USA Today Bestselling author Patricia Davids brings you this sweet and optimistic romance part of North Country Amish series. Will she return to her old life…or risk everything to build a new one? Taking a schoolteacher position in another district is just the change Amish spinster Eva Coblentz needs. And with her new neighbor, blacksmith Willis Gingrich, struggling to raise his three … raise his three orphaned siblings, Eva is determined to help them heal. But when her relatives insist she come home, Eva must choose between the life she left…and the one she’s growing to love.
From Love Inspired: Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness, and hope.
North Country Amish:
Book 1: Shelter from the Storm
Book 2: The Amish Teacher’s Dilemma
Book 3: A Haven for Christmas
more
The Amish Teacher’s Dilemma by Patricia Davids is a delightful story. I was hooked from the very beginning and did not want to put it down. Eva Coblentz cared for her grandparents until they passed away. She saw the ad looking for an Amish teacher for the newly constructed New Covenant Amish school. Eva feels fortunate that the position comes with housing and a place for her to store her vast collection of books. Willis Gingrich, the town’s blacksmith, has his business and house across from the school and he is now responsible for his three younger step-siblings. They are a handful, and Willis wonders if he is doing what is best for the children. Eva wants to assist the Gingrich’s become a family and a help the children deal with the loss of their parents. As time passes, Eva finds herself falling for Willis. Willis feels the same way, but he has a secret that makes him feel he is unworthy of Eva. Then Eva receives a letter from her older brother, Gene telling her to return home. Gene’s mother-in-law had a stroke and needs someone to take care of her. Eva does not want to give up the new life she has built in New Covenant. Will Eva stay or will she return to her old life? There are some great characters in The Amish Teacher’s Dilemma. Eva is thirty years old and getting to have her own life for the first time. She moved from Arthur, Illinois take the position in Maine. Eva has never taught before, but she loves to read which she wants to pass along to her students. She has lived with her older brother, Gene since she was fifteen. She took care of Gene’s household because his wife was busy with their children and Eva nursed their grandparents until they passed. Eva is a kind, compassionate woman who is looking forward to her new life. Willis Gingrich is a blacksmith who can make beautiful items with iron. His father and stepmother passed away leaving Willis to care for his three siblings (two boys and a girl). Willis is the strong, silent type who is does not like to ask for help. The three children are a handful (Harley, Otto and Maddie). Maddie was my favorite. She has an imaginary friend, Bubble who gets her into all types of situations. I laughed often while reading The Amish Teacher’s Dilemma. Maddie is a precocious child who will keep Willis and Eva on their toes. Danny, Eva’s younger brother, comes to visit. I like Danny and I hope he gets his own book (I like where his story was heading). I did not think it was fair of Gene to expect Eva to give up her new job and home to return to a life of drudgery. There were some important themes in the story which included the importance of prayer, pride can be your downfall, and the importance of learning to read. The author provided good information on dyslexia. It is a shame that students who struggle are picked on and criticized by students, teachers and parents. I liked the community of New Covenant where people came together to help those in need (Amish and English). The Amish Teacher’s Dilemma was an engaging story that ended much too soon for me. The Amish Teacher’s Dilemma is an appealing Amish tale with an inventive imaginary friend, a clever canine, a new school, a caring community, and a difficult decision.
A sweet romance story that will leave you believing love can conquer anything.
A clean romance from all aspects that a mother can feel very comfortable letting her teenage daughter read. There is no worry that a steamy love scene will pop up unexpectedly or unnecessary foul language will break the flow of a beautiful love story.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Harlequin, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.
The main character in this book, Eva Coblentz, had recently moved from Pennsylvania to New Covenant Maine . She had been hired to be the teacher of the new Amish School there. She had spent years caring for her grandparents until they both died and she was no longer needed in her brother’s home. She had answered an add in the Amish newspaper for the teaching position and moved there to begin a new life. Her position as teacher was only on a month to month trial basis for the first year. She had no experience teaching but hoped to adapt to it and make a career out of it. Would the strict Amish school board President, Samuel Yoder, allow her to stay on permanently?
The local Amish blacksmith, Willis Gingrich had his shop directly across the road from the school. Willis was unmarried and was a legal guardian of his three younger siblings. Two boys and a six year old girl. The Little girl had a habit of repeating everything she heard at home much to her big brother’s dismay. She had a make believe friend she called Bubble. Maddie made up a lot of stories and told people Willis was going to marry the new school teacher so she could cook good meals and take care of the family.
Willis had a secret he kept from everyone. It controlled his life and because of it he knew he could never marry. Once he had confided it to a girl he loved but she had laughed at him and made fun of him in front of her friends. He would never tell anyone ever again about the secret he kept. Especially the beautiful new school teacher that he seemed to be smitten with.
I thought the story was cute because of the children. Both humor and unhappiness was a part of this book. The author was well researched on the topic of dyslexia and learning disabilities. Also characters wrestled with feelings of self worth because of what they had dealt with in their past. The children dealt with the sudden loss of both parents and had to make a lot of adjustments when they moved with big brother from Illinois to Maine.
All readers of Amish fiction and fans of Patricia Davids will love this warm hearted book. I highly recommend it to you.
I downloaded a kindle ebook copy of The Amish Teacher’s Dilemma from the Ohio Digital Library. A review was not requested. All opinions expressed here are my own.
What a wonderful story! I was cheering on the main character, Eva, as she left her overbearing brother’s household to become a teacher and begin a new life of her own. Willis had my sympathy, too. He’s a young man who suddenly finds himself raising his orphaned brothers and little sister following the tragic death of their parents. But Willis had a secret that he felt he had to hide from Eva, and that secret kept their relationship status as close friends instead of sweethearts.
But the character that held my heart in this book was Maddie, the little first grader that was always accompanied by her “invisible friend”, Bubble. Maddie and Bubble made me smile many times throughout the story, and I loved seeing life from Maddie’s point of view. Maddie’s determined that Eva should be her new mother, and her efforts to bring this about makes this a sweet, heart-touching story.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
So, The Amish Teacher’s Dilemma is a first for me. I hadn’t read an Amish romance until this one. Yeah, I know, but to be honest, I really don’t know that much about the Amish, and I wasn’t sure how well I’d like the Amish romances. Well, I can’t speak for other books in the genre, but I really enjoyed this one. The story is witty and often funny, the characters are engaging, and the romance is sweet and so easy to root for. The angst is pretty low overall, so even though the story touches on a serious topic, the story is relatively lighthearted throughout. I also like how Patricia Davids speaks of faith and belief in God without being preachy. The book is well-written and fast-paced, and while this may be a first for me, I met enough of the North Country Amish to definitely want more.
This book was an absolute delight! Ava and Willis have a wonderful connection right from the start with their lighthearted banter and charming character. 7 year old Maddie’s personality and witty comments always made me laugh out loud and her make-believe friend Bubble gave Maddie an outlet for the grief of losing her parents and having to leave her home to live with her older brother. Bubble also serves as a much needed friend to keep Maddie company when her two older brothers aren’t at home to play with her. I really liked the dyslexia theme of the book because I learned new methods for helping re-train the brain as well as ways to teach a student without making them feel the shame that goes hand in hand with struggling to hide such a secret. This is a heartwarming and uplifting Amish story filled with family values and a sweet romance that I recommend to readers of all ages. I read a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.
This is a sweet book to get lost in. I loved that this young woman is finally able to have a life of her own, now at 30 she has changed states, moving from Ohio to Maine, and going to earn a living, becoming a teacher.
The author also gives us a man whose parents have passed away and has taken on the responsibility of his younger siblings, all the while holding on to a secret that has kept him single and afraid.
Now, things are about to change even before they start, and you wonder about how much power a brother has over his sister.
When this book was finished, and I wanted more pages, I could see this story continuing seemed like there was more, especially since there are some new people in the community?
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harlequin, and was not required to give a positive review.
This is a clean, sweet Amish story about a young woman who steps outside of her comfort zone and sets out on her own to establish a new life. Eva Coblenz moves from Ohio to Maine to become a new school teacher. A really new school teacher, since she has never been employed as one before! Her neighbor in this new environment is Willis Gingrich, a blacksmith who has taken on the responsibility to raise his three younger siblings after the death of their parents. I really enjoyed the scenes with Willis and the adorable children. They weren’t afraid to tell how they were feeling and in doing that, they also kept revealing how their brother was feeling. I enjoyed getting to know Eva, an independent and resilient young woman who faces new challenges with a can-do attitude that was refreshing. The conflict comes in with Eva’s domineering brother and his lazy wife because they did not want Eva leaving Ohio to begin with and try to make her miserable enough that she will return. I could tell that this book is from a series because there were new people introduced about whom I want to know more and expect the author to write more about them in the future. Fans of Amish fiction will enjoy the story of the adventures of Eva and the trials of Willis.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”