Rate this book

An Amish Gathering: Life In Lancaster County (2009)

by Beth Wiseman(Favorite Author)

4.26 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Thomas Nelson

review 1: "The Amish Gathering" contains three novellas: "A Change of Heart" by Beth Wiseman; "When Winter Comes" by Barbara Cameron; and "A Place of His Own" by Kathleen Fuller. The stories are set in the Amish community in Paradise, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. Each story stands on its own but features many of the same characters and the entire book takes place over the course of one year.A Change of Heart:Much to the despair of her parents, who fear she'll never get married, Leah Petersheim isn't good at the skills a proper Amish wife needs - skills like cooking, sewing, cleaning, and gardening. Leah doesn't care if she ever gets married, all she wants to do is write even if it is frowned upon in the Amish community. Aaron Lantz seems to like Leah just the way she is, but he... more has a hard time convincing her. Aaron may need some help convincing Leah that his love for her is real."A Change of Heart" is a very cute novella - if I had to pick a favorite of the three this would be the one. The novella is full of delightful characters - Leah, who struggles to be herself in a world that insists on conformity; Aaron, who loves Leah enough to be willing to eat chicken salad for the rest of his life; and Aaron's eccentric Auntie Ruth (my favorite character in the entire book). While there is a wonderful sense of humor throughout the book there is also a great deal of seriousness. The book does an excellent job of showing how the Amish and Englisch intermingle. The romance between Leah and Aaron is very sweet and enjoyable.When Winter Comes:Ben Weaver has waited patiently by the sidelines while Rebecca Miller mourns the death of her twin sister Lizzie in a skating accident. Ben has always been in love with Rebecca, but it has been five years since Lizzie died and he is wondering if he should move on. Rebecca is finally starting to heal and explore her feelings for Ben, but is it too late?"When Winter Comes" is a nice is somewhat sad romance. It is hard not to feel Rebecca's pain as she not only mourns Lizzie's death but blames herself for not being able to save her. Author Barbara Cameron does an excellent job of showing how Rebecca and her life has changed since Lizzie's death. Readers will admire Ben for sticking around as long as he has although he does have one of the most humorous proposals I've ever read. "When Winter Comes" is an enjoyable Amish romance.A Place of His Own:10 years ago, when he was 14, Josiah Bontrager left Paradise with his father without saying goodbye to his best friend Amanda Graber. Now he's back, but he's changed and tries to keep his distance from Amanda. Undaunted, Amanda is determined to help Josiah fix up his old home. Josiah reluctantly lets her help but he has a secret he is determined to keep from her. Will these two former best friends find love as adults?If I had to pick the least favorite of the three novellas of the book "A Place of His Own" would be it. It is not a particularly bad story - it features a strong heroine and perhaps shows the best of all three novellas how close knit the Amish community is. However, I felt that author Kathleen Fuller took a bit too long revealing Josiah's secret and when it finally is revealed it was a bit of a letdown, and ultimately not developed as well as it should have been. All in all, I thought it was a bit too slow moving and Josiah's reasons for keeping Amanda at arms length never quite worked for me.Fans of Amish romances will enjoy "The Amish Gathering". Also, if you've never read a romance set in the Amish community but like sweet romances you'll enjoy this collection.
review 2: I only read the first book in the book and have to say I liked it. I have now mis-placed the book so as of now I can only give a partial review. I love exploring Amish, Mennonite and Anabaptist ideologies. I find the strictness to much for me, but on the other hand the search for holiness highly commendable. The story is both a moving and romantic one. Worth a look if you like that type of thing also. :) less

Download links for: An Amish Gathering: Life in Lancaster County

Advertising