Welcome! Olivia Newport writes Amish Turns of Time series along with Hidden Falls, Valley of Choice series, and Avenue of Dreams trilogy. Readers can follow her on Amazon and receive an email when a new book is listed for sale. Her next novel is Colors of Christmas which publishes on October 1.
Gladden the Heart by Olivia Newport is the fifth book in an Amish Turns of Time series. It is 1847 in Kishacoquillas Valley,
Pennsylvania. Susanna Hooley lives on her family’s farm east of Lewistown,
Pennsylvania. One Sunday after church,
Susanna’s cousin Noah is not feeling well and then collapses. He then starts preaching and no one can get
him to stop. Noah is a quiet man and who
is not known for his sermons. After
three hours of preaching, Noah collapses into a deep sleep. When Noah awakens, he has no remembrance of
what occurred. Susanna goes over to Noah’s
house the next day and discovers that his preaching is an everyday occurrence. Noah’s wife, Phoebe has been keeping it under
wraps. Noah soon starts preaching almost
every afternoon at the same time and his sermons are attracting attention. Bishop Shem Hertzberger is less than pleased. The revivalist movement has taken several
Amish from their community, and Shem does not want to lose any other
families. Reverend Charles Baxton, a traveling
Methodist minister, listens Noah’s stirring sermons and requests that Noah travel
with him. This controversy divides their
Amish community. Susanna supports Noah,
but her beau, Adam is on the side hullabaloo.
But then one day Noah disappears while in one of his trance’s, and the
whole community turns out to locate him.
Will they be able to locate Noah?
Is there a way to resolve the controversy and unite the community once
again?
While Gladden the Heart is part
of a series, it is a stand-alone novel. I
thought the concept behind Gladden the Heart is intriguing, I did enjoy the
final product. “Sleeping preachers” is
an interesting phenomenon, and it could have made a great story. Is it God’s will for this to happen to Noah? I actually did a little research in “sleeping
preachers”. I just felt that the author
could have done so much more with this subject.
Why did the Amish believe Noah’s preaching was wrong? What was the main difference between the
Amish faith and other religions at this time in history? I thought the pace was sluggish (actually,
slugs move faster) and the writing was not up to Olivia Newport’s usual standard. The book was awkward and the characters
flat. There are numerous Bible verses
(scripture) and sermons contained within the story (after a while, I started
skipping past them). I really struggled
to finish this novel. I can tell when I
am not enjoying a book. I start checking
to see how much farther until the end and I start speed reading through boring
parts. When I start hoping for a good
murder to spice up the storyline (especially when I am reading an Amish novel
that is not a mystery), then I know I do not like the book. The romance between Susanna and Adam failed
to come to life. I never felt love
between the couple. Susanna’s mother was
an annoying character. Her fear (for the
time period) was understandable. The
characters lacked depth. There is also a
repetition of information (it felt like padding). I am rating Gladden the Heart 2 out of 5 stars. I do not want to discourage readers from
Olivia Newport’s novels. While Gladden the Heart was not for me, I have appreciated many of her other books (Valley of Choice series).
Thank you for visiting and reading my thoughts on this novel. If you belong to Google+, please consider adding me to your circle (upper right). My next review will be of Lions and Tigers and Murders, Oh My by Denise Swanson. May you have a lovely, relaxing Sunday. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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