Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long

I'm a pretty big fan of Amish fiction. That being said, sometimes they can fall flat. Which is what happened with this one. A nice story to be sure, but the characters were lacking quite a bit.

Sarah has always enjoyed working in her garden, and she's fantastic at it. But then someone new moves in next door and helps to distract her from the wonderful plants she grows. But Dr. Williams is an Englischer veterinarian and loving him would mean losing her community, family, and all that makes her Amish. A sacrafice that Sarah is not willing to make. To make matters worse, the previous owners of William's farm have been coming around making trouble for Sarah and her family. All she wants to do is garden, but even there she is having trouble finding peace.

The characters, in my opinion, were very weak in this novel. Sarah was just a little too perfect and innocent, even if she was Amish. It was actually wearisome hearing how nice and calm she was all the time. Grant Williams on the other hand actually creeped me out a little bit. He too was a bit too perfect and nice, but some of the things he said actually came off as icky instead of romantic. The side characters too were a little off. Especially the one boy causing trouble and blaming it on Sarah's family, there wasn't any motive that I could see for doing this and while the author alludes to it, she never comes out and really says why.

The plot was actually good. I enjoyed reading about tending the garden and the roadside stand. It was also nice to hear about the baked goods and I wish some recipes would have been included within the book. The writing was nice and homey and described a wonderful way of looking at the Amish life. Since it is Amish fiction it could also be considered Christian fiction and this book was a bit preachy. Normally they're not so bad but this one took it a little over the top to me.

Not the best Amish fiction but it wasn't terrible. If you're a fan of the genre you might as well give it a read.

Sarah's Garden
Copyright 2010
300 pages

Lilly's Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long

***This review is part of the Amazon Vine program***

I've been gobbling up the Amish fiction books lately, and I have to say that I did enjoy this one. It had a nice storyline, was a bit more realistic than others I've read, and had enjoyable characters.

Lilly has loved Jacob from afar for many years now. Too bad his sights are set on Sarah. But then Sarah gets married to another man and while trying to cover up his stealing a horse, Lilly and Jacob inadvertently become engaged. Lilly's glad for what she can get, but will she ever have true love with Jacob? An even worse though, will he be able to stand her mother who has become quite strange after the death of her father? They will have to work hard at their relationship if they ever expect it to survive.

Lilly was a nice character. She was her own self while still following Amish tradition. Jacob was the same way although a bit more of a rebel. I like how in this book the author makes the Amish real people with flaws and secrets and not blindly following their faith without thinking for themselves. It is very refreshing and more realistic. Lilly's mother was a bit odd but I think its nice to show that even the Amish have mental problems although its not as prolific as it is in the Englischer world.

For a plot it probably could have been a little better. It basically outlines the strife in Lilly's relationships but never really has anything pressing going on. Its a simple story. But it is still a good writing of relationships and how to have open communication. Since this is Amish it could probably be considered Christian fiction as there is religious attributes and the characters call upon God quite a bit in the book. It also doesn't contain anything real offensive but unlike most Amish books, while this one doesn't have graphic scenes, it does mention more physical contact than most Amish books do.

Not too bad and if you're a fan of Amish fiction you'll probably like it. I definitely will check out more by this author.

Lilly's Wedding Quilt
Copyright 2011
310 pages