Caroline's Secret

June 2, 2014
In this sweetly inspirational contemporary love story, Lillard (Gabriel’s Bride) sets up two romances in a small Oklahoma tourist community. Caroline Hostetler, a young Amish mother from Tennessee, not only grew up Plain, but also committed herself to the church. There’s just a small problem: the Amish of Wells Landing, where she arrived after fleeing her home two years ago, believe something about her that may not be true. It’s a secret that threatens both her and her toddler daughter. She’s taken in by Amish baker Esther Lapp, an older widow in love with the town’s woodcrafter, Abe Fitch. When Andrew Fitch, Abe’s nephew and a young Amish man with a broken heart, enters the picture, Andrew and Caroline’s friendship quickly turns into something more, with the help of their matchmaking elders. Rich with the trappings of Amish culture and tradition, the novel informs as well as entertains. Agent: Mary Sue Seymour, the Seymour Agency

June 15, 2014

Caroline Hostetler disgraced her Amish family by becoming pregnant while unmarried. Her baby daughter was the direct result of an illicit relationship with Trey, an Englischer who left before he realized her situation. Shunned by the conservative community in which she was raised, Caroline decides to forge a life for herself and her small daughter on the West Coast, but Caroline becomes ill during the bus journey and stops in Wells Landing, OK. There, she finds friends in the Amish community and begins to rebuild her life, including meeting Andrew, a man she could truly love. But Trey resurfaces, and Caroline must choose whether to leave her Amish world and marry Trey, or stay with Andrew in Oklahoma. VERDICT Lillard's (Saving Gideon; Katie's Choice) evocative prose, well-drawn protagonists, and detailed settings result in an inspirational story of romance, faith, and trust. Caroline's search for forgiveness and happiness will appeal to fans of Wanda Brunstetter and Beverly Lewis.

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