Publisher’s Description:
They both had different plans for their futures . . . until their hearts led them to each other.
Michelle Lantz dreams of marrying and starting a family, and now that she’s been dating Korey for over a year, she thought it was only a matter of time before he proposed. But lately, Korey has seemed distant and is far from the attentive boyfriend she once knew. They’ve spent so much time together that she feels she can’t give up on their relationship, but she begins to question her own feelings as his seem to cool.
Tyler Bontrager is focused on expanding his father’s roofing company so he can take over one day. He throws himself into his work and thinks he’s too busy to worry about finding a wife. He and his brother Korey find themselves continually arguing: Tyler doesn’t approve of how Korey treats Michelle and Korey thinks Tyler is out to take anything that’s his. When Tyler happens to be around when Michelle needs a listening ear, he is startled to realize that he has feelings for Michelle, so he denies them because his relationship with his brother is too important.
But when there’s an accident and lives are at stake, true feelings come to the surface. Is it possible for Michelle and Tyler to put aside their feelings for the sake of their relationships with Korey, or will they find a new foundation on which to build their future?
“Amy Clipston once again entertains us with a story that reaches all the way to the heart.” —Vannetta Chapman, USA TODAY bestselling author
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My Review:
This is a sweet, enjoyable story about four Amish young people of “courting age”. They each had much to learn about life, love, relationships, and finding God’s plan for their futures. In this book, we followed their journey as they made choices and grew in maturity and faith. Things don’t always turn out as they planned or hoped they would, but they discovered that the plans that God had for them far surpassed the ones they made for themselves.
Two of the characters, Michelle and Tyler, showed patience and faith as they worked through trusting God in a very difficult circumstance. Tyler’s brother, Korey, was struggling with anger all throughout the story, and I’m hoping the next book in the series will allow us to see him grow past his sorrow and resentment.
I think this book would make excellent reading for an older teenage girl or a college age student, and could be a springboard for some interesting discussion about their lives. The maturity level of the characters in this book tend to make this storyline lean more towards the “young adult” genre of reading, but there’s still valuable lessons of trust and faith that can apply to us in any stage of life. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series to see how these characters develop into men and women of strong faith.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
About Amy Clipston
Amy Clipston has been writing for as long as she can remember. Her fiction writing “career” began in elementary school when she and a close friend wrote and shared silly stories. She has a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan College and is a member of the Authors Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America. She is the author of the bestselling Kauffman Amish Bakery series with Zondervan, which is part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. An advocate for organ and blood donation, Amy donated a kidney in 2011 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Through her donation, her husband received a second kidney transplant. Amy and her husband matched another couple and swapped kidneys with them. Amy’s memoir, A Gift of Love, will be available in early 2014. She hopes her story inspires others to become organ and blood donors. Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, mother, and four spoiled rotten cats.