When widow Rose Schrock turns her Amish farmhouse into a bed and breakfast, she expects there might be problems - the reaction of her cantankerous mother-in-law for one; disapproval from the church for another.
But what she doesn't expect is that the guests at the Inn at Eagle Hill will spill their problems into her life and into her heart. She also never expects the kind of help and support she gets from Galen King, the quiet and rugged horse trainer next door. Love, Rose discovers, can bloom in the most unexpected ways.
With inspiration from a true story and her signature plot twists, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you back to Stoney Ridge for a fresh story of simple pleasures and strong faith in a complex world.
For more information, click here.
About the Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Lancaster County Secrets series and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. She is also the coauthor of an Amish children's series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Suzanne is a Christy Award finalist and a Carol Award finalist. She is the host of internet radio show Amish Wisdom and a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California.
For more information, please visit www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and connect with her on Twitter @suzannewfisher.
My Take:
I have enjoyed Suzanne Woods Fisher's novels in the past, so I was looking forward to reading this next series. I really like how she portrays the Amish lifestyle while keeping her books realistic and entertaining.
To begin, the set up for this novel was really interesting. Starting an Amish Inn was a unique scenario and was also a great way to incorporate English characters into this fictional Amish world. I enjoyed the characters in this novel, too. They were extremely varied and each had their own voice. I thought telling the story from each characters' point of view was sometimes a little overwhelming, but it did give depth to the story and gave the reader more awareness of the characters' motives throughout the novel.
I feel as if I connected most with Rose's character in this book. Her determination to fix the mistakes her late husband made was understandable. Her romance with neighbor Galen was really sweet. I also liked Bethany - mostly just because her part in the story was really interesting, and she seems to be one of the ones who needs to experience a significant amount of growth over the course of other novels. (I'm looking forward to her story in the next book!)
The other characters were fine (except for Jimmy Fisher, who drove me to distraction with his naiveté), but nothing really stood out for me with them, even the English character who stayed at the Inn. The thing I did like about her story was the connection of her son with a previous series.
There are tons of characters in this book, and, as such, there are many different storylines going on. While this keeps the novel more realistic, it did get sort of jumbled at times, especially when I had to put the book down for any significant period of time. I can't say that I was significantly bored at any point, though, which is a good thing.
The part of the story that concerns the letters was not quite what I was expecting, but I am interested to see where it goes in the future during this series. It will be interesting to see how things continue with the letters that Mim (Rose's daughter) is responding to and how the author continues with the "miracle" storyline that seems to be taking place. I'm not quite sure yet how I feel about that.
Overall, The Letters is a nice, easy novel that has tons of characters and things going on but that is still filled with hope.
I will give The Letters ... 3 BookWorms.
The Letters
by Suzanne Woods Fisher
The Inn at Eagle Hill #1
Revell Publishers
Publication date: August 1, 2013
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Publishers. 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."
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