Piecing It All Together

PIECING IT ALL TOGETHER is the first novel in the Plain Patterns series by LESLIE GOULD.
The story takes place mostly in Nappanee Indiana where we come across Jane Berger, a fifth generation descendant of the original Amish settlers, writing an article about her rich heritage. Jane runs a quilting meeting at her shop, Plain Patterns, where she, over several weeks, tells Savannah Mast and her Mammi the story about their joint ancestor, Emma,who lived near Nappanee in the 1800"s. As Savannah's life unfolds, it lines up more and more with Emma's.
Savannah quits her job and goes to stay with her Amish grandmother after being dumped by her fiance, Ryan Woodward, a week before their wedding. Since her mother's death and her father 's remarriage she feels very alone and realizes that she relied heavily on her relationship with Ryan rather than on the Lord.
Savannah's mother was a qualified midwife and Savannah has to remember all she learned from helping her as she is pulled into delivering Arletta's baby on a freezingly cold winter's night. She is also pulled into the mystery of Arletta's daughter, Miriam's, disappearance and the supposed guilt of her childhood friend, Tommy Miller.
I like the midwifery theme which runs through both stories and especially like Arletta's stand against cruelty towards, and discrimination against, the Potawatomi Indians. I also like the quilting theme which really does tie the whole book together.
I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling the read for you. I highly recommend Piecing It All Together to anyone who enjoys Christian romance novels.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Savannah Mast finds herself adrift when her fiancé cancels the wedding at the last minute. She closes up everything in California and goes to stay with her Amish grandmother in Indiana. She discovers that her childhood friend Tommy Yoder is back in town but the sheriff suspects him of drug trafficking and other crimes. The story is more complicated than that however and Savannah is determined to get to the bottom of it.

Meanwhile, a friend of her grandmother’s, the local quilt shop owner, starts telling Savannah a tale about one of their ancestors and keeps her (and kept me) fascinated throughout.

This is a wonderful story. It is more of a regular novel than an Amish story as the cover portrays it to be. Yes, it has some characters that are Amish but others as well. I recommend this one to all my reading friends.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Net Galley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

This story was a combination of three different perspectives. It was a well written story of sisterhood and healing. It was a story of forgiveness and love. The story focused on Savannah and her parallel experience with Emma. Savannah needed to heal in ways she didn’t understand and Emma had different experiences but needed to heal as well. Both stories were beautifully tied together through Jane. I loved the contrasts between the Amish, Mennonite and English communities, about the importance of making choices and the healing that is possible.

This is my first experience reading this particular author and was not disappointed.

I received an eARC through NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Piecing It All Together is book 1 is the Plain Patterns series. The story centers around two different women in a family generations apart. Savannah Mask is living out west and all plans are set in place to be married. Her fiance suddenly calls off the wedding. Savannah decides to visit her Amish grandmother in Nappanee, Indiana. Savannah takes her grandmother to a quilting circle held at Jane Berger's shop. Jan Berger is a distant cousin of Savannah's and tells the story of their ancestor Emma Gingrich. Emma had a sad story in the beginning. I won't reveal what she went through. Don't want to spoil it for you but Emma had to be strong to endure what she went through. I admired Emma's character on how she dealt with people who were different from her. I like both Savannah and Emma. I am not sure whose story I liked better. Savannah reconnected with Tommy Miller who was a childhood friend. He was unjustly being accused in the disappearance of an Amish woman and she helped in the investigation to prove his innocence.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and Bethany House. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was such a cozy, heartwarming book. I enjoyed the characters and I loved watching the story unfold. Amish fiction can be sort of hit-or-miss for me, but this one was definitely a hit.

This is a beautiful story that isn’t exactly the typical Amish story, even though the setting is in Amish county. It’s a split-time story, and the author does a great job of smoothly moving back and forth in the storyline. There are strong, memorable characters who bring this story to life. The themes of faith, hope, love, and forgiveness during difficult times was an encouragement. I enjoyed this author’s writing style and look forward to reading more of her books.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

It is great to see that Leslie Gould is back with a new series called Plain Patterns. Book one, Piecing It All Together, was a great beginning. I loved it. Five stars.

I have always enjoyed this author's books and this one is no exception.
This is the start of a new series and takes place in near Nappanee, Indiana.
I enjoyed reading about the Indians that lived in this area many years ago and the author tells us about interesting research books to look at to further our knowledge of these Indians.
A young woman leaves California after a failed relationship going to her Amish grandmother's farm .
She's not planning on staying long, just to get herself together a bit after the breakup but becomes involved in a case of a missing Amish girl.
Presented with a hard choice she must make between her past and present life will she choose security or let past memories rule her?
I enjoyed getting to know quilt shop owner Jane Berger who is also the local historian. She is a smart woman and presented interesting facts about the Indians who lived in the area.
Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Pub Date 04 Aug 2020
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.