Book Review with featured author: An Amish Husband for Tillie by Amy Lillard

An Amish Husband for Tillie by Amy Lillard

 

 

Publisher & Release: Zebra, September 29, 2020

Time and setting: Present Day, Mississippi 

Genre: Christian Amish Fiction

Length: 268 Pages

Heat Level: 1 Sweetheart

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

For the Amish of Pontotoc, Mississippi, all roads lead to faith, family, and tradition, even when the path is unconventional—especially at Christmas . . .
 
Tillie Gingerich is so in love with Melvin Yoder that she agrees to leave her conservative Amish home to live with him in the English world. But when the struggle to make ends meet leads to conflict, and reveals troubling weaknesses in their relationship, Tillie returns to Pontotoc—pregnant and unmarried. Her loving family accepts her, but to convince the rest of the community, they must turn to the bishop. Distraught, Tillie runs away on Christmas Eve—only to get as far as an isolated house on the edge of town.
 
Levi Yoder, Melvin’s upright distant cousin, is grieving the loss of his wife and wants to be alone. He is hardly pleased to open his door and find a pregnant woman––a painful reminder of all he’s lost. But with an ice storm approaching, he can’t turn Tillie away. Yet as morning nears, the miracle of Christmas brings unexpected challenges, opportunities—and promises for 
the future . . .

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Amish-Husband-Tillie-Pontotoc-ebook/dp/B082WS34V2

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-amish-husband-for-tillie-amy-lillard

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/an-amish-husband-for-tillie

 

Add to Goodreads & BookBub:

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50994101-an-amish-husband-for-tillie

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/an-amish-husband-for-tillie-amish-of-pontotoc-by-amy-lillard

 

Vikki’s Musings

 

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary copy of An Amish Husband for Tillie by Amy Lillard for the purpose of reading and reviewing prior to publication. My opinions are my own and no one has influenced them.

 

An Amish Husband for Tillie is a lovely Amish novel with engaging character and a fulfilling plot. The pacing kept me enmeshed in the story from the first page to the last. The setting is not common for Amish fictions since it’s set in  Pontotoc, Mississippi. While I question the harsh severity of the bishop’s attitude, I’m confident other Amish communities can have different ways to handle the heroine’s situation.

 

Tillie Gingerich’s character is deeply troubled and confused when she returns to her family after living in the Englisch world with her boyfriend. She wants her unborn baby to be raised Amish, and her boyfriend refuses to return to the small Amish community they are from, so she comes back on her own. I could feel her fear for her child and the rejection of the extremely strict bishop. Her bewilderment of what she must do. Her choice is leave on her own or return to her boyfriend which isn’t what she wants for her child.

 

Levi Yoder is the hero, and he lost his beloved wife and unborn child a few months before. He dreads the Christmas season because he and his late wife imagined her having their babe on the blessed day. Seeing Tillie just adds to his misery. He tries to avoid the town, his family, and the pregnant Tillie, but his sister is determined to pull him kicking and screaming to the celebrations. His depression and need to isolate is understandable after suffering such a devastating loss.

 

When the very pregnant Tillie ends up in Levi’s barn during a violent snowstorm, that when Tillie and Levi’s romance begins. It’s sweet and believable because of the situation the couple are in. I truly wanted them to find their happy ending.

 

If you enjoy Amish fiction with characters and a plot that will touch your heart, then you will love An Amish Husband for Tillie as much as I did. I have enjoyed this heartwarming series. Happy reading!

 

Author Bio:

 

I'm a wife, mother, and bona fide Southern belle. Published author, expert corn bread maker, and Squirrel Princess.

I live in Tulsa, though I was born in Mississippi. I moved to the Sooner State when I was seventeen and met my soul mate and best friend not long after. I've retained a little of my Mississippi accent though most people think I'm from Texas. (?) Rob and I have been married for over twenty years and have a son-a mom proclaimed prodigy, of course!

I love homemade tacos, nail polish, and romance novels-not necessarily in that order. I'm a big fan of country music, a staunch proponent of saving the Oxford comma, and I'm shamefully obsessed with all things Harry Potter.

I believe that God is love. I guess that's why I love to write inspirational romances. The two go hand-in-hand for me.

I have always been intrigued with the Amish culture, their gentle ways and slower-paced lifestyle. (And I love, love, love the fact that they stay married for their lifetime.) But until recently I never thought to blend this interest with my penchant for romance. Okay, okay, I'm a bit old-fashioned and even enjoy the gender roles that are present in this culture. I love to cook and take care of my family. Yes, that's me June Cleaver with a laptop.

I dislike people trying to convince me to read the Twlight series (I'll get to it or I won't, either way I'm good with it), gratuitous violence, and strawberry ice cream. (I know I'm alone on this last one, and again, I'm good with it.)

Favorite movies-(besides HP) French Kiss, Maid of Honor, A Lot Like Love, Just Married, and Sweet Home Alabama. Oh, and Miss Congeniality, Sabrina (both versions) and a 1940′s movie called Dear Ruth. If you haven't seen it, you should! A-dorable. Anything with Doris Day and most all of Marilyn's and Audrey's.

 

Social Media:

Website: https://amywritesromance.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmyWritesRomance

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyLillard918

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amywritesromance/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AmyLillard918/_created/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amy-lillard

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5809947.Amy_Lillard

 

Book Review: A Memoir: A Testimony by Beth durkee

A Memoir. A testimony by Beth Durkee

Publisher & Release: Self-published, June 23, 2017

Genre: Auto-Biography

Book Length:  65 pages

Rating: 3 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

A Consolidation of the first two series volumes. This novella is a duo of short stories from the author's own life when she has felt and seen the influence of God bridging the gap between her own mortal limitations / understanding and His plans for her.

Volume 1:

>>>"Memory of Miracles by Beth Durkee is a must-read true story... The author tells her story of miracles, her journey through joy, sadness, pain, happiness, and implausible belief, and faith in why situations occur when they do and for what reason. This story should inspire others to have faith." --Gracie Bradford for Readers' Favorite

When I was a child, I would sit in the church captivated by the calming resonation of chanted prayers. It provided a great sense of comfort to me—like leafing through a well-read leather-bound book. This was the first inkling I had of the place where my heart belonged—the Catholic Church.

As the years passed, no one would have known that my bright childhood would take a turn towards a seemingly dark and isolated future. There were many times when I skirted death—birthing complications and multiple emergency surgeries stemming from malformed blood vessels in my brain. What had saved me at these moments, were miraculous chance happenings that came at times when I prayed the hardest for them.

I lost a great many things—my balance, my gift for math and sciences, my visual clarity and my short term memory. 
It was a heavy burden that I still carry today. Even so, I knew that it was not the end… God must have had other plans for me. I was still here and there was a child that counted on me. I attained a Bachelor’s degree in a prestigious Wisconsin university and found myself anew. If there is one thing I believe with conviction, it is that everything happens for a reason and that He has a plan for each and every one of us.

Volume 2:
An inspirational story of a real love triangle with some not-so-obvious heavenly guidance.

Following the miracles that saved her young life, Beth graduated high school and continued to her university studies. That is where she met Tracy. Tracy loved lost causes and set Beth up to steal the affections of a gentleman friend, as much a lost cause as she. She dated him for almost a year before she entered a drawing on a whim and received a miracle of heavenly guidance disguised as “luck,” the prize of a month’s free membership to an expensive dating club.

Beth did not expect to win anything, least of all a dating membership. She wanted to marry the man she had been dating for the past year, so she did not want to accept the prize. But her boyfriend insisted she accept so that he could secretly have time to plan his proposal. He did not understand the depth of Beth’s frustration at his apparent unconcern and he certainly did not plan on heaven’s intervention.

Let Beth share her inspirational testimony of how heaven used a series of tiny miracles and unlikely events to guide her through the choice of a lifetime, her choice of a husband. 

Buy Link:

https://smile.amazon.com/Memoir-Testimony-Volumes-Beth-Durkee-ebook/dp/B071CVXP9L

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35213815-a-memoir-a-testimony

Vikki’s Musings

This is a story of overcoming a life-threatening health issue and the consequences of choices made while a teenager. Thanks goes to Beth Durkee for sending me an advance reading copy to read and review.

I thoroughly enjoyed volume 1 in this faith-inspired book. The events that unfolded in this woman’s life were, at time, electrifying. Unfortunately, volume two did not live up to the first volume.

I did not enjoy Beth’s journey to the husband meant for her. The courtship between her and her two suitors was disjointed and a bit bazaar. I did not gain a sense of why she loved both men and why she was willing to continue dating a man who was clearly not the right choice and a major procrastinator. Nonetheless, they do say life is indeed stranger than fiction, and that was certainly the case with this book.

I did admire this woman’s strong faith in God and how she tried to listen for His guidance. I wish Ms. Durkee the best with her upcoming release. Happy reading!  

Book & Audio Review: The Runaway Pastor's Wife by Diane Moody

The Runaway Pastor’s Wife by Diane Moody

Publisher & Release: OBT Bookz, February 9, 2011

Time and setting: Present Day, Florida & Colorado

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction

Length:  436 Pages

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

What could possibly drive a pastor's wife to run away from home?

After years of frustration from life in a church fishbowl, Annie McGregor walks away from it all and boards a plane for Colorado. She has no way of knowing her college sweetheart is headed to the same cabin in the Rockies, terrified and gravely wounded. Their unexpected reunion couldn't have come at a worse time. Or could it? Bewildered that God would allow Michael Dean to walk back into her life, Annie pleads with Him to keep her heart true to her husband and her family. God answers her prayer, but in a way she would never expect.

Buy Link:

https://smile.amazon.com/Runaway-Pastors-Wife-Diane-Moody-ebook/dp/B004N6379S

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10550151-the-runaway-pastor-s-wife

Vikki’s Musings

I really did not know what to expect with this book. I do enjoy Christian literature, but I tend to go with inspirational romances. This is not a romance although it does have strong romantic elements and a beautiful and incredibly strong love between Annie and David.

While Annie is deeply in love with her husband David, she is worn down by the hypocrisy of his parishioners. They ridicule her husband's decisions, they give her children a hard time and demand all of his time. She just has to get away to think.

She leaves without telling her family and flies to Colorado to stay at her college friend's cabin in the woods. There she tries to get in touch with her feelings. She finds she is actually angry at God for allowing the problems in her life to happen.

Snowed in with a badly sprained ankle, she is surprised when an injured man shows up at her door. She's even more surprised when she discovers it's her college boyfriend, Michael Dean, a man who broke her heart.

What could God have planned for her? As she nurses Michael, she will she find the answers she is seeking and end up even more confused?

At first, I was not sure about this book. It seemed to jump around a bit, bringing in quite a few characters with many points of view, but I was intrigued and continued to read. As the story unfolds the many characters mesh together and the story pulled me further into the book.

Annie faces questions that I believe many Christians have asked. I know I have. I found her search for answers compelling. She only wants to find her closeness with God. A closeness she feels she has lost. I enjoyed her journey toward the truth. I wept a few tears along the way.

Michael is a very confused man and has allowed his life to go in a direction where he has been so driven to succeed, he has forgotten what is truly important in life. I enjoyed his realization that he had made a great many mistakes in his life and needs to change his ways.

David has allowed his church to so totally control him, he has neglected the very people he loves most. When Annie leaves it’s a huge wake-up call for him. He is determined to change his ways and prove he is the same man Annie fell in love with and the same husband and father. He goes to great lengths to prove this to her and his children.

I listened to the audio version narrated by Jennifer Hille. She gave a credible performance. Her reading is smooth and unintrusive. She reads with a good amount of emotion without becoming overly dramatic. I would definitely listen to other books performed by her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this spiritual journey for not only Annie, but David and Michael. If you like Christian-based fiction, then you will love this book. It touched my heart and enriched my faith as well. Ms. Moody is a gifted story teller and I will definitely look for other books by her. Happy reading!