Mindy Starns Clark's and Susan Meissner's The Amish Groom ~ Reviewed

The Amish Groom 

(The Men of Lancaster County)
by Mindy Starns Clark, Susan Meissner
Series: The Men of Lancaster County (Book 1)
Paperback: 352 pages
Harvest House Publishers (April 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736957340



Description:

New from bestselling authors Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner, The Amish Groom(Book 1 in The Men of Lancaster County series) explores the men of an Amish community in Lancaster County, how their Amish beliefs play out in their unique roles, and the women who change their lives. 

Born to an ex-Amish mother and an Englisch father, 23-year-old Tyler Anderson was raised as a military kid until the age of 6, when his mom passed away. His dad, shipping off to yet another overseas post, placed Tyler in the care of his Amish grandparents, an arrangement that was supposed to be temporary. It lasted a lifetime.

Rachel Hoeck is the young woman waiting for Tyler's proposal. She senses that though he loves her and wishes to make a commitment to her and his Amish beliefs, part of him still wonders whether an Amish lifestyle is truly for him.

When an opportunity to connect with his father unexpectedly arises, a visit to California causes Tyler to question everything, including a future with Rachel. Will the new girl in his life, Lark, cause him to remain in the Englisch world? Or will he choose to be an Amish groom after all?

A poignant novel of hoping for romance and searching for identity, set in a beloved Amish community.

Review: 

The Amish Groom tells us about twenty-three year old Tyler Anderson. He was born in an Englisch world to a military father and a former Amish mother. At age six, Tyler's mother died suddenly. His father was constantly traveling for the military, so he took Tyler to live with the Amish grandparents that he had never met. However, his father kept putting off coming to get him, until finally, a few years later, his father was married again with another baby on the way. When he asked Tyler if he wanted to live with him, Tyler declined, feeling he was unwanted. Now, however, he finds that he has a restlessness in him, much like his mother, and wonders which world he belongs in. When his father calls and asks him to stay with his younger half-brother for a few weeks while he and his wife are traveling, Tyler decides this might be God's way of giving him a chance to decide. While living in the Englisch he experiences many new things, and finds he has to deal with a lot of issues that have been pushed to the background for his whole life.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I appreciated that Tyler was trying so hard to find the Lord's will without compromising himself or his beliefs. And that he was patient in waiting for answers and letting the Lord guide and lead instead of trusting his own instincts. I really wasn't sure which way he was going to go for most of the story. 

Reviewed by: Sarah Meyers