Could God be offering Charlotte a second chance at true
love?
Charlotte Dolinsky needs time to recover after breaking
up with her boyfriend, Ryan. But when a surprise visitor shows up on her
doorstep in Texas, she's forced to put aside her own worries to help her Amish
friends in Lancaster County. Soon she is entangled in a web of deception -- and
this time, she isn't the only one keeping secrets.
Daniel Byler struggles each day in his Amish community to
heal from his fiancée's betrayal. When he discovers that a member of his family
is in danger of being shunned, his pain turns to fear. His only way to help is
by partnering with Charlotte, a woman he barely knows who has already deceived
them all before.
Charlotte begins building a friendship with Daniel that
she'll need to lean on when more surprises surface from her past and she once
again finds herself torn between two worlds. Will Charlotte's friends in the
Amish community be able to show her the power of redemption and lead her home?
And can she help young Jacob realize that God offers second chances at happiness
when she isn't even sure herself?
Good book. Though it is the second in the series, it can
be read as a stand-alone. I have not read the first book, but the references to
it were well done, and I did not feel lost. I was immediately drawn into the
story and quickly became interested in the characters' lives.
After the events in the first book, Charlotte returned
home to Texas, but her life is still in turmoil. A breakup with her boyfriend
leaves her feeling adrift, and financial difficulties compound the problem. She
needs time to get her head and heart back in order and decides to return to
Lancaster County and the friends she made there. But when one of her Amish friends
shows up in Texas, Charlotte does her best to help him before leaving, even though it leaves her in an awkward
position. When she makes it back to Paradise, she is amazed at the warm welcome
she received after the deceptions she carried out before. Now she is determined
to make amends and in doing so finds herself drawn into the unexpected drama.
Jacob, who showed up in Texas, feels trapped by the
restrictions of his Amish life. He longs to experience the wider world and left
family and fiancée without a word. I liked how Charlotte helped him, but also
tried to make him see the perils of the Englischer world. Meanwhile, things are
going on back in Pennsylvania that could have a profound effect on his plans
for the future. His fiancée, Annie, has a secret that could see her shunned if
Jacob doesn't return soon. Charlotte soon finds herself playing go-between
among the various factions. She is helped in her efforts by Annie's brother,
Daniel.
Daniel is wary about trusting Charlotte after the way she
deceived everyone during her previous stay in Paradise. It doesn't take too
long for him to see that she has changed. As they spend time together trying to
help Jacob and Annie, they develop a strong friendship. I liked how Daniel
began to understand the demons that drove Charlotte to her previous actions and
supports her in the changes she attempts to make in her life. That friendship
deepens into something more, though both try to resist it. Charlotte is not
Amish, and Daniel is.
When someone from Charlotte's past shows up in Paradise, the
faith that she gained from her time, there plays a big part in the way she
faces it. I loved her strength, her determination, and her newfound ability to
forgive. She also gets an unexpected show of support from one of the people she
had wronged before. It was an emotional and heartwarming scene.
There is a lot going on in this book. Forgiveness,
redemption, secrets, love, and fear all have their moments. I liked seeing the
growth that Charlotte experienced and how she took control of her life. I liked
how Daniel learned to look past the surface of Charlotte's deception to the
vulnerable woman behind it. Annie and Jacob are young and have the insecurities
and youthful mistakes common to that age, with the added complications of their
Amish world. By the end, I felt that Annie had matured, while Jacob had not.
Both Annie and Charlotte have understandable misgivings about Jacob's actions
and what they will mean to him.
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