Accidentally Amish Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

14. Accidentally Amish by Olivia Newport

Synopsis:

Escape the helter-skelter of the modern culture and join software creator Annie Friesen, hiding at the home of an Amishman. With her high-tech career in jeopardy, Annie runs from fast-paced Colorado Springs—and straight into the hospitality of San Luis Valley’s Amish community. There she meets cabinetmaker Rufus Beiler, and the more time she spends with him, the more attracted she becomes. When Annie finds she shares a common ancestor with Rufus, she feels both cultures colliding within her. But is her love for Rufus strong enough for her to give up the only life she’s ever known?

My Review:

     It's not everyday that someone shows away (aka runs away from her problems, so to say) in a pickup truck and ends up in an Amish community. That's exactly what Annie did when she had enough of a certain situation. Deciding to hanglow for awhile, Annie stays in an inn just on the outskirts. In the meantime, Annie and Rufus, despite the their stubbornness to admit it, start to fall for each other. When an accident happens, Rufus' family takes in Annie to help her recovery. Rufus has to deal with problems of his own as someone tries to sabotage his work. After Annie heals, they depart, knowing that their different lifestyles won't work out well together. That is until something tragic occurs, bringing them back together. Both of their situations end up well and Annie decides to make a radical change by (thinking about) converting to Amish. 

     I thought that the storyline and plots were well-developed. I've always admired the Amish lifestyle, in particular how they all come together (without question) to rebuild after tragedy strikes and their power of forgiveness. In this story, it was interesting to see the difference between the Amish ways and English ways. Both Annie and Rufus had somewhat similar situations, but handled it differently. Getting revenge isn't always the best solution as Annie comes to find out.

As Annie gets to know about Rufus and his family, she ends up discovering more about her family, like finding out she has some Amish blood. Genealogy plays an important part in who we are. Did you ever find out something interesting about your family history?

♥Meg♥

Holding On Book Review

2016 Reading Challenge

13. Holding On by Rachael Brownell

Synopsis:
For five years Becca has been struggling to hide her feelings for her best friend, Brad. Now she finally has a chance to move on. She’s in a new city, she’s attending a new school, and she’s met the first guy besides Brad who’s held her attention in a long time. Not only is Ethan attractive, he’s an amazing tennis player, and he might just be Becca’s match on and off the courts.
Brad has loved Becca for as long as he can remember. Now that Becca’s family has moved two thousand miles away, Brad may finally be ready to lay his heart on the line and do whatever it takes to hold on to Becca.
But is Brad too late? Or will Ethan’s secret drive Becca back into Brad’s arms? Torn between her love for Brad and the promise of something new and exciting with Ethan, Becca has an almost impossible choice to make, the choice between letting go or holding on.

My Review:
     Holding on to the past and knowing when to move on. That's what this book is all about. When Becca's family moves, she has to choose whether to hold on to her past or move on from what she once knew. In this case, it's mostly about teenage love. Becca spend most of her life being best friends and having feelings for Brad (and watch from the sidelines when he gets a girlfriend). When she starts getting settled in to another city 2,000 miles away, Becca encounters a couple guys and begins to fall for Ethan. For Brad, it takes Becca leaving to realize how much he wants to be with no one but her.
     This was a decent story and pretty accurate in regards to teenage relationships. I liked how Becca handled the move maturely, unlike most teens would have. Becca, Ethan and Brad had good character development. It did seem to take some time for the plot to move on, but it still was engaging. I admired Ethan's character near the end with the whole situation about Brad and Becca's need to be with him at a hard time.
     Holding on to the past can make it hard to enjoy the present. Letting go and moving forward isn't easy either. Rachael did a good job of portraying that.

♥Meg♥

Note: I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile, but there were some problems (and still are) problems with the computer keyboard.