The Amish Secret Wish by Laura V. Hilton

 The Amish Secret Wish 

Book Summary 

As a columnist for the The Budget, with a secret byline of GHB, Hallie Brunstettler writes about community news, and sometimes alludes to her overwhelming loneliness. Her columns portray a woman who goes from day to day showing a brave face to the world while longing to know how it would feel if one person truly cared about her....

Hezekiah "Kiah" Esh cares. He's been reading her articles for months. Nursing his own broken heart, he writes to GHB on a whim and is thrilled to receive a response. Soon, the two become pen pals, but his new friend never signs her real name--just her initials. Wanting to meet her in real life, Kiah travels to Hidden Springs, where the newspaper is based. On the way, he meets Hallie, a waitress at the Amish-owned diner, who serves Kiah's pie along with some much-needed companionship. She also discourages him from looking into GHB's identity.

Over the next week, Kiah and Hallie spend more and more time together. Kiah is conflicted... Should he abide by Hallie's advice to forget about his pen pal's identity? But soon Kiah does find GHB, a woman who is as beautiful and kind as he imagined she would be. The only problem? She is Hallie. Why did she keep this secret? And will she ever be willing to share her true feelings?

My Thoughts 

The Amish Secret Wish by Laura V. Hilton is the 3^rd Hidden Springs novel.  While it can be read as a standalone, I believe it works better if read after the other two books in the series.  Hallie Brunstetter suffered deeply after losing her fiancé, Toby.  Being the community’s scribe for The Budget has helped her to heal.  She writes under her initials GHB because the bishop has decreed that no one can know her identity.  Kiah Esh suffered a heartbreak as well.  He found himself enjoying GHB’s articles and decided to write to her.  The two have become pen pals.  Kiah has fallen in love with his pen pal and has come to Hidden Springs to find her.  He meets Hallie whom he finds intriguing and begins spending time with her.  Kiah soon wishes that GHB was Hallie.  He is unsure how to proceed.  The Amish Secret Wish is a humorous Amish tale.  I had trouble in the beginning getting into the story.  The beginning felt stilted and that I should know information that had yet to be provided (unless you read the prior books).  The story gets better after the first couple of chapters.  I enjoyed the humorous situations scattered throughout the story.  I giggled frequently while reading.  Kiah got himself into a number of situations that caused chaos.  I did feel that Hallie and Kiah were immature characters.  They reminded me of teenagers, not adults who were contemplating marriage.  I loved Bishop Nathan along with George, Kiah’s parents, Hallie’s parents, and Hallie’s sister, Joy.  The situation with Kiah’s father and Kiah’s ex-girlfriend felt contrived.  I found the ending to be rushed and abrupt.  The Amish Secret Wish needed an epilogue to make it feel complete.  This is a sweet, fun story that is good for a younger audience.  I feel that some rewriting and editing were needed.  I am not, though, sorry that I read this story.  It made me laugh and smile which I needed.   Misconceptions, misunderstandings, and mayhem abound in The Amish Secret Wish.  The Amish Secret Wish is an amusing tale with assassinated ants, a wily woodpecker, a droll disguise, a broken buggy, patient parents, and a wary whippersnapper.  

The Amish Secret Wish is available from Amazon*.  The first two books in the Hidden Springs series are The Amish Wedding Promise and The Amish Christmas Gift. You can find Laura V. Hilton's other novels here.  Thank you for joining me today.  Next time I am featuring Carried to the Grave and Other Stories by Leslie Budewitz.  I hope that you have a pleasant 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.

The Amish Christmas Gift by Laura V. Hilton

The Amish Christmas Gift

Book Summary

The Amish Christmas Gift by Laura V. Hilton has Elsie Miller on the hunt for a job in Hidden Springs.  The problem is that everyone in town knows that she has not been successful at her last few positions.  Elsie had no way of knowing that there were certain things you could not put in a microwave (she did call the fire department) and the delivery driver bamboozled her into accepting the dill pickle ice cream.  Levi Wyse is a gifted toy maker, but he is also absentminded.  This Santa needs an elf to keep him organized during the busy holiday season and Levi’s sister, Abigail suggests Elsie.  Organization happens to be Elsie’s gift.  Unfortunately, Levi and Elsie used to date and split up after Levi left her behind at a wedding.  Despite his forgetfulness, Elsie still loves Levi.  Levi has not stopped loving Elsie, but he knows that he is unworthy of her.  He feels responsible for a tragedy that left Abigail in a wheelchair.  Working together each day makes it hard for Levi to keep his resolution that he will not marry. A snowstorm hits after a taffy pull which has Elsie stranded at the Wyse house until it blows over.  This may be the opportunity for them to resolve the past and move forward.  With a little Christmas magic, there may be a future for Levi and Elsie.  

My Thoughts

The Amish Christmas Gift by Laura V. Hilton is the 2^nd novel in the Hidden Springs series.  It can be read as a standalone if you have not had a chance to read The Amish Wedding Promise.  The Amish Christmas Gift is a heartfelt story.  I thought the story contained good writing and the story moved along at a steady pace.  There are some charming characters in this story with quirky traits.  Elsie Miller is a whiz at organization, but she has trouble at other occupations.  Elsie is getting quite the reputation in town.  She can usually be seen with a candy cane in her hand.  Levi Wyse is in his mid-twenties and responsible for the care of his seventeen year old sister, Abigail who is in a wheelchair.  Levi has been working to pay off their extensive medical bills with the construction business that was started by his father plus the toys he makes in his spare time.  He would prefer to make toys fulltime, but he is not sure that would support them.  Levi makes beautiful handcrafted wood toys, but he would forget his head if it was not attached.  Absentminded does not begin to describe Levi.  Let us not forget George who is hard of hearing and makes up for it by talking at a high volume.  I laughed often while reading this humorous Amish tale.  Miscommunication and misunderstanding abound for Levi and Elsie.  I did feel there was a little too much internal dialogue and repetition of the same details.  Faith, family, love, guilt, and miscommunication are the themes in this cute story.  There are some good life lessons and I like how the author included the scripture verses that went with each one.  It was presented in an easy to understand manner that really made the point hit home for me.  The Amish Christmas Gift is a sweet and amusing Amish Christmas story with proliferation of peppermint, a toy train time limit, an absentminded Amishman, icky ice cream, a familial matchmaker, and an executive elf.  

The Amish Christmas Gift is available from Amazon*.   The first book in the Hidden Springs series is The Amish Wedding Promise.  The Amish Secret Wish is the 3rd book in series and it will release April 27, 2021.  You can find Laura V. Hilton's other novels here.  Thank you for visiting.  Tomorrow I am sharing my thoughts on Candy Cane Crime by Amanda Flower.  It is Book 5.5 in An Amish Candy Shop Mystery.  I hope that you have a marvelous 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.