ABOUT THE BOOK
After a devastating loss, Cindy Riehl is still searching for peace. Will she find it in the community she calls home—or will love send her down a new path?
Over the last few years, Cindy Riehl—the youngest of the Riehl children—has watched her siblings find love and happiness in Lancaster County. But as her family has settled down and grown, Cindy has continued to grieve her mother, whose death left an enormous hole in her heart. Since that haunting day, Cindy has struggled to find peace and wonders if the community is the place for her—and if her faith in God will ever feel the same as it once did.
When a handsome and kind Englisher named Drew crosses Cindy’s path one surprising day, the two of them become fast and easy friends. Drew dreams of starting a family after some losses of his own, and before long, he and Cindy discover that their feelings for each other are romantic. As they spend more time together—often in secret—Cindy is drawn further and further away from the Amish community and the family she loves. In time, she is faced with a difficult choice that threatens to upend her world.
Will Cindy find contentment and love, and will she ever find restored comfort in God and her beloved community? In this final installment of the Amish Homestead series, we return to the charming town of Bird-in-Hand for a story of healing, family, and God’s perfect provision.
MY THOUGHTS.....
A Welcome at Our Door by Amy Clipston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
"God, I'm so confused, and I need your guidance. Please send me a sign so I'll know if my friendship with Drew is sinful or if you bless it. I can't deny how I feel about him, but I also can't shake this guilt that my family is trying to push on me. Please show me your will."
This is a prayer similar to many that young women have prayed over the years but this young woman is a little different. Cindy Riehl was born Amish but for the past seven years she feels like she has been floating, 'not in the Amish world, yet not in the Englisher world either.' Her mother's death robbed Cindy of her best friend and Cindy continues to feel grief and guilt over this accidental death. She also feels like she's the only family member that hasn't been able to move on. Then she meets a young English man who has also experienced loss and Cindy begins to feel that she finally has a friend, someone that she can honestly talk to. This friendship, however, comes at a price. It is frowned upon and she is warned that it could bring judgement upon her and her family. Her father insists that any involvement with Drew must end and once again Cindy experiences grief and loss; once again she feels alone and like a stranger in her own home.
Author Amy Clipston has vividly shown the many feelings that the two main characters experience in A Welcome at Our Door, including tremendous loss, overwhelming grief, immense attraction, and being susceptible to temptation. As I read this story I was reminded that the Amish aren't immune to the emotions that all of us feel and they too struggle with doing what is right. One of the Amish characters admits that "Gossip is sinful, but it exists, even among the Amish." Cindy's decision about whether to join the church is one that many English face and her willingness to sacrifice family ties to be with the person she loves is timeless. It is evident that Clipston truly understands both the similarities and the differences between the Amish and English ways of life and she is an expert in stirring our interest with her stories!
A Welcome at Our Door is the final book in Amy Clipston's Amish Homestead series but it can be read as a standalone. I enjoyed this story and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Amish fiction and Christian romance.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley and was not required to write a favorable review. All opinions are my own.
View all my reviews
Amish Homestead Series
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34460508-a-place-at-our-table
• Room on the Porch Swing 5/18/18
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35553338-room-on-the-porch-swing
• A Seat By the Hearth 11/13/18
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38915706-a-seat-by-the-hearth
• A Welcome at Our Door 5/7/19
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40589789-a-welcome-at-our-door
No comments:
Post a Comment