Rhonda's Doings !

Review of The Quilter's Son by Samantha J. Bayarr Liam Yoder has been leading a double life ever since his dad was killed in a buggy accident.  Will a chance encounter with his mother cause him to rethink his decision to leave the Amish community behind? What about Lucy, the bakery owner he left behind when they were teenagers? Will she be able to convince Liam to change his mind?  Find out in this tale of bittersweet love. My thoughts about The Quilter's Son: This is a sweet Amish Christian romance which left me filled with hope and a huge smile on my face and in my heart!   Samantha Bayarr never fails to tug at my heartstrings with her stories.   I found this to be a beautiful story of hope and forgiveness.   Love never fails and I definitely felt that way as I read.  There are so many families today who need reconciliation and forgiveness within their relationships, and this story offers a chance to those families.   It shows that it c...

WINNER OF SAMANTHA BAYARR KINDLE/NOOK GIVEAWAY JACKIE TESSNAIR You may choose from these three kindle/nook ebooks: Jacob's Daughter , Little Wild Flower -Book One, or The Quilter's Son (available July 2012)  You will receive email from me today!   Samantha Bayarr is graciously supplying the ebook!   Thanks, Samantha!   Thanks to all who entered and commented and followed and shared on facebook and/or twitter!  I love my followers!

Chasing Fireflies  by Samantha Bayarr Book Review BOOK FIVE Jacob's Daughter series After tragedy struck Noah Beiler's life nearly two years ago, he turned his back on his faith and the community. No one except Rose knows he has remained in the dilapidated home that overlooked the pond that he'd grown to despise. When new tragedy strikes, he is forced out of hiding. Will chasing fireflies on a warm, summer night change his life forever? Find out in this tale of summer love... I have to say that this book was one of the sweetest, most romantic books that I have read in a long time!   I am still smiling as I reflect on the characters in the story.   Noah has exiled himself from his Amish community and buried himself in his grief, when along comes Rose.....does he save her life or does she save his?  Or does God send them to save the other's life and renew hope to both of them?   I do not want to spoil the story for any readers, so I won't go into de...

Unto Others  by Samantha J. Bayarr Book Review  This book may be difficult for some to read as it was for me at points.  Samantha J. Bayarr writes this prequel to The Little Wildflower  series to explain how Jane and her family came to the Amish community.  The events that came before their joining the Amish community are painful ones.  Jane's mother is an alcoholic and is highly abusive to the family.  She is especially abusive to Jane and her sister, Nadine, and baby Lucy.   Jane finds refuge with Bradley when he visits his grandmother each summer.   He gives her hope when he introduces her to a loving God and gives her a Bible and teaches her how to read and study it and how to pray.    For me, this book dredged up painful memories of my own.  My own father was an alcoholic and it can be a painful, lonely existence for families. I want to add that my own father did seek treatment and recovery through AA and inten...

oh, wow, I didn't possibly imagine that Jane and her brood of her now fatherless children could ever find such happiness again, but they do.   Jane finds her long lost friends, Penelope and Bradley.    lo and behold, Bradley replaces their own doctor in the Amish community.  Penelope and Jane catch up on old news and heal together from the pains of the past. Bradley quickly falls in love with Jane and her precious children and all the fun begins.     I won't spoil things for you, but I am again touched at the ways that Jane, Penelope, and Jane's brother, Mitchell, deal with their sad memories of abuse from their alcoholic mom.   When Jane told a school counselor many years ago, their father was prompted to move his family to the Amish community once Mam  completed rehab and though they never forget, forgiveness and healing take place in the hearts of all. This book was so engaging that I started it and finished it in three hours tonight. ...

Oh, what a sweet sweet book!!   Jane and Elijah have settled into their Amish lifestyle, even though Jane was not raised Amish.   They are blessed with many children (I won't say how many so as not to spoil the book) and so are their family members.   Tragedy strikes in several fashions, with one of their children's lives hanging in the balance and a non-Christian doctor, who urges them to let the child die.   Their faith wins out though!!   Elijah has a chance to witness to the doctor and plant a seed.    When further tragedy strikes, Jane's world is torn apart and she returns to her childhood home to find peace.    She finds several surprises along the way.....remember her childhood friends, Penelope, and Bradley?  God brings them back together in the most miraculous ways.    Jane is able to find hope and plans to rebuild her life.    Read this book and you won't be disappointed.     It is a ...

The Little Wild Flower, book 1, Amish Romance by Samantha Jillian Bayarr This is my first time to read a book by Samantha Bayarr and I really like it! I would highly recommend it.  This is a very different "Amish Romance" as far as the genre goes.    Jane's English father moves the family to an Amish community and purchases a former Amish farm after his wife returns home from rehab for alcoholism.   Jane has suffered abuse at her mother's hands during the years of battling alcoholism.   Jane is furious to be living in the dull, boring place and especially to have left behind her friends, so she hides away for the summer.  When she finally comes out of her brooding seclusion, her eyes land on one very HOT Amish young man, Elijah.   There are a great many love matches to come in The Little Wild Flower.    What I love is that the book does deal with alcoholism, abuse, recovery, and forgiveness as well as purity before marriage and ...