Gould Offers a New Amish Series in Idyllic Lancaster CountyAt age twenty, Jessica Bachman left her two beloved sisters and her Amish community after clashing with the new bishop about her role in the family and the future of their farm. She tried to convince Silas Kemp, who’d been courting her for two years, to join her, but when he said no, she fled anyway. Three years later, she returns home … later, she returns home for the first time since leaving Lancaster to attend her father’s funeral. Her arrival back revives all sorts of emotions–yearnings and sorrows alike. Jessica knows things will never return to how they were. But in seeing Silas again, she can’t help but wonder what might have been.
Struggling to decide where her next step should take her, she learns the story of a Revolutionary War-era ancestor that echoes her own choices. Will Jessica leave her family and community forever, or is there peace and healing and love yet to come?
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Leslie Gould is a very good author. She proved it again when she wrote A PLAIN LEAVING. It is the first book in The Sisters of Lancaster County.
There is a lot going on in A PLAIN LEAVING and Gould orchestrated it expertly. It’s a dual timeline story between Jessica Bachmann with her friends and family in this time frame to back with her ancestor, Ruby Bachmann, during the Revolutionary War era through her Aunt Ruby’s storytelling. It’s a story of an Amish girls struggles to fit in and trying to decide if that is in the Amish world or the world of the English. Her father’s death leads her to find out more about both world – new truths and misconceptions both.
A PLAIN LEAVING will be a book you won’t want to put down. It will make you sad and then have you laugh. There are people you love and those you don’t care for. But as in life, Jessica has to live with all of them in peace with herself. It will remind you that we are all made of where we came from as well as what we make of ourselves. Life is about decisions. Jessica had a lot of them to make when she came back to her home town for her father’s funeral. She listened to her heart and stayed true to herself. Along the way she helps other as well and maybe, just maybe she will bring peace back to a family whose fabric had come apart at the seams in places.
A PLAIN LEAVING can be read as a standalone book. However, I’m sure you will be like me and definitely want to read the rest in this series. I know I can’t wait to see what direction Leslie Gould will take me on in my next reading adventure in one of her books!
I really enjoyed this, clean Amish story, with romance, family intrigue and a lot of growing. I received this for free and I voluntarily chose to review this. I’ve given this a 5* rating. This story grabbed my attention from the first and swirled in tibits along the way to keep drawing attention back to underline certain things. And woven through this story, was another story about a long ago ancestor of this family and their family farm. There were a lot of pro’s and con’s of the Amish versus Englisher type of lifestyle. Also there was a bit about fracking for fuel and some of the pros and cons also.
Wonderful Story
I received a copy of this book from the author. I was not required to give a favorable review. All thoughts are my own. This is a wonderful story about family and finding your way through many decisions. Jessica left the Amish 3 years before because of many reasons, one being her brother. But her father kept close tabs on her. But now her father has passed away from Lung cancer and she is heading home for the funeral. Even though she has been shunned this is family. She calls her other half-brother who also has left the community. But many things will come from this visit. A learning of family members from the past, the need for family and preserving their way of life and finding a old love that has stood by her family when she left. I loved this story and look forward to seeing what happens with the other sisters in the family and how things go with Jessica.
Not typical, loved the multiple stories inside a story. Easy to read very enjoyable
Good plot and strong characters
This book was hard to put down. This author was able to weave a story within a story that wasn’t choppy or ill written, but delivers a constant continuous take with descriptions one is able to see in their mind. Highly recommended reading!
Enjoyed the characters and story line
It was a great book! Couldn’t put it down! 🙂
I loved this book.
I always eagerly look forward to reading Leslie Gould’s Amish novels, she never disappoints!
A Plain Leaving by Leslie Gould is the first book in The Sisters of Lancaster County series. Jessica Bachman is at work when she receives a call from her sister, Leisel that their father has passed away. Jessica left their Amish community three years prior and is shunned (she was baptized when she left). She returns for the funeral and receives a less than warm welcome from her relatives. Jessica is filled with mixed feelings upon her return. She misses her home and family, but Jessica still remembers why she left. Silas Kemp (courted Jessica for two years) works on the farm and Jessica realizes that her feelings for him have not faded. At their father’s funeral, Arden (her older brother) has a heart attack. Jessica is the one person who can keep the farm running while he recovers (and he really does not want to ask for her help). While on the farm, Jessica spends time with her Aenti Suzanne who shares a special story with her about their ancestor, Ruby Bachman. When the time comes for Jessica to return to her home, will she want to leave or return to her roots?
A Plain Leaving was such a lovely story. I was drawn into the book from the very beginning. The characters are nicely developed. There are characters that readers will love and there are ones that you will love to hate (Arden, Marie, Bethel). In the face of such dislike and contempt, it can be hard to turn the other cheek. A Plain Leaving has a good pace, beautiful setting, and good writing. Leslie Gould managed to combine the two storylines (Jessica and Ruby’s) into one pleasing book. Some of the themes in A Plain Leaving are love, hope, forgiveness, foolishness, choices, history, trusting in God and having faith. I appreciated the growth of the characters in the story. I am rating A Plain Leaving 5 out of 5 stars (I loved it). I did not want A Plain Leaving to end. It is an inspiring story. I am eager to read the next book in The Sisters of Lancaster County series.
Author Leslie Gould deals with the age old question, can you go home again? She also tackles modern day issues such as fracking and well contamination. A dual story, current day and Revolutionary War, the stories are tied together very well and it was fun to read both.
The characters are real and well developed with human flaws, fears, and triumphs. Some of the characters are so lovable, while others make you want to shake them for their attitudes. It’s certainly not a boring book! And surprisingly, the ending(s) aren’t all neatly tied up. That causes me to look forward to Book 2.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, but was not required to leave a review.
An in-depth look into an Amish family, spanning centuries, from current time to revolutionary times, an all on the same property in Lancaster area Pennsylvania.
There is so much pain here, and when the story opens we are brought to the farm because of the death of the father. The author keeps us on ours toes, and yes this is a family story, but it is also the lands story. Can relate to some that goes on here, living on a farm that has been in our family since 1855, and having been contacted about fracking.
The thought about destroying the land will make you cringe, and yes we are all human, no matter how we worship. The author has us thinking about the center of a family, and how easily it can be torn apart, and as we travel through the past, and way back we are going, and then the present, and a look at the future.
Tangled relationships here, and we have to get to the very end of the book for answers, and yes this is a real page-turner, I could not put it down before I knew how it ended.
I received this book through Bethany House Publishers and was not required to give a positive review.
A Plain Leaving is the first book in The Sisters of Lancaster County series by Leslie Gould. And I can’t wait for the second! In A Plain Leaving, readers are introduced to Jessica, a young woman who left the Amish community and has made a life for herself in the Englisch world. Three years later a funeral draws her back to the community. Leaving had seemed to be such a simple decision three years ago, but now it was all so complicated. Will her family accept her, even allow her to attend the funeral? Will the same issues that caused her to leave arise again? And what about Silas? And Tom? Love interest of the past and the present, will either have a place in the future? A bonus with this book is there is a second story within Jessica’s and it takes the readers back to Revolutionary times where they meet the first of the family to settle on the Bachmann’s land, Ruby. Her story is just as compelling as Jessica’s and the author does a marvelous job of stopping at just the right point in one story to pick up in the other. Gould gives good historical background on the Revolutionary War time period and brings up the contemporary controversial issue of fracking, a potentially hazardous method of extracting oil and gas from the land and potential money maker for landowners. Strong themes of family, friends, and faith are woven throughout the book as the author portrays vibrant and realistic characters who have real life issues to deal with and relationships to mend and strengthen. There is a lot of romantic tension in both time periods, which keeps readers wondering and hoping. The author has expertly written a captivating story that will remind readers that God is in the hard times of our lives, molding us, making us stronger and we can trust Him with our lives.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author. I was not required to write a review and the opinions are my own.
Just an easy read with a look into Amish living.