A Time to Love

CAMERON, BARBARA

A TIME TO LOVE

War correspondent Jennie King thinks she’s just a temporary guest in her grandmother’s Amish community while she recuperates from the devastating injuries sustained in a car bomb attack that changed her world. But when she meets Matthew Bontrager, the man she had a crush on as a teenager, she wonders if God has a new plan for her. Jennie has emotional and physical scars and though she feels she has come home to this man and this place, she's not sure she can bridge the difference between their worlds.

IF I HAD TO DESCRIBE BARBARA CAMERON'S WRITING STYLE I WOULD SAY THAT THE WORDS FLOW -- SMOOTH, FLUID AND SEAMLESS. HER WORK IS A JOY TO READ AND I WAS THOROUGHLY CAPTIVATED BY THE FIRST IN HER QUILTS OF LANCASTER COUNTY SERIES.

I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MADE THIS BOOK SUCH A SUCCESSFUL READ FOR ME WAS THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE CHAOS AND VIOLENCE THAT JENNY LIVED THROUGH AND THE PEACEFUL CALM OF THE AMISH COMMUNITY SHE RECUPERATES IN. HER BRUSH WITH DEATH HAS HER RE-EVALUATING SOME OF HER CHOICES IN LIFE, AND WHILE SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN A BELIEVER, SHE LEARNS ANEW HOW TO TRUST IN GOD'S WILL. HER STORY IS A POWERFUL ONE, AND CAN EASILY BE IDENTIFIED WITH BY ANYONE WHO HAS FACED A CRISIS THAT HAS FORCED THEM TO MAKE SIMILAR EVALUATIONS.

THE DEVELOPING ROMANCE BETWEEN JENNY AND MATTHEW IS SLOW AND STEADY, GROWING OUT OF A RENEWED FRIENDSHIP AND GROUNDED BY MATTHEW'S THREE CHILDREN. THERE WAS SUCH JOY AND REVERENCE IN THE FAMILY SCENES! I LOVED READING ABOUT THE CHILDREN ALMOST AS MUCH AS I LOVED READING THE ROMANCE.

CAMERON'S CHARACTERS -- ALL OF THEM FROM LITTLE ANNIE BONTRAGER TO ELDERLY PHOEBE KING -- WERE WELL-DEFINED AND MEMORABLE. I FELT A CONNECTION AND THE FEEL OF COMMUNITY -- ALMOST AS IF I HAD VISITED THE AREA AND MET THE PEOPLE.

IN SOME WAYS I THINK JENNY'S GRANDMOTHER STOLE THE SHOW. THE BOOK IS PEPPERED WITH HER SAGE WISDOM, AMISH STYLE. SUCH WISE, SOUND COUNSEL THAT INSPIRES ME TO APPLY IT IN MY OWN LIFE.

THIS IS MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH A BARBARA CAMERON NOVEL BUT IT WON'T BE MY LAST! IT'S DEFINITELY HEADED TO MY KEEPER SHELF!!!!