The Bachelor by Stephanie Reed (book review)

The Bachelor

Book Two of Plain City Peace

By Stephanie Reed

(received in exchange for an honest review)

Genre- Fiction / Amish 

Published by- Kregel Publications

Copyrighted- 2014

Number of pages- 253

Age Group- Adult

Description of book- paperback, listed price- $14.99, ISBN 978-0-8254-4216-2

The Bachelor, by Stephanie Reed, is the second book in the Plain City Peace series.  Betsie Troyer is asked to take care of Shelia, the young girl from the English family she lived with, while Shelia's father goes to find her mother.  Betsie does not know what to do, but decides to take her in.  Betsie hopes that her sister, Sadie, and Charley Yoder, a man she has promised herself to understands. 

They do not understand and Betsie cannot turn to her parents, because they have left the Amish ways.  Betsie does what she thinks is best and goes through each day in the best way she can. 

Will her family understand and accept what she is doing?  Will her relationship with Charley be ruined, since she is taking care of someone who is English.  Why is she thinking of Shelia's brother, Michael, so much?

Read an excerpt.

About the Author-

Stephanie Reed currently lives in Ohio, near the site of an Amish community.  She gets her ideas from Ohio.

My thoughts-

I thought The Bachelor, by Stephanie Reed, was unlike most of the Amish themed books that I have read in the past.  This book had a lot more depth and character development.  I felt like I really knew Betsie Troyer and Shelia (young English girl). 

I have never read any Amish book where the Amish take care of the English.  It was very brave of Betsie to take care of Shelia.  Betsie lived in a stricter Ordnung, so I was surprised when the bishop did nothing.  I was not surprised by the end of the book, the bishop was unlike most bishops.  (I will not spoil the surprise though.)  Reed did a good job portraying Christian life through Shelia.  Shelia was a preteen, but she was a stronger Christian than most adult Christians.  She is someone we should all try to be, for example she was very forgiving of Abijah and Sadie when they were mean to her.

The one thing I would add to this book would be a glossary for the Amish words.  I think I figured most of them out from the context of the sentence, but I'm not sure.  I thought the discussion questions were really good.  I learned more about the Amish, 1970's, and Christianity when I read and answered the questions.

I enjoyed reading this book and I am looking forward to reading book three, The Bride.  I would recommend this book to others.  If you have not read the first book in the series, The Bargain (I had not), that is fine.  I found that I was not missing anything.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received The Bachelor, by Stephanie Reed, for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour.  All links were current when posted.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Heretic by Henry Vyner-Brooks (Book Review)

The Heretic

By Henry Vyner-Brooks

(received in exchange for an honest review)

Genre- Fiction / Christian

Published by- Lion Hudson

Copyrighted- 2014

Number of pages- 603

Age Group- Adult 

Description of book- paperback, listed price- $16.99, ISBN 978-1-78264-095-0

Taking place over four years, The Heretic, by Henry Vyner-Brooks, explores England during the Reformation period during 1530's.  It is a time of deceit, upheaval, and reform.  Brother Pacificus has takes center stage in this book along with his brother, and the children they rescued when their parents were taken as heretics.

Brother Pacificus is a former Lord, so he knows everything that is happening and soon he is part of one of the last Benedictine houses.  What will happen to him and the rest of the brothers, since the King and Cromwell are shutting them down?  Will all of Pacificus's plans work?  Will he be able to take care of his family, abbey, and the children he rescued?

About the Author-

Henry Vyner-Brooks currently lives with his wife in Cumbria.  He wrote this story for his sons.  He has been a landscape architect, property developer, and pastor.

My thoughts-

I thought this was a very interesting book, but the best part did not start until part three, when Pacificus took the children to one of his friends to be trained in the ways of nobility.

I know that the rest of the book was building up to this part, but it was long.  I think it would have been better if it was three separate books, instead of one.  I think 603 pages is a lot for one book, when none of it has been published before. 

I did like the list of characters, the artist's picture of Saint Benet's, the map, and diagrams of the abbey.  I liked the list of characters, because there were many different characters and it was nice to be able to keep track of them.

Although this was a long book, I would recommend it to others.  I thought it was an educational book

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received The Heretic, by Henry Vyner-Brooks, for free from the Kregel Publications’ Blog Tour.  All links were current when posted.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Boy Who Walked A Way by Nancy Janes (book review)

The Boy Who Walked A Way

by Nancy Janes

(Review Book!)

Genre- Christian / Fiction

Publisher- CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Copyrighted- 2013

Number of pages- 240

Age Group- I would recommend juvenile and above.  Have an adult read it first to see what they think.

Description of book- Paperback, $12.98, ISBN: 9781479139071

Jal Valhyn lives in 2162 and his country is at war.  The worlds government is based on humanistic ideas and the halcyon peace has failed.  He runs away from where he is living and is approached by someone who is invisible.  The person gives him two visible companions and they go on a seven day trip together.  Each day Jal learns more from Sammie and Bea about faith and friendships.   

About the Author:

Nancy Janes currently lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  She used to be a Clinical Social Worker.  She is currently working on a new book which includes characters from this book. 

My thoughts:  

The Boy Who Walked A Way, by Nancy Janes, is one of those books that is an instant classic.  After seeing all of the books at the local library that are about vampires, magic, and other negative subject matters, this book is a breath of fresh air.  I enjoyed reading about Jal and his seven day journey to reach Grandfather Moutyn.  On this journey he had guides though, Bea (a butterfly) and Sammie (a swan).  These two guides helped him to learn more about the world around him and how to avoid becoming a part of it.  I thought that was really neat.  I liked how it was a physical journey, but it was also so much more, like the books written by C.S. Lewis.  I was glad that I was able to recognize and see that there was a story behind the story.  I know that as child I would not have recognized it.

I plan on reading this book to my nine and ten-year-old.  I think they will enjoy it a lot.  I don’t know if they will understand the story behind the story, but it will be good for them anyway.  I recommend this book to you as well.   

Informational and Purchasing Links:

Nancy Janes’s website: jazele.wordpress.com

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/nancyjanes

Twitter: http://twitter.com/nancy1janes

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/authornancyjanes/498424470193886?ref=hl

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nancyjanesz/

Purchasing Link: Amazon

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received a free copy of The Boy Who Walked A Way, by Nancy Janes, to review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.  I am part of The CWA Review Crew.  All links were current when posted.