The Amish Bride

Title: THE AMISH BRIDE

Authors: Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould

Publisher: Harvest House

August 2012

ISBN: 978-0-7369-3862-4

Genre: Amish

A long-lost painting… a journal with a secret code… a father’s mysterious return…

Ella Bayer and Ezra Gundy are in love and hope to marry someday, but she is a young Mennonite woman while he is an Amish man. Though both Plain, one of them will have to forsake what they believe to embrace another way of life.

Hoping some distance will cool the relationship, Ezra's family sends him to work at an Amish dairy farm in Indiana. But Ella disregards what her family wants and follows Ezra. In short order she finds a place to live, a job in a bakery, and an unexpected but budding friendship with a handsome Amish farmhand, Luke.

When a family tragedy forces Ella back to Pennsylvania, she must face all she's been running away from. And once she has made peace with those around her, she has an important decision to make: Whose Amish bride will she become--Ezra's or Luke's?

Bestselling authors Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould offer readers THE AMISH BRIDE, Book 3 in the Women of Lancaster County series, which tells the stories of young Plain women as they explore their roots, connect with family, and discover true love.

I enjoyed reading Ella's story. I found her relationship with Luke and Ezra interesting and did wonder which one she'd end up choosing. I also enjoyed Ella trying to decipher codes in her grandmother's old book. At first, Ella drove me crazy, trying to micro-manage her and Ezra's lives. I was glad when she started growing up and relying on God to guide her and not herself.  I really enjoyed this book.

The whole story was interesting, clean, and a look at Mennonites and Amish interacting and how they differ. Fans of both Amish and Mennonite fiction will enjoy THE AMISH BRIDE. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book. $13.99. 352 pages.