Series: Hearts of Middlefield, #2
Published by Thomas Nelson on March 15, 2010
Genres: Amish, Christian Fiction, Clean & Wholesome, Romantic
Pages: 296
Anna must find the courage to tell Lukas the truth. Will he find the courage to forgive her?
Anna was once betrayed by someone she loved deeply. In an attempt to never be hurt again, she and her mother relocated to Middlefield, Ohio. It was the ideal place for Anna's broken heart to mend. In Middlefield, Anna withdrew from risk, placing all her attention on managing the new gift shop she and her mom bought.
When Lukas introuces himself, Anna can't resist her attraction to him. Though she finds herself falling in love, she's hiding a piece of her past in fear that their future will be destroyed if she tells him the truth.
But love can't be built on lies and the past comes rushing back to Anna in an irreversible way. Now Lukas must decide how he will react to Anna's betrayal. As they cling to their belief in an honest love, they realize it's a path they must walk together even as it leads to unexpected places.
Note: Kristin reads and reviews both Christian and secular fiction on A Simply Enchanted Life. Out of respect for my readers, I am including a content review. This content review will help you decide whether this book is suitable for you.
Christian or Secular: Christian
ASEL Rating: suggestive scenes but no descriptions or details, mild violence (though no detailed description), or other content to be aware of.
Content Review: Mention of drugs, a man kisses a woman against her will, mentions of drinking, a young woman becomes pregnant out of wedlock.
Themes: Romance, Endometriosis, Adoption, Foster Care, Substance Abuse (and recovery)
Suggested Age: 16+
An Honest Love is book #2 in the Hearts of Middlefield series by Kathleen Fuller. Other books in the series include A Man of His Word (#1) and A Hand to Hold (Hearts of Middlefield (#3)
An Honest Love is book #2 in the Hearts of Middlefield series—a delightful two-in-one romance novel. This book follows the budding romance between Lukas and Anna as well as Aaron and Elizabeth (who just happens to be Lukas’ sister.)
I am often confused with stories that include multiple points of view. But, this book flowed seamlessly. I think the brother/sister relationship between Lukas and Elizabeth made the POV change seem organic to the story.
This book dealt with some pretty hard topics. A chronic illness and infertility as well as alcoholism, drug abuse, and promiscuous relationships.
Despite the hard topics, the book is not at all inappropriate. Everything is handled delicately. There are no inappropriate bedroom scenes. The only thing to mention is that a character asks her husband to be with her. There’s no description there at all so the book is a good clean read.
I don’t often feel the need to mention content in an Amish book review but I know some people expect Amish books to be squeaky with absolutely no “negative” content. Truth is? The Amish are people just like us and I really appreciate books like this. It shows that the Amish have real-life problems and a need for God—just like us.
The only thing that bugged me was that at the end of the book, I have no idea what happened to Elizabeth’s friend. The story concluded without any idea of how things had turned out for her. I really hope we find something out about her in book #3 but it appears as if A Hand to Hold moves on to all new characters. I know she wasn’t the main character but I needed closure.
Overall, I really liked the book and would definitely read it again. I would also recommend the series to people who love Amish fiction that isn’t idealistic and “worshipy” of the Amish faith.
Side note: Worshipy is totally a word, I just asked my bestie and she assured me that it is. She gave me the fizzified seal of approval.
About Kathleen Fuller
Kathleen Fuller is an American writer, specializing in Christian and Amish romantic fiction. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas and currently resides in Geneva, Ohio with her husband, James Fuller, and three children.
We love hearing from you! Share your comments below