A Hopeful Heart by Amy Clipston

A Hopeful Heart is the first book in a new series called  

"Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel". 

When Hannah finds herself a young widow, she tries to help support her family by working housekeeping at a local hotel. Although her Mother in law is against her having a job outside the home (it's not typical for Amish women) ,She really enjoys her job and co-workers. 

When she begins to befriend a male guest, Trey, who has suffered similar losses, she learns the difficulties and reasons why the Amish prefer to keep to themselves and not become involved in the English world.  Hannah and her Brother in law,Joshua,have been working together to keep the farm going, but when  Hannah starts including Trey in her life outside the hotel, Hannah is seen as trouble and the trouble starts to affect her children.

To complicate the situation, Joshua is in love with Hannah. When she finally realizes that, she is also falling for Trey. Through many trials, Hannah finds herself in the midst of a difficult situation which could affect her whole family. Her choices could cause her to be shunned and to lose family members if she follows her heart to leave with Trey. She loves Joshua, but feels more of a friend to him and a way to keep her husbands memory alive. How will she make the right choice? What IS the right choice for her and her family?

MY THOUGHTS:

This book is a great read! I again found myself reading late into the night because I couldn't put it down. My sleep pattern is losing out to great books!  I felt this book to be a very realistic view of life, love and choices. Whether you are Amish or not, there are decisions we make every day that affect not only us, but those around us. In this book, we find a balance of both sides of the choices Hannah must make. I enjoyed the characters throughout. I found myself liking some of them and disliking others. Although the Mother in law seemed to be more on the manipulative side, I'm sure that by seeing it from her side we would find her heart and reasoning. Amish life seems to be rooted in very strict rules that they are supposed to follow without question, which would be the side of the Mother in law. Hannah is choosing to follow her heart and see what God has for her, whether it's to stay or go she will follow God. I love how there are discussion questions in the back. This would make a great book for a book club. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend it , and already looking forward to book two of this series.

You can find this book at amazon.com

Disclosure: I received a print copy of this book from booksneeze.com in order to do my review. No other compensation was given. My reviews are always honest and my opinions are my own.