April Books

The Widow of Larkspur Inn by Lawana Blackwell -- The first book in the Gresham Chronicles; a nice tale of Julia Hollis and her children who leave London after the death of their husband/father who left them in debt.  Julia opens an inn in the country - a place for lodgers to stay and rest in a peaceful place.  The story describes life there with the villagers and the lodgers.  

Elementary, My Dear Watkins by Mindy Starns Clark -- another book about Jo Tulip and her friend Danny.  In this book Jo's life is in danger, and they have to find out why.  Also, Danny is in Paris for a photo shoot as he follows his dreams.

The Amish Nanny by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould -- book two in The Women of Lancaster County series; This one follows the story of Ada who found out her parentage is not as she grew up thinking.  In this story, Ada gets the chance to travel to Switzerland to see places important to her Amish/Anabaptist faith.

The Amish Bride by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould  -- book three follows the story of Ella as she leaves Lancaster County to learn baking in Indiana; also she tries to help her grandmother solve a mystery in a book their ancestor left 

The Amish Seamstress by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould  -- the final book in this series, this one is about Izzy, the young Amish caretaker and seamstress, and about Zed, Ella's film-making brother; a pretty good series over all

Bryson City Secrets by Walt Larimore, M.D. -- a follow-up book to an earlier book I read about this young doctor living in a small town in western NC; he reveals why his family left this charming mountain town

Adoring Addie by Leslie Gould -- book two in The Courtships of Lancaster County series; This follows Cate's cousin Addie's story - the only girl in a houseful of brothers.  Pretty good, but I liked Cate's story much more.

The Amish Groom by Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner -- part of The Men of Lancaster County series. I figured since I read the Women series, I'd give this a try.  Tyler's mother was raised Amish, but left her faith community to marry a career military man. When she died suddenly, Tyler, age 6,  went to live with his Amish grandparents while his dad went overseas.  In this book Tyler, now 23, feels a restlessness. He's not sure if he should join the Amish church or join the "Englisch" world where he started life and where his father, stepmother, and brother live.

A Daughter's Inheritance by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller -- book one in The Broadmoor Legacy; three cousins, this book focused on Fanny, who was orphaned when her mother died in childbirth and her father took his life.  I wasn't sure if I'd like this book, but enjoyed it better than I thought.  When Fanny was named in her grandfather's will, her greedy Uncle Jonas does his best to make her inheritance his own.  

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay  -- a great way to learn more about the rounding up of mostly women and children in July 1942; this story follows the stories of Sarah, the ten year old Jewish girl, who was taken by the French police, and Julia, a journalist in 2002 trying to find out more about this terrible moment in history

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kids by Bill Bryson -- a memoir about his life in Des Moines, Iowa 

An Unexpected Love by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller -- book two in The Broadmoor Legacy; this book focused more on Sophie although the other cousins were mentioned; good story


A Surrendered Heart by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller -- book three in The Broadmoor Legacy;  this book focused more on Amanda as she had to make a choice about saving the family fortune and so forth

The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis -- an Amish lady goes to Cape May, New Jersey, for eight weeks one summer as a nanny for an English family.  Will she go back to her Old Order Amish ways or follow the freedom of the non-Amish world?