Saturday, August 5, 2017

The Blessing: Amish Cooking Class Novel


I hope everyone is having a pleasant and relaxing Saturday.  Wanda E. Brunstetter is a popular Amish author.  She has written The Hawaiian Quilt, Sisters of Holmes County series, Indiana Cousins trilogy, The Prairie State Friends series, Daughters of Lancaster County series, and many more (over 90 books).  You can find out more about Wanda and her books on her website (recipes, Amish life, and more).  

The Blessing by Wanda Brunstetter is the second Amish Cooking Class novel.  Heidi Troyer is married to Lyle, an auctioneer, and they are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Kendra’s baby.  Kendra is living with the couple (after her father threw her out when he discovered she was pregnant), and she has agreed to let Heidi and Lyle adopt her baby.  When things do not go as planned, Lyle suggests Heidi hold another cooking class (keep her busy).  Six people join Heidi in her home and each of them have a different reason. Lance is a postal carrier who has lost his wife, Nicole is a high school student who has struggling since her mother left, Todd is a food critic who is going to write an article about the class,  Allie is a housewife with two kids who worries about her policeman husband and their marriage, Lisa is a local caterer who is hoping to learn new dishes for her business, and Bill who wishes to learn new dishes to impress his camping buddies. Heidi will teach them Amish dishes and share some of God’s wisdom with them through Bible verses.  Heidi knows this group of people were brought together for a reason, and she looks forward to the experience.  It will help Heidi deal with her own heartbreak.  See what God has planned for each of these individuals and what the future hold for the Troyer’s in The Blessing

The Blessing is well-written and engaging.  I was immediately drawn into the story and I did not want it to end. I was captivated by this novel (which rarely happens).  The Blessing contains characters that could be my own neighbor, relative, or mail carrier.  Each of them have problems or situations that individuals experience every day.  I thought the characters were well-developed and thought out by the author.  I like seeing how each of the characters change over the course of the cooking classes.  I was glad that the author updated readers on the individuals from The Seekers (they are nicely woven into the story).   My rating for The Blessing is 5 out of 5 stars.  I do recommend reading The Seekers before starting The Blessing (you will not regret reading either book).  I found The Seekers to be heartwarming and uplifting.  It is the type of novel that fills me with hope (which is desperately needed in our mixed-up society).  I really appreciated the Bible verses the author included in the book.  The enhanced the story and were meaningful.   There are recipes and discussion questions at the end of the book.  If you like to read Amish or Christian novels, I recommend reading The Blessing.  I cannot wait to read the next book in the Amish Cooking Class seriesThe Beloved Christmas Quilt by Wanda Brunstetter, Jean Brunstter, and Richelle Brunstetter will be out on September 1.  

I will be discussing Cat about Town by Cate Conte on Sunday.  It is the first book in A Cat Cafe Mystery series.  I am off to relax and finish reading The Paris Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader

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