A Simply Enchanted Life

Becoming Bea by Leslie Gould

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
★: Didn't Like it
★★: It was Ok
★★★: Liked it
★★★★: Really liked it
★★★★★: It was amazing

Suggested Age:13+ Genre:Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

Leslie Gould is back with the latest book, Becoming Bea, in her Shakespeare-inspired series, The Courtships of Lancaster County. Don't miss the other books in the series, Courting Cate (retelling of The Taming of the Shrew), Adoring Addie (inspired by Romeo and Juliet), and Minding Molly (inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream).



Leslie is celebrating the series with a Kindle giveaway and a Facebook party on November 11th.

• A Kindle Fire
• One copy each of the entire The Courtships of Lancaster County series: Courting Cate, Adoring Addie, Minding Molly, and Becoming Bea.

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on 11/11. Winner will be announced at Leslie's 11/11 Becoming Bea Facebook author chat party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Leslie and Amish fiction fans, as well as for a chance to win some great prizes!

{NOT ON FACEBOOK? ENTER HERE.}

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK, TWITTER or PINTEREST and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 11th!

Minding Molly by Leslie Gould

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Suggested Age:12+
Genre: Christian,Amish Fiction

I have loved every single book that I’ve read in the The Courtships of Lancaster County series so far!

I have to admit that this one was the one I have been looking forward to the most.

The books in this series are adaptations of Shakespeare plays into an Amish setting and this particular book is a retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream—which just happened to be my favorite Shakespeare play.

The cover is also the nicest out of the series so far, I think. The cover model is exactly how I pictured Molly. Fantastic book and I would definitely recommend it!

Molly Zook has lost her father and she is determined to keep her mother from losing their farm. She even considers a marriage of convenience that her mother is determined to arrange. That is, until she meets Leon…

Leon is everything Molly ever wanted. He’s kind and compassionate, good looking and creative. He’s also from Montana and Molly’s heart is torn because she doesn’t want to leave her mother and her sister.

To further complicate things, her friend Marvin has set his eyes on her but Molly doesn’t want to hurt her best friend, Hannah who has her eyes set on Marvin.

When the friends all take a camping trip, Molly’s bossy and take-charge attitude threatens to drive everyone away, including Leon. Will Molly learn to let go and let God be in charge or will her need to control everyone drive them away?

I identified so much with Molly. She has the best intentions and tries to keep things running smoothly by demanding that people do things her way. Her ability to get things done is a good thing but it is awful easy to also come off as bossy and as an elitist who sucks the fun out of everything. Knowing when to turn over control and let people do things their own way is something I also struggle with.

I enjoy reading a book where the characters have flaws and are realistic. I give Leslie Gould two thumbs up and a 5 out of 5 star rating for this book! I look forward to the next book in the installment. Expected publication for “Becoming Bea” is October 2014.
View all my reviews|Read an Excerpt

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Leslie Gould is the coauthor, with Mindy Starns Clark, of the #1 CBA bestseller, a 2012 Christy Award winner, The Amish Nanny, and The Amish Bride. She is also the author of numerous other novels, including Garden of Dreams, Beyond the Blue (winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice for Best Inspirational Novel, 2006), and Scrap Everything. She holds and MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and has taught fiction writing at Multnomah University as an adjunct professor. She and her husband and four children live in Portland, Oregon.

Learn more about Leslie at www.lesliegould.com
I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Adoring Addie by Leslie Gould

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Book two in The Courtships of Lancaster County series by Leslie Gould is another wonderful Amish Rendition of a Shakespeare tale!

These books are stand-alone so I wouldn’t worry much about which order to pick them up though I’ll say I really enjoyed this book more than Courting Cate.

Both books were really good but this one was simply my favorite of the two. The characters were enjoyable and easy to relate to.

Addie Cramer’s parents are set on her marrying Phillip Eicher and are furious when she begins to show an interest in Jonathan Mosier. I have to admit that Phillip drove me nuts. He was annoying and just irritated me. This of course was the desired emotion the author obviously wished to invoke.

The Cramer’s disdain for Jonathan stems from a decades old feud between the Mosier and the Cramer Family. Their hatred clouds their mind and skews their ideas about Jonathan, who actually is a really stand up kind of guy and a great Christian to boot!

The real reason for the feud is discovered by Addie and it’s a very tricky situation to deal with. This leads to a good bit of soul searching and thought on Addie’s part on how to best deal with and diffuse the feud—bringing peace and healing to both families.

This book deals with situations of alcoholism and depression that will really make you connect with these characters. They seem so lifelike!
I’ve read a good bit of skepticism about how one can retell such a tragic story such as Romeo and Juliet in a lighthearted Amish tale but the author captured the tale perfectly!

I am very eager to pick up the entire series. Most retellings are typical and annoying. These are a bit unique as they’re in an Amish setting and they’re much more lighthearted than secular tales.
View all my reviews|Read an Excerpt

Amazon|CBD|Barnes&Noble

Leslie Gould is the coauthor, with Mindy Starns Clark, of the #1 CBA bestseller, a 2012 Christy Award winner, The Amish Nanny, and The Amish Bride. She is also the author of numerous other novels, including Garden of Dreams, Beyond the Blue (winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice for Best Inspirational Novel, 2006), and Scrap Everything. She holds and MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and has taught fiction writing at Multnomah University as an adjunct professor. She and her husband and four children live in Portland, Oregon.

Learn more about Leslie at www.lesliegould.com
I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Courting Cate by Leslie Gould

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so excited to pick up Courting Cate by Leslie Gould as I won a copy in an author party hosted by Litfuse. There is just something about reading a book that you have won that makes you want to dive right in and start reading. I think the very interesting thing about this book is that it is an Amish themed retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. Needless to say, it was an interesting take and I really enjoyed the book! I think if you enjoy Shakespeare as well as Amish fiction—I think you will enjoy this rendition! Oh, and I know you can't judge a book by the cover but I think the cover model is absolutely stunning!

Cate Miller can be very hard to get along with. She has a fiery temper that pushes away anyone that attempts to get close to her. Truth is, Cate had her heart broken and she is determined to never let love get in her way again. That is—until her father declares that her younger sister is not allowed to marry unless Cate marries first. Cate would do anything for her little sister and decides to give an Amish drifter named Pete a chance.

Pete is intriguing. That much is true. But, is his interest in Cate sincere or does he have some ulterior motive? Just as Cate believes that she could finally love someone—her faith in him is shattered and her heart is broken again. Yet, when circumstances find her in the acquaintance of a bitterly hateful old lady—Cate begins to take a good look at her own bitterness. Does she really want to be a shrew?

I thought this story was really sweet and quirky for an Amish tale. Something about the author’s writing is unique and I honestly cannot wait until her next book is released. I think I have read it will be an Amish rendition of Romeo and Juliet. That should be very interesting! If you’re looking for quirky Amish books that are a little outside the norm—pick up Courting Cate and then hop over to the author’s website to learn more!
View all my reviews


Amazon|CBD|Barnes&Noble

Leslie Gould is the coauthor, with Mindy Starns Clark, of the #1 CBA bestseller, a 2012 Christy Award winner, The Amish Nanny, and The Amish Bride. She is also the author of numerous other novels, including Garden of Dreams, Beyond the Blue (winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice for Best Inspirational Novel, 2006), and Scrap Everything. She holds and MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and has taught fiction writing at Multnomah University as an adjunct professor. She and her husband and four children live in Portland, Oregon.

Learn more about Leslie at www.lesliegould.com

Welcome to the12 Pearls of Christmas blog series!



Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.



We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items (books, a gift pack, music CDs) from the contributors! Enter now on Facebook or at the Pearl Girls blog. The winner will announced on January 2, 2013 at the Pearl Girls blog.



If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.



Year of Adversity Brings Joy

By Leslie Gould




I’ve been writing Amish fiction for nearly three years now—telling stories about non-resistant people who live a simple life. It’s a nice reprieve from my own life.



When my husband, Peter, joined the Army Reserve back in the mid 1980s, I wasn’t thrilled about it. Nor did I believe him when he said he’d probably never see action. Sure, the Cold War was ending and—for a short time—all seemed well in the world, but I had a degree in history. I knew better. I didn’t want to be a controlling wife (as new to the job as I was!) and come out and say he absolutely couldn’t do it. And it did help that he was joining a medical unit. Still I had my reservations.



We’ve been far more fortunate than many military families, but still it’s been quite a ride. The first exciting episode began in 1990 when Peter flew to Germany on Christmas Eve to work in an Army hospital during Desert Storm, leaving me behind with our two young sons. During the next twenty years, Peter went from being a Lt. to being a Col. and commanding a unit. Countless maneuvers and a mobilization occurred during that time, but his Army Reserve career culminated in his deployment to Afghanistan in 2011.



My days throughout last year were an odd combination of hearing the daily news from a war zone via Skype and then writing about the plain life of the Amish. By last December I was working on my third Amish novel of the year while, in contrast, Peter and his field hospital staff had cared for hundreds of NATO soldiers and Afghan nationals, endured ten months of rocket fire, and continued to grieve the killing of one of their own.



Surprisingly, what seemed like it might be our worst Christmas ever, even harder than in 1990, wasn’t. Our four children (one teen and three young adults now) rallied to help make it a memorable day. We counted our blessings—Peter was well, we had all we needed, and God was at work in the life of our family. The result was an underlying joy, deeper than what we’d felt during past Christmases.



In reflection, I wrote: When it started, I thought 2011 might be one of our worst years. But it hasn’t been. Sure, it’s been one of our hardest, but a lot of good has come from it.



That was evident on Christmas morning as we Skyped with Peter. We were so thankful for the good connection and for all of us to be “together” that we hardly noticed we really weren’t.



This December, Peter is back at his civilian job (as a manager for a hospital corporation) and also commanding a nearby Army Reserve unit, which means one weekend a month and plenty of evenings—but no rockets or causalities.



I’m working on a new Amish novel and still enjoying my “time” with those who practice non-resistance, which doesn’t discount the appreciation I have for my husband’s service. I’ve even grown to the place where I’m thankful he joined the military. They’ve served each other well.



Our year of adversity resulted in a deep joy. I’m pretty sure it will carry over to this Christmas as well.



Leslie Gould is the award-winning author of fifteen novels, including the #1 bestseller and Christy Award winner The Amish Midwife, co-written with Mindy Starns Clark. Her latest release is Courting Cate, a retelling of the “Taming of the Shrew.” Leslie lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, Peter, and their four children. www.lesliegould.com