Thursday, March 20, 2014

An Amish Garden - A Book Review

An Amish Garden is a compilation of four Amish novellas.  Included is Rooted in Love by Beth Wiseman, Flowers for Rachel by Kathleen Fuller, Seeds of Love by Tricia Goyer and Where Healing Blooms by Vannetta Chapman.

Each novella revolves in some way around gardening.  When I first seen this book I thought for sure I would love it.  I like reading short stories, I love Amish fiction. I love gardening and I had read previous books from all the authors except for Vannetta Chapman and have really liked them.  To be honest though, I was not impressed with An Amish Garden.  The stories seemed very rushed, predictable and the story lines were just boring.

Out of the four stories I enjoyed Where the Healing Blooms by Vannetta Chapman the most.  I found the story line to be more intriguing than the others and it made me want to read more of her writings.  Instead of your normal "young girl finds boy and they fall in love story" this was about Emma, an older widow who's normal, quiet life gets interrupted when she finds a young teenage boy living in her barn.  After finding out about the boy's past she decides to let him stay on with the Bishop's approval.  The Bishop surprises her by asking if she will also open her home to a local woman and her two children that are in need.  When Mary Ann, Emma's mother-in-law reveals a secret a hidden secret in the garden Emma know's for sure that God is calling her to do a great work in helping those in need.  

***This book was provided to me through the booklook bloggers program in exchange for my honest review.


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