"Annie's Recipe" Book Review

Annie's Recipe Book Review

Hope Chest of Dreams #2

by Lisa Jones Baker

Three young Amish women, each gifted with a hand-carved hope chest, find that one by one, with patience and faith, their most blessed dreams for the future can come true... 

Annie Mast and Levi Miller were best friends until his father was shunned by the church. Now, ten years later, Levi has returned to Arthur, Illinois, for a brief visit, and he and Annie discover their bond is as strong as ever. Spending as much time together as possible, Annie finds herself dreaming of a future with Levi. And Levi is soon dreaming of building a home on a beautiful local hillside--to live in with Annie. Yet their longings are unlikely to become reality... 
Levi is part of the English world, and while Annie cannot see herself there, she knows she must reveal her heart's truth to him. And Levi, strongly reminded of his Amish roots, knows he must heal the bitterness of the past. And together, with love on their side, they just may find their way to an answered prayer...

MY REVIEW:  Hope chests are so special.  I never had the pleasure of owning own myself, except for a very small cedar one that a local furniture shop gifted to every senior girl upon our high school graduation.  I treasured that little chest and kept special things in it...the hand-tatted handkerchief that my grandmother made, love letters from my husband from our dating days, etc.  Sam makes hand-carved ones with special meaning for each recipient.  Annie and her sisters have made it their mission to minister to Sam after the death of his wife, and he has a unique bond with them.  He gives wise counsel to Annie as she renews a friendship with Levi from her school days in the Amish schoolhouse .  They were inseparable in their younger years and they find that the desire to spend time together is just as great if not even greater.  But he is now English and mamm and the Amish community disapprove of their relationship as they fear she will leave the Amish faith and become English.   Will their love for each other be realized?  He doesn't want to leave the English world and she doesn't want to leave the Amish.  Can God help them find a way to be together?  

        I loved reading this story and discovering new things about Annie and her sisters.  They share a special bond and this resonates with me as I feel the same way about my sister and four brothers.  Family is important to me, just as it is for Annie, Levi, and the Amish in general.  My faith in God drives my decisions and that is certainly true for the Amish.  Levi was once Amish himself so this is still vital to his life as well.  Lisa Jones Baker incorporates faith beautifully into the words of her writing.  This book would be appropriate for teenage readers as well as adults.  

      I am pleased to say this book deserves a rating of 5 stars.

      I received a gift copy of this book from netgalley and Kensington Publishing Corporation.

About the Author:

Lisa Jones Baker grew up near a small Amish town in Illinois that she frequented with her family on weekends. She's also a dog lover and a fan of Scottsdale, Arizona, where she spent nearly two decades. Lisa graduated from Illinois State University with a French major, has been on 5 out of 7 continents, and considers her parents the best in the world. Raised in a Christian home, Lisa has always been blessed with love and support.