The Bachelor

I almost thought I had missed out on the opportunity as a book reviewer to review Stephanie Reed's latest novel The Bachelor, the second in the Plain City Peace Series. You don't know how happy I was when I realized that Kregel Publications had extended the invitation to do so even though many others had read it way before I did. There is joy in the small things like this.

I feel in love with the character of Betsie Troyer from the first novel and if you're like me, you often times, have to wait quite a bit to get the next novel in any series. However, I knew right away, I wanted to see right where Stephanie was going to pick her up story since Betsie's parents along with her Aunt Lovina had moved away from the Amish community to settle far away so they could practice their new found faith in the Jesus of the Bible as well as learning more about salvation. In an Amish community if you left, your salvation was doomed for all eternity. This is the reason so many Amish remain and become baptized in their Amish faith to ensure that through their good works and obedience they might get to heaven, but they had no way of knowing for sure.

Betsie was left behind on the family farm trying to do her very best along with his younger sister Sadie to make ends meet until she believed one day her parents would return home. Until that time, the Amish had a firm rule of shunning that prevented them from associating with them until they made a kneeling confession in front of the church. Betsie held on to her belief, her parents would be coming home. That didn't stop Charlie Yoder, from pressing the issue with Betsie that they would be married soon, having children, and take over running the Troyer farm. Betsie was more than surprised with Charlie's way of dismissing her faith that her parents would be home soon and they would be running the farm again. It is clear that Charlie has a firm way of holding on to the old Amish way of running things especially having his mother Mattie supporting them since his father had died.

But is Charlie really the bachelor for her or perhaps is her heart bringing her back to Michael, an English man who saved her life from what could have been a brutal attack. Now that Michael is living on the Farm to avoid having to serve in the Vietnam war, she wonders just what their relationship might have been like if Michael were Amish instead of English. In order to keep her mind busy, Betsie has been asked to take care of Michael's little sister Shelia while his father has left to try and reconcile with his distraught wife who has run off. It is the faith of a small child that will lead Betsie to the truth of salvation in a way she never imagined.

I received The Bachelor by Stephanie Reed compliments of Kregel Publications for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. I absolutely LOVED this novel but once again must way until 2016 to get the third novel in the series, The Bride. This is such a moving novel to conveys hope for our eternal salvation in heaven through the simple faith of becoming like a child again. It is that simple faith of simply accepting things at face value rather than trying to figure them out that makes this one a winner in my opinion and well worth 5 out of 5 stars. The only downside is the wait between the novels, but all great things come to those who wait! There are Book Club Discussion Questions included at the conclusion of this novel as well!

For more information about The Bachelor, Stephanie Reed or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Bachelor by Stephanie Reed

You can find Stephanie Reed on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Bachelor, please visit Kregel Publications website. 

The Bargain

"The problem with the English is that everyone wants to lead. No one wants to submit to authority." ~ Betsie's Journal

Imagine a novel where an Amish woman makes a bargain with her cousin and winds up experiencing what life is like for an English family in the 1970's. That is just the premise for the latest novel by author Stephanie Reed, The Bargain, her first novel in the Plain City Peace series.

Betsie Troyer has made a bargain with her cousin Nelson to mind the harness shop while he agreed to serve in the Chicago military hospital without being drafted for two years. The arrangement would include her living with the Sullivans, an English family during her apprenticeship, while her own parents have agreed to leave behind their Amish way of life and heading to Belle Center, Ohio. They have agreed to allow their children however, to make their own choices about whether to leave or stay behind. Betsie is more that convinced her parents are making the wrong decision.

She meets Michael Sullivan, a college drop out, hippie and the only son of the Sullivan's she is planning on working for when he arrives to pick her up for work in his yellow-jacket colored Super Bee. He lives in the small town of Hilliard and is prone to the typical emotional outbursts that were common for teens dealing with all the issues surrounding the time in which this novel takes place. He is moved to the peace movement and tries to teach Betsie some of the slang words of the English as she attempts her first visit to their local supermarket in order to fit in. She clearly doesn't have a clue to what she is saying or doing and finds herself at odds in how to fit in with this very different family.

She is befriended by Michael's younger sister, Shelia who is 12, who she teaches the value of hardwork in taking care of the house, which is being left by the wayside by the now newly liberated Phyllis Sullivan, Shelia's mom. The family is used to such modern conveniences like a dishwasher, washer, and dryer and the television which occupies the late night hours after dinner, which they are use to getting out of a box or by making a TV dinner which is clearly unheard of in Betsie's family.

What ensues along the way is a blending of two very different cultures and two very different types of people. There are some great humorous scenes like Betsie watching an episode of Gilligan's Island and isn't sure why a "good buddy" is being hit with a hat by another man all the time, or why Michael seems upset when Betsie fixes his blue jeans and removes all his patches to make him look less like a scarecrow and more like a respectable man. This is truly an example of an Amish woman who finds her way into That 70's show!

I received The Bargain by Stephanie Reed compliments of Kregel Publications and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed are mine alone. There are some great quotes that are included at each chapter opens from Betsie as she journals what her life is like now living among the English family. This one was truly a different kind of Amish fiction for me than I have ever experienced and gave me new insight into what life would have been like for someone so different trying to fit in during a unique time in American history. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars and look forward to the next novel in this series.

For more information about The Bargain, Stephanie Reed or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Bargain by Stephanie Reed

You can also find Stephanie Reed on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Bargain as part of the Litfuse Publicity Book Tour, please click here. 

• Series: Plain City Peace (Book 1)
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Publications (September 19, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082544215X
• ISBN-13: 978-0825442155
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches

Stephanie L. Reed is celebrating the release of The Bargain, the first book in her new series, Plain City Peace, with a Kindle Fire 'Bargain Bundle' giveaway!

 
  One winner will receive a 'Bargain Bundle':

• A Kindle Fire
• The Bargain by Stephanie Reed

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 27th. Winner will be announced at the Litfuse blog on October 28th.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by the Litfuse blog on the 28th to see if you won. (Or, better yet, subscribe to their blog {enter your email in the blog sidebar} and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox)!

Across The Wide River

Your freedom. How often do you think about it? Do you take it for granted? Are you willing to fight for it?

Lowry Rankin's family have been freedom fighters for quite some time. They are living in the midst of the war against slavery. While others think it's their God-given right to own one, the Rankin family is willing to risk their own lives to help slaves find freedom in whatever states in the US and Canada are willing to treat men as equals.

John Rankin is a minister. A minister that believes that we should treat all men as the Bible tells us to and isn't afraid to teach about it in his church. However he can't be all places at the same time, and when a childhood friend is whipped to the point of death, the family believes its time to move from Kentucky to Ohio and begin over again. There are too many people that believe that there is nothing wrong with owning a slave, while he believes they deserve the same freedoms his family does.

The Rankin's become one of the first families to use their home as a station for the Underground Movement. Just when Lowry thinks that his life has no point and school is unnecessary, his father has him help move men in the middle of the night to the next safe house. When a tortured and beaten slave by the name of David tells him during his rescue that he will forever remember Lowry, suddenly he feels a different calling in his life.

I received Across The Wide River by Stephanie Reed compliments of Kregel Publications for my honest review and in the process learned about a true story in the process. This book just isn't a story about the Underground Railroad movement but about the story of the Rankin family and their role as abolitionists at the time. They too had much to fear if people found out they were helping slaves to freedom. She spent years researching the material for this book and in the process we can see just how difficult this time in history was for everyone involved.

This book is founded on the faith of Jesus Christ that is evident by the way they shared God with those that they helped along their journey to freedom. I rate this book a moving 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it! For more information about this book, the author and where to get a copy for yourself, please click on the links below:

Across The Wide River by Stephanie Reed

You can also find out more about the Rankin family by going to www.ohiomemory.org and search for the name Rankin and find the Ripley Anti-Slavery Society charter when the names of Lowry and Ibby Rankin along with other Ripley resident are entered. You can even find photos of John and Jean Rankin, Lowry's parents.

To follow Stephanie on Facebook, click here.