Book Review: The Quilt Room Secret by Lisa Jones Baker

 

The Heart of the Amish series continues with The Quilt Room Secret by Lisa Jones Baker, a story of romance, secrets, discovery, faith, and hope.  

At five years old, Jacob Lantz asked Trini Sutter to marry him. Nine-year-old Trini said she would ponder his proposal when they were older. Nearly twenty years later, Jacob returns to Arthur, Illinois, hoping to take the owner of The Quilt Room up on her promise. But Jacob's aspirations are put to the test by Trini's long-held secret. And though she admittedly has fallen in love with him, when she moves away from their tight-knit community, neither is sure if their happily ever after is meant to be.

With The Quilt Room Secret, Baker has created an engaging story with a unique premise. The Sutter and Lantz families spent a great deal of time together after Jacob's father went away. His wise and loving Aunt Margaret helped care for Jacob and his two brothers, Gabriel and Stephen. And this beloved member of the community was a surrogate mother to many. 

When Jacob and his brothers return to Arthur, Illinois, to live in Aunt Margaret's house after her death, he reconnects with Trini, and he is still interested in pursuing her. But in the years they have been apart, Trini has been making her own plans. The youngest of eleven children, she doesn't think she can be an Amish wife and mother. All she knows is that she has fallen for Jacob. However, when she leaves, it looks like a future with him will never be possible. 

Baker works in many endearing moments as this story unfolds. Mostly told from Trini's and Jacob's points of view, there are occasional other point of view characters that add to the story. Along the way, Trini discovers a lot about herself and Jacob. It's also good to see she has dependable best friends who help her as she reveals her secret. 

If you're looking for a fabulous Amish romance, you need to pick up a copy of The Quilt Room Secret by Lisa Jones Baker. 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Barbour Pub Inc (January 30, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1636097758
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1636097756

I downloaded an ARC from NetGalley. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Book Review: Annie's Recipe by Lisa Jones Baker

A story of faith, love and lifelong friendship is what you'll find in Annie's Recipe by Lisa Jones Baker.

In the second book of Baker's Hope Chest of Dreams series, Annie Mast and Levi Miller are reunited many years after a shunning forced him from her life. With their bond as strong as ever, the two separately imagine spending their lives together. But Levi is part of the English world and there is still a ton of bitterness over his family's shunning. With love on their side perhaps they will find an answer to their prayers.

Annie's Recipe is a sweet story that will tug at your heartstrings. Annie and Levi were the best of friends as children, but that ended abruptly when his father was shunned and the family moved away. When Levi returns to Arthur, Illinois for a wedding they reconnect and it opens up new possibilities for both of them.

What caught me off guard a bit with this story was how much focus was placed on simply these two characters. So much of the Amish fiction I read gives you an entire community feeling. Annie's Recipe was really about Annie and Levi and to some degree their families. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that at first because it was decidedly different from what I am used to. By the time I came to the end, however, I was grateful for it. This style truly allowed me to fully understand these characters and how they developed thought this touching story.

While I didn't read the first book in this series, I didn't miss anything as Annie's Recipe is a stand alone novel. I would, however, love to read Rebecca's Bouquet and Rachel's Dream because these three women are sisters and it would be interesting to learn all their stories. I'll definitely be on the look for more of Baker's work in the future.

If you enjoy Amish fiction, you need to add Lisa Jones Baker to your "to be read" list.


Series: Hope Chest of Dreams (Book 2)
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Zebra (February 28, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1420141546
ISBN-13: 978-1420141542

I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Musing Monday - June 12

Musing Monday is hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker.  It is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK'S RANDOM QUESTION:   Which would you rather live without? Books or chocolate.

Happy Monday! It's a sunny and hot one here today...about time the nice weather arrived.

I'll be posting a review of Annie's Recipe by Lisa Jones Baker this week and I just finished reading What the Bishop Saw by Vannetta Chapman. If you like Amish fiction you'll want to check out both of these.

We are getting ready for our annual vacation and I have packed up my reading material--five books are overdue reviews and two are upcoming reviews. The rest are Kindle freebies I might get into if I have time.

As for this week's question, without a doubt I could give up chocolate much easier than giving up books.

Hope you have a great week!