The Protector

Every woman craves the attention and protection of the man who will love her and keep her safe. Yet ever since she was a child, Ella has accepted the fact that no one wants to be her friend. She believes it's due to her tall stature, the fact she has to wear glasses so she can see, and her plain, old brown hair. No one has ever wanted to be friends with Ella, except her best friend Corrine. So Ella has resolved to stay alone, and take care of her parents. She knows no one will ever fall in love with her.

Fate steps into her life when her father passes away and she has to care for her ailing mother. When she too passes away, Ella is forced to auction off her families belongings and farm just to be able to live with no other family. What's worse is that the boy she had a crush on in her childhood, Loyal Weaver, is now the man who is buying up all her belongings as well as the home she thought she would always live in.

Now she lives in a small apartment in town with her friend, Dorothy, who has agreed to provide her with a place to stay and a job. After all since no one will ever fall in love with Ella, she doesn't think the arrangement isn't too bad. It seems to work out for the best until Ella begins to spend too much time with Loyal and Corrine and not enough time with her. All of a sudden, Ella begins to question her safety the more time she spends with Dorothy. Will she ever find love or will she be left all alone just like she has always believed.

In the sequel to Shelley Shepard Gray's Families of Honor series, The Protector, picks up right where the Caregiver left off. This is a wonderful transition into the second book and I completely enjoyed this one as much as the first one. This time we get to know more about Ella Hostetler's life growing up in the Amish community alone without her family to support and guide her. Living a life as a woman alone, it makes her choices more difficult, not knowing if there are what is best for her. We also get to experience what is must feel like to be treated like an outsider within your own community through Ella's eyes and just how God will chose to answer her prayers.

I received this book compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and LOVED it. Now I can't wait for the continuation in this series with The Survivor coming out in the fall of 2011. This book rates a 5 out of 5 stars for a great Amish romance story that will leave the reader wanting more!