About the Book
Title: An Amish Cinderella
By: Shelley Shepard Gray
Format: Hardcover
Number of Pages: 304
Vendor: Kensington
Publication Date: September 26, 2023
ISBN: 1496739841
ISBN-13: 9781496739841
Series:Amish of Apple Creek
Now that her friends are all marrying or moving away, Heart Beachy has started feeling lonely. Worse, everyone keeps asking when she’s going to find a man of her own. Don’t they realize Heart has her hands full at home with her widowed dad, too many chores, and a menagerie of needy, small animals? Besides, she doesn’t understand the fuss about marriage. It’s enough to make her consider finally becoming a pet-sitter, or moving to an English community, where she won’t be an oddity . . .
Newcomer Clayton Glick is utterly charmed by Heart—and completely confounded. He can’t figure out why this beautiful woman is as awkward as a teenager whenever he’s around, which is often now that he’s an apprentice to her blacksmith father. So Clayton starts assisting with Heart’s never-ending tasks, even helping her corral her unruly pets. How else can he court an adorably flustered woman who doesn’t know the first thing about courtship? Because courting is exactly what he intends . . .
Heart doesn’t know why her pulse hammers every time she sees Clayton. She only knows yielding to such emotions will mean trouble. . . But maybe with a little faith—and the loss of a shoe—Clayton can convince her to join him on the road to happily ever after.
My Thoughts
Heart Beachy lives with her widowed father Levi and stays busy taking care of the household and numerous adopted pets. Levi is a brusque, no-nonsense blacksmith who takes on an apprentice and is a little leery about having Clayton around. The entire story is magical and engaging, with Heart full of hope, Levi overcoming bitterness and loss and Clayton emerging into a new world of family. I enjoyed how well-developed the characters were and how the plot flowed smoothly between the action in the house and out in the barn where Levi and Clayton worked together. Filled with heartwarming family love, friendship and hope, this is not-to-be-missed by anyone who loves a good Amish story with a pet rat as a likable and intelligent addition to the tale.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
About the Author
Shelley has been featured in the Philadelphia Enquirer, Washington Post, Time Magazine, and USA Today. She has also been interviewed on NPR as well as numerous regional radio stations. Publishers Weeklycalls her Walnut Creek series “A slow-burning, enjoyable romance… Embedded in this quaint story is a poignant message about the importance of community, compassion, and doing what’s right rather than what’s easy.”
Shelley has hosted several well-attended ‘Girlfriend Getaways’ for Amish reading fans. Her most recent Girlfriend Getaway, hosted with bestselling novelists Amy Clipston and Suzanne Woods Fisher in Sugarcreek, Ohio, was filmed by BuzzFeed and highlighted on NetFlix’s Follow Thisepisode on the popularity of Amish fiction.
Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature and later obtained her master’s degree in educational administration. She now lives in southern Colorado near her grown children, walks her dachshunds, bakes too much, and writes full time.
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