The Proving|Book Review

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Bloggers and was under no obligation to post a review. No compensation was received for sharing this review and all opinions are my own.

The Proving by Beverly Lewis
Amazon|Barnes&Noble|Goodreads

Published by Baker Publishing Group on September 5th 2017
Source: Bethany House Bloggers
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Christian, Fiction, General, Religious
Pages: 352

Amish Fiction's #1 Author Presents a Touching Story of Perseverance and Second ChancesAmanda Dienner hasn't seen her Old Order family in five years when she receives word that her mother has passed away and left her Lancaster County's most popular Amish bed-and-breakfast. Now an Englisher, Mandy is shocked: Her twin sister should have been the obvious choice! What's more, the inheritance comes with a catch: The farmhouse inn will only truly be hers if she is able to successfully run it for twelve consecutive months.

Mandy accepts the challenge even though it means returning to Gordonville and the painful memories she left behind at eighteen. Still, she's determined to prove she is more than capable of running the bed-and-breakfast, no matter that its loyal clientele are expecting an Amish hostess!

The inn isn't Mandy's sole test, however. Rubbing shoulders with her married twin sister reopens wounds that Mandy isn't ready to forgive. And an Englisher guest with a difficult past of her own just complicates matters.

Can Mandy fulfill the terms of her inheritance? Or will this year in Amish country prove a dreadful mistake?

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.

Content Review:
Christian or Secular: Christian.
Profanity: None
Sex&Violence: None
Trigger Warnings: None

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The Proving is a standalone novel written by bestselling author, Beverly Lewis. First and foremost, I loved that this book wasn’t a romance. While there are elements of a romance at the end of the book, it was not the focus. This was a breath of fresh air because many books use romance as a crutch to propel the story.  It’s refreshing to read something different for a change. Not that I’m anti-romance by any means. I just like something different on occasion.

Totally not important from a review standpoint but…one of the characters happens to be named Arie. That’s my daughter’s name so I kind of had to love this book. Okay, I know that’s a stupid reason to like a book but the author made it easy for me to fall in love with all of the characters anyway.

I think the point where I realized this was a five-star book for me was a situation in which Mandy began to pour her heart out to God. Who would overhear her heartfelt plea than the source of her affliction, Trina.

Trina immediately had felt convicted about how she had treated Mandy and from that moment on made a point to be a friend.  I love when I can find life applications in a book! It made me wonder if I’ve been the kind of friend I needed to be to others.

Overall, this book was the kind of story that made me fall in love with Beverly Lewis’ novels so many years ago. I felt as if I could see the butterflies as they visited Mandy’s B&B and could smell all the yummy food being prepared there.  While this book is somewhat predictable, I still found it enjoyable. I think predictability isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes you just need a good story of love and forgiveness. This book filled that need for me.

Posted By: Kristin Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Beverly Lewis