Accepting God's will is what the Amish have been raised and taught to do but when faced with trial after trial, they turned and began to question God's will. Not because the person was bad or unholy, but they were human. Somethings took some people more time to process and accept.

Joy had face trial after trial. The death of her husband, the accident of her son. To cope with these trials, she held on to her independence. She had a successful baking store, and she was driven by being in charge. She was determined that her son Johnny would walk again even after the doctors said that he would not. Uriah her brother in law had his own share of trials. He had lost his wife years ago and was raising young girls that needed a woman's touch. Uriah had approached his sister-in law about his nephew and wanting to help be independent. A turn of events of his kindness to Joy's family became something more.

The journey of faith and trusting God in relationships fits this story so well. How we cope with our own trials becomes a control mind game we play that we always lose. I appreciated the reminder in Joy and the kindness and patience of Uriah. A sweet romance of one more time for love.

A special thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Thank you Amy Lillard and Kensington Books, Zebra for allowing me to read an advance copy of One More Time for Joy by Amy Lillard. This book will be released March 28, 2023.

Joy Lehman had been through so much since her husband’s death and her oldest son’s paralyzing fall. She has worked very hard to gain her independence by opening a profitable bakery.

Uriah Lehman, Joy’s brother-in-law, understands his brother’s family is struggling because he too struggles being a single parent of four girls. He offers to build a bedroom addition to the house for Johnny B to guarantee his own space and privacy and will allow Johnny to be more independent. Joy reluctantly agreed, but when the addition turns into a dawdihaus, Joy is very unsure of the whole process.

As Uriah and Joy work together on this project, a great plot is developed and the realistic characters and storyline weave and interesting tale.

This is definitely another 5 star addition to you Amy Lillard collection.

All views are my own, and I was not required to give a positive review.

No more Amy Lillard for me. It just is not good. I don't recommend. And I did not finish. I typically love Amish fiction.
1 star

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy of this beautiful book in return for my honest opinion.

The story of Uriah and Jo is crafted perfectly. I get the mixed felling of all 8 children. Their emotions are real and deep. It is an up and down ride as the adults grow closer and the children's feeling are exposed.

A sweet, sweet Amish romance story with a beautiful message of love, acceptance, and the blending of families

The book is the third in the Paradise Valley series. It can, however be read as a stand alone book with no problem.

It is a clean story that will touch your heart.

Recommend.

This is a sweet story of second chance love after grief. Lillard’s Amish stories have a universal realism and don’t shy away from stress, overwork, loneliness and hardship. This story includes a son with a spinal cord injury which is handled well. You don’t have to worry about too much detail but the aspects of sexuality after a SCI are dealt with sensitively. I can’t say that there was any mystery or surprise but it’s a very fast read with a happy ending.,

One More Time for Joy is a beautifully written Amish romance. I enjoyed the plot, characters and the setting. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance book. This is my unbiased review.

Such a well written book by Amy Lillard. Joy lost her husband Rudy and is struggling as a mother to raise her family and run her bakery business. Add to her struggles, her son Johnny B., and not being able to walk after he fell from the barn loft and her son Chris who is wanting to change his name to “Topher”. Rudy’s brother, Uriah, owns a lumberyard and is also a widower, sees Joy struggling. When he offers to build a dawdi house for Johnny B to make it more convenient for him to get around, will Joy be able to put her pride aside to allow him to help? When Uriah decides to have family suppers and game nights with his family and Joy’s family, his daughters fear that their Aunt Joy is trying to set her hooks into their dad. Will the two families be able to mesh together for strength, happiness and hope? Sometimes we have to learn the hard way that often times we need help and that there are some things we cannot do alone.

I highly recommend this book and enjoyed the delightful characters. I would love to see another book emerge from this series.

All words and opinions are my own. I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

I connected to this story from the first page. I love it when this happens! This was a sweet Amish Romance by Amy Lillard. It’s a family story and at times an emotional one. In my opinion that’s what makes a book a good read. It is the third book of the Author’s Paradise Valley series. I found it to be entertaining and it was hard to put the book down once I started to read it. I loved the Characters and the Author did a great job of taking me, the reader, inside the minds of the main characters. I found it interesting to read that the little Amish girls played with English dolls and faceless dolls were described as a thing of the past.
This is a story of an Amish widower, Uriah Lehman, and an Amish widow , Joy Lehman. The two are actually in-laws by marriage. Between them there are eight kids of various ages. One is a disabled wheel chair bound teenager. When Uriah decides to gift Joy with the extension of a dawdyhaus to her home the two in-laws spend a lot of time together . The extension to Joy’s house is totally necessary to help Johnny B get around with his wheelchair. The kids have mixed feelings about about their parents spending so much time together. Find out how things turn out for these two families when you read this beautiful and heartfelt story about two lonely adults and eight children who are missing one of their late parents .

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading Amish fiction and clean romance. This book is part of a series but I think that it could be read as a stand alone.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here in this review are entirely my own.
#OneMoreTimeforJoy#NetGalley

One More Time For Joy by Amy Lillard is book three in her Paradise Valley chaste romance series.

Widow, Joy Lehman has her hands full as a mother and businesswoman. Uriah Lehman is a widower with his own hands full as a father of four daughters and a flourishing lumberyard. In-laws, Joy and Uriah both face widowhood bravely, but now consider a new idea of family.

Amish life and religion are again front and center in this series. The characters are lively and believable. The plot is interesting with compelling dialogue. The story is inspirational on multiple levels. I give One More Time For Joy 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it to all readers of Christian romance.

My thanks to Kensington Books, Zebra, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

One More Time for Joy by Amy Lillard
Zebra
March 28, 2023
10-1420155245

The Amish community of Paradise Valley, Missouri, is the setting where local widows share their bond of grief and faith in the “Whoopie Pie Widow’s Club.” Taking on the sole responsibility of caring for her four children is tedious, so member Joy Lehman missed many meetings since losing her beloved husband, Rudy. Then when her oldest son, Johnny B, falls from the loft in the barn and sustains injuries that may prevent him from ever walking again, Joy finds free moments are scarce.

Johnny B is morose after being relegated to sleep in the living room for he is unable to climb the stairs to the room he shares with his younger brother, Chris. This causes more tension in the household. Joy not only worries about him, but she tends to coddle him, too, something no 18-year-old young man wants. Losing his ability to navigate is horrendous enough, but having his bedroom out in the open and among all the family members is depressing.

Chris doesn’t like this situation either, for he is now moody and hostile, and insists everyone call him “Topher”—the last half of his name. Joy does not like this, but what can she do? With so much to contend with, after Rudy's death, she needs to support herself and her children. She opens a bakery—a popular one—which keeps her extremely busy. She loves baking, but between her business and caring for her family, her life is not her own. No wonder she is wrung out and under constant stress. Thank goodness, her oldest daughter Leah helps in any way she can, taking some of the burdens off Joy. And, her youngest, Jane, never complains or causes any fuss, for which Joy is grateful.

Joy loves her independence and fiercely guards it, even with all the duties she sets for herself though she is constantly fatigued. Proud her business is doing well without relying on others, she lives by the power of her faith and is determined Johnny B will walk again, though the doctors think differently.

When Rudy’s brother, Uriah, offers to add a bedroom addition to the house for Johnny B to guarantee his own space and privacy, Joy is against it. Not only would it be expensive, but her pride will not allow her to accept his offer; she can take care of her family by herself. However, Uriah owns a lumber yard and can attain the materials at cost. He feels the need to help her for his brother’s sake.
Uriah too, suffered a loss when his wife passed from cancer, leaving him with four daughters to raise alone. The oldest Rebecca, 18, and Rachel, 16, are reliable, but he worries about the two younger ones and how the impact of losing their mother affects them.

Adamant to assist Joy, Uriah states it is the Amish way. Seeing the strain she is under, he believes it’s his duty to his late brother to look after her and the family. Before long, Uriah and his helpers are busy adding a “dawdihaus” addition for Johnny B—not just a bedroom, but his own separate apartment with a bedroom/living room, tiny kitchen, and bath, so this way he can be self-sufficient.

Joy and Uriah argue about this:

“‘Uriah, I barely agreed to a room. A dawdihaus?’ She shook her head. ‘That is way more than I planned for.’ . . .

. . . “‘What if Johnny B doesn’t walk again?’

“‘But he will.’

“‘You can have all the hope in the world, but you should consider the fact that if he doesn’t, he may very well live in this house until he dies. He might not get married. He will certainly need some care from his family.

“‘Now a dawdihaus would add value to your own house, give him some independence as he gets older, and since we’re already building this, we can lower the cabinets and countertops so he can utilize the space.’

“Forever. Until he dies.

“It was a staggering thought, and one she hadn’t allowed herself to have. Until now. She was taking it one thing at a time. And first up was getting him to walk again. Once that happened, she could deal with the rest.”

While Uriah works on the addition, he and Johnny B talk about everything and anything. Uriah understands it is hard for Johnny B to discuss guy things with his mother, so he fills in by becoming a mentor. Also worried about Chris’ recent behavior, he pulls him aside to find out what is going on with him. He thinks it is important to help Joy by alleviating some of her pressures any way he can.

Soon, Uriah suggests the two families spend Friday nights together for take-out dinners and board games. Joy is relieved her youngsters are happy, but observes something is up with Rebecca and Rachel, Uriah’s oldest daughters. The two young women consider Joy is trying to trap their father into marrying her, and they don’t like it one bit. Secretly they share a plot to put a wrench in the whole possible wedding scenario.
The girls discuss:

“‘Pay attention tonight,’ Rebecca told Rachel.

“‘To what?’ her sister asked.

“‘Everything. Anything. We have to find something about her that will show him her true colors. Once we have that, we can make sure it doesn’t go any further than him building this addition to her house.’”

As the holidays approach, Joy realizes she needs help in the bakery. She hires a young girl who is not good for much except for keeping company with Johnny B. Joy wonders how she’ll be able to handle all her orders when Rebecca and Rachel offer to work for her. The girls think if they become more friendly with her, they can find out her intentions with their dad. She is their aunt, yet they don’t trust her and don’t want their family to deal with another upheaval. They believe things are fine as they are and do not want another mother and more siblings.

Uriah spends more time working on the addition, and he and Joy are thrown together often. Surprisingly, a stirring of desire erupts between them. But Joy tries not to think about her sudden feelings for Uriah. She refuses to give up her business and independence. As time passes, she recognizes what a loyal man he is with her children, and he notices how well she gets along with his daughters. Most important is their attraction. Can they deny it?

Book #3 in the Paradise Valley series is a sweet tale focused on love and loss for a woman trying to raise a large family as a single parent. It asks the question, Can there be a second chance for her? Many Amish stories not only give insight into their quiet and peaceful lives but demonstrate they share many of the same trials and tribulations as the non-Amish experience. Giving a great view into another way of life with confidence and faith as strong motivators in this quick-paced novel, the reader is also provided with a few mouth-watering recipes.

This book was good. It reminded me too much of the movie Yours, Mine and Ours.
This book has all the feel goods that you could want in a book.
I love a good Amy Lillard book and I especially loved this one.
Sometimes though faith isn't the only thing you need. I loved the love and support of this family and after awhile I felt like I was a part of it. I've always wondered what a big family might feel like and this wonderful book did that for me. Thank you Ms. Lillard!
Your writing is superb as always.and I'm never disappointed in her books.
I thought this author has done a great job with the subject of changes. Changes are hard for some but with the Lord's will, timing and help it can happen. God does answer our prayers. Just not the way we think it should go.
5 stars for a job well done! I highly recommend!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a good book. It shows with any disability you can get through anything you just have ro work hard and have faith. This book was approved by netgalley and the publisher.