An Unexpected Amish Harvest
Book Summary
Carrie Lighte enjoys traveling to Amish communities across
the United States and she hopes to visit a few in Canada soon, too. When she
isn't writing, reading or researching, she likes to hike, kayak and spend time
at the beach.
Connect with the Author
Website: https://www.carrielighte.com/books
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarrieLighte
My Thoughts
An Unexpected Amish Harvest by Carrie Lighte is the 2nd book in The Amish of New Hope series. It can be read as a standalone if you have not indulged in Hiding Her Amish Secret. I thought An Unexpected Amish Harvest was well-written with realistic characters. Susannah Peachy and Peter Lambright began courting the previous year, but then Peter broke off their courtship without providing a reason. She wishes to avoid Peter, but it looks like it is not meant to be. Susannah has loving grandparents who wish to protect her and ensure that she has a safe future. That future may not be what Susannah has envisioned. There are a couple of secondary storylines in this tale. Miscommunication and misunderstandings abound. There were some good life lessons in this story. People should not be judged based on their outward appearance and things are not always the way they appear. We need to remember that there are two sides to every story. Forgiveness is one of the central themes. Forgiving someone does more for the person giving it than for the person receiving it. I like how it all came together into one heartwarming Amish tale. I appreciated the epilogue that nicely wrapped up the story. I am eager to read Caring for Her Amish Family. An Unexpected Amish Harvest is a sweet story about forgiveness, family, misapprehensions, friends, misperceptions, and love.
When Susannah stayed in New Hope last summer, she had
quickly formed a close friendship with Dorcas Troyer. The two young, single
women had enjoyed each other’s company again when Susannah returned to New Hope
for a week at Christmastime, and they’d written to each other frequently
throughout the last year.
In fact, Dorcas was the only person that Susannah had
confided in when Peter asked to be her suitor the previous summer…and the only
person Susannah had told about their breakup last January. She still remembered
teardrops splashing onto the stationery as she wrote,
Peter wouldn’t give me any reason
for ending our courtship, other than to say he doesn’t think we’re compatible,
after all. But I know it’s because I’ve gained so much weight since last
summer.
Her friend had written back,
I’ve known Peter for years and I
can’t believe your weight is such an issue for him. Are you sure that’s why he
broke up with you? Could it be that he just finds it too difficult to carry on
a long-distance courtship?
Susannah highly doubted that. After she’d left New Hope the
first time, Peter’s biweekly letters had been filled with proclamations of his
affection for her. The couple had called each other at their respective phone
shanties at three o’clock every other Sunday. Even after two hours of talking,
they’d never run out of things to share and laugh about. And although they had
only been able to sneak off for an hour with each other when Susannah came to
New Hope last Christmas, they’d agreed their time alone together was the best
part of the holiday.
That’s why it was so confusing that four days after she got
home, Peter called and said he had decided to end their courtship. The change
in his attitude was so abrupt it made Susannah feel as if he was an utter
stranger. As if someone else had been pretending to be him on the phone and in
his letters. Had been pretending to fall in love with her the way she’d been
falling in love with him.
“Why?” she had cried, as bewildered as she was devastated.
“I don’t understand.”
“We’re just not a gut match.”
“But why aren’t we a gut match? What has changed all of a
sudden?”
“I’m sorry to hurt your feelings like this, Susannah, but I
don’t want to discuss it further. Please accept my decision.”
Afterward, she went over it and over it in her mind, trying
to figure out what could have possibly changed to make Peter end their
relationship. The only thing she could come up with was that once he’d seen her
again, he was no longer drawn to her because of how much heavier she’d gotten.
Maybe that was why he’d held his tongue about his reason; he hadn’t wanted to
hurt her feelings by telling her the truth. But whether he said it aloud or
not, she’d been crushed to discover that Peter valued how she looked more than
who she was. That he was rejecting her because of her weight gain.
Likewise, in the following months she was disappointed when
certain other men accepted her because of her appearance. During the past
spring and summer, she’d had no fewer than four bachelors in Dover ask to court
her. Susannah would have felt honored, if it hadn’t been for the fact that
they’d all known her for at least ten years and they’d never expressed an
interest in her until she was slender.
An Unexpected Amish Harvest is available from Amazon* and Harlequin. The first novel in The Amish of New Hope series is Hiding Her Amish Secret. The next book is Caring for Her Amish Family which publishes January 25, 2022. You can find Carrie Lighte's other novels here. Thank you for joining me today for the release of An Unexpected Amish Harvest. I hope you enjoy this charming Amish tale as much as I did. Tomorrow I am featuring Murder in the Village by Lisa Cutts. It is the debut of A Belinda Penshurst Mystery series. I hope you have a friendly day. Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!
Kris
The
Avid Reader
*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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