A LONG BRIDGE HOME book review

A Long Bridge Home 
(Amish of Big Sky Country #2)
by Kelly Irvin


Book Description:
After her community in the awe-inspiring Montana mountains is suddenly consumed by a raging wildfire, one young Amish woman finds herself in a new town where she’s introduced to the Native culture of the Kootenai people. 

When the Mast family is forced to evacuate their home in the West Kootenai region of Montana, Christine chooses not to move with her family to her father’s childhood home in Kansas. Instead, she wants to stay closer to home and to her beau, Andy Lambright, who has yet to ask for her hand in marriage and who seems to be holding tightly to secrets from his past. 

Now, living with her aunt and uncle in St. Ignatius, Christine is on her own for the first time in her life. While working in her uncle’s store Christine meets Raymond Old Fox, whom she befriends, and he introduces her to his rich native culture with strong ties to the earth and nature. Despite the warnings of her aunt and uncle, Christine is inexplicably drawn to Raymond, and her mind is opened to a history and heritage far different from her own. 

With her newly expanding horizons, Christine wonders if she can return to the domestic life that is expected of her. Her heart still longs to be with Andy, but she isn’t the same person she was before the fire, and she wonders if he can accept who she is becoming. Has too much distance grown between them? Or can they bridge the gap from past to present and find their way back together?

MY BOOK REVIEW:
5 Stars: 5/5 star rating scale
          I believe this is now my favorite Kelly Irvin novel!   I could feel for each of the character's and their positions.  Christine, Raymond Old Fox, and Andy all stirred feelings within my own heart.  Forgiveness and lifelong learning are themes explored as well as traditional male-female roles among cultures.  An entire community is ravaged by fire in this story and this serves as a backdrop to the story.    I highly recommend this book to readers of Amish fiction and Christian fiction.  This book would be appropriate for teen readers as well as adults.  
          I received a digital ARC of this book from netgalley and Zondervan Publishing.   All opinions expressed in this review are my own.  

About the Author:


Kelly Long's newest Amish romance series, Amish of Sky Country, debuted in August 2019 with Mountains of Grace, followed by The Long Bridge Home in February 2020. The series explores Amish communities in northwest Montana and how they are impacted by wildfires.

Over the Line is Kelly Irvin's latest romantic suspense novel, a fast-moving behind-the-scenes look at how gun smuggling affects every aspect of life on the Texas-Mexico border. Publishers Weekly said of Tell Her No Lies, "No one is above suspicion in a tale sure to appeal to readers beyond its main Christian market. The Every Amish Season series includes Upon A Spring Breeze, Beneath the Summer Sun, Through the Autumn Air, and With Winter's First Frost from Zondervan/HarperCollins Christian Publishing. This follows the Amish of Bee County series, The Saddle Maker's Son, released in June 2016. It is an ECPA bestseller. It follows The Bishop's Son, and the critically acclaimed bestseller, The Beekeeper's Son, which earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The reviewer called it "a beautifully woven masterpiece." The Beekeeper's Son was a finalist in the romance category of the 2016 ACFW Carol Awards Contest.

Kelly has novellas in The Amish Christmas Gift and The Amish Marketplace, both of which were also ECPA bestsellers. She is also the author of the Bliss Creek Amish series and the New Amish Amish series. The first series includes To Love and To Cherish, A Heart Made New, and Love’s Journey Home, published by Harvest House. The New Hope Amish series includes Love Still Stands, followed by Love Redeemed, which was an ACFW Carol Award finalist, and A Plain Love Song.

Kelly has also penned two other romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine..

The Kansas native is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and ACFW's 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.

She worked in public relations for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department for 22 years before retiring earlier this year. Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for twenty-eight years. They have two young adult children and have three grandchildren. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories, read books by her favorite authors, and looks forward to visits with her grandchildren.