I received this book from early reviewers. When I realized it was actually the second book in the series, I purchased the first one and read it. I really enjoyed the novel. It reminded me somewhat of Barbara Lewis's novels, who often writes about the Amish community but I did enjoy reading about such strong women within the community and really the interaction that happens between stronger minded women and bishops with whom they may not agree.
Both novels center around an Amish mother and her twin girls. The twist that comes very early in the first novel is that these were actually triplets and when the girls were toddlers and the mother was pregnant, there was a storm and one of the girls was swept away by the rushing waters. The mother also lost her pregnancy. As a result she always felt that there was something missing. It was also interesting because the couple decided to keep this from the two remaining girls. They never knew what had happened and because this was an Amish community that didn't want to open up their lives to the English world, they chose never to report the missing child. Now, eighteen years later, after the father passes away and the mother and her daughters run a restaurant to support themselves, the third daughter returns home. The first book really sets out the conflict between the mother and the bishop as well as the daughter returning to her family. The second book delves deeper into the conflict with the bishop and the mother and also speaks about the adjustment the third daughter has when realizing she is originally from an Amish family even though she's been raised as an Englisher. Of course there is romance and the chance of several members of the community being placed under a ban.
Overall, the novel was a quick read but kept me entertained and definitely interested enough to read any future novels.
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