Lucie's Review:When Jolene Keim's parents died, Jolene gave up everything to keep her sibling together and raise them. Because of her selfless choice she lost her fiance, Van, who quickly married another girl in the community.
But Jolene works hard, baking, cooking, and cleaning to take care of her family. She finds joy in the little things like painting, something forbidden in their district by the bishop
.
When Andy and his son, Tobias come to work with his brother Levi at Lester's horse farm, everything changes. Andy and Jolene become friends, yet teeter on the edge of something more that can never be, because Andy is a grass widower, a man who's wife left him, and he cannot marry again nor divorce his first wife.
Will Jolene and Andy ever be able to come to terms with what can and cannot be?
Jolene was such a giving and selfless character, she could have married Van and started a family of her own, but she chose to stay with her family and raise all of her younger siblings. I loved her friendship with Lester, everyone thinks that he is old and grumpy, but Jolene wins him over. Lester is more than a bit gruff, but he truly has a heart of gold and lets Jolene have his attic to paint in.
What I loved about this book was the characters, and how they interacted with each other and new friendships were born. I especially liked the scenes where the siblings got together. Ray grew up a lot over the course of the book, and I was so happy when he found a passion, and good friends.
Overall, this was such a good book, both Jolene and Andy handled their situation well and they wanted nothing but what was best for the other person. And they helped each other grow in their faith. I would definitely recommend this book, it was well written and thoroughly captivating.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
She’s won Fiction Book of the Year, Reviewer’s Choice Awards, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest, as well as one of Crossings’ Best Books of the Year. She’s been a finalist for the prestigious Christy, Rita, and Carol Awards, Christian Book of the Year, and Christian Retailers Choice Awards.
Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in their now empty nest. (Since that last line sounds sad and bare, I thought I’d add an “epilogue” of sorts. Our two oldest sons are married and live only a couple of miles from my empty nest, and below are my three adorable grandchildren! ♥)
ABOUT THE BOOK
A young woman who sacrificed her dreams.
How will the God of grace and hope help them find their way?
At nineteen years old, Old Order Amish Jolene Keim was on the brink of happily-ever-after when everything changed, stealing the future she expected and burdening her with an unbearable decision. For the next ten years, Jolene throws herself into family life—and then she meets Andy Fisher. The horse trainer and father to a sweet nine year-old challenges her and holds up a mirror to issues Jolene has been unwilling to face.
Andy is cautious about his deepening friendship with Jolene, but he believes she knows the truth about him – that he is a grass widower. As a man whose wife has abandoned him six years past, he is unable to divorce or remarry according to the Amish ways. Andy has wrestled with God concerning his reality, and he had found peace with the solitary future facing him…until he met Jolene.
As Andy and Jolene find themselves confronted by difficult choices, will they trust in God's guidance—or will the allure of their deepening friendship only lead to further temptation?
If you would like to read the first chapter of A Love Undone, go HERE.
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