“A Sister’s Wish” by Shelley Shepard Gray

In Shelley Shepard Gray’s third book in her Charmed Amish Life series, a respectable young woman finds herself falling for an Amish man from the wrong side of the tracks.

Amelia Kinsinger is the perfect Amish woman—at least according to her neighbors. And while Amelia takes pride in her role as homemaker, she’s also harboring a secret: She’s been in love with bad boy Simon Hochstetler for as long as she can remember. Too bad he’s about as far from “perfect” as an Amish man could get… but that’s exactly why she’s so drawn to him.

Life hasn’t been kind to Simon. He ran away from an abusive home at fifteen and things went downhill from there. Eventually, Simon landed in prison. But the experience changed him. Now back in Charm as a grown man, he’s determined to make a new life for himself and not think too much about his wild past…unless it pertains to Amelia.

He’s loved Amelia for years. To him, she represents everything good and kind in the world. When he realizes that she returns his affections, he starts calling on her in secret, even though her older brother Lukas—who just happens to be Simon’s best friend—has made it perfectly clear that Amelia deserves better. Simon disagrees and believes he’s the only one who can truly make her happy.

But when Amelia gets hurt, it sets off a chain of events that forces them to consider their future together—and face their past mistakes. There’s a chance for love… but only if Simon dares to trust Amelia with the secrets of his past.

 

The third installment of Gray’s Charmed Life series has released, and it’s another hard-hitting page-turner!  I love the opposite characters of Amelia and Simon.  Amelia is trusting and innocent; Simon is jaded and loving, and somehow the two of them are perfect for each other.

I loved Simon’s story.  The crux of his relationship with Amelia is his wild past – is it really in the past, or is it still relevant to Simon today?  Should it be allowed to affect his relationship with Amelia?  How much of one’s past should one share with a potential suitor?  These issues are relevant to many people, not just Amish or those in Simon’s situation, and Amelia’s take on it was refreshing. 

Many Amish stories are happy, romantic stories, where the biggest problems involve money or whether or not to stay within the faith community.  Gray’s Charmed Life series is quite different, though:  it’s much deeper and quite edgy.  While I’m sorry that even fictional characters have the abusive background that Simon did, the questions it raises about how we of faith treat those in such situations are important.  So, too, are those about how we interact with people who have rough histories. 

These questions are important, and that’s why Gray’s books are so fantastic.  Not only is the story compelling and the characters friendly, but the book inspires quiet introspection that will evolve into personal growth.

Keep writing, Mrs. Gray.

I received a free copy of this book.