Though Mountains Fall

I received a copy of THOUGH MOUNTAINS FALL by Dale Cramer from Bethany House. It is the third book in the Daughters of Caleb Bender series. Overall, I have very mixed feelings about the novel. I haven’t read any other books by Dale Cramer, and I’m not sure I’ll seek them out, although if one does fall into my hands, I’ll give it a try.

There were aspects of THOUGH MOUNTAINS FALL that I loved. For one thing, Dale Cramer based the series on his own ancestors. That is a huge plus for me. For another thing, it involves an Amish community in Mexico, something I’d never heard about before – definitely another plus. For those of you who follow my reading habits, you know Amish fiction is a favorite (there are many Amish families in my town, so I enjoy understanding their perspectives). I recommend this series to anyone else who enjoys learning about the Amish just because it takes place in Mexico, setting it apart from other Amish series.

There were some things I didn’t like: mainly, the writing style. Everyone has a different preference, and I just couldn’t get into the story. The characters were interesting, but there were too many adverbs and not enough descriptions to hold my interest. The characters also seemed to bled together as I read. No one had a distinct personality, at least in my opinion. I know other people will feel differently about those aspects, so nonetheless, I recommend this book. I will continue to read Amish books and this one will remain on my list of novels to discuss with other fans of Amish fiction.