I really enjoyed Clay and Mary's story. Two caring loving people from two different worlds finding each other and maybe having a happy ending.

I haven’t read any books by Ms Beckstrand in the past, but generally really enjoy books about Amish and Mennonites. I was a bit disappointed by this book for a number of reasons. The first reason struck me almost immediately in how this author really doesn’t capture the true views and values of the Amish. This story was more than just fiction, but truly far fetched in most every way. From the beginning, the way the father handled the situation when the famous baseball player drove drunken into his barn, and he invited him in to stay with his family and work for them for months to repair the barn instead of accepting payment for damages. Being an outsider, he’d never encourage opportunity for a relationship between this man and his four unmarried daughters. Once getting past this, the author made the big baseball player into a literal puddle of tears and weakness. The entire book was spent with him constantly apologizing for all the trouble he brought, and constantly crying (sobbing as per the story). He was constantly depressed, and Mary (the Amish girl) was constantly scared of everything and everyone. I have no problem with men being in touch with their emotions, but this felt beyond ridiculous. I kept reading thinking it would get better, but this book was literally depressing. I truly hate giving such a negative review, but this book was truly not worth the read. The character development has no real depth, and the story never moved on from all the tears and apologies.

I will not be recommending this book on my blog found at https://thefinalwordbooks.blogspot.com. I only publish reviews that meet a certain level of criteria, as I search for the very best work (in my opinion).


Thank you, Kensington books, for this opportunity to read your books simply in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars
What a delightful book. A tad different from the traditional Amish book, but that's what made it so good. I really enjoyed the characters development and the plot.
Definitely recommend.

I throughly enjoyed this book. There are amazing characters in this book about Mary and Clay. They are humorous, have trust issues and very different life styles. The plot is riveting with all the twists needed to make this a book you won’t put down. I will definitely read this author again.

Thank you netgallery for this ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. Jennifer Beckstrand is a new author for me to read and I enjoyed every page. The humour in the writing and the characters was a pleasant surprise as I haven't come across that in any of the Amish stories I have read before. I find the Amish culture and way of life so interesting and inspiring, reading these stories is a great way to escape from the modern world. I shall read more from this author. I recommend this book!

While overall a good story, I did expect a bit more with quilting. I also found it a little repetitive at times with Clay and Mary's issues to overcome. Obviously needed for the story but still... However, on that note I still enjoyed the story and wanted to see the HEA. Would recommend.