Book Description:
When Henry Edison turns up in Lancaster County to survey farm women about their domestic contributions during the 1930s, the last thing Amish housewife Gloria Grabill has time for is the government agent’s unending questions. Gloria’s hands are already full with a farm to run alongside her husband, a houseful of children, and an English neighbor, Minerva Swain, who has been trying Gloria’s patience for forty years. Gloria’s oldest daughter, Polly, wants nothing more than the traditional path of an Amish farmer’s wife, but everything she does seems to push Thomas Coblentz further away. While the Great Depression shadows the country in gloom, can Amish and English neighbors in Lancaster County grasp the goodness that will sustain hope?
My Thoughts:
Ever since reading my first Olivia Newport book, Accidentally Amish (Valley of Choice Book 1), I realized that the author writes a very different type of story. One of the main differences is that Ms. Newport’s writing is outside of the box. None are a cookie cutter format, which maker her writing very refreshing.
Her series, Amish Turns of Time, is a wonderful series, and Hope in the Land is a great addition to it. The author incorporates a history lesson into a story of hope, romance, intrigue, mystery, overcoming obstacles, forgiving, and faith,. The author combines these elements flawlessly in a way that keeps the reader enthralled up to the very end, and that is no easy feat.
As a reader, I enjoy reading historical fiction from the the old west era. However, I always bypasses any other era, especially the Depression. And yet, once I began reading Hope in the Land, I didn’t put it down until I had read the very last word. That’s how much it grabbed me and sucked me in. I even learned a few things that I didn’t know had occurred during that time. So, not only did I enjoy the story immensely, I also learned a few things in the process.
Part of Hope in the Land focuses on the forty year trying relationship between Amish Gloria Grabill and Englisher Minerva Swain. However, more of the story focuses on Polly Grabill, Gloria’s daughter. I really enjoyed seeing how unique Polly is and how that factored into her relationship with her family, friends, Thomas Coblentz, and Englisher Henry Edison. While all of the characters had their special place in the story, l loved Polly’s character and her uniqueness the most. It added a whole new dimension to the story. All in all, Hope in the Land is a perfectly blended story that is a joy to read and one that will keep you guessing up to the very end.
****While Hope in the Land is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone.
*****I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and viewpoints are my own.
About the Author:
Olivia Newport's novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. She chases joy in Colorado, where daylilies grow as tall as she is. Her husband and two twenty-something children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books.
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