A wonderful Amish story filled with poignant life lessons of family, love, forgiveness, and faith in God.
A beautiful love story between two people who are wary of commitment. Jamie is a volunteer fire fighter and Kayla lost her brother Simeon to a fire. They each must decide if love is worth fighting for. ( )

Amish volunteer firefighter James meets young Amish woman Kayla: object - romance. Only it takes sooooo long! James and Kayla start off on the wrong foot. They meet when her family’s barn burns down and her younger brother is injured. But they work through those differences. However, others arise when James’s family suffers a tragedy. Then those work. And then they don’t. But they do. But they don’t! Readers might think they were pulling petals off a daisy saying, he loves me, she loves me not, etc. The tale is an interesting one, and so are the characters. And the way the characters deal with grief is well done. But as far as dealing with the romance angle, it often seemed like they were teenagers instead of adults. In fact, the teenaged siblings seemed more mature at times. Still, it was an entertaining tale. ( )

This was one of my favorite books I have read by Amy Clipston. This had romance and a little bit of tragedy. Both Kayla and Jamie must overcome some tough obstacles to make it together. This will have you laughing and crying. I believe that this will make a great beach read or anytime read. ( )

Jamie Riehl is a Firefighter in an Amish Community in Lancaster County. He is attending a barn fire on the property of the Dienner when he has to rescue the youngest child, Nathan. He meets Kayla, Nathan's sister and something clicks, that is until Jamie encourages Nathan to sign up for firefighter training. Simeon, Kayla's older brother was killed in a firefighting accident and they are still getting over it. Kayla just can't allow her heart and her family to go through anymore heartache. What if she were to lose another brother to a fire as well? What if she lets Jaimie into her heart and he is killed? She is not able to resist Jamie and she becomes more attached to him as the story progresses. The romance between Kayla and jamie seems to on again off again throughout the book. When a situation occurs that rocks Jamie's world, he is not sure if he will ever have time to devote to a girlfriend.

I really liked Jamie and Kayla and my heart went out to both of them. Kayla did aggravate me at times, not willing to give Jamie the benefit of the doubt, but then again, she was dealing with her past situations as well. As Jamie dealt with his guilt by working himself ragged at both the farm and firehouse, I wanted to give him a hug and a slap at the same time. It was nice to see how these two families became entwined in each other's lives so quickly, just like you would expect in a small community. I enjoyed this story and look forward to the next one in this series. This is the first book I have read by Amy Clipston and it seems that her previous books are even better than this one based on reviews. It looks like I may have found another wonderful author to follow. Thanks to Zondervan who generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. ( )

“A Place at Our Table” by Amy Clipston is the first book in the “Amish Homestead” series. It deals with very realistic issues and can be a heavier read at times, but the romance is so sweet. I don’t usually expect Amish books to deal with such complex topics, but I really enjoyed it!

The characters in this book deal with loss, fear, guilt and grief. I felt the first half of the book is rather heavy; but as it shifted to focus more on the romance, the tone turns lighter and sweeter. I really appreciate the lessons the story includes, such as trusting the Lord with our futures and that tomorrow is never promised so you should live your life to the fullest.

There are some great relationships and friendships in this book. I appreciate seeing the family and sibling relationships, which play a big role in the story. The romance is sweet and slow building. I found myself really rooting for Kayla and Jamie (our main characters) and their relationship.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. In the beginning it was slower for me and dealt with some heavy topics, but as the story progressed, I found myself invested in the characters. I would especially recommend this book to fans of Amish fiction.

Content: This is a clean read with no mature content.

Rating: I give this book 3.5 stars.

Genre: Amish; Christian fiction; Romance

I want to thank the Fiction Guild, Amy Clipston and Zondervan for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255. ( )