Awakened Love Tour Stop!!

Title: Awakened Love
Genre: Amish Contemporary Romance
Author: Laura V. Hilton
Publisher: Whitaker House
Pages: 288
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1603745086
Format: Paperback, Kindle

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Katie Detweiler grew up Amish, never knowing she was adopted as an infant. Now an adult, her new job as cook at an Amish bed and breakfast doesn’t bring about the euphoria she hoped for. Just as she’s getting her menu perfected, the Englisch family and severely ill sister she never knew existed enter her life and strain her Amish relationships. Plus, Katie suddenly has two different men vying for her attention—one Amish, one Englisch—and she wonders if one of them could be the man of her dreams. But when her Englisch sister’s health worsens, Katie must find a way to balance her heart, her job, and her faith while risking her own life for the sister she never knew.

He’s hiding from a cold-blooded killer; her Amish identity has been stripped away. Both must find a way to balance their hearts, their jobs, and their faith.

One of my weaknesses when it comes to reading is Amish books.  I don’t really know why that is, but I have always enjoyed having the chance to read them!  So when I had the opportunity to review this book, I jumped at that chance.

When I first started Awakened Love, I was completely confused because of the way that the characters were talking, but I do believe that’s because they weren’t speaking “English English” but “Amish English” (in my mama’s terms).  But I didn’t that distract me because I was still able to get into the story and follow along quite well. 

I completely enjoyed Katie’s character! I thought the way that the author was able to show how shy she was was written very well.  And being able to follow along as she grew more confident with herself and was able to open up more was just amazing. 

Overall though, I did completely enjoy the story except for one big issue that I had with it.  And that was how “modern” the story was.  When it comes to the Amish community, there are certain things that a person can expect when it comes to reading a book about them.  I just had a real issue with how freely the “modern world” was thrown into the book.  For instance, going to McDonalds, talking on the telephone or even riding in cars.  To me, that just took the believability of the story to almost non-existent.

But even after taking that into consideration, I still enjoyed this story very much and I will be looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.

How I Started Writing Amish Fiction

By Laura V. Hilton

My interest in writing Amish fiction stems from several sources—family, friends, and first-hand experience. Every year my aunt and uncle would make a detour through Pennsylvania Amish country on their way to Florida. My aunt would come back with souvenirs from Amish country: collectible spoons with a horse and buggy at the top, Amish figurines, and picture books.

As I got older, I discovered one of my friend’s parents owned a German Bible. I told my mom about it, and she showed me my grandfather’s German Bible. She shared that my grandparents had left the Pennsylvania Amish and moved to Michigan— at first to the Amish community, then later to an area around Frankenmuth when they completely cut Amish ties, but still kept German ones. My grandfather always spoke German on the farm, but I was raised with little knowledge of the language, so when I came to visit, they spoke English. Mom taught me a few German words.

After I moved away from home, one of the small towns I drove through on the way to visit Mom had an Amish community. It was always a thrill to see the Amish buggies. Years later, when I started writing, another author suggested I look at my bookshelves and see what genre most of the books were. That is the one I should consider writing. My collection ranged from historical to contemporary, including Amish fiction. I thought it’d be fun to try and see if I could write Amish novel. Since my husband’s aunt lives in Missouri near a large Amish community, and it’s close to home, I have access to the area—and first-hand Amish news. I enjoy learning part of my heritage while telling the stories God gives me.

  Award winning author, Laura Hilton, her husband, Steve, and their five children make their home in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom and home-schools three of her children. Her two oldest children are homeschool graduates and are in college. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor.

Her publishing credits include three books in the Amish of Seymour series from Whitaker House: Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts, and Promised to Another. The Amish of Webster County series, Healing Love. Surrendered Love and Awakened Love. A nonAmish book The Appalachian Ballad Quilt will release November 2014 from Abingdon Press. She is contracted for another three book Amish series with Whitaker House, The Amish of Jamesport, releasing in April 2014, September 2014, and April 2015. Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Laura is a professional book reviewer for the Christian market, with over a thousand book reviews published at various online review sites. You can find Laura at http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com 
 http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com 
or http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/.