Fans of Amish Fiction discussion

I just finished this! I've written a rather long review (those of you who read my blog will know that I can be a bit wordy!) but I'll post it here. I don't think there are any spoilers.

This was a first in many ways for me - my first novel by Marta Perry, my first book from the Love Inspired line at Harlequin and my first foray into the world of romantic suspense. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Don't let the cheesy blurb fool you - this is a lovely, simple romance that will keep your attention but not require a lot of brain power.

Andrea has a prestigious job in the city and is cautious about leaving it to come home to her family in Lancaster County when her sister, Rachel, is injured in a car accident. She loves her job - but her boss and colleagues don't take too kindly to her putting family matters before her work. But it's undeniable - her grandmother and sister need her help setting up their family home as a B&B, even more so now that Rachel is out of action. Further difficulties arise when there appears to be a prowler on the lose. Is this person simply a troublesome teenager or is something more sinister going on?

Thankfully for Andrea's family, grandmother Kathryn has rented out her barn to a carpenter named Cal. Cal is only too happy to help out the family in their time of need, although Andrea is suspicious about his intentions. Is he the prowler? Is he trying to take advantage of her grandmother's generosity? Or is Andrea simply too worried to take notice of what is right in front of her, and the attraction she has for this man?

I liked how Marta interwove the mystery of the troublesome prowler and Andrea's internal battle over whether to leave her family in the comforts of the country and return to her high-flying job in the city, thus leaving behind any chance she had with the handsome new stranger she'd just met. While I guessed that Andrea and Cal would hit it off (a bit obvious as this is, after all, a romance novel), I'm afraid that my years of reading Nancy Drew did not detain me from following the red herrings in this story. I thought I had the whole mystery figured out, but there was a little twist towards the end that I didn't see coming.

As someone who has never read a Love Inspired book before I'd have to say that I enjoyed it more than I expected. While the blurbs, and sometimes the covers, can be incredibly cheesy, the story itself was quite well written and very compelling. This novel was only 250 pages long so obviously there were not dozens of intricate sub-plots, but considering the word-limit and the restrictions of this particularly Harlequin line, I think that Marta has created a rather good novel. I liked that the characters sought help from God in times of need, but the references weren't overdone to the extent that they were unbelievable. At each time that Andrea prayed for guidance or help I found myself thinking that I would have done the same in her position. I also liked the fact that Marta made it obvious that there was chemistry between Andrea and Cal. I'm under the impression that some Christian authors like characters to form good friendships then suddenly fall in love, but never experience attraction or romantic feelings - this isn't how it works in real life! Andrea and Cal clearly had chemistry between them, even if they did to try hide it, and this made them all the more realistic as characters.

My only real complaint would have to be that the "bad guy" gave a rather cheesy monologue at the end of the novel, when their identity was revealed. I have to admit, I cringed a little. One other thing that bugged me was that the characters' clothing was often described, and I didn't really see the need for this to be commented on time and again, but I suppose that other women might be more interested in this.

All in all, I was pleased with my first attempt at Marta Perry, Love Inspired and Romantic Suspense. This was a nice, easy read, perfect for sandwiching in between the books I've been reading for my university courses. I'll definitely be reading more books by Marta Perry. 7/10

Thanks so much. I'm glad you liked it!

Marta

I really enjoyed my first book in a group read. I liked the struggle between Cal & Andrea, and totally understood Andrea's challenge with family & career. I can't wait to see what book #2 in the series brings.

I agree Barbara, I already bought the next two books in the series, and I'm excited to find out more about these characters. :) I'm hoping we get to meet the elusive 3rd sister, since it is called the Three Sisters Inn series. :)

I've been wondering about this third sister too.

Just hang in there, and you'll find the third sister in book three!
Marta

Yay! Thanks Marta! :)

Ack, I'm almost done! I have read 93% but I am at work and I had to stop. I just want to finish it. I am going to do it tonight so I can start book #2.

Aww, I hate it when I have to stop near the end of a book!

Yeah, I finished it last night.

I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone who is not done BUT I did not see that ending coming. Maybe I am a naive reader and I don't try to figure it out ahead of time but it was a total surprise to me. Did anyone expect that ending????

I did not expect it either, but after thinking about it I saw a few clues that I missed. lol

You are both right! When it comes to books (and often times movies), I don't try to figure them out so I can be surprised at the end!

It's not easily to fool readers as astute as you folks are, but I have to try!

Marta

Here's the link to my review that is on my blog today:

http://uselesscrafts.blogspot.com/201...

I also didn't expect it but it made complete sense afterwards as that particular character had been behaving peculiarly for no apparent reason other than that they were classed as being a bit quirky. I had been suspecting the other person who was involved, but it still came as a surprise! It's always much nicer to not be able to figure out who the "baddie" is.

I've passed the series on to a friend who having surgery, and she goes through books faster than anyone I know. She's already into the first one and I can't wait to hear what she thinks.

Mom's Pace wrote: "Unfortunately I can't join in on this one. I would love to see the recipe for pretzels though. My library doesn't have the book and I just can't afford to buy another book right now. I can't wait t..."

For a pretzel recipe, look in the back of A Time to Love by Barbara Cameron. It's kinda new, hope your library has it. And an added bonus... it's next month's pick!

Well everyone, I think that Hide In Plain Sight was a great book for us to start our group reads! I know I enjoyed it, and I have already read the next 2 books in the series, which I also thoroughly enjoyed and recommend! :)

Thanks, Camille. I appreciate it!
Marta Perry

I bought the next two books but I got grabbed by Grace: A Christmas Sisters of the Heart Novel by Shelley Shepard Gray that I had to start that series from the beginning.

Man, there are so many great Amish series that I am overwhelmed sometimes. I hope I will always have that problem!

I feel the same about the overwhelming amount of Amish books out there - at least we'll never run out!

I'm glad that this first discussion of a group read has gone so well. Thanks so much, Marta, for being around to answer our questions. I'm sure we'll have to choose another of your books for a group read at some point since so many members enjoyed this one.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how they'd like to change/improve the group discussions? We seemed to do quite well with just dropped in our comments on the book and I'm totally happy with this casual manner if everyone else is!

I like the casual manner that we have here too.