Carole J. (PianoLady357) reviewed A Welcome at Our Door (Amish Homestead, Bk 4) on + 157 more book reviews
"Drew was important to her, and he was quickly becoming her best friend. How could their friendship be wrong if it felt so right?"
I thoroughly enjoyed Amy Clipston's new release, A Welcome at Our Door, which concludes the Amish Homestead series with the story of the youngest sibling, Cindy Riehl. Clipston excels at creating real scenarios and characters, often making me forget that I'm reading fiction. Their struggles are easy to identify with and we see faith lived out in daily life. While it's great to reunite with family members featured in previous books, this story can stand alone.
A Welcome at Our Door is perhaps one of the most emotional of Clipston's books that I've read, for it deals with the faith that is at the heart of the Amish people. The theme itself â friendship and attraction between an Amish/Englisher couple â is obviously going to be problematic and filled with tension. With that in mind, I especially enjoyed the story's lighthearted beginning with a cute scene involving a stray cow named Cucumber and a neighbor's dog named Bruce, resulting in the initial meeting between Cindy and Drew.
In the years following her mother's death, Cindy struggled with feeling different and somewhat isolated from her family and Amish community. She had never felt God's call on her heart to join the Amish church, like most others had. And in spite of the Church's teaching that it was a sin to doubt God's will, she had so many unanswered questions. It was interesting for me that I could completely understand both points of view â that of parents yearning for their child to embrace the Amish faith, and Cindy's need to connect with someone who understood her feelings because of shared grief in their backgrounds.
A Welcome at Our Door is a moving, heartwarming, and uplifting story. I look forward to many more stories from Amy Clipston.
Recommended to all who enjoy quality Amish fiction.
I received a copy of this book from the author. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
I thoroughly enjoyed Amy Clipston's new release, A Welcome at Our Door, which concludes the Amish Homestead series with the story of the youngest sibling, Cindy Riehl. Clipston excels at creating real scenarios and characters, often making me forget that I'm reading fiction. Their struggles are easy to identify with and we see faith lived out in daily life. While it's great to reunite with family members featured in previous books, this story can stand alone.
A Welcome at Our Door is perhaps one of the most emotional of Clipston's books that I've read, for it deals with the faith that is at the heart of the Amish people. The theme itself â friendship and attraction between an Amish/Englisher couple â is obviously going to be problematic and filled with tension. With that in mind, I especially enjoyed the story's lighthearted beginning with a cute scene involving a stray cow named Cucumber and a neighbor's dog named Bruce, resulting in the initial meeting between Cindy and Drew.
In the years following her mother's death, Cindy struggled with feeling different and somewhat isolated from her family and Amish community. She had never felt God's call on her heart to join the Amish church, like most others had. And in spite of the Church's teaching that it was a sin to doubt God's will, she had so many unanswered questions. It was interesting for me that I could completely understand both points of view â that of parents yearning for their child to embrace the Amish faith, and Cindy's need to connect with someone who understood her feelings because of shared grief in their backgrounds.
A Welcome at Our Door is a moving, heartwarming, and uplifting story. I look forward to many more stories from Amy Clipston.
Recommended to all who enjoy quality Amish fiction.
I received a copy of this book from the author. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
A Welcome at Our Door is the fourth and final book in An Amish Homestead series. We have watched as Cindy's father and siblings have found love, married and started families of their own. Cindy finds herself lost in her grief and not understanding God's decisions. Cindy lives in a community where you are not supposed to question God's will. I do recommend reading this series in order or you will be a little lost. There are a number of characters and it will help you to understand Cindy Riehl. I thought A Welcome at Our Door was well written and it progresses at a good pace which makes for an easy to read story. I was drawn into the story in the beginning and could relate to Cindy's grief (anyone who has lost a loved can understand). You continue to miss a parent, especially one that you are close to, each day. I have enjoyed visiting the Riehl family in each book and have been wanting Cindy's story. Amy Clipston brings her characters to life, so they seem like they are real people. They are characters that people will like and can relate to. I liked that there was some humor introduced through Cucumber, the cow with escapee tendencies. We are also introduced to the sweet golden retriever, Bruce. The importance and power of prayer is emphasized in A Welcome at Our Door. It is vital to pray about life changing decisions in our life, so we know if we are following God's path for our life. Only God knows how our life will play out. There is always a reason for His actions as we see in A Welcome at Our Door. One of my favorite phrases from this story is âGod sends us friends when we need them mostâ. There is some predictability to the story (of course, I have been reading Amish novels for over twenty years), but that does not take away from this touching story. A Welcome at Our Door is a story of grief, love, struggle, faith and family. You will not want to miss Cindy's heart wrenching and heartfelt story in A Welcome at Our Door.
