These novellas were a bit different from other Amish. I did not find the stories especially engaging or believable. A girl who lies to her father, to get a young man in trouble with the community finds herself being manipulated instead. In the second story, another lie is told to hide a secret. And in the third, a husband and father abandons his father for nearly a year, to find himself. The stories were entertaining, if a bit far fetched. ( )

Not my favorite of books, but okay. ( )

This is a book with 3 shorter novels within, that are loosely related. I'm not sure why it took me so long to read this book, but once I started I did read it quickly. I'm not a big romance fan, but I greatly enjoyed the light romances within. My favorite by far was "A Marriage of the Heart", I got wrapped up within the characters & wanted to know what happened next to them.

I would have liked to have seen a little bit more negative things happening in the book - everything just seemed a little bit too perfect & happy. Even something that should have been negative, all the characters just happily accepted reality as "God's will" and quickly moved on with their lives. The stories would have been more realistic to me, if we could have felt some pain coming from the characters, even for a short while. ( )

Three short stories. Interesting for the Amish way of life, if a bit rushed for me (I just can't get into short stories, I need way more meat to love a book). Cool feature is recipes at the back. ( )

Originally posted on These Pretty Words

“Healing Hearts” by Beth Wiseman
This book is a compilation of three novellas all centered around the love lives of a group of intertwined Amish women. The first story, Healing Hearts, takes a look at a couple who’ve been through marriage, raising their children, and a difficult separation when Naaman leaves for an extended visit with his cousins. This story tore at my heart in such a beautiful fashion. Levina’s grief and mistrust in her husband, the uncertainty between them, the way Beth wrote them trying to come back together – all of it was so absolutely beautiful. I have become a huge Beth Wiseman fan and will definitely be keeping her in my spotlight.

“What the Heart Sees” by Kathleen Fuller
Once again, Kathleen rocks me with her sweet and simple romance. Ellie is a strong and capable character, but unsure of her future because of the blindness she feels responsible for. And Christopher is dealing with so much loss – not just his girlfriend, but his entire family and community as he’s left the Amish to live as an English. This was another story that just tugged at me. The lovely way Kathleen writes her family bonds is just about perfect, and I definitely have more of her work on my to be read shelf.

“A Marriage of the Heart” by Kelly Long
Having now read two of these novella compilations, I realize that Kelly takes harder topics and melds them with her Amish characters. This time young Rachel tells a terrible lie which causes a forced marriage to Joseph – someone who’s just come back to the community. I really wanted to smack the girl upside the head multiple times throughout the story, but Joseph was a total doll – sweet, caring, slightly sarcastic. I’m looking at Kelly’s writing a little differently after this novella and would definitely read more of her work.

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