March 28, 2023—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
People started whispering. A low buzz surrounded her, sounding as if she was surrounded by a swarm of bees. Each one gossiping, talking, no doubt ready to sting her with an unkind comment.
It seemed that was how everyone handled his father now. They let Daed spout off rude things and didn’t correct him. Carl supposed that approach kept the peace, but he found it irritating.
“What I’m trying to say is that He did hear my prayers, but the solution wasn’t the one I thought I wanted. It was the one I needed. I didn’t need to have pain and sadness removed from my life…I just needed a way to manage them.”
The Amish Christmas Promise–twin brothers
The Amish Christmas Promise
by Amy Lillard
Mattie’s husband David was killed in a farming accident leaving her with two precious preschool daughters and another child on the way. She has been grieving for several months when David’s twin brother Samuel appears. He claims that he had promised David that he would take care of his wife and children if anything ever happened to David. He declares that he is there to marry Mattie. Not only is Mattie stunned by his assertion, but there is a major obstacle. Samuel has been out of communication with his family and the Amish church for eight years, and he is under their rules for shunning anyone who has left the church in this manner.
The Amish Christmas Promise is about the secrets Samuel holds and his reluctance to share them and ask forgiveness of God and the church members. He is deep in lies of omission which are hurting his budding relationship with Mattie. She and her two sisters who live with her risk their standing in the church by the acts of kindness they show Samuel. So faith, trust, kindness, and God’s will become major themes in the story.
The children are sweet, and the sisters are supportive. Some humor is brought into the novel in the form of Charlie, a mischievous pygmy goat that Mattie keeps in the house as a pet. It is rather a stereotype, but the bishop’s wife Eleanor Peachey does her best to righteously spread rumors and gossip. Mattie and Samuel are both likable characters. I enjoyed the book, but the resolution seemed like a jump in time and occurred too easily to be believable given the past tragedies in the protagonists’ lives. It was, however, the ending most readers would hope for.
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
Publication: November 28, 2023—Harlequin (Love Inspired)
Memorable Lines:
Mattie wiped tears of mirth from her eyes; at least they had started off that way. These days she could never be certain. One minute she was laughing and the next sobbing. But pregnancy and grief were a terrible combination.
How many people had he grown up with had faked their compliance with the church until true faith came to them? A handful at least. Being Amish wasn’t easy, and that had nothing to do with lack of modern amenities and everything to do with heightened faith. Most had it. All were expected to.
“You may always have doubts. And you may always have to stop yourself from wondering and mulling over all the what-ifs and maybes, but it’s not wallowing in them that makes all the difference.”
Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous–greed!
Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous
by Amanda Flower
Where you see zany, flamboyant Lois, an Englisch grandmother who helps out in her granddaughter Darcy’s café, you will probably also find Millie, her Amish best friend from childhood. Millie tries to stay within the rules of her Amish district, but it’s hard when Lois encourages her as the “Amish Marple” to pursue investigations. This time the victim almost literally falls in their laps in a particularly bizarre means of murder.
There are personal complications also as one of Lois’ many ex-husbands shows up in the little town of Harvest with his new bride of two days. What a shock for Lois to see “Rocksino-Guy” again and in her own hometown. The bride is very interested in Amish furniture specially designed with secret compartments. Millie and Lois investigate three local furniture makers to try to discover what the compartments might be used for.
Millie is an unofficial matchmaker, and she is called on by various Amish locals to determine if a match is suitable. She doesn’t go out looking for people to match, but she has a good feeling about whether a couple is compatible or not. If asked she will give her opinion, but she never offers it unsolicited or charges for her service. Even Millie’s matchmaking skills are an important thread in this mystery.
Harvest is always supporting some community event. In this story, it is a Valentine’s Day Spaghetti Supper that is a fundraiser for a drug counseling treatment program. Both the Amish and the Englisch citizens are concerned about the rising drug problem in Holmes County especially following the recent overdose death of an Amish teenager.
Millie and Lois, in their late sixties, find themselves in dangerous situations as their investigations draw them ever closer to discovering the truth. With someone slinking around the widowed Millie’s isolated farm and the discovery of a threatening note, Lois and chief deputy Brad determine to get the district bishop Yoder to allow Lois better phone access for emergencies. Even Ruth Yoder, the bishop’s strict wife, softens up to Lois and encourages the pair in their investigations.
A visit to Harvest wouldn’t be complete without Jethro, the pot-bellied pig, who puts in an appearance. Millie’s mischievous goats have prominent roles and even come to Millie’s rescue. Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous is a good cozy mystery with lots of threads and humor. The series always shows the ways the Amish and Englisch can work together with respect despite their differences.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #4 in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series, but could be read as a standalone.
Publication: December 27, 2022—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
What I saw was a man with bloodshot eyes, sunken cheeks, and a heart shattered into a thousand shards.
Even with her zany Englisch ways, my parents welcomed her onto our farm and let her stay as long as she wished. They knew she needed a safe place to go.
“I can speak to bad marriages. They are hard. In fact, I can’t think of anything about the single life that’s as awful as a bad marriage.”
The Story of Love–being Englisch in an Amish community
The Story of Love
by Beth Wiseman
Yvonne moves from her house in Houston to live in Amish country in Montgomery, Indiana. Her friend Eva has been ordered to bed during her pregnancy, and Eva’s father-in-law is confined to a wheelchair leaving the farm management to Eva’s husband Jake. Yvonne, a rare book dealer, had met the couple at their bookstore, and now she steps in to help her friends at their store.
Abraham is a police officer who left the Amish church on friendly terms hoping to be useful as an intermediary between the Amish and the Englisch. He met Yvonne shortly after her fiancé died and hoped that at the right time he would be able to get to know her better.
The Story of Love is a sweet story of two people trying to sort out priorities and relationships. When the tale begins, Abraham is dating a very attractive woman who is as shallow as a mud puddle. With Yvonne and Abraham trying to make honorable choices, it takes a while for the romance in the story to progress. There is the further complication of Abraham’s family’s attitudes toward both women and their continuing discomfort with Abraham leaving the Amish faith. It is a problem for him too. Interesting and important subplots center on a homeless dog and a case of domestic violence.
I really enjoyed reading The Story of Love and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Hopefully Ever After, to discover what lies ahead for the characters. It is a gentle book but also has some action and confronts some serious issues. The characters use some Amish terms, and through the plot I learned how the Amish celebrate Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Romance
Notes: 1. #2 in the Amish Bookstore Novel Series. It would be fun to read the first book in the series, but I had no problem jumping into this one.
2. Contains a Glossary of Amish words used in the book.
Publication: October 11, 2022—Zondervan Fiction
Memorable Lines:
Brianna smiled, looking gorgeous, but now that Yvonne had seen what was on the inside, her striking appearance had lost some of its luster.
This was what Christmas was supposed to be. Gifts created out of love. Meals shared with family. And an all-knowing sense that where more than one gathered in His name, He was there.
…if she was honest with herself, she was the problem. She was unlovable, despite her outward beauty that she’d always counted on to get her through life, to land her a good man, and to enjoy the life she thought she deserved. Maybe you had to give love with genuine intent before you got it back.
education pathways 