The Farm Stand by Amy Clipston

Good Day!  I hope you are doing well. Here are some upcoming releases for you to check out. Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas releases May 12 along with Unveiling the Past by Kim Vogel Sawyer and A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette (I will feature as part of a tour on May 15).  A Week at the Shore by Barbara Delinsky comes out May 19 as well as Midnight Abduction by Nichole Severn.  Do any of these titles appeal to you?

Lancaster Central Market

The Farm Stand by Amy Clipston has Salina Petersheim selling her fresh produce at a booth at the Bird-in-Hand marketplace as well as maintaining her large garden at home.  Josiah Yoder has been her friend since they were small children, and they have been dating for the last year.  Her parents are pressuring her to marry Josiah, but Salina does not have romantic feelings toward him.  Salina is the bishop’s daughter so she must be sure to behave and act according to the Ordung and her father’s wishes.  Her father frequently compares her to her older brother, Neil who is a deacon.  One day Will Zimmerman, a Mennonite chef from Zimmerman’s Family Restaurant, stops by to purchase her produce and fruit.  Will loves coming up with new recipes and is excited by the quality of the Salina’s produce.  Will has been dating Caroline Horst for three years and she has begun to mention marriage frequently.  Will cares for Caroline, but he does not love her.  Will stops by Salina’s booth often to pick up new ingredients.  They enjoy chatting and they find themselves falling for each other.  Salina knows her father would not approve, but she cannot deny her feelings for the handsome, kind chef.  Will Salina and Will bow to expectations or will they follow their hearts?

A buffet similar to Zimmerman's Family Restaurant

The Farm Stand by Amy Clipston is the second An Amish Marketplace Novel.  Each book can be read on its own, but I recommend reading this charming series in order.  Amy Clipston is an amazing storyteller.  She manages to engage the readers attention and hold it until the very end (make sure you have two or three free hours before beginning one of her books).  Salina Petersheim loves working in her garden where she finds solace and it is where she prays to God.  She feels like she has few choices because of her father’s expectations.  Being a bishop’s daughter is not easy especially when her heart leads her to a Mennonite chef.  I could understand Salina feeling intense pressure and being afraid to speak up.  You could tell Salina was feeling a variety of emotions as was Will.  I liked that The Farm Stand featured Old Order Amish and Mennonite.  I had wondered how a marriage between the two different faiths was possible and how it would work.  I thought The Farm Stand was well-written with steady pacing and developed characters.  I liked revisiting the four cousins from The Bake Shop.  All four are present once again in this tale and we get to see how Christiana and Jeff’s relationship is progressing.  I liked the messages present in The Farm Stand.  My favorite was that God has a plan for each of us.  We need to be patient for things only happen in His timing, not ours. I also found the side story about Daisy, the marketplace cat, to be sweet. The ending left me smiling and looking forward to Bethany’s story in The Coffee Corner.  The Farm Stand is a poignant Amish tale with plentiful produce, a missing moggy, a determined dad, a muddled maedel, a confused chef, and a glorious garden.  

Lancaster Farmers Market

The Farm Stand releases May 5 and can be pre-ordered through Amazon*.  The first An Amish Marketplace Novel is The Bake Shop. The Coffee Corner will be the 3rd book in An Amish Marketplace series.  The Coffee Corner will release on December 1.   I hope you enjoy The Farm Stand as much as I did.  Thank you for joining me today.  Tomorrow I be reviewing The Trustworthy One by Shelley Shepard Gray.  It is the 4th novel in The Walnut Creek Series.  I hope that you have a cheery day.  Take care, stay safe and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*This post contains affiliate links.