Book Review: "The Wounded Heart" by Adina Senft

Summary from BN.com: A widow with two small children, Amelia Beiler is struggling to make ends meet. She is running her late husband's business, but it's not what she was raised to do, which is run a home. When she gets an offer for the business from Eli Fischer, she's only too relieved to consider it-especially when it looks like Eli's interest might include more than just the shop. But when she begins to experience strange physical symptoms and is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it's difficult not to question God's will. If she pursues the treatment she believes in, she risks going under the bann. But how can she allow Eli to court her when she can't promise him a future?

I was a bit surprised when I started reading this book. I was expecting the book to be heavily focused on quilting since I thought that's how the book was being advertised and was surprised that it wasn't. There is focus on Amish at the end of the book where you can make a quilt with patterns and instructions from all three books. However the main focus of the story deals with three women who are both Amish and lifelong friends. This story deals with Amelia and the hard decisions she has to make when dealing with her health.

In terms of religion, this book didn't have much that upset me regarding the theology about the Amish except for the medical issue. I understand it's their right, but not even being allowed to have crowns on your teeth? One would honestly consider pulling out all their teeth instead of having a minor fix? Also the issue of not being allowed organ transplants is a big issue. I wonder if they have the same policy for children as they do adults. The medical issue is a big deal in the book since Amelia has to struggle with what she is going to do when she thinks she has multiple sclerosis. One other thing that did bug me a little was that the bishop and deacons blamed her for the cause of the strife within the men regarding the selling of her store. Why on earth is it her fault? The men were the ones who were competing against each other.

Also interesting is Emma's view on faith. She has a bit of a disagreement with Amelia regarding certain issues and from what I could tell, Emma doesn't seem to believe everything about the Amish faith. It will be interesting when her book rolls around to get the full perspective. Romance is present in the book but it doesn't play a huge role in the story like other Amish books.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The beginning was a bit hard to get into and I was confused at first regarding the three friends and telling them apart from each other. However, once I got into the story I found myself enjoying it and wondering which direction Amelia was going to take. I didn't find it to be preachy like other Amish books though I will admit that their simplicity did irk me a bit at times. It's interesting enough to where I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

The Wounded Heart by Adina Senft is published by Faithwords (2011)

This ARC was provided by the publisher

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