Kelly Irvin's Love Still Stands ~ Reviewed

LOVE STILL STANDS
Kelly Irvin
Series: The New Hope Amish (Book 1)
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (September 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736954937

Description: 

Readers of Kelly Irvin's Bliss Creek Amish novels will be overjoyed to discover her new series for lovers of Amish fiction: The New Hope Amish. In the first installment, Love Still Stands, a group of dedicated families leaves Bliss Creek to establish a new community in Missouri. Among them is Bethel Graber, a beautiful young woman with a passion for teaching. But after being disabled in a terrible accident, overseeing a classroom is out of the question...and romance seems a long-lost dream.

Bethel begins physical therapy, determined to make a fresh start. But that won't be easy in the town of New Hope, where the locals seem anything but eager to welcome their new Amish neighbors. Amid growing intimidation from the community, Bethel must find the strength to face her many challenges and the faith to believe that God still has a plan--and a love--for her life. 

Review:

Love Still Stands is part of the New Hope Amish Series and follows a young Amish woman named Bethel. She had been a teacher until a tornado destroyed her school and damaged her legs, keeping her from being able to do even the simplest of every day tasks. She moves with her family to another state for a new start. It's not easy, starting a-fresh in a community that doesn't like strangers, especially people that are different than they are. Bethel begins to do therapy in a local rehabilitation center, and finds herself attracted to a young man who is in the same boat as she is. The only problem is that he is Englisch. She is also interested in an Amish man named Elijah, who is very much smitten with her. The problem is that Bethel sees herself as an invalid that no one would ever want to marry. She has a hard time believing she is of any worth since she has so many limitations.

I had forgotten that I read the other books in this series. It has been some time, so it took me a little while to acclimate myself to the characters again, but once I did, I was able to pick up where I left off. I enjoyed Bethel's journey, but I also enjoyed the sub-story of her sister Leah, and her husband, Luke. In previous stories, Leah has been a difficult and sometimes harsh person to get along with. This book delves deeper into her issues, and she is finally able to find some peace and help. I really liked seeing that, as her character was annoying to me in the previous books. But I found myself drawn to her in this one. This was a great follow-up to the other books.

Reviewed by: Sarah Meyers