"The Caregiver" by Shelley Shepard Gray

The Caregiver by Shelley Shepard Gray is the first book of Shelley’s “Families of Honor” series. It is about Lucy, an Amish abused widow who goes to take care of her cousin who is going through chemo treatments. On the train there, she meets Calvin Weaver who is going to the same place and learns that he his her cousin’s neighbor. They hit it off on the train until she witnesses his temper which reminds her of her dead husband and that she can’t trust men. Over time, she opens up and finds love with Calvin, big surprise--NOT! There are discussion questions at the end of this book so this could be a book club read.

Here's a little teaser from page 25:

She would concentrate only on Mattie's needs. That would enable her to keep her mind off her own pain and start to move on.

I didn’t care too much for this book because I really didn’t like Lucy, the main character or her cousin, Mattie, although I think she was the most believable of the characters with her faith waning as the chemo treatments progressed, making her feel worse instead of better. My favorite character was Calvin’s little sister, Katie, but she was only in the beginning of the book.  This seemed to move slow and I like books that I really look forward to seeing what happens next.  This just didn't grab my interest although I like the cover!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Forgiven" by Shelley Shepard Gray

Forgiven by Shelley Shephard Gray is the third book of her Sisters of the Heart series about the Amish community. When Jonathan's barn is burned down, his sister is badly hurt and he is filled with anger and a desire to find out who was smoking on his property that caused the fire. The other story line is romance that his sister, Winnie, finds as a result of the fire. It has an interesting twist and is an enjoyable read. Naturally, as the title gives away, Jonathan finds forgiveness in his heart for the one who started the fire.

As with most Christian fiction, this was predictable but a nice change of pace from the intense suspense novels. It certainly shows what it's like being Amish and has a good message about forgiveness. If you like a happy Amish story with Christian romance, you will enjoy this book too.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Check out our book giveaway of "I'm Outnumbered--One Mom's Lessons In The Lively Art Of Raising boys" to a mom (or gift for a mom)--winner to be announced May 1 so you have it in time for Mother's Day.

"Spring's Renewal" by Shelley Shepard Gray

Spring’s Renewal by Shelley Shepard Gray is a happy Christian romance story of how Cara, an Amish school teacher who is badly scarred from a fire sees her dreams come true.  When Tim meets Cara, he realizes he does not love his hometown sweetheart as much as he thought he did, but falls for Cara.  Although there are some obstacles to a life together, they find a way to work things out.  This is a light, heartwarming read involving balancing one’s responsibilities with the pursuit of happiness.  The main theme is “that it’s not right to judge a person by only outward looks.  Sometimes when you do that, you miss out on a lot.” It has some funny parts as well as some suspense in it.  I enjoyed it!
(Karen's review)

Read Meet Amish Romance Novelist Shelley Shepard Gray to learn about the author.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Meet Amish Romance Novelist Shelley Shepard Gray

I first heard about Shelley Shepard Gray from Christian Fiction Blog Alliance promoting The Caregiver.  She sounded like someone I would like to know so was thrilled to see she was coming to our library for a "Meet The Author" night.

 

Shelley shared how her imagination developed as a child because her father was an alcoholic and her mother had problems so often she would be by herself and just daydream about how life could be better.  As a 6^th grade teacher, on breaks she would write little romances and then go back to teaching again.  When she took a year off from teaching, she found house cleaning was not her thing and began writing. 

 

She wanted to write western romance novels but couldn’t find a publisher.  Her first book was a 400 pg. western romance that got rejected.  She was told there were too many western romances around and she should  write Amish romances instead because there were less books in that genre.  Shelley liked visiting the Amish stores but really did not want to write about them at first.   

 

Not wanting to disappoint her wonderful agent, she gave it a try thinking she would submit something off the wall, it wouldn’t be any good and that would be it for that.  It turned out that they liked Hidden even though the main character was not Amish.  When researching her book, three things that impressed her about the Amish were:

 

1.  Their faith is real, it’s who they are.  They live out their faith every day, not just attend services once a week. 

 

2.  Family and community is all-encompassing.  Parents teach their children the same skills they learned from their parents such as canning, sewing, quilting, cooking.  They actually know their neighbors and speak face-to-face with them.  Families spend time doing things together.  She also discovered they are not all farmers.

 

3.  The Amish enjoy the moment and live in the present.  Each season has specific things to do and enjoy.  Instead of complaining about the bad weather, they look for things to do inside and enjoy the inside time.  when the weather is nice, they actually take time to sit outside and watch the birds.

 

Shelley never thought she’d be a writer and still can’t believe people actually pay to read the stories she loves to write.  Getting published as a writer was definitely a “God thing.”  Since her first failure, she has had 30 books published--some romance under her maiden name of Galloway with Harlequin and 11 Amish romance novels with Harper Collins.

 

Shelly was very humble and amusing as she shared about some of her characters in her books and her time with her Amish friends, questioning them while hoping she wouldn’t offend them.  She shared that she always begins a book thinking of her characters first and then the plot.  She discusses her characters with her husband as she writes. 

I’ve only read two of her books so far:  Hidden and Wanted but look forward to reading some more, especially finishing the Sisters of the Heart series.  I am currently reading Spring's Renewal, the second book of her Seasons of Sugarcreek series.  The other two in the series are Winter's Awakening and Autumn's Promise.  She wanted to do a summer one since there are four seasons and she wanted to write some more with these characters; however,  her publisher told her that series of just three work best. 

I plan on attending more of these Library “Meet The Author” programs!  Have you read any of her books?  What did you think of them?  Have you met any authors?  Does your library have programs like this too?  What author would you like to meet?

 

Visit her website at http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Hidden" by Shelley Shephard Gray

Hidden by Shelly Shephard Gray is the first book in the “Sisters of The Heart” Series. When Anna finds herself in an abusive relationship with Rob, her boyfriend, and discovers he has been misappropriating his campaign funds, she decides to hide with an Amish friend, Katie, at her Bed and Breakfast inn. While there, she has time to think about things and finds romance with her friend’s Amish brother, Henry, and a safe haven for awhile and learns to put others ahead of herself. Anna seeks God’s guidance and finally comes to a decision about some major choices in her life and stands up to her controlling parents and Rob, finally figuring out who she is and what she wants.

Hidden deals with self-doubt, loneliness, friendship, romance and trust with some discussion questions in the back. My favorite character was Henry I liked the decision Anna made in the end and the general theme of the book about people hiding who they are was obvious and well done. This was a quick, light Christian romance/suspense story. I read the second in this series first, Wanted, which is more about Anna’s friend, Katie. I liked that one better and look forward reading the last one, Forgiven.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help Japan get relief through Samaritan's Purse by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

"Wanted" by Shelley Shephard Gray

Wanted by Shelley Shephard Gray is a happy little story of Jonathan, a brokenhearted widower with two little girls and an Amish woman, Katie, who faces her past in order to move on with her life and make her dream a reality.  When Jonathan asks Katie to help him live at his home and help him care for his girls, she sets out to show him what a good wife she would be.  I found it interesting to see how Katie struggled to connect with the girls and also gradually got Jonathan’s attention.  It focused on inner struggles and faith in God to work things out. 

Shelly Shephard Gray’s books have clean language and no sex scenes—a rare find in the romance genre.  This is a light, quick read that I finished in one day.   If you like Christian romance or stories about the Amish, I recommend this one.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

"Plain Truth" by Jodi Picoult Is Fascinating

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult is about an Amish teen girl who is charged with murdering her illegitimate baby.  At first Katie denied even having a baby and consistently denied killing it.  Ellie reluctantly volunteered to be her defense attorney who becomes her friend while staying on the farm with Katie to comply with the court order as a condition while awaiting her trial.  Jodi Picoult shows the contrasts of the Amish and the English cultures in this intriguing novel of ethics, psychology, mystery, romance and judgment. 

I was drawn into this story immediately and had a hard time putting it down.  The story is told from Ellie’s perspective, and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her when she was trying to get the truth from Katie as to what really happened. The trial was interesting and I definitely came away with a better understanding of the Amish community after reading Plain Truth.  I highly recommend this book, especially to women.
(Karen's review)

Other related reviews:  Debra's Book Cafe
Here is our teaser for this book
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Pray For Silence" by Linda Castillo

Pray For Silence by Linda Castillo is a thriller set in Amish country, the second in a series of three books. Kate Burkholder is the Chief of police who left the Amish community. When she is confronted with a mass murder of a whole Amish family, the Planks, she not only seeks justice but also revenge when she discovers the torture Mary, one of the teen girls suffered. The low life scum bags in this book are repulsive, hideous, vile and nauseating! Kate feels a real connection with Mary as she reads her journal.


Pray For Silence contains crimes of murder, rape, pornography and has quite a bit of foul language. The crime investigation was fascinating and once Kate realizes there is more than one predator on the loose, suspense builds quickly. If you can hang on through the disgusting crimes, the ending is very good. I enjoyed the subplot of romance between Kate and Special Agent Tomasetti who unofficially helped her with the case. I felt good that I had the murderer pegged fairly early on in this one. 
(Karen's review)

UPDATED 8/28/10:
Gerard loves this series too!  Pray For Silence is as good as Sworn To Silence, her first book about Kate Burkholder, Chief of police in Amish country.  I could not figure out the killer ahead.  This is a real page turner!  You better believe I am going to read the next book she writes!  Super job, Linda!
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"The Hope Chest" by Wanda E. Brunstetter

I enjoyed The Hope Chest by Wanda E. Brunstetter about an Amish family whose eldest daughter left the faith to marry an Amish man who chose to leave the Amish community because he liked the modern things.  An Amish man wanted to court her but she kept putting him off and encouraged him to court her younger sister instead who she felt was a better match for him.  Her younger sister, Rachel, actually did hope to marry him some day.    

Of the three books in the "Brides of Lancaster" series, I liked this one best.  It wasn't as depressing as the others I liked the main characters better in this one too.  It's a light, quick read.

(Karen's review 1/11/10)

comment received on other blog:

Loved your review! This sounds like a must read for me. Thanks!! http://tweezlereads.blogspot.com

By Tweezle on January 25, 2010 13:49

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Looking For A Miracle" by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Looking For A Miracle by Wanda E. Brunstetter is about Rebekah, an Amish young woman who had an accident as a girl and was confined to a wheelchair.  It is a slow moving story about how Rebekah struggles with trusting God for her future and is somewhat bitter because of her handicap.  I liked how she found a way to become more self-supporting and finally found romance and love.  It gives some insight into the Amish community which I found to be interesting and includes a recipe for home-made root beer in the back.  I recommend this for anyone who likes to read about the Amish and enjoys a light, predictable read. This is the 2nd book of the "Brides of Lancaster" series.

(Karen's review 1/9/10)

 
Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"A Merry Heart" by Wanda E. Brunstetter

A Merry Heart by Wanda E. Brunstetter is the first of the “Brides of Lancaster County” series about a school teacher who is very bitter that her old boyfriend dumped her for someone else and blames God for not answering her prayers.  She struggles with the temptation of falling for a man outside of her faith but eventually she yields to God and experiences joy in her life with her Amish husband who she married for convenience.

Slow moving romance but gave insight into the Amish community through the main character and her family.  I really didn’t care for the main character throughout most of the book because she was so bitter over being dumped by her old boyfriend.  I liked how the book showed her inner struggles and her journey to having a merry heart in the end which I liked.  I liked it enough to continue on with the series.   Even includes a recipe for Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies which sound delicious!
(Karen's review 12/31/09)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Sworn to Silence" by Linda Castillo

 SPECIAL URGENT NEWSFLASH--CAN YOU HELP?: A friendly cat in Georgia is scheduled to be put down at the end of business June 30, 2010. See Sparkle's Hoping for a June Miracle post about it.



Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo is a gruesome thriller mystery about a woman with Amish background  Chief of police of Painters Mills, Ohio finally getting to the bottom of the rape/murders that have been going on for years by a serial killer with a little romance thrown in.  It has an unusual twist that I didn’t expect and the book builds tension along the way enticing me to stay up late to finish it.  The story line was super but because of the language and the horrific details of the torture that took place, I gave it four stars instead of five.  If you like murder mysteries and don‘t mind gory details, I recommend this one!
--Karen's review 7/25/09)

"A Real Page Turner--You Will Never guess" (50 plus stars)
I really enjoyed Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo a lot.  The story flows and you never get bored with it.  The last 60 pages or so I dare you to stop and put it down!  You will not be able to!!  I look forward to her next book.
(Gerard's review 729/09)

What are you reading now?