The Choice, Lancaster County Secrets Series #1 - eBook

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of The Letters, The Calling, the Lancaster County Secrets series, and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. She is also the coauthor of an Amish children's series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner for The Search, a Carol Award finalist for The Choice, and a Christy Award finalist for The Waiting. She is also a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California. Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and connect with Suzanne on Twitter @suzannewfisher.

That's not the case in Suzanne Woods Fisher's "The Choice," an edgier Amish romance with more complicated characters, conflicting values and even an unfolding mystery. Unlike the novellas, Book I of the Lancaster County Secrets series does not fully affirm Amish brand faith. Carrie has plans to run off with Solomon, who secretly signed a contract with the Lancaster Barnstormers. Then her father dies, and decides to stay and protect her young brother from their cruel stepmother. She marries another both to escape the household and to spite Sol. Soon she's a widow fighting to maintain a farm while attracting attention from the bishop's simple-minded son, the ex-con cousin of her dead husband who offers her a different take on God, and the regretful ballplayer. This book avoids stereotyping the Amish, but it caricatures its two non-Amish characters. Both are obnoxious; one is also criminal. In the end, the score is Amish, 2; English, 1.

Fisher kicks off a refreshing new series, Lancaster County Secrets, with characters that are strong, both in body and spirit. They also have weaknesses that develop into strengths with the choices they make.

The newest entry to the growing ranks of “bonnet fiction” writers is Fisher, who has written Amish nonfiction (Amish Peace). This Lancaster County tale centers on Carrie Weaver, who marries an Amish man for convenience though her heart is committed to another. Carrie struggles to care for her hemophiliac younger brother as she lives with the consequences of her own choices. The outline is promising, but the execution flawed. An intriguing heroine shows the author's potential, but major problems compromise the book's overall merit. The plot creaks too loudly; a few too many characters die to complicate the action, and the character who poses the biggest threat is more a caricature than credible villain. Minor characters—an oversized lovable ex-con, a harpy stepmother—likewise mostly serve plot rather than populate a convincingly drawn world. The language can get adjective-laden and trite (“The air had grown thick and heavy”). Bonnet fiction devotees might be able to overlook some problems, but this is not a strong new offering in the subgenre. (Jan.)Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.