Once in a while I like to escape into Amish romance. It’s comforting, it’s clean and wholesome, and there’s almost always a happy ending. Also, many books are short and sweet! All the Amish romances are faith-based, but usually they’re not in-your-face religious. Most of the books I’m familiar with have been set in Ohio or Pennsylvania, so in this group of novels, I picked a few from different states.
“A Is for Amish” was written by Shelley Shepard Gray, one of the most popular authors in the genre. It’s the first of an alphabet series and is 282 pages long.
In Ohio, the four Schrock siblings — ages 20 to 27 — have been brought up as “English” (non-Amish), but all decide they want to join the Amish community. They love visiting their grandparents there and are attracted to that way of life. One says, “I’ve always kind of wanted to be Amish. If I back out now, I think I’m always going to regret it.” But “It’s one thing to think about becoming Amish. It’s another to actually go ahead and start the process.”
So, one or two at a time, they decide to try living the Amish life with their grandparents for a few months to see if they truly want to embrace that lifestyle. Their grandmother tells them,
“Becoming Amish isn’t easy. Living Amish for the rest of your life is even harder. ... Sure, you know a few words of Deutsch and you’ve learned how to care for a horse and use a kerosene lamp.
But that ain’t all there is to living this way — and adopting our beliefs wholeheartedly.” But WILL they decide to join the Amish?
I enjoyed this book. The lifestyle transitions highlight interesting contrasts between Amish and English culture and allow explanations for many Amish rules and traditions.
“The Beginner’s Quilt” was written by Wanda E. Brunstetter, another popular Amish author. This book, at a full 369 pages, is actually a prequel to “Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club,” but it stands perfectly well on its own. It’s set in 1967 in both Shipshewana, Indiana, and Arthur, Illinois.
Emma’s parents are worried. “She’s almost twenty years old and lacks the skills that she’ll need for marriage,” her mother says. Emma figures she’ll never get married anyway because she’s never had a beau. Besides, she’d rather be outdoors. “Emma had never minded getting dirty, and she even enjoyed the prickly feeling of grass under her bare feet. The sound of grasshoppers and crickets was like music to her ears.” Her parents decide to send her to visit her grandparents for the summer to learn how to be a good Amish wife.
Emma begins to enjoy the crafts she’s learning from her grandmother, and when she sees an interesting quilt pattern, she decides she’d like to learn to make one. She also meets a nice Amish guy, but a shocking incident will threaten their budding courtship.
All of Brunstetter’s books are good reads, and this is no exception.
“The Widow and the Woodworker” by Mary Lantz, 137 pages, is a thoughtful, quiet read.
Lovina has lost her husband to an accident. To try to get over her grief, she leaves her Ohio home with its sad memories and moves to Pennsylvania to be with her cousins, who have a general store. Lovina will work there with her cousin, Edna. “Lovina watched and learned: the store wasn’t just a business. It was a web, and Edna sat at the center of it.”
“Grief and loss weren’t things that happened to you and then stopped. They were things you folded into yourself and took with you.” But she has something new to think about when she meets furniture maker Simeon. Lovina and Simeon start to connect, as they’ve both experienced loss. But after a sudden argument, they stop speaking and stubbornly avoid each other.
This book has some surprisingly nice writing: “The cold pressed in where the quilt had been warm — a specific cold, in the specific shape of where the warmth had been.” I really liked it and its well-developed characters.
“An Amish Second Chance” by Beth Wiseman, 181 pages long, is set in Montgomery, Indiana.
A year ago, Hope’s husband died. She has tried to keep their shop, The Apothecary, going, but now she’s running into financial troubles. Fortunately, her friend Rueben is always ready to help her. “If there was one man who she might have considered spending time with, it would have been Rueben, her late husband’s best friend.” But she wouldn’t do that because she didn’t think Rueben wanted her. Ha! Rueben loved her but wouldn’t tell her, out of loyalty to her dead husband.
Meanwhile, Billy, an English boy who had been in trouble with the law, is now helping Rueben, and Hope recognizes him as the boy who once robbed her shop.
Besides the frustrating romantic plot, the Billy storyline is interesting. The characters are likeable, but the writing is often repetitive. This book is heavier on religion, but you’ll be rewarded with four Amish recipes!
“Where Her Amish Heart Belongs” by Emma Cartwright, 102 pages, is unusual in that it’s mostly set in a city.
Martha is working in a cafe in Philadelphia during her Rumspringa (the time young people can experiment with a non-Amish lifestyle before making a commitment to the Amish church). She’s supposed to return to her Pennsylvania Amish community and marry longtime beau Simon. But she’s been seeing non-Amish Marcus in the city, and is unsure whether she wants to return to the Amish way. “She felt as if she lingered in some kind of limbo.”
She happily volunteers with Marcus at a soup kitchen where there are “lines of homeless and underprivileged folks” and “She could not help but imagine a world where she stayed in Philadelphia and worked alongside Marcus, improving conditions for the less fortunate.”
This was a good read, but I have one caveat: Usually the Deutsch phrases authors throw in are understandable, such as “gut” (good) and “bruder” (brother), but there were some used here that I couldn’t guess at, even with my German dictionary.
“The Amish Cowboy’s Journey” by Adina Senft, 216 pages, is Book 11 of the Amish Cowboys of Montana series.
In the ranch country of Montana, Seth works with cattle and is part of the Amish community. A group of young people have hired a van to take them to national parks in the West, and Seth wants to go. So does Beth. The two of them have always been bored with each other, but on the road trip they see each other with new eyes, especially after a few hazardous adventures.
This is one of the more religious Amish novels, with hymns and weddings. I had a rough start reading the book, but it’s probably because it’s number 11. For a change, it was written more from a man’s point of view. I’d hoped there would be more about ranching, but there wasn’t, because of the road trip. I’m sure there’s more about how an Amish ranch works in the rest of the series.
“The Pregnant Amish Daughter” by Grace Lewis, 180 pages, is Book 1 of Hickory Ridge Holiday Hearts.
In Pennsylvania, Rachel finds herself single and pregnant following her Rumspringa. Naturally, the neighbors gossip, wondering who the father could be. They assume it’s her good friend Caleb, but we know differently. Rachel sees the baby’s father often in town, but he’s always with another young woman. Watching them together, “Rachel felt the twist in her chest, physical and sharp. It wasn’t anger. It was the crushing weight of witnessing the life she had forfeited.”
The townspeople wouldn’t stand near her, “carving a crescent of empty space around Rachel as if shame were contagious, catching like the measles.” They threw shame at her, but she knew “She was not carrying scandal. She was carrying light.”
My favorite Amish authors are Cindy Woodsmall, who hasn’t written anything lately, and Amanda Flower. If you like more humor with your romance, try Flower’s Amish Candy Shop Mysteries.
Happy reading!
Mary Louise Ruehr
Mary Louise Ruehr is a books columnist for The Portager. Her One for the Books column previously appeared in the Record-Courier, where she was an editor.