Sunday, February 27, 2011

Review: Lydia's Charm By Wanda E. Brunstetter

Lydia's Charm 
By Wanda E. Brunstetter

 Product Details:

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Barbour Books; Original edition (September 1, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1602600635
  • ISBN-13: 978-1602600638


Product Description (From Good Reads)

Visit Amish Country during the fall as Lydia King attempts to make Charm, Ohio, feel like home after losing her husband. But is her heart ready to open back up to love when gifts appear on her porch from a mystery source? Could it be from the widowed father of four energetic boys, or is it from the man who has rejected romance to be his family’s caregiver? When life hands Lydia another challenge, will the gift giver be there to support her?

My Thoughts:

This was my first encounter with the writing of Wanda Brunstetter and I'm quite hooked now!  Lydia's Charm is so different from other Amish Fiction novels that I've read and quite refreshing at that!  Lydia returns home with her son to Charm, Ohio to live with her mother and her grandfather whose health is quickly failing.  Brunstetter has addressed some very serious life issues within this novel such as the loss of a spouse, single parenting, and strained familial bonds, as well as prejudice within the Amish community; all presented with such grace and emotion.  This is rather a sad novel and I often found myself moved to tears at several points and unable to bring myself to put this book down, but yet, at the same time, I found it to be so endearing and inspirational.  Brunstetter is truly a remarkable storyteller! My overall rating for this novel is a five and highly recommend it!  I loved every page!
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11 comments:

  1. Sounds interesting although not my cup of tea (I do like a few murders in my reading), but thanks for the review.
    Helen x

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  2. I absolutely love the Amish! Our carpenter, dry waller, mason, etc. were all Amish. The home took two years so I became very close with most of them. I was lucky enough to be graciously invited to their homes. Have you seen The Outsider movie with Tim Daly and Naomi Watts? If not, you HAVE to see it!! I didn't care for the book (a little to racy). Let me know if you have watched it!
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  3. Great review! Thank you so much, I will have to check this one out!

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  11. Hi, I am a new follower of your blog. I have started reading and reviewing more Amish fiction lately, too.

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