Take An Amish Noel (The Amish Bachelors, #2) Curated By Patricia Davids Expressed As E-Text

Another wonderfully sappy Christmas romance to get lost in, An Amish Noel is the next book in the Amish Bachelor series, and this book focuss on Luke, If you remember Luke from the first book, he carries a lot of guilt and pain he was responsible for Samuels accident, He is also on probation from his time with the English, and is responsible in a way for Timothy going to jail,
Will he be able to turn his life around, and join and live his faith He is off to a good start when he decides to help his former girlfriend, ah is she, Emma Swartzentrubers father.
Will he be able to face her each day, will she accept that he is working for her Dad, and he sure needs help, Will he influence her teenage brother with the life he lived with the English,
What a wonderful reunion we have with the characters we met in the first book, and we catch up with their lives, and are included in this story.
There are a few chuckles and joy found here and there are some very serious moments, and times of fear,
I cant wait for the next book in this series, and from the authors hints it is going to be brother Timothys life,
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Love Inspired, and was not required to give a positive review,
This is the second time I've tried to read and review this book, I managed to get through it the first time, but I didn't get a chance to write my review, I decided to read it a second time to refresh my memory before reviewing,

I'm glad I did, because I remembered why I put off writing the review earlier,

This story was not a very festive one, at least not for me, The angst and anger throughout the novel just took away any pleasure to be found at the end, The character's just didn't click with me Luke and Emma just seemed too angry, too anxious, . . too something. I just couldn't find it in my heart to connect with them,

ARC supplied by publisher
I have to admit Luke and Emma are not your typical hero and heroine for an Amish romance, He left the Amish, had a drug habit and is recently out of prison, Hes only waiting until his parole is up to leave the Amish community again, Emma is very bitter at his betrayal and during a lot of the book shes short with him and mean spirited, I enjoyed the lessons of forgiveness God reveals to both characters throughout their story and how it transforms the lives of the Bowman and Swartzentruber families and the Christmas theme as well.
Interesting. Informative. Seasonal but that is fine. "Amish Noel" the delightfully romantic and heartwarming story I won through Goodreads/ First Reads comes to life in the Amish community of Bowman's Crossing when Luke Bowman an excon and exdruggie saves Roy Swartzentruber from a watery death after the snowmobile he's riding crashes through the ice of a nearby river.
A man guiltridden because of his teenage rebellion that not only brought shame and humiliation to his parents but heartbreak to Emma Swartzentruber Roy's sister when he left town and ended up in prison, Luke is determined to make amends, serving the community and making peace with those he loves.


When he shows up at the Swartzentruber's house with Emma's brother, her life is turned upside down especially when their initial meeting turns into a job helping her ill father open his dreamedof hardware store.
As the Christmas season approaches Luke yearns for a second chance at love with the woman he can't forget, but Emma's on the brink of being courted by her father's choice for a husband.
This is a story that blends romance with mercy, forgiveness, hope and a message of faith that stirs your heart,

The plot is emotionallycharged as Luke tries to make peace with his past and undo the pain he caused as Emma struggles with her heartbreak and pride trying to keep him at arm's length.
As events unfold that have them working together to open her father's hardware store and helping with the children's Christmas program at the local school, their love ignites once again.
In a story filled with messages of faith about learning to trust again of looking to God for answers and holding onto hope in your heart when the mind gives up, Patricia Davids has created a powerful and wondrous romance that warms your heart and leads you to believe that love can overcome any obstacle.


The author has perfected characters that breathe life into this story with all their imperfections and failings, Luke Bowman who grew up feeling lost, not knowing his place in a family where his older brother seemed too perfect left the community, losing his pain in drugs until imprisoned.
On probation he's determined to turn his life around and make amends for his selfishness, He becomes reliable, steady and hardworking, but is at first unable to win over Emma Swartzentruber who listens to her doubts and holds on to her pride because she's uncertain of his intent.
At times Emma can be bossy and brusque, but is also fairminded and soon falls under Luke's charm with his strong sense of humor and funloving nature, Among the other personalities who add passion and energy to the drama, Roy Swartzentruber is the stubborn, headstrong and restless brother Wayne Hochstetler the oldfashioned, judgemental, but devout and determined suitor and Zachariah Swartzentruber the kind, loving but sick father.


I loved "Amish Noel" a beautifully written story that reflects the joy and triumph of the season, And I will look for other romances by Patricia Davids in future,
Miniseries: sitelinkThe Amish Bachelors I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway, Amish Noel is a clean, Christian romance that features the struggle to remain faithful to the Amish community as well as doubts on romance, If you are a fan of Amish romance, this is certainly for you! However, if you like your novels a little spicier like me, go ahead and skip this one.
I enjoyed this new Amish romance from a classy writer, Patricia Davids throws her heart into the characters and settings, This tale follows on from An Amish Harvest with some of the same characters but you don't need to have read that book,

A young man went to the city and his Amish family was scandalised when he was jailed for drug offences, Now cleaned up he is back home on the farm but has lost his chance to be one of the community and to win the lovely traditional girl on the next farm.
But that girl's father has ill health and decides to clear out a lifetime of farmyard junk and build a hardware shop to leave for his son, Maybe a helpful neighbour could make himself useful,

I enjoyed the family dynamics and the debate about installing solar panels, As the Amish celebrate Christmas modestly, a school pageant occupies a great deal of the book I found myself skipping pages, because it really didn't interest me and felt like padding, but it will interest others.
I did enjoy the romance thread, Originally posted sitelink HERE,

This was my second foray into Amish fiction though Ive read much more of it since receiving this review book, and it was a much bigger success for me than the first one.
I still find the whole Amish world confusing and occasionally hypocritical, but author Patricia Davids presented me with a much more nuanced version of things and much more threedimensional characters, so I was on board with the people in this book in a way I wasnt with the first.


I suppose you could say these books are always going to follow a pretty similar pattern, seeing as the Amish world is deliberately very limited and very tame, but with this one we are given some more interesting characters.
Our heros attempt to join the rest of the world ended in disaster when he was put in prison for drug dealing the Amish education that doesnt go beyond eighth grade, combined with the lack of a social security number didnt make it easy to find work in the outside world!.


And as an added bonus, this was a reunion story, The rebellious young man paired with the very traditional Amish girl, Though it is about a love lost and found, I have no idea why a reference was made to how they were both starting to age, seeing as they were if I remember correctly only twentyfive!

This book deals with different groups of people in Amish society.
You have the more liberal people who are embracing all sorts of aspects of the modern world, and then the people who really are still living like its a few hundred years in the past.


This contrast is shown especially with the other widowed male love interest why are these Amish books always full of widowed people in their teens, twenties and thirties!, who is raising his daughter to be ultraconservative.
However Im not fond of love triangles in most cases, and I felt a bit sorry for this other man here, The book didnt really need him in it,

Surprisingly for a Christian romance about Amish people this was one of the least cheesy Christmas books I have read, That was a nice surprise,

One thing I wasnt too fond of was the presentation of the real world MY real world! as being a druginfested sleazefest, but those parts were short and infrequent.


While I find nothing much romantic in the Amish life, I would happily read the next book in this series, and am also interested in the earlier two instalments.
An Amish Noel showed me Amish fiction doesnt have to be as oldfashioned and preachy as Id initially expected it to be,


copy provided by NetGalley, An Amish Noel is a novel in the Amish Bachelors series by Patricia Davids,
Emma Swartzentruber had a wellordered life, She kept house for her father and two brothers, She made sure meals were on the table, house cleaned, and Roy and Aiden accounted for, Her world had been turned upside down when Luke Bowman had left town when they were teens and refused to take her with him, He then got hooked on drugs and when his brother went to find him, he and Joshua were caught in a drug ring and placed in prison for selling drugs.
Although Luke tried his best to get Joshua out of the sentence, since he really was innocent, he failed and to his mind failed his family once again.
He had returned home to finish his parole there working for the family, His family forgave him and accepted him back into the family as did the community, He was still not baptized in their church though and that was a concern for all, Emma did her best to stay away from Luke as she was convinced he did not love her at all and wanted nothing to do with her, She claimed to be over him but wasnt,
When Emmas father realized he had little time to live, he started making arrangements for Emma and her brothers, He hired Luke to help him finish his hardware store and go through all the junk he had purchased over the years to figure out what could be sold as is and what could be fixed.
He also made Emma promise to consider Wayne Hochstetler as a possible husband, He also insisted she not tell her brothers or anyone about his health until after Christmas, He wanted their Christmas to be a happy one,
Emma was devastated by the news her father told her, Their mother was already gone and she definitely didnt want to lose her father, When she tried to insist she could run the farm with the boys and keep the family together, her father did not listen, Reluctantly, she agreed to give Wayne a chance and to not tell anyone about her fathers health, She knew that having Luke working at the house several days a week would be difficult for her, She was determined to show him she didnt care either,
Could she keep her heart out of the equation Did Luke really not care When his parole was over, would he leave, never to return
I did not want AN AMISH NOEL to end.
The conversations between Luke and Emma were so heartbreaking at times and I love how Emma realizes that Luke is so much more than his past and the troubles he brought to his family.
This story is filled with humor, lost love, forgiveness, and how everyone deserves a second chance, Patricia Davids is going to pull you right in from the very beginning and having you cheering for Emma and Luke, I had a hard time putting this book down as I had to know what was going to happen, AN AMISH NOEL is a fantastic addition to this wonderful series, I can't wait to read to read Timothy's story next, There are five boys in the Bowman family and each one is going to have their own story, I'm growing to really care about this family and I love when an author can do that to me, A mediocre Amish novel with a

theme I've already read in another Amish book, earlier this year, There is nothing new under the sun with Amish books, anymore,

I should also add that this isin a series, BUT it's the SECOND series in a series of series, which means that there are characters from an entirely different series "Brides of Amish Country" that you have to keep track of and get ALLLLLLLLL the backstories of, in this one.
So when they start talking about police officer Nick who married Mary who rescued sonso and is raising suchnsuch daughter with who'zawhat, . . and you've read bookand NONE of that was a thing in there It's because it was a thing halfway through another EIGHT BOOK series, and you are expected to know it.


Real fair to the reader base, that,
Moving on.

Luke Bowman is an Amish secondborn read: rascal who gets into drugs BTDT, It's apparently an Amish thing, and that makes sense, because their parents have sheltered them SO badly that when they encounter realworld hardhitting topics, they don't know the ramifications.
They've never seen a withdrawal or what drugs do to people, as they don't have TV or movies, It's NOT a good way to live, despite the hype from chrischun authors,

He gets set up c'mon, . . he was SELLING DRUGS, hello it isn't a case of "poor Luke" and he goes to prison, Upon his parole, he goes home to finish his time at the family farm, Apparently offtether, because electricity Although that doesn't hold water with the Gov't, hello, Bad writing. Anyhow, he's guiltridden over hurting his family and being a bad boy, But he's glad he broke his sweetie's heart and left her behind before he got HER in trouble, too,

Now he's back, She still loves him. Her daddy's dyin' and wants her to be setup with a business and husband before he cacks, so he hires Luke to help finish the shop addition on his barn, which brings Luke back around into Emma's life.


The hypocrisy of the Amish is very evident in this one: "Using crosspieces on long poles, they wedged the sheet into position, Luke secured it with screws suing a batteryoperated drill, Outside, her father's gasoline generator hummed away as it supplied the electricity for a bank of lights and batterycharging station, " and the whole solar panels being evil and forbidden but then okay, . . because they harness electricity from the sun and not man nevermind that the panels MADE MY MAN are the ones harnessing the electricity, And the cellphones and driving snowmobiles, and, . .

But then you have pg: "is painting a backdrop of Bethlehem for the children's program too worldly" !!!!! To which Timothy replies, "Not if children paint it.
" !!!!! GAHHH!!!

Even the dogma is so flawed it made me growl, Pg: "When you are baptized, every sin will be forgiven, " Um, baptism is an outward show of a state of faith, Is she saying that her children are in sin until they're baptized at ageSeriously And where does the Bible E, V. E. R say that shit!

Pg: "God only asks that you love Him and obey His commandments, " What like not driving a car and shunning people who make different choices than you Or would those commandments be keeping the seventh day as sabbath as an ordinance for all generations, keeping His seven feasts which DO NOT include Xmess/christmass and Ishtar/easter How about eating no unclean foods Which commandments are actually of Yehovah, again

And I get where the school HAS to find roles for the little girls, so they make angels in the Nativity story female, and shepherds male, but that's seriously unBiblical and sexist, as an aside.
That's not even mentioning the fellowshipping of darkness with light that even IS Xmess,

The story was wellwritten, The characters were likeable. There was a lot of angst, though, which overshadowed any meager attempt at making this enjoyable, And I'm not hugely into Xmess stories, anyhow it's the epitome of hypocrisy, IMHO,

But then, I've read two other books in this 'Amish Bachelors' series, and gave both lower scores than this, so I guess I shouldn't have high hopes as I finish these books and get them the heck out of my toread pile.