Mary Ellis's A Little Bit of Charm ~ Reviewed

Little Bit Of Charm (New Beginnings V3) 
By Mary Ellis (Author)
Pages 343 
Binding Softcover
Release Date Sep 1, 2013
Publisher Harvest House Publishers
Series New Beginnings
Series Number 3
ISBN 0736938680




Description

A Little Bit of Charm, the third book in bestselling author Mary Ellis's New Beginnings series, is about fresh starts...and how faith in God and His perfect plans provide the peace and joy all long for.

After the death of her parents and then watching both of her older sisters find happiness in homes of their own with husbands who adore them, Rachel King yearns for a new beginning. Her cousin Sarah lives near a thoroughbred stable in Kentucky, and working around beautiful horses is Rachel's dream come true. She leaves Lancaster County to find a job at Twelve Elms Stables and believes God has answered her prayers.

And then she meets Jake, an attractive and charming Englisch man. At first she refuses to go out with him, but he eventually convinces her to give him a chance. When Amish men who also wish to date Rachel start encountering strange mishaps, she wonders if Jake is really who he seems to be.

What does a young woman do when her heart is pulled in two directions?

Review

  

A Little Bit of Charm is about a young Amish woman named Rachel.  After her two older sisters marry and build new lives far from the home they grew up on, Sarah takes a chance and moves to Kentucky with her now Mennonite cousins, Sarah and Isaac, to live with them on their chicken farm, and to hopefully find a job somewhere working with horses.  Fortunately, Twelve Elms stables is just down the road, and they are looking for extra hired help with tours and horse training.  It’s the perfect job for Rachel, though her cousin feels she is compromising her faith by dressing as an Englischer while working.  In the meantime, she meets the owners’ son, Jake, who is focused on doing whatever it takes to take a young cold to the Kentucky Derby, even if it means putting the family into a debt that could be devastating.  Not surprisingly, Jake and Rachel develop an attraction for each other, but they each have their own personal battles to fight.  Rachel is struggling as she has feelings for Jake, but knows she would have to leave her Amish lifestyle to be with him. Jake is taking it personally that Rachel is distancing herself, but overlooking his own selfishness and distrust in God.      

                

This was a really fun story, and I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen there for a while. Rachel was so devoted to her faith and steadfast in the fact that she wouldn’t “jump the fence.”  Yet I know Jake wouldn’t become Amish.  I also found myself surprised that all Rachel ever saw in Jake was his kind, compassionate side.  He was, at that, however, his total distrust in God and need to be in control all of the time must not have been something he showed when Rachel was around, because she didn’t pick up on it at all.  I found that interesting.  It was a good story, though!

Reviewed by: Sarah Meyers