One
of my favorite things is when I find a book that I love by an author whose work
is new to me. I found a gem in Through
the Autumn Air by Kelly Irvin. I
absolutely loved this book, from the moment I first started reading it. I haven’t read a lot of Amish themed novels,
but there was something about storyline that caught my attention.
Mary
Katherine Ropp is a sixty-year-old widow and her last daughter is getting
married. Most in the community would have
her living with one of her married children and helping to raise her grandchildren. But Mary Katherine isn’t like most Amish
women. She’s little bit spunky, independent,
she likes to read, write stories and even dares to dream about opening a book
store with her English friend Dottie. Also,
part of the community is Ezekiel Miller who has been widowed for many
years. In spite of grief, he kept family
going through his business the Purpose Martin Café. Both Mary Katherine and Ezekiel can’t imagine
getting married again so late in life, especially since they had wonderful
marriages. But Ezekiel can imagine
hiring another cook to help at the restaurant.
In to the storyline steps the not so skilled, but very hungry burglar,
Burke McMillan, who has a late-night encounter with Mary Katherine.
What
I loved best about this book were the characters. They were very likable people that I would
enjoy knowing. Mary Katherine was my
favorite and I loved her ongoing conversations with her husband Moses. I loved Ezekiel’s tender caring heart, tender
for Mary Katherine, open to help and give a new start to a stranger, loving to
his grandchildren, especially Kenneth.
Burke is a man of mystery. Is he
just a down on his luck kind of guy, is he the thief that’s been plaguing the
Amish community or is something more going on with him?
Kelly Irvin is a wonderful
writer. She knows how to make characters
interesting and very likeable, even in plain every day ordinary life. She gives insight into the characters and what
they are going through at this stage in their lives. The Amish community setting is interesting
but doesn’t overwhelm the story, instead it’s the background and reveals how
these characters live their lives. I
could identify with many of the feelings that Mary Katherine was
expressing.
The
one person, I wasn’t too keen on was her son Thomas because he was so
disrespectful to his mother. I would
think as a Christian, he would have tried to honor his mother, but instead he treated
her more like a child who has misbehaved.
I
loved Through the Autumn Air by Kelly Irvin and I look forward to
reading more of her books. I highly
recommend this story, it was lovely! I
read this book during a very difficult time in my life and I found it to be a
very comforting place to escape to for a while.
I
would like to thank BookLook and
Zondervan Publishers for the opportunity to read Through the Autumn Air in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to give a favorable
review.
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