It has been four years since Carl left her and the safe Amish community. Emma has also lost her parents and is in a world of despair. Thomas the quiet widower seems to be interested in her, but what about Carl?

This emotionally charged novel starts out with the unexpected and tragic death of Emma Shirack's parents. This tragedy tests the family over and over and topped with a few other incidents, creates a compelling and heart-tugging story.

The Amish way is to forgive, but Emma and other members of her family struggle throughout the story with forgiveness. It is in this one act that they will heal and give them a freedom that they need, but forgiveness is not easily done.

I found this whole story mesmerizing and somewhat different from other Amish fiction I have read in the past. The struggles Emma and her family face are not easily handled and that made for a true-to-life scenario for me. One tragedy can affect so many people in many different ways, add in guilt, shame, wrong choices and broken hearts, the effect can be astounding.

This story is one about love, loss, guilt, trauma, faith, forgiveness and healing. It is so well written that I found it impossible to put down. Kelly Irvin captures the essence of family and faith in this book. It is the first book of her Bliss Creek Amish series, and after reading this one, I can't wait to get my hands on the next book to see what happens in Emma's family!! ( )

Emma Shirack is a young Amish woman who is twenty-one and still not married.
Her long time boyfriend Carl had left her and the Amish faith, which really hurt her as she always though they would be married. She helps out at home and loves to take care of her little twin sisters. There was a terrible accident and both her parents were killed by a truck hitting their buggy, now how were they going to manage the farm and the children?

She alone with her siblings that was left at home had jobs that they needed the money to help them survive, so none of them could care for the smaller children and take care of the farm and animals also. Then in came the brother that was married and he decided that he and his wife would take the smaller twins, so that the others could work. But Emma and her sister-in-law did not care for each other that much so how was this going to work?

A neighbor told them he would harvest the fields as he had large tractors but being Amish they didn't think this was proper. Along came another neighbor Tomas that was Amish man that had lost his wife and he was trying to raise two small children of his own. But he really liked Emma but she though he was too old for her. I really hope this little bit of information really makes you want to buy the book, or just go ahead and pre-order it . Good reading as you live the life of the Amish and see their hurts and the fun times too.

Thanks so much to Wynn-Wynn Media for sending me this reviewer copy of this book and the review is my own.