The Amish Mother by Rebecca Kertz

The Amish Mother (Lancaster Courtships Book 2) by Rebecca Kertz (Oct 1, 2015)

• Series: Lancaster Courtships
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Love Inspired (September 15, 2015)
• File Size: 782 KB
• Print Length: 251 pages
• Publisher: Love Inspired (October 1, 2015)

"Amish widow Lizzie Fisher loves her seven stepchildren as though they were her own. But her brother-in-law's unexpected arrival on the farm has her worried. After all, Zachariah Fisher is the true heir of the property. And he could decide to send her away from her family and her home of two years. Lizzie is determined to show the handsome farmer that her physical challenges don't prevent her from being a hard worker or a loving mother. For she finds herself losing her heart to Zack and hopes he'll see they're meant to be a family forever."

Lancaster Courtships: Life and love in Amish country
Collect all 3 book in the series! 
The Amish Bride by Emme Miller
The Amish Mother by Rebecca Kertz
The Amish Midwife by Patricia Davids 

 I might not be a religious person, but I do love reading about other cultures.  Amish novels don’t usually tend to be ‘preachy’ but they do give you a good insight into their faith. This book managed to give me a brief look into the Amish or Plain life and very little religion compared to other books of this genre that I have read.

Be aware that this is book two in a trilogy and that each book is written by a different author.

This story should have been fascinating –nineteen year old widow- Lizzie Fisher is responsible for the upbringing of her 7 stepchildren and the farm that they live on.  She also has a bit of a handicap.  When her brother-in-law decides to visit the farm (and yes he does have an ulterior motive!) Lizzie starts worrying…she has a pretty good reason to worry.

As the book progresses a romance is supposed to blossom –but I never really saw it.   Most of the book is taken up with descriptions and repetitive dialogue.  Food takes up a major portion of this book –the descriptions of, the eating of and the pondering of food.  This probably would have been better as a cookbook! The romance took a backseat to everything else and just seemed to come out of nowhere near the very ending of this book.

What bothered me the most is that I don’t think that the author stayed true to the Amish people/culture in most of this book.  You would think that since I am non-religious I wouldn’t notice a detail like this!  I am willing to admit I am not an Amish expert by any means, but in what I have read, I do know that the Amish say a prayer before all of their meals – not so in this book.

Not my favorite Amish romance in anyway. The lack of plot, uninteresting and sometimes childish characters  made this a difficult read for me.