Unforgiven

I so loved being drawn into the lives of Tabitha Yoder and X Con, Seth Zimmerman. I love mysteries and it was evident from the beginning that Tabitha had secrets that she was keeping hid. After getting into the story, you meet both of their siblings along with the other friends and family of Tabitha and Seth. Then there is Leon Yoder, Tabitha’s EX husband, yes EX. Unheard of among the Amish. When Leon shows up, not only does he get a surprise, but Tabitha learns that there are many more people that care for her than she realizes and she is so much stronger than she was when she was married to him. Come to Crittenden County, KY and visit with the Yoder and Zimmerman Families and expect to be drawn into their lives with the secrets that haunts Tabitha!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher.

Book one of a new series. Seth has been in love with Tabitha ever since she was his teacher. Since that time life hasn't been kind to either of them. Both have left the Amish faith and are estranged from their families. Can they reconnect and have a happy ending? Time will tell. Lovely story.

"Unforgiven" is a Christian romance. Seth and Tabitha grew up Amish but left. They're not shunned, but their Amish community doesn't quite know how to react to them. Tabitha divorced her violent, abusive husband. Many felt she should have just separated from him or maybe could have eventually reconciled, so she doesn't feel safe or accepted and hides in her house. Her ex-husband swore he'd come back and beat her to death someday. Seth accidently killed a man who was attempting to rape a girl, but even he wonders if he could have handled the situation differently. Both feel unforgiven.

Seth has long had a crush on Tabitha, so he carefully helped her with things like chopping wood or clearing her driveway of snow. She comes to trust him. They and their families worked through what happened to break their relationships so they could move forward with healing.

The main characters were engaging and came across as real, complex people. There was some suspense as Tabitha's husband was released from prison and causing trouble again. Seth and Tabitha helped each other to heal from the past, find forgiveness, and rebuild relationships. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable romance.

This is a good read but I often question Amish fiction. Each Amish group has their own rules, but generally, baptized church members that stray are shunned for life.
Sadly, any cult that lives by a list of rules and is clannish tend to overlook or even encourage abuse. This story shows how women are to be quiet wives dealing with whatever abuse is mete out. Getting outside law enforcement involved is avoided.
I grew up in a similar cult and i have has lasting damage.
It is so true you must forgive yourself and learn how to be strong.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

Tabitha is a divorced former Amish woman. She lives a solitary life in fear of her ex husband. Seth was in prison due to an accident. He keeps coming over to Tabitha’s to do small chores. It takes awhile but eventually Tabitha welcomes Seth into her life. However she starts to receive small gifts that could only come from her ex husband. This was a delightful on the edge of my seat read. I was able to read this from NetGalley.

“I don’t blame you for wanting a fresh start, but you might want to remember that the Lord has already offered you one.”
Shelley Shepard Gray has written a moving story dealing with guilt, forgiveness, and trust. Although the book goes to some dark and difficult places, it demonstrates that there is nothing we go through that God is not there, nothing we do that He cannot forgive. It is when we will not let Him take our guilt and teach us to trust that that we do not find the healing we crave. This was a good reminder to me as I know I can be hard on myself instead of accepting His offer of grace. I look forward to the sequel with resolution for some of the other characters.
*I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from NetGalley and Revell Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Shelley Shepard Gray has done it again, what a great read, a different look at an Amish Community.

Two innocent outcasts find each other, well it is more like reunite! A teacher and a student, but now they are adults and really only three years apart in age.

Certain rules are not to be broken and these outcasts did, but what would we do under the same circumstances?

I enjoyed how this story played out, scary at times, and you wonder if all will survive!

There are a few other relationships that we are offered and we follow, and we see how these people deal with accidental death, and prison, along with divorce, a big no no.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Revel, and was not required to give a positive review.

I really enjoyed this book. I live reading Christian fiction books and this one did not disappoint. The story was very well written and the romance was perfect.

I chose this book because (1) I love Christian fiction (2) I love discovering new authors (3) Revell/Baker Publishing has quickly become my number one publishing house to support and (4) I know absolutely nothing about the Amish.

For this book, Gray takes readers to an Amish community in Crittenden County, Kentucky where she introduces us to two of the outcasts, Tabitha Yoder and Seth Zimmerman. Tabitha endured an abusive marriage and divorced her husband when he was sent to jail. Knowing that this isn’t condoned by the community, she’s distanced herself and become a recluse for the past 5 years. Seth has also been ostracized as a result of coming to the aid of an Amish girl. He indirectly caused the death of her attacker and did prison time. They provide hope for each other and continue to attempt to rebuild relationships with their Amish friends and family. When Tabitha’s ex is released from jail, there’s no doubt that he’ll pay a visit it Tabitha. Will Seth be there to protect her? Will these two ever be welcomed back?

Author Shelley Shepard Gray’s themes of acceptance and belonging affected me. Because she had explained what the church stood for and described the life of the Amish, I felt the anguish these two had in wanting to be accepted for who they were instead of what those in the community wished them to be. I’d never considered the push/pull relationship between English and Amish. The message about not allowing the past to define one’s future was loud and clear as was the encouragement to make peace with ourselves and our past so that we can move on and find love. I think what inspired me the most was the Amish sense of community and their deep faith.

I enjoyed rereading Matthew 18, Romans 16, and 1 Corinthians 5 to see the scripture the Amish use in basing their response to a violation of order. I was driven to Google ‘Ordnung’ and ‘meidung’ and was surprised at how simple it was to have a shun lifted. Gray shared with me the simple life of these faith-filled people and I respect how they take care of ‘trouble’ within their family or within the church. For someone with zero knowledge of this community, I appreciated Gray sharing the differences compared with our culture and then showing us how this simplicity, like their church, is instrumental to their faith.

Author Shelley Shepard Gray loves writing about the Amish community! I enjoyed this introduction to her new series and discovering a new author as much as I enjoyed learning about a new faith and reading a great story about taking risks. I'll definitely read more books by this author!

I was gifted this copy by Revell Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Unforgiven
Shelley Shepard Gray
This is the tale of two souls both filled with unjustified guilt. Seth Zimmerman paid for his crimes. He has spent the last three years helping those that need it in the Amish community. Tabitha Yoder is one of the most vulnerable. She divorced his abusive husband causing her to be shunned in the community. Seth drops food off for her, chops firewood and keeps her driveway clear. He knows she watches him from her window. Without talking they begin to form a friendship. Small gifts begin showing up at Tabitha’s home; she knows they have to be from her ex-husband. The man was so violent she almost died. Seth knows he has to be careful, or he will go back to prison.
There are two major themes in this book. Forgiveness and Trust. The hardest part of forgiveness is forgiving yourself. It is so easy to keep dredging up old memories that prevent you from forgiving yourself. God is ready to forgive you all you have to do is ask. Once you have been hurt it is difficult to trust again.
This tale brought tears to my eyes. Both Seth and Tabitha had a hard life, especially Tabitha. I couldn’t help but love both Seath and Tabita. The secondary characters add dimension and depth to the plot. The setting for this book is beautiful Crittenden County Kentucky. Well done Shelley Shepard Gray.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book for review.

When I seen this book I knew I had to have it. I love anything this author writes.
A wonderful start to a new series that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Poor Seth and Tabitha! No one deserves to go through what they did.
Especially Tabitha! I feel that she did the right thing. In fact, I know she did.
She's my heroine!
I couldn't out this book down! I had to see what happened to this sweet couple that I've come to know and adore.
Forgiving yourself is a hard thing to do let alone forgiving the other person.
Trust is also hard. Once broken down its hard to get back. I should know.
This story will make you cry, hold your breath and make you mad all at the same time. It did me. At the injustice of it all.
I really like the cover of this book. Sooooo mysterious and it makes you wonder what happened to sweet Tabitha to make her afraid. You'll just have to pick this amazing story up and read it for yourself. I believe that you won't be disappointed. I know I wasn't.
Loved every minute of it..I think though that my favorite character was nosy Melonie Seth's sister laugh out loud. Which she actually did at times.
Gotta love nosy sisters.
5 stars for realistic characters and tough subjects that are well written to keep you turning the pages and you will be thinking about these characters long after the story is finished. I know I still am. I believe that these characters will be memorable for a long time.
I highly recommend.
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed it. I've been waiting a long time for Seth to get his own book, and know he has! He was always so intriguing in the previous books. Firstly, I enjoyed the story's energy and suspense. It kept the book moving so that it never got bogged down. Seth and Tabitha had great chemistry! Surprisingly, even the side characters had a very cute romance going for them. In the past, when the author switched back and forth between the mains and the side characters, they would kinda get on my nerves over stupid drama, but this one was okay.

Kentucky's Crittenden County is described Beautifully. For suspense, it has its darker moments, but when describing the actual area, it's really accurate. And the food when described, sounded so delicious 🤤!

The book's resounding theme was forgiveness and how the characters needed God's forgiveness, to forgive themselves, and those around them. As the reader, we can all relate to that. I very much enjoyed this book. It's always a pleasure to pick up one of Ms. Gray's books!

Tabitha started spying on Seth when he came over to chop wood or drop off some food, she had enjoyed seeing her former student, but she was afraid to speak to him or anybody else since she had escaped her abusive Amish ex husband Leon ten years ago.
Seth left her notes after he'd completed his work, letting her know that he was not upset that she didn't come to the door, and she appreciated that. Seth had his own issues with the Amish community as he'd defended a girl from getting raped and the boy he hit fell and hit his head on a rock and died so Seth had served some prison time.
Neither Tabitha or Seth were Amish anymore, but they still loved their families and neighbors.
A short time later, Seth started speaking to Tabitha and they became friends, and Tabitha learned that she could trust people again.
Then someone leaves a note with a gift at her door and it is not Seth..

Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc I was able to read.

I enjoy all of Ms Gray's books and this was no exception. I thought it started a little slow at first but gained my interest quickly.
I liked the relationship between Tabitha and Seth and between Lott and Melonie.
I liked how it emphasized that you need to forgive yourself before you can expect forgiveness from others.
We will be buying this for our library.