Review: The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman

Title: The Wonder of Your Love
Author: Beth Wiseman
Format: Kindle
Genre: Christian/Amish Fiction
Source: Netgalley.com
Published:  October 4th 2011 by Thomas Nelson
My Rating: ♥ ♥ 1/2

From Goodreads 



Katie Ann lost the love of her life. But in Canaan, God offers her a new beginning.

Settling in to her new life in Canaan, Colorado, Katie Ann Stoltzfus gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The boy's father - her estranged husband - died before their son is born. Despite his infidelities, Ivan was her one true love. She mourns his loss, vows never to trust another man, and resolves to fill the role of both mother and father to her son.

Then Eli Detweiler arrives in Canaan from Middlefield, Ohio, to attend his niece's wedding. He's been raising his kids alone in Middlefield since his wife's death fifteen years ago. Now each child is married, so Eli looks forward to living a less-structured life-and eating shoofly pie for breakfast every morning. There's no one to care for except himself.

When a meddling-but good-hearted-Englisch woman plays matchmaker for Katie Ann and Eli, they find themselves facing an unexpected, hopeful future…brought together by God's wondrous love.

WAY back when I was pregnant and on bed-rest, I fell in love with Amish books. (I had spent the previous 3 years as a truck driver traveling the country and my favorite place to visit had been Amish Pennsylvania, so this was a way to experience it while stuck in bed.) So now? I still on occasion escape with one of these books for an afternoon and devour the pages.

I was excited to read The Wonder of Your Love, but found myself a bit disappointed. The story as a whole was good, and I loved that it was set in Southern Colorado near the Sangre De Cristo mountain range (where I live, and where the Amish Community is growing).

I also liked that it was a twist, rather than featuring a young girl searching for love and her life in the Amish Community - instead it focused on Katie Ann and Eli, two middle aged Amish Widow/ers.  Which was a fun change within this type of book.




I didn't care for how much Eli and Katie Ann (the main characters) relied on technology. Cell phones, radios, etc. I don't pretend to know anything at all really about the Amish Community - but I don't think cell phones are common use among middle aged Amish. (I could be wrong!) But this part just felt funny to me.

I also didn't care for the storyline with Lucy (the mistress of Katie Ann's deceased husband Ivan) or the other HUGE interactions among the "English" such as Katie Ann's best friend, Martha.

I suppose what it comes down to is that I read these Amish fiction books to escape into a life without all the technology and modern niceties; and this book was disappointing in that aspect.

I really wanted to enjoy "The Wonder of Your Love" but found myself wishing for something different. I give this book 2 1/2 hearts. ♥ ♥ 1/2