You know all the good parts of a romance? The way one character makes the other feel, the moment they’re almost but not quite touching, the moment they finally tell one another how much they care and most importantly why? All those swoony, gooey, warm, and vulnerable parts?

This romance skips over those entirely. It sort of knows what you’re looking for: there’s a first meeting, a first kiss, and the characters go from strangers to lovers (though without on-page sex) at roughly the usual pace. But every time the emotions start to really come to the surface, the prose dodges away, as though it’s embarrassed by its own subject matter.

Considering the author wrote an entire memoir about how uncomfortable he is with expressing love in his personal life, I can see partly why this might have happened. But it makes for a terribly disappointing reading experience. The Amish angle, too, is underdeveloped: this book spends no time showing us who the Amish are or what they believe, and why, or why that might be meaningful to a girl having gone through trauma and heartache. Readers looking for inspiration romance will find precious few mentions of God or Christianity; readers looking for the suspense angle will be frustrated by the utter lack of mystery.

Searching for Rose by Dana Becker I was not what I was expecting at all. I thought it would be a story of a city girl learning about Amish society while searching for her sister and finding herself in the process. Instead, Becker wrote a story set in the city with a love interest who happens to be Amish and somehow there’s drugs and a cult. Sounds like a lot? It is a lot, but weirdly, it does work.

I’ve always been fascinated with the Amish ever since I first read about them more than a decade ago. Their beliefs and way of life is something completely inconceivable to me, city girl born and bred that I am. I really appreciated the peace that Becker brings into the story with the Amish lifestyle and its direct contrast with the seedy underbelly of the city. The changes in tone flowed naturally as the story switched between the two settings.

However, not all of the writing flowed as smoothly. I felt some disconnect with the characters but I don’t think it’s for lack of character fleshing out. Perhaps it’s because most of what they were going through and feeling was stated rather than shown. It’s just something that I personally prefer in my books and shows - I like to be shown, not told. Still, the book was a pleasant and easy read!

Oh and moral of the story? Don’t have any expectations even after reading the blurb. Or perhaps especially after reading the blurb😂

This is an Amish fiction book. The main character is April who has a ton of troubles of her own, but on top of all that she is looking for her sister. During all this she starts working at a Bakery, and while she was working at the bakery she meet an Amish man named Joseph who she becomes very close to. During most of this book she is not sure if she should trust Joseph. This book is nothing like any other Amish book. I did like it, but I did feel a lot of the things in the book just happens without explains. I just wanted more character development in the book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

April is searching for her sister Rose, near a Philadelphia bakery. Rose had shown up near the Philadelphia Market a week ago and disappeared. A handsome young Amish man named Joseph said he had seen Ruth about a week ago. April got a job at the bakery so she could support herself and look for her sister.
April was just recovering from narcotics usage, so she had to attend classes to stay out of jail.
Joseph was very helpful in looking for Rose, he put up flyers and tried to reassure April she'd find her sister.
But Rose was being hidden in a strange place, and her future was connected to an old Amish nightmare......

This was a gripping story. Although some characters are Amish, most of this story takes place in the Englischer world. Rose is obviously missing. Her sister, April is trying desperately to find her. Unexpectedly, an Amish man that works near her helps in the search. Their friendship becomes close, then she begins noticing things that seem strange about him, so she loses all trust in him. As things progress, she learns he is doing things to help find what happened to Rose. This book is one of the darkest romance I have read in the Amish romance category. It is a clean story, but with dark elements. I loved it and couldn't put it down!

Searching for Rose is the first novel I have read by Dana Becker. I had mixed feelings reading this book- On one hand I felt great compassion for April's character as she searched for her missing sister Rose. On the other hand, the book was hard to follow in some parts as the dialogue felt choppy and the surrounding storylines felt quite dark, especially later in the story. The relationships April formed with David and Carmen were in part heartwarming yet also tense as April has difficulty trusting others due to her past, and to her life situation. There were times I was tempted to stop reading, but I then felt compelled to read on to at least learn if Rose was found. There was an aspect that troubled me later in the story, with the gangster Whitey. It involved his use of Aramaic words, which are similar to Hebrew, in speaking with the cult he formed. I did not like seeing this language used by such an evil character.

#SearchingforRose#HerBalist
This book is quite different from other Amish books.. The main character is trying to change her life after being arrested and having a drug problem. She is trying to find her sister Rose who has gone missing she finds people who will give her the benefit of sought and help her change her life. She gets a job in a bakery and meets a young Amish man Joseph who becomes her friend. As time goes by s She fears her sister will never be found.. She gets warnings to stop looking and she doesn't know who to trust. Is anyone who she really thinks they are? Nothing is what it seems people who she thinks are enemies may help her. April will find out lots of secrets and she will have hopes and dreams for the future. Thank you HerBalist for allowing me to read this book and write a review.