Book Review: "Wanted" by Shelley Shepard Gray
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Hidden is Shelley’s first foray into inspirational fiction. Previously, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned both her bachelors and masters degrees in education. She now lives in southern Ohio where she writes full time. Shelley is an active member of her church. She serves on committees, volunteers in the church office, and is part of the Telecare ministry, which calls homebound members on a regular basis. Shelley looks forward to the opportunity to write novels that showcase her Christian ideals.This is the second book in the Sisters Of Heart series. The first was Hidden.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Twenty-year-old Katie Brenneman has always quietly fancied Jonathan Lundy. So when the brokenhearted widower asks her to help him take care of his two young girls, Katie knows it will be a trying time-yet she cannot pass up a golden opportunity to get to know this man better.
Just as she's settling into her new life, a message arrives from Katie's past, threatening to expose her darkest secrets. During her Rumspringa, her running-around years, she experimented with activities forbidden in the Amish way of life. Frightened by how far she'd strayed from her values, Katie ran back home, vowing to cut all ties with the outside world. Now her transgressions are coming back to haunt her, just as Jonathan seems willing to welcome her into his heart.
Will the past destroy Katie's chances for love? Or will Katie finally allow herself to accept God's love, forgive her past...and receive everything she's ever wanted?
If you would like to read an excerpt of Chapter 1 of Wanted, go HERE
Everyone just wants to be loved Shelley Shepard Gray's first book, Hidden, was such a refreshing book to read that I was eagerly awaiting the release of the second book in the series. It was good to see that this was a good continuation of the first book. This time we get to see the viewpoint of an Amish girl who's had a taste of the English world but chose to come back. I liked her story because it was more focused on wanting to be loved. It just so happened that she was Amish. It was also still interesting to see how Anna is adapting to the Amish lifestyle. While she's starting to get more comfortable, it was still refreshing and realistic to see her still having trouble fully submerging to her new life. I say this, because I've read other Amish stories where I've seen people give up modern things cold turkey and slip 100% into this new culture and it comes off very fake. The only complaint I had about the book was that it felt a little short. Jonathan and Katie's romantic relationship felt a little rushed. I know that Katie had been pining for him for a while but it seemed like he resisted her for a little bit and then completely caved in. I think more tension between the two would have been interesting to read. I also would have liked more story on Katie's rumspringa. I always find it interesting to read about Amish teens who get a taste of the "English world" before they get baptized. All in all I did very much enjoy this book. It feels different from the other Amish books that are out there. More light hearted and not as dramatic. I'll be looking forward to reading Winnie's story in the next installment of the series.
Wanted by Shelley Shepard Gray is published by Avon Inspire (2009)
I would deeply appreciate being signed up for this drawing....however I am a bit confused as I thought her name was Shelly Adina....but I am a flake so I probably read it incorrectly.
ReplyDeleteGayla Collins
gayla.c@bresnan.net