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As we were awaiting our new little bundle, I had so neatly tied up so many loose ends that I got bored. When I get bored, I start looking for things to do — and things to read. It had been awhile since I reviewed any fiction and so I logged in to my reviewer panels looking for a book to read since baby wasn’t coming as quickly as I had thought. A Hopeful Heart struck me as a great book to read in the interim.
A Hopeful Heart is the first book in the Hearts of Lancaster Grand Hotel series. It’s an Amish fiction story about a widow who has chosen to work in a hotel to make ends meet. While there, she has an extremely embarrassing meeting with an Englisher. Later, she meets him again as he requires her help. They find that they have much in common–including the loss of their spouses.
They become closer than is prudent & she falls for him. Meanwhile, her brother-in-law is interested in her and she has to decide which man she wants. And if she is willing to leave to have the Englisher. Plus she has older children who affect on her decision also.
Overall, I enjoyed the A Hopeful Heart. I was delighted to read a book where the man was not the one who was deciding whether to join the Amish, but whether the woman was to stay. The story moved along well and the characters were enjoyable. I really felt the indecision of the woman & at times was unsure of what her decision would be.
If you like Amish fiction or just plain enjoy clean, contemporary Christian fiction, this would be a great beach or vacation read. It’s long enough to keep you interested, but because its a stand-alone book, there is no pull to await further books in the series to see what happens. It suited my waiting period, as it were, perfectly.
