"When the Morning Comes" Review

About the book:

Her relationship with fiancé Paul Waddell in tatters, Hannah Lapp has fled her secluded Old Order Amish community in hopes of finding a new home in Ohio with her shunned aunt. Hampered by limited education and hiding her true identity, Hannah struggles to navigate the confusing world of the Englischers.

Back in Owl’s Perch, Pennsylvania, Paul is wracked with regret over his treatment of Hannah. Fearing for her safety, he tries to convince Hannah’s remaining allies–brother Luke, best friend Mary, and loyal Matthew Esh–to help search for his love. Hannah’s father, however, remains steadfastly convinced of her sinful behavior. His blindness to his family’s pain extends to her sister, Sarah, who shows signs of increasing instability.

Convinced her former life is irreparably destroyed, Hannah finds purpose and solace in life with her aunt and in a growing friendship with Englischer Martin Palmer. Will the countless opportunities in her new life persuade Hannah that her place is amongst the Englischers— or will she give in to her heart’s call to return home and face her past?

When the Morning Comes is book two in the Sisters of the Quilt series by Cindy Woodsmall.

You can read an excerpt from this book here.

My Take:

The first book in this series, When the Heart Cries (you can read my review here), was pretty depressing, I thought. The worst thing for me was that Hannah’s father did not believe that she had been raped, which just broke my heart. After enduring all that happens in the first book, I really wanted to see Hannah catch a break in the second book.

And she does. A lot of them. I enjoyed seeing Hannah work hard to get where she wanted to go. However, all of the opportunities that Hannah received seemed a bit unbelievable for someone with only an 8^th grade education and no knowledge of the modern world. I truly do believe that God can and does have a hand in these types of things in our lives, but everything falling perfectly into place was a little much. Hannah did try her best not to take handouts, though, which I appreciated.

I did enjoy the parts of the book with Zabeth and with Hannah adjusting to the modern world. Although she did seem to adjust rather quickly to some things, there were also things that she just couldn’t get used to no matter what, which helped with the authenticity.

As for Paul, I felt so bad for him throughout the book. I liked that he was trying to get on with his life, but he still missed Hannah, and he regrets what he did to her. His treatment of the people in Owl’s Perch (Sarah, Matthew, Luke) was so compassionate that he is by far my favorite character in the series. Martin, I think, leaves a lot to be desired.

There are several subplots in this book that are continued from the first one, but they seem to go into even more detail about these minor characters – Sarah, Matthew, Elle, Luke, Mary – so much so that I think it takes away from the main story a little.

I enjoyed venturing out into the ‘real world’ with Hannah during When the Morning Comes, and I look forward to the conclusion in When the Soul Mends.

I will give When the Morning Comes … 3 BookWorms

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from WaterBrook Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."