The Bridesmaid by Beverly Lewis

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingThe BridesmaidBethany House Publishers (September 11, 2012)byBeverly Lewis



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beverly's first venture into adult fiction is the best-selling trilogy, The Heritage of Lancaster County, including The Shunning, a suspenseful saga of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman drawn to the modern world by secrets from her past. The book is loosely based on the author's maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left her Old Order Mennonite upbringing to marry a Bible College student. One Amish-country newspaper claimed Beverly's work to be "a primer on Lancaster County folklore" and offers "an insider's view of Amish life."



Booksellers across the country, and around the world, have spread the word of Beverly's tender tales of Plain country life. A clerk in a Virginia bookstore wrote, "Beverly's books have a compelling freshness and spark. You just don't run across writing like that every day. I hope she'll keep writing stories about the Plain people for a long, long time."



A member of the National League of American Pen Women, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus of Evangel University, Lewis has written over 80 books for children, youth, and adults, many of them award-winning. She and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and spending time with their family. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."



ABOUT THE BOOK

The Latest in Chart-Topping Amish Fiction from Beverly Lewis



Twenty-seven-year-old Joanna Kurtz has made several trips to the altar, but never as a bride. The single young Amishwoman is a closet writer with a longing to be published something practically unheard of in her Lancaster County community. Yet Joanna's stories aren't her only secret. She also has a beau who is courting her from afar, unbeknownst even to her sister, Cora, who, though younger, seems to have suitors to spare.



Eben Troyer is a responsible young Amishman who hopes to make Joanna Kurtz his bride--if he can ever leave his parents' farm in Shipshewana, Indiana. Yet with his only brother off in the English world, intent on a military career, Eben's hopes for building a life with his dear Joanna are dimming, and patience is wearing thin. Will Joanna ever be more than a bridesmaid?



If you would like to read the first chapter of The Bridesmaid, go HERE.




My thoughts...

Unmarried Joanna has been a bridesmaid many times, this latest wedding has left a rift between Joanna and her younger sister who teases her about always being a bridesmaid. The family goes out of town to a funeral where Joanna meets a young Amish man on the beach, Eben. They are drawn to each other immediately. Their relationship grows as they exchange letters and eventually want to get married. The story is how they work out their relationship and face the obstacles of an impending marriage.

I'm sorry to say this book did not impress me, it was predictable and a bit boring. No major excitement or surprises, no depth to the characters. Disappointedly I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher through CFBA in exchange for an honest review.