Thursday, July 12, 2018

Firestorm: The Amish of Mackinac County

Welcome!  Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with over twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write. Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children.  When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas.

About the Book

Bridget Behr and her family migrate from the bustling Amish community where she grew up in Ohio to the mostly unpopulated Upper Peninsula of Michigan after a stalker breaks into their home.  While her father and brother try to find work in the area, the family is forced to reside in a borrowed RV until the house and barn are rebuilt.  While Bridget is hoping for a fresh start, she's afraid to trust anyone--even Gabriel, the overly-friendly Amish man who lives nearby.  Bridget thinks he is a flirt who serial dates and does not remember the girls' names.  Due to not enough construction work in his Florida community to keep him out of trouble, Gabriel Lapp has been sent to Michigan to work.  His father is desperate for his son to settle down and he discovers their cumstances, he offers to help with construction.  For Gabe, the beautiful girl he teasingly calls "the recluse" once he discovers she does not attend youth events, confuses him like none other.  As Gabriel and Bridget grow closer, they realize there is more to a person than meets the eye. Just as Bridget is finally settling into her new life, and perhaps finding love, tragedy strikes. Now Bridget and her family must decide if they should move to another Amish community, or dare to fight for the future they’d hoped for in Mackinac County.
My Thoughts on Firestorm


I thought Firestorm was well-written and had a nice lively pace.  I was drawn in right away with the sentence regarding Gabe’s colorful pajamas.  Gabe is a delightful main character.  He has a quirky personality with his openness to try new and different things.  His character provides light-heartedness to the story (his antics had me snickering).  Gabe has many good qualities and I liked seeing him mature.  Bishop Miah Brunstetter was kindly man who guides his flock with a steady, calm spirit.  There is plenty going on in Firestorm with the nightmare house, construction, miscommunication, Gabe’s various antics, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and so much more.  Christian elements are present throughout the story.  Prayer and steadfast faith are important to lead a Christian life.  The one thing we tend to forget is that we are not in control and things will happen in God’s timing (not when we want it to happen).  Laura Hilton’s descriptions of the area helped me to visualize it especially the cold temperatures (which makes me glad I am in Florida).  While snow can be beautiful, the cold temperatures can be deadly.  Life is never easy as we see in Firestorm, but all things happen for a purpose. My rating for Firestorm is 4 out of 5 stars. I look forward to the next installment in The Amish of Mackinac County series.  For Noah's story (Bridget's brother), pick up a copy of Plain Everyday Heroes by Laura Hilton, Thomas Nye, and Rachel J. Good.

To celebrate her tour, Laura is giving away a grand prize of Firefighter Puppet 9 (Melissa and Doug), Copies of Amish Firefighter and Firestorm by Laura Hilton.  The first place prize of “I Love You to the Cross and Back” Mug (Gardenfire) along with a copy of Firestorm by Laura Hilton! Click here to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you leave to claim nine (9) extra entries!  Firestorm is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, GooglePlay, and Kobo.  I appreciate you visiting today.  I will feature Disorderly Conduct by Mary Feliz on July 13.  It is the fourth book in A Maggie McDonald Mystery series.  May you have a delightful day.  Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader

Blog Stops


Carpe Diem, July 10

The Avid Reader, July 12
Among the Reads, July 14
Pause for Tales, July 20
amandainpa, July 21
Bigreadersite, July 21



3 comments:

  1. Great review. Makes me want to read it even more than I already do. I love reading books where the setting takes place where I live. And I don’t live too far from the Amish in the Soo.

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