Not This Time by Vicki Hinze

 

 

I found this book to be very confusing at first. I think part of this has to do with the fact that this is a third book in a series and while I had read the second book it was a long time ago and I didn't really remember the characters that well.

 

As I got a little bit more into the book, I started to remember the characters a little bit better and for awhile it didn't seem to matter anyway as it was a new story just using "familiar" characters. I felt that the book was very drawn out and that the ending was a bit of a disappointment (not wanting to give too much information about the ending though, of course).

 

This book is written mostly from the perspective of Beth Dawson who finds that her best friend Sara has been acting strangely and then her husband Robert disappears. Beth had not been a fan of Sara's husband anyway and their relationship had been a bit strained, so when she questions Sara on various things it doesn't go over very well. The villagers are concerned that the terrorist group named "NINA" is at work trying to infiltrate them again (NINA is a group that is throughout the series). Many of the characters are unsure of who they can/should trust.

 

The book continues following through Beth's struggles of the next few days after a possible terrorist attack and show how Beth falls in love with Joe (a character from a previous book). This book bounces back between their relationship, but mostly focuses on trying to catch or figure out who the bad guys are.

 

I can't really say that I'd recommend this book because it took a long time to get to a pretty unsatisfactory conclusion. However, if you've been reading the previous books in this series then you may just want to get it so you can finish up the set. 

 

 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review through the Blogging for Books program of Multnomah. I was under no obligation to give this a positive review - all of the thoughts on this book are my own. 

Sisters of the Quilt: The Complete Trilogy by Cindy Woodsmall

When the Heart Cries...

I've never done a review that encompasses three books at one time, so I figured that I'd just do "mini" reviews for each book as I finish each one and then give my overall impressions at the end.

Hannah Lapp is a 17 year old living in an Old Order Amish community. Her father is incredibly strict even for the Amish and she secretly meets with a Mennonite boy, Paul, and falls in love with him - getting secretly engaged. As she is walking home from her job (working for Paul's grandmother) on the day she got engaged, she is forced into a car and brutally raped.

Her parents don't want anyone to find out about it and so tell everyone that she was hit by a car on her way home which is partially true. Hannah struggles with her life after this horrible incident has occurred and doesn't know what to do next. She feels like she can't tell anyone and then horrible lies start to surround her as well.

Because Hannah feels like her community will never believe the truth, she decides to leave her home in Owl Perch and try to find her father's sister who was evidently shunned years earlier. This book ends with her leaving to go to Ohio.

This book started out a little slow to me, but then I got really intrigued in what would happen next to Hannah. By the end, I felt like I was right there with her!

When the Morning Comes...

After fleeing her community in search of her shunned Aunt Zabeth, many things change for Hannah. She finds friends and a purpose outside of the Old Order Amish Community.

Life continues on in her community after Hannah is gone, but nothing is the same. Her sister Sarah starts exhibiting bizarre behavior. Luke and Mary get married. Matthew continues to court Elle, but that starts to fail too.

While Hannah thrives in her new life - getting her GED, getting her driver's license, working for a Doctor and studying to be a nurse - she discovers that every step of the way God is providing for her.

When disaster strikes in her former community nearly two and a half years after Hannah initially fled Owls Perch, she feels obligated to return home even though things are going so well in her "new" life.

I really enjoyed this book. I found it fascinating reading about the transition Hannah's life took from Old Order Amish to living in an "Englischer" world.

When the Soul Mends...

Hannah Lapp Lawson returns to Owls Perch to help her sister get the help she so desperately needs. The person who is most qualified to help her sister out however turns out to be her former fiance' Paul Waddell. Hannah isn't sure she wants him to help out since she'd have to be in close contact with him regarding her sister and she wasn't sure how she felt about him since she felt that he'd abandoned her so many years earlier.

Hannah tries to help out in Owls Perch as she can, but she has her life in Ohio to also juggle. Back in Ohio, she has a wonderful boyfriend and two children that she is helping to raise - his niece and nephew.

Things start to fall apart in her relationship with Martin because of all of her trips home and as she discovers that she may still have feelings for Paul after all.

I really couldn't believe how much I enjoyed all three books! At first I was a little leery of doing this review since I knew that I'd have three books to read in order to do one review, but I'm so glad these were all combined. I can't imagine just reading one of the books and then being left hanging.

I would definitely recommend this series to my friends and family - especially those that love to read about the Amish community.

In closing, I did want to mention that I received this book for free through the Blogging for Books Program in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review.

The Daughter's Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick

I love reading historical fiction! However, the part I usually like about it is the fiction side of the book. The majority of this book is based off the actual historical side and not so much of the fiction, so I was a little skeptical about it at first.

This was such an interesting story that I'd never even heard of before that I was immediately enthralled in the whole story - real or not. I generally don't like true stories because there isn't a lot of liberty that can happen. I mean if a person dies before really doing a lot with their lives that's it, you can't really have a happy ending. So in a way, this book does end up having a less than happy ending - in that it is true to life.

Because it is based on a true story though it really has a good grasp on the dynamic of a family. You feel like you are there with Clara (the main character). You are there on the walk with her and her mother. You are there when she is banned from her family. You are there for each step of her "exile." You are there when she reconciles with her family. I really enjoyed reading this book that was so well written weaving the fiction in with the facts.


I received this book for free from the Blogging for Books program through Waterbrook Multnomah Press. I am under no obligation to give a positive review.