A Simple Charity

GIVEAWAY

LAUER, ROSALIND
A SIMPLE CHARITY

Of all the gifts that last,
 The greatest is charity.
 
Although she is still in her twenties, Fanny Lapp has known a lifetime of love and heartache. Twice widowed, she has a home to maintain, a renovation in the works, and a family to raise—all without a husband. Fortunately, in the Amish community, help is never far away. To ease Fanny’s burdens, the bishop sends Zed Miller to the Lapp house. Fanny is drawn to kind, handsome Zed, who suffers from sins of the past. But to everything there is a season, and Fanny cannot act on her feelings while mourning her husband.

Newly returned to his Amish roots after many years in the outside world, Zed knows he must prove himself to earn acceptance from his community. Without a second thought, he picks up a hammer and sets to work helping Fanny fulfill her dream of turning an old carriage house into a women’s childbirth center. Soon Zed finds himself a part of Fanny’s daily chores, sharing her laughter and sorrow. Knowing that time flows like a river, running slow and steady, Zed plans to wait on his love. But when their secret is discovered, how deep will the disapproval of their community run?

A reminder that the greatest gifts come from the heart, A Simple Charity shines like the sun with the blessings of everyday miracles.

My Review:

Lauer excels at writing community. She has created such memorable characters in the small town of Halfway and I love how they crisscross from one book to another. I get a thrill out of catching up with old favourites while digging deeper into the lives of new faves. Remarkably, despite this overlap, each book reads well as a standalone.

Lauer also creates stories of heart and depth and hope. Gritty at times, these are definitely real lives with realistic challenges that cause her characters to grapple with God's will in the grand scheme of things. That's what Fanny and Zed have to do as they gingerly work out their place in the community. Zed, as the outsider desperately wanting in, Fanny as a second-time widow in a town she married into...and the untimely attraction that develops between the two.

But this isn't just Franny and Zed's story. There's a secondary love story in the Englischer world of Halfway as well and the author weaves the two threads together in an incredible way. Talk about reader satisfaction!

I honestly wish I'd read A Simple Charity with pen and notebook in hand because there are so many wonderfully sage sayings dotted throughout. The wisdom of the Amish at its best. A superb novel that will entertain and inspire.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of A Simple Charity please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday January 11 2015. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!