Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Review: Home To Paradise by Barbara Cameron

About:

Highly anticipated final book in The Coming Home Series from best-selling Amish author Barbara Cameron.

Rose Anna Zook has watched her two older sisters marry two Stoltzfus men and has always thought she and John, the third Stoltzfus brother, would marry, make a home together, and have children. But John has other ideas. He's enjoying his Rumschpringe in the Englisch world a little too much and isn't interested in returning to the Amish community-especially to marry.

Rose Anna is determined to bring her man back into the Amish fold. John is equally determined to live his life free and unencumbered. Who will win this battle of wills? Will love prevail?


My Review:

Home to Paradise is a novel that really showcases how we make an impact on those around us.  This is a story about coming home and the choices that we need to make that are not always so simple.  Rose Anna has always assumed that she would grow up and marry John, her childhood best friend.  We come into their lives with them already having had a relationship together that ended when John broke Rose Anna’s heart and left their Amish community.  John is now back after tasting of the Englisch world and I felt for him as he had a hard time finding exactly where he fit in in either world.  John did not have a happy childhood and so part of his struggles is that he really needs to make peace with his parents.

Rose Anna and John both affect their community more then they know.  We are introduced to Rose Anna’s role in helping abused women and children come to a shelter, to find safety and worthwhile work to make a living.  We get glimpses into some of these women’s lives and the PTSD that they must deal with along with overcoming their fear. 

John finds his niche with an outsider on his employer’s horse farm.  His employer is good for John as he is someone who is trustworthy and someone on the outside who is able to see John’s situation from a different perspective.

Then we have the relationship between John and Rose Anna.  John is leery of being pushed into marriage and back into the Amish Life.  Rose Anna would really like to have a family so decides instead of being patient, to take things into her hands and try to manipulate the outcome she so desires.  The author gives us a real sense of where both of them are coming from.  I did not have the pleasure of reading the first two, (this is able to be read as a standalone), so those who have followed the series will be happy to see old characters back and get a peek into their lives now. 

This was an interesting concept for a series, three brothers who leave what they know but are loved back by three sisters.  I really appreciated the author’s notes in the beginning on the Amish community and family and she includes a few recipes at the end.

I received a copy for free through Litfuse Publicity.  I was not required to give a positive review and all the views and opinions expressed are my own.




Barbara Cameron has a heart for writing about the spiritual values and simple joys of the Amish. She is the best-selling author of more than 40 fiction and nonfiction books, three nationally televised movies, and the winner of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. Her books have been nominated for Carol Awards and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award from RWA's Faith, Hope, and Love chapter. Barbara resides in Jacksonville, Florida.

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