replacement series

This is book 2 of the Sisters of the Heart series and though I did not read book 1, it almost felt like I did as I read this book--so some of the plotlines from that book must have been in another book I read.

This book focuses mostly on Katie Brenneman, though there is a common theme of "being wanted" among several women in the book. In addition to Katie, Winnie Lundy and Anna Metzger are also both seeking romantic love and the children, Mary and Hannah, appear to need family love. I think even the non-Amish characters of Holly and Brandon want to renew past relationships.

Anna has found her soulmate in Katie's brother Henry. Anna is a non-Amish woman who is willing to learn Amish ways and join the Amish church for the man she loves. Wow! It's a big undertaking. She's learning Pennsylvania Dutch (something Amish learn as their first language--many don't learn English until they go off to school), learning to can and to do laundry manually. My first thought is she must really love him with all the conveniences she is giving up.

Winnie thinks she has found love with Malcolm, though to this point, she has only exchanged letters with him as he lives in Indiana. To her mind, the next step is to go meet Malcolm in person. The only problem is that she's in charge of her widowed brother's girls, Mary and Hannah, and they need to find someone to step in and take over that while she is gone. I do agree with the assessment of other characters that people can be different in letters than they are in real life. In writing something down, there is more time to order things and work on the wording of ideas. Real life interactions happen much more quickly. I also know how easy it is to build someone or something up in your mind and then be disappointed by the reality. So will Winnie find true love or find that Malcolm isn't all she thought?

Enter Katie. Katie has long had feelings for Jonathan Lundy (father of Mary and Hannah). In fact, it is those feelings that finally convicted her that her "running around period" with Holly and Brandon where she hid who she really was from them was wrong. Now more mature, Katie realizes that she liked how Brandon made her feel wanted, but also that he liked her in a different way than she liked him. Katie has hidden this time from everyone in her family and friends. Despite her parents' misgivings, Katie hopes that taking the job helping Jonathan with his girls will result in love between Jonathan and her.

Jonathan, at first, seems a man content to leave things as they are. He'd prefer Winnie continue taking care of his girls rather than getting married and having a family and life of her own. Though he and Sarah had problems in their marriage, he doesn't seem ready to move on with his life. In fact, he seems pretty clueless--he tends to present it as facts of suitability rather than mentioning that he has feelings for Katie after he gets to know her and sees how she works within his home. I'll admit, I don't know much of Amish courting or marriage customs, but I don't think most women want to marry someone just because the man thinks she'll be good for his kids and keeps a good home.

At the same time, Brandon, now dying of cancer, wants to see Katie again. Though his sister Holly would prefer to never have to talk to Katie again, she agrees to try to find Katie and get her to come see him. I think Brandon has a remembrance of Katie that doesn't jive with what he sees when she comes to visit him. I'm not sure what he wanted from her--just to see that she was happy?

I think the author does a good job with the plot, though the plot points aren't new ones if you read a lot of Amish fiction. I appreciate her showing the struggles of learning the Amish way of life (through Anna) but also showing the good parts of Amish life too. (Yes, there are some Amish, just like there are some non-Amish, who probably do take the man-as-head-of-household idea as a way to subjugate the women. Those are not presented in this book where the Brennemans are a loving family.) I'm glad to see the author lives in Southern Ohio at the time of the publishing of this book. ( )

I was Heartfelt in my soul reading this book. I felt I was the Katie while reading. Though I am glad that she did fine what she wanted. I sometime feel like these people in my books. I am really glad she did deal with her past along to find out what had happen to Brandon and to become friends with Holly. ( )

I was Heartfelt in my soul reading this book. I felt I was the Katie while reading. Though I am glad that she did fine what she wanted. I sometime feel like these people in my books. I am really glad she did deal with her past along to find out what had happen to Brandon and to become friends with Holly. ( )

Maybe I have read too many of this series in order, but I found this story too trite. The main family in the Sisters of the Heart series is the Brenneman family, owners of a Bed and Breakfast Inn in Ohio. In the first novel of the series, Anna has left her "English" life and has fallen in love with Henry Brenneman. In this book, Katie must accept her "wild" year before joining the Amish church and decide if Jonathan is her future. The stories all follow a simple formula that life is in God's hand. Each story ends "happily ever after". I guess that life is not that simplistic, and sometimes the ending is not rosy. ( )