Amish Promises by Leslie Gould (Book Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

Journey Down a Quiet Lane in Lancaster County Where Love and Heartache and Friendship and Healing Meet When Joel and Shani Beck arrive at their new home, they're looking for peace. Shani is thrilled to have Joel back from Iraq, but he needs time to heal, and the quiet of Lancaster seems just the place. They can't imagine any trouble with their Amish neighbors, the Lehmans, but things get off to a rocky start when their son is involved in an accident that injures one of the Lehman boys. Eve Lehman has run her brother's household ever since the death of his wife, but Tim's a stern patriarch. Despite his protests, she's drawn to the new neighbor, Shani, and the two begin to form a strong friendship forged on faith and family. Things seem like they've quieted down until Joel's single and handsome army friend Charlie catches Eve's attention--a man unlike any Eve has ever met. Suddenly life for both families becomes more complicated than any of them could have ever imagined.

My thoughts-

I always love starting a new book that is the first of a series. It's like entering a new world full of new people and for me there is nothing more interesting than immersing myself in someone else's world for a while! Amish Promises had a little bit of a different premise- military family moves in next door to Amish family- can they get along? Another dimension is added by Amish woman Eve and military man Charlie's instant mutual attraction to one another. This feels like a fusion novel to me- Amish meets contemporary fiction, and I must say, I really enjoyed it. I found myself most drawn to Eve's character, she is kind of the glue that holds all of the rest of the characters together.  Just like many other people, Eve is struggling to figure out exactly what she wants and who she is. Shani and Joel move in next door to Joel, Eve's brother, and Shani and Eve are pretty much instant friends. Tim is a strict and pretty tyrannical Amish man. I feel bad for Eve much of the time because it is clear she feels trapped. I enjoyed watching all of the relationships in this book unfold and seeing each character interact with the other. there are some sweet times and some not so nice times, which I think is an accurate portrayal of life. Amish Promises is Shani and Joel's relationship and Joel's struggle with post post traumatic stress disorder from his military days. This is an interesting dynamic to add into a story set in Lancaster Pennsylvania, but I definitely enjoyed the twist. If you are a fan of Amish fiction or enjoy stories about military families, you will probably enjoy Amish Promises.