An Amish Heart
The book, A Hopeful Heart, is in a new series by Amy Clipston. Hannah Glick, an Amish widow, is still recovering from the lost of her husband when she meets an Englisher is a recent widower. Through brief encounters, each learns of the others loss and the grief that has engulfed them. But the Amish community frowns on the friendship between these two. Hannah is torn between being a moral example for her children or continuing her friendship with the Englisher. To complicate matters, she receives a marriage proposal from her Amish brother-in-law. Hannah must make a decision but what is the right path? Although the material has been covered in other books this one is a bit different in that it is dealing with a grown woman with children and the impact her decision will have on their lives, not a young woman deciding her future. If you like the Amish genre then don't miss this book in the  Hearts of Lancaster Grand Hotel series.

A New Classic?
I finished reading "The Point: The Redemption of Oban Ironbout" by William E. Jefferson two weeks after starting. Yes, it was a slow start since I had a hard time with writing style and the first few chapters. I plodded on gradually increased my reading time as I began to get into the story. The story has a pleasantly surprising twist to it. Goodwin and Hollie Macbreeze have traveled to the Isle of Estillyen for inspriation, for rest and to see a place Goodwin's grandfather spoke fondly about-The Point. Once they have settled at Estillyen, Goodwin travels to The Point and meets Oban Ironbout first hand-a man who wants nothing to do with the monks or the nuns. But Goodwin does not give up, even taking Hollie to visit and showing Ironbout a picture that he drew as a child of the house on The Point. The mystery behind Oban Ironbout begins to unravel but be ready for an unexpected twist. In between the visits to Mr. Ironbout the couple attends the readings that the monks on Estillyen are well known for. These series of readings called Redemption are from the Bible. The monks present them in a most compelling way. 

This is a story one reads through to get the emotional impact, then read a second time for intellectual contact, and a third time for the spiritual impact and again and again because each time you read something you didn't notice the time before. So it's worth a try. If for nothing else then to discover the mysterious twist as Oban Ironbout is redeemed.