A Simple Autumn

Title: A SIMPLE AUTUMN

Author: Rosalind Lauer

Publisher: Ballantine Books

October 2012

ISBN: 978-0345526755

Genre: Amish

A LOVE THAT REMAINS HIDDEN,
A FORK IN A THORNY ROAD

Jonah King has no desire to leave his close-knit community. All his hopes and dreams lie in Lancaster County, and many of them revolve around his longtime love for Annie Stoltzfus. For years he’s been trying to get her to see what burns inside his heart, yet he remains all but invisible to her. Annie’s beautiful eyes reflect only her affection for Jonah’s older brother—and her sadness when he chooses another. Jonah knows that he must speak up, but when he’s around Annie his calm, capable demeanor flees, leaving him tongue-twisted and awkward.

Gabe King has been courting schoolteacher Emma Lapp for months, but she insists on keeping their relationship secret. Emma embraces her duty to set a good example for her pupils, but Gabe is in his rumspringa and still wild at heart, riding motorbikes and unwilling to cut his ties to the outside world. Much to Emma’s deep sorrow, it appears that she and Gabe are choosing different paths.

As swirling leaves of orange and gold dance across the countryside, two brothers must find the courage and faith to reconcile their heritage and their hearts.

A SIMPLE AUTUMN is the third book in the Seasons of Lancaster series. I didn’t read A Simple Spring, one of the first books in the series, but would recommend that others do, as A SIMPLE AUTUMN seemed to refer back to the previous two books, A Simple Winter and A Simple Spring.

I can’t say I really enjoyed A SIMPLE AUTUMN. The point of view was distant, and I never connected with the characters. It also was really slow. Plus Annie really acts immature when Jonah accidentally bumps her at a volleyball game. If you like Amish fiction, no matter what, then my might want to read A SIMPLE AUTUMN or A Seasons of Lancaster series. If you want a story that will draw you in and make you care, this isn’t it. $15.00. 400 pages. 3 stars.