A Simply Enchanted Life

Holding a Tender Heart by Jerry S. Eicher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Suggested Age: 10+
Genre: Christian,Amish Fiction

It is always a pleasure, getting to read a book by Mr. Eicher. You can tell that Eicher is mindful of God in his writings and that is an aspect that I appreciate.

I appreciate the strong family ties and attention to detail in his books. I feel that he pays close attention to descriptive imagery that brings the characters alive to the readers.

NOT your typical Amish book. This story is about an Englisha girl that wishes to be Amish and her Amish friend that desires to be an Englisha.

Debbie has everything a girl could ask for, a handsome boyfriend, fancy clothes, a college degree and a brand new job. For Debbie, she finds it all so overwhelming—the traffic, the hustle and bustle, the tv dinners and lack of family time.

Debbie desires the simple life of her Amish friends, the Beilers. Having grown up nearby, she has frequented their home on multiple occasions and holds their friendship and their lifestyle dear and when her mother makes it known that she wants Debbie to move out—she inquires about renting room from the them. With the understanding that she wishes to convert in due time, Bishop Beiler grants her request and allows her to move into their home.

Debbie is quickly accepted as part of the family and becomes privy to a set of struggles that each of the Beiler girls are facing.

Verna finds the nerve to stand up to her father and has let a young man bring her home from a singing. Things seem to be going well until he’s accused of a terrible crime that may drive them apart.

Lois is determined to leave the Amish faith and become an Englisha. She wants to drive a car, go to college, watch television and experience all that the world has to offer.

Ida is interested in a fellow who has his eyes set on Debbie or any other girl in the community—except for Ida. Of course, this is a problem for the middle Beiler sister and I really felt badly for her.

In this book we realize that no matter your religion or your way of life that we all have problems to overcome and many times we all have feelings of insecurity. We may even have made mistakes that will haunt us for a lifetime but with Christ’s help and the love and support of family—we can learn to forgive ourselves and move forward with life.

This is definitely a 5 star book. I suggest that if you like Amish fiction to give this author's books a try. I will admit that a male author scared me off at first but now I’m a true fan! Don’t make the mistake I did—give Mr. Eicher’s book a try and I promise you’ll be hooked!
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Jerry Eicher’s bestselling Amish fiction (more than 210,000 in combined sales) includes The Adams County Trilogy, the Hannah’s Heart books, and the Little Valley Series. After a traditional Amish childhood, Jerry taught for two terms in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. Since then he’s been involved in church renewal, preaching, and teaching Bible studies. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina Eicher, and their four children in Virginia.
I received this book free from the Author and Harvest House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own

Katie's Journey to Love by Jerry S. Eicher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jerry Eicher is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine! Many times with male authors I feel like they miss the mark when they write about female characters but Eicher doesn’t fall into this trap. His characters are realistic and likeable. The situations and feelings he puts to paper come alive when you read them and make a very believable and intriguing story. I can't brag on this series enough! I'm absolutely loving Katie Raber!

Emma has married Jesse Mast and she and Katie are starting life anew in the Mast household. However, things aren’t going smoothly with all of Jesse’s children. Mable isn’t shy about expressing her beliefs that her dad should have married another woman. Mable is also pushing the boundaries on her personal freedoms and overall she’s just a bitter young girl trying to find her new role in the Mast house.

Coming October 1,2013!

Amidst the turmoil, Katie continues growing her relationship with the local Mennonite youth groups. At one of these meetings she happens to meet up (and form a relationship with) a young Amish man that she’s had her eyes on for quite some time. Emma doesn’t approve of the relationship—she doesn’t trust Ben Stoll. At first I thought maybe she was letting her own bitterness get in the way of Katie’s happiness but an interesting turn of events have me wondering if she was right. I’m left wondering how it will all turn out!

I cannot wait to read the next installment. I’m so curious and impatient to know how things are going to wrap up! If you’re looking for a new author or series to pick up then I strongly suggest Jerry Eicher and the Emma Raber’s Daughter series.
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Amazon|CBD|Barnes&Noble

Jerry Eicher’s bestselling Amish fiction (more than 210,000 in combined sales) includes The Adams County Trilogy, the Hannah’s Heart books, and the Little Valley Series. After a traditional Amish childhood, Jerry taught for two terms in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. Since then he’s been involved in church renewal, preaching, and teaching Bible studies. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina Eicher, and their four children in Virginia.
I received this book free from the Author and Harvest House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own

Katie Opens Her Heart by Jerry S. Eicher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another fantastic book by Jerry Eicher! This is book one in the Emma Raber’s Daughter series. The next book, Katie’s Journey to Love is expected to release in Aril 2013. I will definitely be picking it up. I did think that this story started a little slow but it was well worth it because the drama and tension just kept rising as I was reading. I enjoy a book that doesn't show all the cards up front so to speak. This is the first fiction book that I have read by this author but now look forward to picking up the rest of his books while I wait for the next book about Katie.

Katie has always been known as “Emma Raber’s daughter” and she’s tired of not being recognized as her own person. In truth, Katie is tired of being a community outcast simply because her mother refuses to let her heart be opened to love. She is tired of being sheltered and kept from living her life and though she loves her mother dearly—she is determined to break free of her controlling thumb.

Things start to change when Jesse steps into Emma’s life. He is determined to win Emma’s heart and Katie is hoping that her mother will learn to love again. The only problem is that Emma has no intention of ever giving her heart to another man and further—his children pretty much hate her. They think she’s odd and they want nothing to do with her.

This is where things got really interesting in the story. While Jesse is trying to woo Emma—another widow lady in the community has her eyes set on him and she will stop at nothing to get him. I really despised Ruth but she made this story interesting. I couldn’t stop reading to see what this nasty manipulative woman would do next. I suppose that makes it sound like I love drama in a book but no romance worth reading about is free of drama!

Overall I thought this story was a definite 5 star plot. Drama, romance and a little rebellion makes for all the qualities that make a really good book. I was rooting for Emma and Jesse from the get go and I’m so excited to see how things turn out for Katie. I’m really hoping she finds a nice boy and has minimal heartbreak. I guess I’ll have to wait and see but I will be doing so very impatiently!!!
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Amazon|CBD|Barnes&Noble

Jerry Eicher’s bestselling Amish fiction (more than 210,000 in combined sales) includes The Adams County Trilogy, the Hannah’s Heart books, and the Little Valley Series. After a traditional Amish childhood, Jerry taught for two terms in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. Since then he’s been involved in church renewal, preaching, and teaching Bible studies. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina Eicher, and their four children in Virginia.
I received this book free from the Author and Harvest House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own

My Amish Childhood: A True Story of Faith, Family, and the Simple Life by Jerry S. Eicher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was so pleasantly surprising for me…WOW! I’m honestly shocked because this is the first time I have ever made it through an autobiography! Not only did I make it through but I enjoyed it! This was also the first book that I have read by the author.

My mother has been bugging me for quite some time to pick up his books and I had been meaning to but I will admit that I was scared. It seems that male authors sometimes leave me feeling as if something is missing that connects with me as a woman. Not all male authors mind you—but it was still enough to scare me for a short time.

I should have put away my fears because I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was humorous at times, brutally honest and also touching. I’m giving 5 stars to this book and wish I could give an additional star for being the first autobiography that was written in a way that appealed to me.

This book is an autobiography of Amish writer, Jerry Eicher whom, as we find out in the book—grew up Amish! He was honest about his awkwardness and even about his mischievousness as a child which I found to be refreshing as I often think of Amish children having the idyllic life we read about in Amish fiction. In the grand scheme of things—Jerry had quite a bit of issues to overcome; an issue with stuttering and bouts of depression.

We also got an inside view of a new Amish community in a third world country and the struggles that they faced. I was really rooting for the community to succeed and was a little disappointed to find out that it had failed. It was on that note that the autobiography was wrapped up. I would really like to see how things unfold in the later years. I am assuming that he eventually left the Amish faith—I want to know these things! I guess I’m greedy and want more information as I really found the author’s life to be very intriguing. This book definitely gets two thumbs up for me for both wit and for the insightful spirituality. I have to say that Eicher’s account of his salvation is possibly one of the sweetest, honest and simplistic explanations that I have ever heard—and it was touching. I will definitely be reading more from this author!
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Amazon|CBD|Barnes&Noble
Jerry Eicher’s bestselling Amish fiction (more than 210,000 in combined sales) includes The Adams County Trilogy, the Hannah’s Heart books, and the Little Valley Series. After a traditional Amish childhood, Jerry taught for two terms in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. Since then he’s been involved in church renewal, preaching, and teaching Bible studies. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina Eicher, and their four children in Virginia.
I received this book free from the Author and Harvest House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own