About The Book: Did you ever get a second chance? It’s been seven years since her husband died, but Helen Crouch is doing just fine. She’s selling her jams and canned goods at the bakery and making a tidy living. But her whole world goes topsy-turvy when a new family moves to town and her son, Edmond, shows out at a parade endangering Gabriel Glesses daughter. Gabriel Gless has brought his children to Bliss Creek to escape the worldly influences in Indiana. Helen and Gabriel have so much in common—the loss of their beloved spouses, the experience of raising their families alone, their rock-solid faith—so why can’t they seem to speak without arguing? Meanwhile, Helen’s good friend Annie Plank is still reeling from the death of her husband when Gabriel’s son Isaac walks into her bakery and into her heart. But how can she trust God with her future when she knows how easily dreams can be ripped apart? And that’s not all that’s going on in Bliss Creek this summer. In the middle of a punishing drought, the community is faced with the decision to uproot their families and establish a new settlement. As families struggle to say goodbye, each one must find the faith to follow the Lord’s direction. Join the families of Bliss Creek in the dramatic conclusion to their story, and discover with them the joy of finding home.
About The Author: Kelly Irvin is the author of the Bliss Creek Amish series, which includes To Love and To Cherish, A Heart Made New, which is slated to release in October 2012, and Love’s Journey Home, which will debut in January 2013. She recently signed with Harvest House Publishing for a three-book spin-off series entitled the New Hope Amish. Kelly has also penned two romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine, published by Five Star Gale in 2010 and 2011. The Kansas native is a member of ACFW, Sisters in Crime, and Alamo City Christian Writers. In addition to the ACFW annual conference, she has attended the Glorieta Writers Conference in Glorieta, New Mexico. She also serves as secretary of the ACFW San Antonio local chapter Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers. A graduate of the University of Kansas’ William Allen White School of Journalism, Kelly has been writing nonfiction professionally for thirty years. She studied for three semesters at the University of Costa Rica, learning the Spanish language. As a journalist, she worked six years in the border towns of Laredo and El Paso, where she was exposed to culture and language that serves as fodder for her fiction writing. She has written hard news, features, entertainment pieces, restaurant critiques, editorials, and weekly columns. Writing awards include the Silver Star Award from the Texas Mental Health Association for articles pertaining to mental health and numerous awards in news, feature, and editorial writing from the Texas Press Association and Texas Press Women. For nearly eighteen years, she has worked in public relations for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department, where her duties include writing and designing an employee newsletter, writing news releases, collaborating on marketing campaigns, coordinating ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings, coordinating press conferences, updating the web site, and acting as a media spokesperson. She also proofreads trial transcripts for court reporters. Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for twenty-four years, and they have two young adult children. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories and read books by her favorite authors.
My Thoughts On The Book: Even though this was the first of the trilogy that I have read it was easy to pick up on the characters and understand the stories that were interwoven in the book. This was a wonderful book and Irvin definitely has a gift with words. Once I began reading the book I was hooked and actually did not sleep one night so I could finish the story. I loved all the characters and felt as if I knew each one personally. My heart grieved for Annie, Helen, Gabriel and Issac as they struggled to overcome all the obstacles in their paths and find true love. This is a must read and I cannot wait to get my hands on the first two in the series so I can read them.
Disclaimer: I received this book free from the NetGalley Publishing Group and Harvest House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All they asked for was an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
