5-Star Review of "His Amish Teacher"

Review of His Amish Teacher

Series:  The Amish Bachelors #3

by Patricia Davids

The Teacher's Choice 

For Lillian Keim, instructing children in her one-room schoolhouse is as close to being a mother as she'll ever get. Lillian has a calling to be a teacher, and she won't give it up to marry. But her plans--and her heart--are at risk when she begins to feel more than friendship for lifelong pal Timothy Bowman. When Tim rescues Lillian and her class from a fire, the volunteer firefighter suddenly sees what he's been blind to all his life: he wants his friend as his wife. But something beyond her professional goals is holding Lillian back. He's got to unlock her secret before he loses his friend--and his forever love.

MY REVIEW:  This lovely, sweet novel covers so many issues, such as being barren, romantic relationships beginning as lifelong friends, and the Amish rule of teachers being unmarried.  Lillian teaches and doesn't ever want to give up what is more than a job to her.   Lillian loves children and longs to have them, but she can't and never will.  Timothy wants a wife and large family. Timothy wants his Amish wife to remain at home to raise their large brood of children as all Amish mothers do.   Lillian and Timothy have been friends since they were very very young and now, they find themselves falling in love.  How can these two ever form a lasting relationship when their plans and desires differ so completely?
       This is a really sweet novel.  I immediately felt a positive vibe from Lillian and Timothy.  They were such loving, caring young people.   Their loyalty to their families was admirable.  Their loyalty to their Amish faith almost tears them apart.  I greatly admire the Amish but I don't agree with many of their practices.  I was a mother of three and wife and taught school for many y ears. So I don't agree with not allowing married women to teach, although I did remain home with all of mine until my youngest was four.  I can imagine it being difficult with a baby or two or three at a time as the Amish do.  But the Amish are so close-knit that family members always help each other out.  They wouldn't have the expense of a child-care giver.  I also wanted a large family like Timothy and Lillian.  But, through no fault of her own, Lillian is unable to bear children.  I would also have felt devastated to be unable to have children, but fostering or adopting children would have been a wonderful option for my husband and I. We even discussed it in case we found we weren't able to reproduce our own children.  So it is not hard for me to imagine the heartache an Amish couple would feel since large families are almost expected among them.  They feel that children are a blessing from God.  But I have never experienced it, so I know that I do not know the full despair that many barren women feel.  
        I am a rating this novel 5 stars.
        I received a copy of this book from netgalley. A positive review was not expected.

About the Author:



Patricia Davids USA Today Bestselling author Patricia Davids grew up on a Kansas farm with four brothers. After college she began a wonderful career as a nurse. In 1973 Pat wrote a letter to a lonely sailor. Little did she know her talent with words would bring her love, marriage and motherhood.

An avid reader, Pat longed to write a book, but put her dream on hold as she raised a family and worked in an NICU. It wasn't until 1996 that she began writing seriously. Today, Pat enjoys crafting emotionally satisfying romances where love and faith bring two people together forever.