"What you're looking for isn't always what you find" -- Lost and Found

If you are a fan of Suzanne Woods Fisher's Amish stories, you will find yourself in a very familiar setting as you visit her Old Order Amish community of Stoney Ridge in Lost and Found. You will run across several "old friends" and spend a good amount of time especially with Trudy Yoder and Micah Weaver. We first met them and learned a lot of their story in A Season on the Wind.

Lost and Found includes a lot of elements common to many other of Suzanne's stories, with well-developed characters and story lines. You will find some romance, as well as other family and community interactions that make for a story that is enjoyable to follow. As an added point of interest, birding plays a big role in this book. In between chapters you can read journal entries Trudy shares about some of the birds she is interested in, including comments that offer clues about how she feels about people and relationships as well. The introduction of a Beachy Amish group into this story also sheds light on some of the differences in stereotype ideas readers might have about "the Amish" as a whole. All of this and more makes for another well-written Amish story by one of the best in the business.

I highly recommend Lost and Found to Amish fiction fans. As I mentioned, this does follow the story from A Season on the Wind, so having read that book first would definitely be a good idea. But I believe you could still enjoy a great story in Lost and Found on its own if you can't get your hands on the first book.

Thanks to Revell Reads for providing a copy of the book. I am happy to share my own thoughts in this review.

About the Book

What you're looking for isn't always what you find.

Trudy Yoder shares a passion for birding with Micah Weaver--and she has an even greater passion for Micah. Their friendship is finally turning romantic when Micah abruptly grows cold. Worse still, he wants to leave Stoney Ridge.

Micah thought he was over Trudy's older sister, Shelley, who shattered his heart by running away to Nashville to pursue a singing career. Then out of the blue, she started leaving alarming messages for him.

So when the bishop asks for volunteers to scout a potential church relocation in Tennessee, Micah jumps at the opportunity. Despite scant details, he's confident he can find Shelley. After all, his reputation as a field guide is based on finding birds that don't want to be found.

But what he discovers in Tennessee is far from what he expects.

About the Author

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the award-winning, bestselling author of more than 30 books, including The Sweet Life and The Secret to Happiness, as well as many beloved contemporary romance and Amish romance series. She is also the author of several nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace and Amish Proverbs. She lives in California. Learn more at SuzanneWoodsFisher.com and follow Suzanne on Facebook @SuzanneWoodsFisherAuthor and Twitter @SuzanneWFisher.

Unexpected Visitors -- Hidden Away at Promise Lodge

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Charlotte Hubbard will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Enter to win a $15 Amazon/BN GC - a Rafflecopter giveaway Click here to see the other stops on the tour.

About the Book

Returning to the fan-favorite world of the close-knit Amish community of Promise Lodge, the small-town Missouri setting of her beloved Amish inspirational romance novels, Charlotte Hubbard continues to delight readers with uplifting tales of faith, family, and the blessings and happiness of true love and caring partnership.

There are no secrets among Missouri’s Amish community of Promise Lodge, as they share their joys, burdens, and blessings. But two visitors with a hidden agenda bring some surprising revelations—and unexpected saving graces…

When Karen Mercer and Andi Swann come to Promise Lodge for a week’s stay, the Kuhn sisters quickly detect the guests are not Plain folk, despite their kapps and homemade dresses. Entranced by the idyllic Amish lifestyle they’ve read about in romance novels, the visitors have gone undercover to revisit the place that was once the church camp where they spent happy summers. They mean no harm—but when the truth is uncovered, their deception has an intriguing impact on the faithful, hard-working community...

Meanwhile, amid bustling preparations for a spring wedding, a shy horse trainer is encouraged to share his colorful world with a newcomer awaiting a miracle... while the widowed baker of luscious Promise Lodge Pies sees a long-time friendship in a romantic new light. And in the wake of a destructive storm, Karen and Andi’s insider knowledge of the grounds may offer the safe passage they all need to renew and rebuild—stronger than ever.

My Thoughts

Hidden Away at Promise Lodge is #7 in Charlotte Hubbard's series, and it is another great story set in her fictional Missouri community of Amish, Mennonite and English residents. As with all the books in this series, you will revisit a growing number of "old" friends and be introduced to new ones as well. Each story has its own little (or big) twists and turns, and this one includes a couple of unexpected visitors who play important roles in the early part of the story. A pretty serious storm and devastating health problems of a fairly new resident of Promise Lodge add some page-turning interest to this installment. As anyone who knows anything about this series would expect, friends and family come together to help each other with the challenges they face and celebrate together the victories they experience.

I highly recommend Hidden Away at Promise Lodge to fans of Amish fiction that takes you a little outside the typical box. This is the seventh book in the series and could easily be read as a stand alone like each of the previous books. But is much more enjoyable if you know the backstories of the community and its residents.

Thanks to Goddess Fish Promotions for providing an electronic copy of the book. I am glad to be a part of this book tour and am happy to share my own thoughts in this review.  

Read an Excerpt

“Look at how this place has changed since we went to church camp here,” Andi remarked as they stood at the entry to Promise Lodge. “This must be a new metal entryway sign, because I don’t remember it having sunflowers and wheat sheaves, do you? And this plot to the left was a mowed pasture for horseback riding, and now it’s planted in green beans and tomatoes—”

“Probably to be sold at this produce stand,” Karen said, nodding toward the wooden structure at the roadside. “And look at all the houses! And there’s a tiny home with a dock on the far side of Rainbow Lake. How cool is that?”

“The old timbered lodge and the cabins look just the same as I remember them,” Andi said wistfully. “Except the Amish here have obviously done a lot of painting—and that looks like a new roof. The summers we spent here as campers and counselors were some of the best times of my life.”

“Yeah, they were.” Karen pointed toward a large white barn. “And look at those adorable black and white cows! Everything looks too neat and perfect to be real—”

“But what about us?” Andi interrupted, her smile falling a notch. “Do we look authentic? We’re wearing these calf-length dresses we made and the kapps we ordered from a store in Lancaster County—and we’ve read hundreds of Amish novels—but what if they call us out as fakes? What if they make us confess in front of everybody at church and then—”

“They can’t do that, silly!” Karen reminded her with a chuckle. “We’re just taking a little trip down memory lane while we live the Amish life instead of just reading about it. If we stick to our script and imitate the way these folks do things, we’ll be fine, right?”

Andi sighed as though she wasn’t too sure about that. “But we made our phone reservation request and sent our money as though we were Plain, and the Amish think it’s a sin to lie. Maybe we should’ve—”

“But we didn’t,” Karen pointed out quickly. Her pulse was pounding with anticipation as she picked up the old-fashioned suitcase she’d bought at a thrift store. “If we follow our plans, we won’t have any problems. We’re just a couple of Amish maidels who’ve come to Promise Lodge for a week to check it out because we read about it in the Budget newspaper—which we did. Let’s walk to the lodge before you get cold feet and back out on me.”

About the Author

In 1983, Charlotte Hubbard sold her first story to True Story. She wrote around 70 of those confession stories, and she’s sold more than 50 books to traditional or online publishers. A longtime resident of Missouri, she’s currently writing Amish romances set in imaginary Missouri towns for Kensington. She now lives in Omaha, NE with her husband and their Border collie, Vera.

Website: https://charlottehubbard.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlotte.hubbard1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/53342.Charlotte_Hubbard
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/charlotte-hubbard

Western Christian Romance -- Trouble in Dry Springs

Trouble in Dry Springs is the first book in Kristina Hall's The Dry Springs Chronicles series. I'm a sucker for old TV Westerns, so I thought this one was worth a try. And I'm very glad I got the chance to read it.

There were plenty of "good guys" in the story, as well as a few requisite "bad guys." Eliza and Jesse have so many obstacles standing between them and the future they both want, some even matters of life and death. Their well-written journey of love and faith makes for a very enjoyable story. Colonel Burke and the cantankerous Mrs. Reilly, along with Eliza's brother Anson and a few other side characters, add a wide range of elements to the story, keeping my interest at a satisfying level throughout.

There were a couple of style details and repetitive points that seemed to hold the pacing back a little. But overall this was a very delightful story. As this author does so well, the romance is clean and the faith shines through in very good fashion.

Thanks to the author for providing an electronic copy of this book. I am happy to share my own thoughts in this review.

About the Book

Even the peaceful town of Dry Springs is not without trouble.

When Eliza McCoslin's brother sends for her, she exchanges war-torn Mississippi for Dry Springs, Texas. Settling into a new way of life proves difficult though, despite the arrival of the man she's long admired.

Jesse Carrigan comes to Dry Springs seeking work and a place to start the ranch he's dreamed of ever since his parents lost their farm. What he doesn't expect to find is the woman he'd like to court—or his former colonel on the run from a deadly threat.

Given the circumstances keeping Jesse and Eliza apart and the danger looming on the horizon, he and Eliza find themselves facing the loss of future love—and life. When trouble comes to Dry Springs, who will be left standing?

About the Author

Kristina Hall is a sinner saved by grace who seeks to glorify God with her words. She is a homeschool graduate and holds a degree in accounting. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, arm wrestling, lifting weights, and playing the violin. 

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