An Unexpected Match

June 15, 2014

Widow Rachel Beiler wishes for more than her Amish life can provide. She hatches a plan with a neighbor to obtain her GED and then attend college in secret. Rachel is dismayed and thrilled at the freedom of being an Englischer, if only for one evening a week. On her first night at school, she meets Rob Lanier and is instantly attracted. Newly returned from Afghanistan, Rob is dealing with his father's recent fall from grace in their wealthy community. Meanwhile Rachel's brother, Johnny, has also found trouble in the English world, getting embroiled in loan-sharking, drug smuggling, and false-document scams. VERDICT Three-time Christy finalist Roper ("Amish Farm Trilogy"; "Seaside Seasons" series) launches a new run with this compelling story about a young woman's struggle between keeping to her traditions and listening to her heart. It's bound to attract both Amish fiction and romance fans alike. For readers new to the genre, translations of Amish dialect are well-integrated into the narrative.

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