The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher

 OK, I'm not going to start this by saying "I love Amish" novels, and I'm growing tired of saying "Not your traditional Amish novel," even though their both true-ish. Ish, because, well, I've run into an Amish novel or two that I decidedly did not like, much less love and because I decided "traditional" and "Amish novel" no longer belong as a phrase. They were traditional when only Beverly Lewis wrote them. Or when I only knew about Beverly Lewis Amish novels. (Back when I fell in love with Amish novels...and when I lived among the Mennonites.) Now that I live closer to the "English" (Christian English, of course) world and have met Cindy Woodsmall and Suzanne Woods Fisher (figuratively, of course), I don't think there can be a "traditional" Amish novel. 

I'm OK with that. 

A bit about the book:

One moment, Carrie Weaver is planning to elope with Lancaster Barnstormer Solomon Riehl, leaving their Amish community behind. The next, she is staring into a future as broken as her heart. Now Carrie faces a choice. An opportunity. But will this decision, this moment in time, change her life forever?

"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."
4 stars, Romantic Times

I found this to be another book I couldn't put down. Loved it. Body count was a bit high (I think it was five. FIVE dead people which seems extreme for a non-suspense novel...that I guess was a bit suspenseful now that I think of it. Mysterious, at least. But I don't think it was billed as suspense or mystery. The back cover says Fiction--Contemporary.) Nonetheless, it was a very good read, especially if you dig Amish novels (traditional or not). It left me rather hungry for my Mennonite hometown (that is decidedly not Amish, but is peaceful).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Suzanne is a wife and mom, raiser of puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, and an author of Christian books, both non-fiction and fiction.

Her relatives on my mother's side are Old Order German Baptist Brethren, also known as Dunkards. That's where her interest in Anabaptist traditions began. Suzanne's grandfather was born into a family of 13 children, started his career as a teacher in a one-room school house in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and ended it as one of the very first publishers of Christianity Today. "We called him "Deardad" even though he was a very stern fellow. Still, Deardad's life inspired me to write."

After college, Suzanne was a freelance writer for magazines and became a contributing editor to Christian Parenting Today. Her work has been featured in Today's Christian Woman, Marriage Partnership, Worldwide Challenge, among others. She took the plunge into books a few years ago and now she's hooked. To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

CONTEST

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Psst... pass it on! Join @suzannewfisher for a Book Bomb & Author Talk! Details here http://ow.ly/W84r #thechoice

During the Author Talk, Facebook party (see button below) you’ll hear the story behind Suzanne’s latest release, The Choice, win some great prizes (Amish cook books, Auntie Anne's Pretzel gift certificates, Amazon gift certificates), get a sneak peak at her upcoming releases, and join in the chatter! She'll be answering all your burning questions and asking a few of her own. (oh, and check out her website before the party - the answers to the trivia contest can ALL be found there. www.suzannewoodsfisher.com  hint, hint)


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See what other people think here. And, oh yeah, this book was provided for review by the LitFuse Publicity Group. (see button in my sidebar) But I'm still allowed to say whatever I think.