Happy Mother's Day! Give Mom a cup of tea and let her relax with a few new heart-warming romances!
New York Times bestselling author Beverly Lewis tells a story of an Englisher woman who meets an Amish man after a wrong turn in a rainstorm in her new series, "Home to Hickory Hollow" in "The Fiddler."
Michael has found himself torn between his Amish life and the life outside - turning to outsider music after his would-be fiancee breaks his heart by leaving. He has been walking the line between both worlds for five years now, and his father wants him to make a decision. Amelia is a fiddle player torn between two lives as well - one as a concert player and another as "Amy Lee" a fiddler for country bands. Her parents only approve of "serious" music, yet she can't give up her love of country. And her parents aren't the only one who would be disappointed in her double life - so would her longtime boyfriend, Byron. When she takes a wrong turn, she ends up stumbling upon Michael, who lets her take shelter at his house. As the storm rages and the two bond, they find that though they come from different worlds, they enjoy each other's company. When Michael offers her a chance to visit Hickory Hollow, she jumps at the chance. As she gets to know Michael's extended family, Amelia begins to wonder which life she would choose - Amelia's or Amy Lee's? Can she choose one? Can the two of them keep up correspondence after she goes back to her life? Is their room in either of her lives for him?
This is a warm story about two strangers from two very different worlds who find themselves drawn together. Lewis builds wonderfully endearing worlds and characters that are easy to enjoy.
"The Fiddler" is published by Bethany House. It is $15.99 for trade paperback and $19.99 for hardback.
My great-grandmother, grandmother and mother all enjoyed reading author Grace Livingston Hill's more than 100 romances. Now a new generation can read the timeless author's works under several new re-releases. "A New Name" and "Prodigal Girl," both stories set in the 1920s have recently been re-released.
In "A New Name," wealthy Murray Van Rensselaer has lived a charmed life with his social-climbing mother propelling him on to a life of mirth, fast driving and fast women. But as a child, Murray played with his poor neighbor, Bessie, and enjoyed her home's simple comforts. Now, years later, a chance meeting has the two reconnecting again, and Murray takes Bessie for a ride in his car which ends in a terrible accident. At the hospital, Murray hears a nurse say someone is dead and believes it to be Bessie. Freaked out, he runs away, sure he is going to be arrested for murder, and in a case of mistaken identity, a family in a small town assumes him to be the son of an old friend, a young banker. Murray goes along with this deception, but soon finds his life changed by living as this new man. Can his time as another "Murray" give him the courage to face his old life?
In "Prodigal Girl," Chester Thornton has been consumed with his business, to the point of ignoring what is going on with his family. Finally having settled his fortune, he is ready to relax with his wife and children. But he finds that his children are running wild, disobedient and willful - especially his oldest daughter, Betty, whose relationship with Dudley Weston troubles him. When Chester has health problems, his wife believes it's because his business has failed and he doesn't correct her - instead deciding to take his family away to an old family farmhouse to reconnect again. The other children soon begin to adjust to their new way of life and enjoy it, but Betty isn't - and is, in fact, making plans to run away and marry Dudley! But her elopement is anything but romantic, and soon she finds herself in a strange city, penniless and alone. Who will come to her aid?
Both books are written in the vernacular of the time, which I enjoy immensely, but may take a bit of getting used to at first. These simple, warm stories are the perfect way to spend an afternoon with characters who experience a life-changing change of heart for the better. I can see why it has appealed to many generations for many years.
"A New Name" and "Prodigal Girl" is published by Barbour. Both are $12.99 each. Look for future books coming soon in 2012.
Contact Amy Phelps at aphelps@newsandsentinel.com
