Blog Tour and Review: A Stranger's Wish (Amish Farm Trilogy, Book 1) by Gayle Roper

A Stranger's Wish (Amish Farm Trilogy, Book 1)
by Gayle Roper
Copyright 1998, 2010
Harvest House Publishers
224 pages
ISBN: 978-0-7369-2586-0
Fiction/Romance

From the publisher:
Beloved author Gayle Roper begins a contemporary Amish series readers are sure to love....

Englischer Kristie Matthews’ move to an Amish family farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, starts on a bad note as the young schoolteacher is bitten by a dog. A trip to the local ER leads to an encounter with an old man who hands her a key and swears her to silence.

But when Kristie’s life is endangered, she suspects there’s a connection to the mysterious key. While solving the mystery (and staying alive), Kristie must decide whether her lawyer boyfriend, Todd Reasoner, is really right for her....or if Jon Clarke Griffin, the new local man she’s met, is all he seems to be.

Mystery, romance, and a beautiful Amish settling....just the thing readers are clamoring for.

My Review:
It's nice to read a book that was originally published (1998) before Amish fiction was "cool." That said I'm not sure if this book was one of the reason Amish fiction became so popular. I'm not saying that it isn't good, because it is, it's just not one of the best Amish fiction books that I've read. I did really like that the main character Kristie wasn't Amish but she boarded with an Amish family, whereas most of the Amish fiction that I've read lately centers around Amish characters or those who had left the Amish community only to return years later. I actually think one of my favorite characters in this book was the secondary character, Jake Zook. To me Jake was the most real, he had anger issues, he had to deal with tragedy and a disability that was a consequence of rash choices that he had made in his youth. I couldn't help but hope that things would work out for him. Although this wasn't his story I really hope to see more of him in this series.

The whole mystery of the key was a bit strange for me, however it did provide for some interesting and suspenseful scenes toward the end of the book where a dashing hero comes to the rescue *wink.* While there are lessons on faith, trust and forgiveness it wasn't preachy. I think if you are a fan of the Amish/Romance fiction genre that you will like this book. It's a relatively quick read with a bit of sweet romance. I look forward to reading what happens next in The Secret Identity coming in September of this year.

To learn more about Gayle Roper and her books visit:
Her WEBSITE
Amish ficition Website

*I received my free copy through First Wild Card from the publisher in exchange for a review.*