Review: Twice Blessed

Twice Blessed by Barbara Cameron is two Amish Christmas novellas in one book. The stories were well done, interesting, and a quick, fun read. They both center around identical twins, and I enjoyed the stories very much.

Rosie is the shy sister who loves to be out in her garden whereas her twin, Katie, is vivacious, social, and energetic and loves to work at the Amish store in town surrounded by people and the busyness of work. Rosie is usually in the background with guys, but Katie has never had a problem having dates. Consequently, they are both surprised when a new Amish man is attracted to quiet Rosie instead of lively Katie. Will this affect their close relationship?

Mark and Ben are as different as night and day. Mark never has doubts with his faith, is happy-go-lucky, and is considered lazy by many. Ben is the more responsible, moody one with doubts and questions aplenty. While driving home one snowy night, the twins get in a bad wreck with a big truck which leaves Mark in a coma and Ben with some broken bones and bruises. Disoriented when he wakes up, Ben is confused why Ruthie calls him Mark, but too thrilled to be the one "engaged" to her he doesn't tell her the truth until it's too late.

These stories portrayed the love and connection between identical twins very well. I loved the unusual dilemma in the second story, but felt the conflict still wasn't resolved at the end. It would have benefited from another chapter to tie up everything. To me, the stories didn't really have much Christmas stuff to them. I wish they did, but regardless I enjoyed them both, and I definitely recommend this book to any Amish fiction fans.

I was given this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: A Road Unknown

A Road Unknown by Barbara Cameron is the first book in the Amish Roads series. This story doesn't compare to the other Amish fiction I have read recently. It was poorly written and no characters really stood out to me. I had a really hard time liking the main character, Elizabeth, even though I did feel really bad for her circumstances. It was one of those books that I had to force myself to read because the depth of the characters just wasn't there.

Elizabeth Bontrager is taking advantage of her rumschpringe to escape her home in Goshen, Indiana where she has been overworked taking care of her eight younger siblings.  At the age of twenty, she has never been to a singing or been courted so she is very nervous about leaving all she has ever known to start fresh in Paradise, Pennsylvania. Once there she rooms with her Englisch pen pal and starts to hang out with an Englisch man. Will Paradise hold the answers to all her questions?

Saul Miller has been attracted to Elizabeth since he met her on the bus so when his dad hires her on for their store he finds it the perfect opportunity to get to know her better. But she is so reticent about herself that he doesn't know if she will ever open up to him. Then he sees her going out with an Englisch guy and becomes concerned for her. Will he be able to get her to court him or is she too intrigued with Bruce?

I did like how the author ended the book. It really portrayed how Elizabeth had grown and matured throughout the novel. But the story itself was pretty bland and the characters weren't fleshed out enough. I felt like I knew Paula, the roommate, better than Elizabeth sometimes! Maybe because Elizabeth irritated me with her actions but her parents were at fault, too for expecting so much more out of her than they should. But more than anything what I didn't like was how poorly written it was. It was just so-so to me.

I was given this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.