The Proving

Paperback, ebook, hardcover, audio

September 5, 2017

by Beverly Lewis 

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• ISBN-13: 978-0764219665

Amish Fiction's #1 Author Presents a Touching Story of Perseverance and Second Chances
Amanda Dienner hasn't seen her Old Order family in five years when she receives word that her mother has passed away and left her Lancaster County's most popular Amish bed-and-breakfast. Now an Englisher, Mandy is shocked: Her twin sister should have been the obvious choice! What's more, the inheritance comes with a catch: The farmhouse inn will only truly be hers if she is able to successfully run it for twelve consecutive months.

Mandy accepts the challenge even though it means returning to Gordonville and the painful memories she left behind at eighteen. Still, she's determined to prove she is more than capable of running the bed-and-breakfast, no matter that its loyal clientele are expecting an Amish hostess! 

The inn isn't Mandy's sole test, however. Rubbing shoulders with her married twin sister reopens wounds that Mandy isn't ready to forgive. And an Englisher guest with a difficult past of her own just complicates matters. 

Can Mandy fulfill the terms of her inheritance? Or will this year in Amish country prove a dreadful mistake?

My thoughts:  THE PROVING is Ms. Lewis's newest book and it is better than most of her recent ones. A unique twist on the Amish Bed and Breakfast theme, with Mandy fighting to keep her mama's inn afloat after firing her sister and losing all her help--except one.  The Amish isn't accepting her back at all and refuse to let her find replacement help -- what will a girl do?

There are two stories running through the book, the other is about a woman named Trina who is cantankerous and running off at the mouth all the time -- lippy the book says. But she plays a key part in the story. 

The women were both difficult and had something to prove. I did grow to like them but it was an uphill battle. 

This is women's fiction and not romance, though there is a hint on one toward the end of the book.  It is more the story of two women on the path to finding out who they really are and making amends with those they hurt. The romance with Trina is more defined and spelled out more than even the possibility of one for Mandy. 

I received a copy of this book free. All opinions are my own.