Letters to Katie by Kathleen Fuller - a book review

Kathleen Fuller has done it again!  Letters to Katie is a heart touching tale of secrets, unrequited love, family struggles and relationships.  This book is part of the Middlefield Family series. We are reacquainted with characters from the previous two books.  It was nice to see them again.  Here’s what the publisher says about it:

“Everything changed between them the first time he called her Katie.

Katherine Yoder has loved Johnny Mullet since they were children, but he never actively returned her affections. Like so many things in their world, he assumes Katherine will always be there. Once his horse farm is a success, then he will court her in earnest.

For several weeks, Katherine has been plagued by severe headaches and dizziness. While resting at home, Johnny unexpectedly visits, but when dizziness strikes, she loses consciousness. She awakens hours later in a hospital bed, unable to remember how she got there.

Seeing Katherine injured and vulnerable stirs something in Johnny, and his guilt compels him to spend time with her while she heals. Soon his heart begins to stir with questions: Does she even remember why he'd come to her house that day?

As Katherine struggles to recall recent memories of Johnny, a surprise visitor arrives in her already unsteady world—a man named Isaac who claims they had been writing letters to each other, even considering marriage, before her illness.

With two men vying for her attention and her memory still elusive, Katherine has never felt so divided. The answer may lie behind a door she never considered opening.”

 Of course, as with most romance novels, we always have a happy ending, so this one was no surprise.  But the journey to get there was very engaging.  Actually, there could have been a couple of endings that would have still qualified as happy,  so we aren’t really sure which is going to come about.  I liked the dialog between Katherine and Johnny.  The tension between Sawyer and his englisher grandmother was portrayed in a very respectful manner.  Will they learn to accept each other? 

Fuller also gives a glimpse of how some unscrupulous people try to take advantage of the Amish, who they perceive as uneducated and easily fooled. 

You’ll have to read it to find out how the letters fit in to the story. But I will tell you it is very sweet.
Go HERE to read an excerpt.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it for anyone who likes reading Amish romance.
Go to the Amazon search box in the right column to find it if you'd like to purchase it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

His Love Endures Forever by Beth Wiseman - a book review

Beth Wisemen's 'His Love Endures Forever' is a story about two young people, one Amish, one an englisher , and how their lives and cultures collide.  Most stories about interaction between the two cultures involve an Amish girl falling for an englisher boy.  Leave it to Beth Wisemen to turn that around.  She brings us a story of a young girl who falls in love with a young Amish man.  The girl, Danielle, has suffered abuse at the hand of her mother and is taken in by an older couple, Martha and Arnold.  I loved these two characters!  Martha is a quirky, odd but loveable woman and Arnold is her tender and sensitive husband.
Danielle discovers that she is pregnant, but her Amish beau, Matthew, wants nothing to do with fatherhood.  In fact, he plans to leave the Amish and doesn't want to be tied down.  Danielle is prepared to raise her baby on her own but her best friend, another Amish young man named Levi, has his own suggestion. 
This story is about forgiveness, mercy, grace, faith, decisions, consequences and love.  As with most of Wisemen's books, once I started it I didn't want to put it down.  I love the way she draws you into the emotions of the characters.

From the publisher's website:
"An unplanned pregnancy. An absent father. Can love really endure all things?
Danielle Kent is anything but Amish. But as destiny would have it, she has fallen in love with an Amish man.
Now she’s 18, pregnant, and hopeful that the child’s Amish father—Matthew Lapp—will do the right thing and marry her. She knows Matthew plans to leave his Colorado settlement for a life in the Englisch world. But that plan never included a baby.
When Matthew walks away from her and their unborn child, she has nowhere to turn. Her unlikely friendship with Levi offers some comfort—yet they have so little in common. This wasn’t the plan she had for her life, and she has never felt so alone. She doesn’t want to be pregnant. Doesn’t want to be Amish. Doesn’t want to trust God.
And yet.
God has plans beyond what her mind can imagine . . . loving plans to show a lost young woman that His love never fails but endures forever."

This is the third book of the Land of Canaan series and I was glad to become reaquainted with some of the characters for the first and second books.

To learn more about BethWiseman and her books, go to her website.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Healing Hearts by Beth Wiseman: A book review

This is a collection of three previously published novellas. 

The first of the three, ‘A Choice to Forgive’ is centered around Lydia, a widow with three children. Her husband, Elam, dies after fifteen years of marriage.  His brother, Daniel, who had been shunned and living with the English, returns two years after his death.  Lydia was engaged to Daniel, but he left her with very little explanation.  His brother, Elam becomes her good friend and she eventually falls in love with him and marries him.  When Daniel, returns, he brings with him questions and secrets.  Lydia struggles with long lost feelings and we see her try to forgive Daniel. 

The second novella is ‘A Change of Heart’. This story is about Leah, a young woman who wants to be a writer.  However, young Amish girls are not encouraged in such endeavors. Leah’s father wants her to learn to be a good frau, but Leah has no interest at all in cooking, cleaning or sewing.  Aaron, a young Amish man, becomes interested in Leah and a romance develops.  There is conflict, love, mystery, humor and forgiveness in this story.  I found this to be my favorite of the three.  There is also a delightful character named Ruth, Aaron’s aunt, who left the community before she was baptized. She returns for a visit and adds some very humorous, touching and enjoyable moments.

The third story is ‘Healing Hearts’.  I have read this before in another collection. “Healing Hearts” is unusual in that the main characters are not a young couple discovering love. Rather, its about a married couple married for more than 30 years suffering from the empty nest syndrome and working to rediscover the love that they had when they were young. The husband, Naaman, has come home after leaving his family for a year.  His older children are not as forgiving as his younger children and his wife struggles with trying to be the wife she feels God wants her to be and her own feelings of doubt and resentment.  This is a story of forgivness and rediscovered love.

All three stories were enjoyable and uplifting.  They are easy, fun and clean reading and will keep you captivated until the end. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

From the Thomas Nelson web site:

Healing Hearts

A Collection of Amish Romances

Trade Paper

By Beth Wiseman

Three hope-filled stories about second chances, trusting your heart, and the power of forgiveness.

Healing Hearts—Empty-nesters Levina Lapp and her husband Naaman have no children under their roof for the first time in 30 years. When Naaman leaves to visit cousins in Ohio, Levina never expected him to be gone a year. Now that he's back, will they be able to move beyond this estrangement and rekindle the fire of the love they once shared?

A Change of Heart—Leah is a writer in a community that does not encourage such fruitless endeavors. She lacks the skills necessary to be a good Amish fraa—cooking, cleaning, quilting, and gardening. Aaron is aware of Leah's short-comings, but his heart is captured by this spirited young woman. Will Leah's role as an Amish wife and mother force her to set aside her creative life—or will Aaron make an offer she never dreamed was possible?

A Choice to Forgive—Lydia has loved two men in her life. Daniel, who disappeared one Christmas Eve long ago, leaving only a note saying he wanted to live in the Englisch world. And Elam, Daniel's brother, to whom she had been happily married for 15 years. When Elam dies, Lydia gives up on ever loving again. But she is shocked when Daniel wants to return to the Order and her life. Is there enough forgiveness in her heart to overlook the past and move into a future that could fulfill her dreams?

A Vision of Lucy by Margaret Brownley

A Vision of Lucy is the last book of Margaret Brownley’s Rocky Creek Romance series.  The main character is Lucy Fairbanks, a young woman ahead of her time.  She dreams of working as a photographer and having her photos published in a newspaper, but in the late 1800’s, women weren’t taken seriously in that profession. 

The book opens with Lucy climbing a tree in order to get a photo of the allusive and mysterious white wild mustang.  As she is perched in the tree with her camera she suddenly falls into a story....literally.  She falls out of the tree and on to the top of the Wells Fargo Stagecoach that is at that moment being held up by masked outlaws.  She is rescued by the reclusive, David Wolf, known by the local townspeople as “the wild man”.

 Lucy is constantly getting herself and others in madcap, zany and sometimes dangerous predicaments.  While I was reading this book images of Lucille Ball, Doris Day and Debbie Reynolds kept popping into my mind. I could envision any one of them playing the part of Lucy. 

At the beginning of every chapter there is a quotation from Miss Gertrude Hasselbrink.  Each quotation gives you a hint of what of what you can expect coming up.  My favorite was “When posing for a photograph, spinsters should avoid looking desperate or deprived. A serene smile will show that your circumstances are by choice and not for lack of beauty or character.”

I enjoyed reading this book and found myself wondering what Lucy was going to get herself into next. The mystery and tragedy surrounding David Wolf is an interesting contrast with the comedy and zaniness of Lucy.   However, while I found myself laughing along with Lucy and her antics, I feel like the sad and tragic moments were treated a little too frivolously, even comically in a few instances.

If you want a lighthearted, fun book to read with characters who are searching for God’s will in their lives, then you’ll like this one and you’ll probably find yourself chuckling out loud.

You can read the first few pages here :
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1595548114&title=A_Rocky_Creek_Romance:_A_Vision_of_Lucy

This book is available at:
http://www.thomasnelson.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.cbd.com

I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

What the Heart Sees by Kathleen Fuller

For those of us who love to read Christian romance fiction, we are well aware of the fact that, most of the time, there will be a happy ending....it's pretty much a given.  We get that!  It makes us feel good !  So, that being said, I've been reading and reviewing alot of Amish romance fiction lately, and I pretty much know that the outcome will be a happy one.  However, knowing that most of the authors that I read have personal ties and relationships with members of the Amish community, helps me to trust their portrayal of these fasinating people.

So, here is my latest review, as promised...........

What the Heart Sees by Kathleen Fuller


This is a collection of three stories, A Miracle for Miriam, A Place of His Own, and What the Heart Sees.

A Miracle for Miriam is about a young Amish girl who considers herself an ugly duckling. She develops a crush on Seth, the most popular boy in her Amish school who very cruelly humiliates her and mocks her in front of the other students. He subsequently moves away and forsakes his Amish upbringing for the English way of life. He returns to the community a changed man, emotionally, spiritually and physically. His perfect face and athletic physique are now scarred and weak, but his faith is stronger than it ever was. Through the years that Seth has been away, Miriam comes to accept herself and has resigned herself to the fact that she may never marry and that no man would love her. When Seth returns he realizes what a beautiful spirit she has and has to work very hard to convince Miriam as his scars fade and his body heals, that this time, his feelings for her are genuine.

The second story of the collection, A Place of His Own, is also about a young Amish man who returns to his childhood community after being away for many years. Josiah and his father disappeared from their close knit community virtually over night. Josiah’s best childhood friend, Amanda, is left wondering what has become of him and wondering if she will ever see him again. When he returns he is secretive, quiet and bitter and will not confide in or accept Amanda’s friendship. Amanda, being a very straight forward and confident young woman will not accept his indifference. What has happened to Josiah to make him so bitter and distant? Amanda comes to the realization that her feelings for her childhood friend have grown but that her love may not be enough to heal whatever has wounded Josiah.

The third selection, What the Heart Sees, is about a young Amish women, Ellie, who was injured in an accident and as a result has become blind. Christopher Miller’s fiancé, Ellie’s best friend, is killed in the same car accident. When Christopher goes against the doctrine of his Amish faith and tries to have the young Amish man, who he feels is responsible, arrested he comes under the bann and leaves to live among the English. He returns to the community desiring to be restored but struggles to forgive the young driver, Isaiah. Upon returning he discovers his sister has become engaged to Isaiah. Ellie, tries to encourage him to forgive and make peace, and through their friendship he discovers a stronger faith in God.

All three of these selections give us a glimpse of a culture very different from ours. But we also learn about a culture completely based on their understanding of God’s word and how everything in their lives is based on faith in God, peacefullness, humility, a strong sense of community and close knit family ties.

You can purchase this book here ,  here,    or at many local book stores

I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Just arrived!

I just got my copy of "What the Heart Sees" by Kathleen Fuller!  Can't wait to read it !  Of course, I'll be posting a review so check back for that.  This is another collection of Amish Romances, "A Miracle for Miriam", A Place of His Own", and "What the Heart Sees".  You may remember "What the Heart Sees' from my review of "An Amish Love".  So I probably won't say too much about that one again although I must say it was my favorite of that particular collection.  Thanks to Thomas Nelson publishers and their BookSneeze review program for my free copy.

An Amish Love book review

An Amish Love – 3 Novellas by Kelly Long, Kathleen Fuller and Beth Wiseman

I live in a part of New York State with a considerable Amish population. It’s not unusual to hear an Amish buggy rolling down the road, or see one parked on the side of the road selling baked goods. I’ve always been intrigued by our obvious differences but until I started reading Amish fiction, I never realized what our likenesses are - our love of family and our faith in God just to name a couple.

I appreciate that most of the authors who write Amish fiction try very hard to be accurate in their depiction of their characters. Many are personal friends with the Amish community and they treat their characters with respect.

Anyone who reads Christian romance fiction expects a happy ending and these stories don’t disappoint. We leave each story happy and hopeful.

The three stories in this volume are independent of the others, but overlap and are connected by characters, places and happenings.

The first story is by Kelly Long. “Marriage of the Heart”, is the story of Abby, a spunky young woman, whose has grown up without her mother and Joseph, who has been living outside the community and has just been accepted back in. Abby tricks Joseph, by lying about him, into marrying her so that she can get away from her authoritative father. However, Joseph, her new husband, turns the tables on her and declares that they will live with her father. Sparks fly! Abby wants out, Joseph wants back in, deception throws them together, love sneaks in, secrets are revealed and faith binds them together.

“What the Heart Sees” by Kathleen Fuller, is the second offering. Christopher Miller’s fiancé is killed in a car accident and her friend, Ellie, is blinded. When Christopher goes against the doctrine of his Amish faith and tries to have the young Amish man, who he feels is responsible, arrested he comes under the bann and leaves to live among the English. He returns to the community desiring to be restored but struggles to forgive the young driver, Isaiah. Upon returning he discovers his sister has become engaged to Isaiah. His late finance’s best friend, Ellie, tries to encourage him to forgive and make peace, and through their friendship he discovers a stronger faith in God.

Beth Wiseman is the author of the last story. “Healing Hearts” is unusual in that the main characters are not a young couple discovering love. Rather, its about a married couple married for more than 30 years suffering from the empty nest syndrome and working to rediscover the love that they had when they were young. The husband, Naaman, has come home after leaving his family for a year. His older children are not as forgiving as his younger children and his wife struggles with trying to be the wife she feels God wants her to be and her own feelings of doubt and resentment. This is a story of forgivness and rediscovered love.

All three of these novellas have similar themes of spunky characters, comical situations, tender moments and sensitive intimacies. They are stories of love, loss, secrets, hope, courage, patience, forgiveness and a reliance on deep faith in God.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars only because I wish each story had been a longer, stand alone novel.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”