Monday, August 27, 2018

Book Review: Surprised by Love: An Amish Family Novella by Kathleen Fuller

Ever since living near the Amana Colonies in Iowa, I have been interested in the Amish and their way of thinking as well as their way of life. This book is a nice collection of four love stories showing that the Amish when it comes to love deal with the same problems that the rest of us deal with. There are moms pressuring kids into a marriage and then there is a mother, who thinks she absolutely needs to support her daughter when the baby comes because her daughter is blind. Mom of course does not realize that the daughter is no child and can handle the pregnancy like any adult.The overbearing and intrusive attitude of the mother is almost ruining the pregnancy and the happiness of having a child for the daughter. While mom may act out of love and concern, she needs to learn that her daughter is a functional adult and that is difficult to learn for many parents, Amish or not. Then there is a story of two friends who become lovers, of course after some obstacles, because without obstacles the story would only be half as much fun. The last story is "Building Trust"; a story about a couple that are planning to get married, but the wife's father will not bless their union. This of course is a major problem and while things turn out well in the end, as most love stories this story is not a smooth ride.
Overall, a nice selection of stories that show the variety of stumbling blocks one can encounter when one is in love. For those not used to Amish life and culture, there is also a glossary included that explains some of the terminology used. I would recommend this book for those of us that are hopeless romantics or just like a good love story.

available on amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this blog post is solely my own opinion and has not been influenced by any third party.

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