icRKphJXQm-ezth8lntKydifkDg The Loose Screw: December 2015

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Book Review~When Love Returns






About the Book: 
From the Back Cover: Riddled with doubt and lingering regrets, will Suzanne and Paul find strength in God to explore a second chance at love?  It wasn’t easy to move back to the Old Order Mennonite community from which quiet, responsible Suzanne Zimmerman was shamefully sent away as a pregnant teen. Returning twenty years later to take care of her mother, Suzanne and Alexa—the daughter she raised as her own—have spent months rebuilding relationships with her family.

Now with the upcoming wedding of their biological daughter,  Suzanne and Paul find themselves drawn to one another once again—but with new challenges to face. They have been single parents with painful pasts. Can Paul and Suzanne find the strength to rebuild the loving relationship that was torn apart by their teen pregnancy so long ago?

Suzanne must also let go of Alexa as she heads back to Indianapolis to visit friends--and as her chance to find her birth parents. Leaving the bed-and-breakfast in Suzanne’s apprehensive hands, Alexa embarks on a journey that will certainly change her life completely. Can mother and daughter trust God to restore all things in His timing?


What I Thought: 
When Love Returns is the third book in The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy by Kim Vogel Sawyer, published by WaterBrook Press.  This series has been my favorite Amish series that I have read in a long time. The author did an amazing job of weaving a tale full of surprises. I was so excited to read this third and final book, which did a great job of wrapping up the series. Aside from being a great story, I especially enjoyed the theme of adoption, as I was adopted and have adopted one of my children. If you are looking for a good series that you won't be able to set down, look no further-The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy is for you!

*Disclosure-I received a copy of this book free from Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Book Review~An Amish Christmas Gift






About the Book: 


Naomi's Gift by Amy Clipston
Naomi has started to think that she isn't meant to find love, but she might receive more than she ever hoped for this Christmas. Twenty-four-year-old Naomi King, who has been burned twice by love, has all but given up on marriage and children. As Christmas approaches-a time of family, faith, and hope for many others-Naomi is more certain than ever her life will be spent as an old maid, helping with the family's quilting business and taking care of her eight siblings. Then she meets Caleb, a young widower with a 7-year-old daughter, and her world is once again turned upside-down.

An Unexpected Joy by Ruth Reid
Abigail has driven other suitors away, but can Micah find a way to show her he cares? Abigail Kemp has managed to frighten off every bu who's ever driven her home from a singing. Sure she will live to be an old maid, Abigail starts saving her money to buy a horse so she can at least have some independence. Micah Zook is looking for a caregiver for his grandmother, and Abigail needs a new job. He never expected that Abigail would talk so much . . . or that his grandmother would keep finding ways to set the two of them up. Despite Abigail's constant chatter, she and Micah become friends-until Micah makes a decision that leaves Abigail feeling betrayed. With Christmas in their midst, can Micah find a way to reconcile with Abigail and to reveal what's on his heart?

A Christmas Visitor by Kelly Irvin
Frannie Mast returns to Bee County for Christmas, but her heart stays back in Missouri with an Englisch farm boy. Frannie knows her parents have the best of intentions when they send her back to Bee County, Texas, to live with her aunt Abigail and her husband Mordecai. After all, she knows nothing can come of a relationship with Rocky, the handsome but Englisch farmer boy back in Missouri. It's best to put those feelings aside, no matter how hard it is. But all bets are off when Rocky follows Frannie to Texas to plead his case. Could he be the Christmas gift to end all gifts?

What I Thought: 

An Amish Christmas Gift is a collection of three novellas written by three different authors: Amy Clipston, Ruth Reid, and Kelly Irvin.  I really enjoy these collections of novellas-with each story being around 100 pages, individually they are quick reads.  I've read books before by the other two authors, but had never read anything by Kelly Irvin. Her story, A Christmas Visitor, was my favorite of the three. It is fascinating to consider a person raised English wanting to become Amish.  Sure, we all may think occasionally that a 'simple' life would be great, but would we really go through with it? I enjoyed all three novellas, each with a heartwarming message to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.