A Son’s Vow
February 2nd, 2016. Filed under: Tuesday's Tempting Reads.A Son’s Vow
By Shelley Shepard Gray
Three months ago, everything changed for Darla Kurtz and her family.
Darla’s father was responsible for a terrible fire at Charm’s lumber mill which killed five Amish men. And though he, too, lost his life, the town of Charm hasn’t looked at her family the same since. Even Lukas Kinsinger—with whom Darla used to have a close friendship.
Now her brother’s anger at the town is spilling over onto Darla, and she has the bruises to prove it. The accident already cost five lives, but if something doesn’t change soon, Darla fears it will cost her—and her family—even more.
Lukas Kinsinger wants to mourn the loss of his father, but he can hardly find the time to breathe. Suddenly the head of his father’s lumber mill and responsible for taking care of his three siblings, he’s feeling the pressure. He has also never felt more alone—especially with the new tension between he and Darla. But when he learns of her troubles at home, Lukas knows he can’t simply stand by and watch. Someone has to help her before another tragedy occurs.
As Lukas and Darla attempt to repair their families, they discover something deeper than friendship growing between them. But will Lukas and Darla’s love be accepted after so much loss? Or will the pain of the past overcome any chance of future happiness?
Shelley Shepard Gray’s first book in her Charmed Amish Life series is set in the quaint Amish village of Charm, Ohio, and tells the stories of the Kinsinger siblings who are each struggling to find both forgiveness and love in the face of tragedy.
ISLAND BREEZES
Violence and abuse are not usually something we connect with Amish communities, but Amish have human frailties just as the rest of us do.
A factory fire three months prior has many in the small town of Charm upset and not necessarily acting as the previously did. The town has turned against Darla and her family.Her brother, Aaron is allowing his anger to overflow into physical abuse.
Lukas, Darla’s friend since childhood, seems to have abandoned her. When he does finally reach out to her, the tension present between them makes it seem as if the friendship can’t be repaired. Because Lukas and Darla both have angry family members it won’t be easy to mend the wounds, but the two of them are determined to try.
Thank you, Ms Shepherd Gray for another good read. This book digs farther into interactions within the Amish community, and shows us that the simple life isn’t always so simple. I’m looking forward to your next book in The Charmed Amish Life series.
***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***
Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
Connect with Shelley here at her website.