I received a complimentary copy of this book from The Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review. No compensation was received for sharing this review and all opinions are my own.
Series: Lancaster Discoveries #2
Published by Harvest House Publishers on April 3rd, 2018
Source: The Publisher
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Christian, Clean & Wholesome, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 352
An Old Flame Brings a Spark of New Hope
En Alt Maedel—an old maid.
At age twenty-nine, that's what Eva Lapp considers herself. And who could argue with her? Finding a good Amish husband at her age will be next to impossible. Plus, Eva's unwarranted bad reputation in Lancaster County precedes her. Maybe living the Englisch life would be better.
Squeezed out of her childhood home by her brother's boisterous family, Eva finds lodging and a new job managing a small café at a local plant nursery. But the challenge of her new position isn't enough to distract from her current predicament.
To Eva's surprise, her first love, Jake Miller, suddenly returns to Lancaster County. Flooded with emotions and filled with questions about Jake's past, can Eva trust what she's feeling?
Jake and Eva face many obstacles in their quest for a fresh start in the community, but perhaps with God's help, they can find the redemption they both desperately need.
Christian or Secular: Christian
ASEL Rating: No profanity, violence, bedroom scenes, or other content that could otherwise be considered disturbing.
Content to be aware of: One of the characters (not a main) in the book is an alcoholic.
Suggested Age: 12+
Starting from Scratch is book #2 in the Lancaster Discoveries series written by Kate Lloyd. The first book in the series is A Letter from Lancaster County.
Starting from Scratch is the second book in a series. The first book is on my TBR pile but even though I haven’t read A Letter from Lancaster County, I was able to follow the story just fine.
I love this cover so much, it’s adorable and I really wanted to love this book. But, I had a few issues that I’d like to address.
- Chores, more chores and shoe shopping. I’m just going to admit it, I hate adulting. So, when a book focuses heavily on chores or clothes/shoe shopping, I tend to start skimming. Adding those things can lend authenticity to a story but too much makes me feel like I’m the one doing chores. After several pages of Eva shopping for a pair of shoes and having to decide on white or black socks—I unfortunately had to start skimming.
- Love triangles rarely work for me. So, love pentagon made me scratch my head in confusion. Eva went from old maid with no love interests to having four men ready to fight for her. And she just had to pick the one I didn’t like.
I really wanted to love this book. I do love the cover! This is the first book that I’ve read by this author and I’m definitely not going to write her off. I will be picking up the first book in this series to see how I like it. It may just be that this one wasn’t for me.
About Kate Lloyd
Author Kate Lloyd is a passionate observer of human relationships. A native of Baltimore, Kate spends time with family and friends in Lancaster County, PA, the inspiration for her best selling novels Leaving Lancaster, Pennsylvania Patchwork, and Forever Amish, the third book in the Legacy of Lancaster Trilogy. Her newest novel, A Letter from Lancaster County, releases 7-1-17.Kate and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest, the setting for Kate’s first novel, A Portrait of Marguerite. Kate studied art and art history in college. She’s worked a variety of jobs, including car salesman and restaurateur. For relaxation and fun, Kate enjoys walking with her camera in hand and beach-combing,
I was also rooting for the other guy. :) I liked Beatrice’s character.
I liked Beatrie too :-)