A Mother's Secret

I received a copy of A MOTHER’S SECRET by Amy Clipston from Zondervan via BookSneeze.  It is the second novel in the Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel series.  I chose this book because it involves an Amish community, and my mother enjoys reading about the Amish lifestyle.  I enjoy discussing the books with her once we’ve both read them.

I have mixed feelings on this novel.  For the good, it was a fast read.  I had to see what happened next.  I started it in the evening, which I shouldn’t have done, for it kept me up late, and then I tried to read more during lunch.  It was honestly hard to put down and I had to finish it when I got home.  The characters feel real and they aren’t all sweet and innocent like the people in most Amish fiction. 

With that said, there was some bad too.  The grandfather seemed too blinded to how his grandsons treated Ben and I never had a strong sense of the setting, nor of what people looked like, other than Carolyn who was described as attractive.  The book mentioned Bird-in-Hand market, which I’ve been to many times with my mother, so I was able to imagine that, but only because I have the memories and pictures.  I also felt like the characters repeated themselves often.  While they felt real, the situations felt contrived, as if the author had laid out a plan for the book and stuck to it steadfast.

Overall, I give the book three stars, and I will be getting the others in the series to discover what else will happen.