A Wish For Home By Jo Ann Brown & GIVEAWAY

 

Welcome to the Blog Tour for A Wish for Home by Jo Ann Brown, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Mountain Survival
Series: Secrets of Bliss Valley #1
Author: Jo Ann Brown 
Publisher: Love Inspired Trade
Release Date: March 30, 2021
Genre: Christian contemporary romance/Amish

Caught between who she is…and who she was. 

Lauren Nolt hasn’t forgiven the Amish community of Lancaster County for shunning her parents. But returning as a successful Englischer working for large developers is just what she needs to get a promotion and give her parents the life they deserve. Coming face-to-face with her childhood bully, Amish widower Adam Hershberger, is the last thing she wants. Yet when her world’s shaken by a shocking discovery, Adam’s the only one she can confide in… 

Adam’s never forgiven himself for the part he played in Lauren’s past, nor what drove him to do it. But as developers threaten his great-grossdawdi’s farm, she’s the only one who can help. And with his little girl determined to bring him and Lauren together at every turn, keeping his distance is impossible. Now they must learn to trust each other—even as their secret feelings grow stronger. But is love enough to bridge the gap between their very different worlds?

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Walmart | BookBub

The trade paperback version of A Wish for Home is available exclusively at your local Walmart or Walmart.com

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My Review:

I actually didn't think I'd have time to read this book, but I'm sure glad I did! Amish novels always seem to refresh my reading palette. There's just something about them that draw me in!

Having never read any books by Jo Ann Brown and not really having read a lot of Amish, I was really impressed by this author. I felt like I was transported to Bliss Valley... in Ringo! I'll tell you what, this should definitely be a Hallmark movie! It had everything you would expect and more. Actually, it would be on the Movies & Mysteries channel.

I was actually surprised at some of the twists and turns in the story. There's definitely a couple of mysteries that need to be solved and it sure doesn't seem like Lauren is up to it once she ends up in the town her family fled from years ago. It was easy to imagine how uncomfortable it would be to immediately run into the person who made your life miserable as a teen. You could've cut the tension with a butter knife. Lauren has a job that she's protecting from another woman who would like to grab the promotion she's hoping for on top of important meeting she has to oversee. Wouldn't you know, those meetings are ones Adam is utterly against!

While I really loved the main characters, I thoroughly enjoyed the secondary characters of Lauren's great-aenti Sylvia and Grossdawdi Ephraim. They were seriously adorable, especially when they were together. We can't forget Adam's daughter Mary Beth. Now that was a little girl with a lot of spunk!

The main aspect of this story, the fact that people can and do change, and are we willing to offer forgiveness really resonated with me. Like the scripture says, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." Of course, a couple of the characters made choices as adults that made it hard to see how forgiveness would come soon or easily.

Now, you might not expect a "fan yourself" moment in an Amish novel, but lemme tell you, there's one in here that will knock your socks off. I was like, "Now this is a kissing scene!" It was just sweet and powerful, but unexpected. hahahaha

Thoroughly enjoyed the story and am looking forward to more. I do have some questions lingering from this book, so I may have to reach out to the author to see if there might be a follow up story! :)

Here is an excerpt from the book:

She pulled off his gloves and tossed them next to his hat on the counter. She sneezed, and her hood flew back to reveal her face. All color washed from it as his gaze crashed into hers as he was about to say, Gesundheit.

The word shriveled on his tongue, and he couldn’t look away from her oval face. She was pretty with delicate features. Her light brown hair streaked with blond fell forward over eyes that were an amazing light purple.

Purple eyes, blond hair, headstrong, correct in everything she did and said.

His own eyes widened. Was it possible? Could the Englischer standing in front of him be a former classmate at Bliss Valley School?

Knowing he’d feel like a dummkopf if she said no, he asked, “Are you Laurene Nolt?”

She flinched, but replied, “Yes, but I go by Lauren now.”

She didn’t add more. She didn’t need to. He could hear her accusing thoughts as if she screamed them. This beautiful woman standing in his friend’s shop was the adult version of the young girl who’d been given the task of trying to tutor him when they were in their final year of school. She’d been cute as a fourteen-year-old, but time had enhanced the golden sheen of her hair and deepened her eyes’ rich shade.

Scene after scene exploded out of his memory as he recalled the hours he’d spent with her. Each one buffeted him like a fist, more painful and humiliating than the previous one. Back then, the humiliation had been heaped on her. He’d made sure of that, but now regret threatened to drown even the simplest thought as he recalled what he’d put her through when she’d been trying to help him. She’d done her best, and he’d ridiculed her for it.

He’d thought that part of his past was dead and buried, but now it stood in front of him. Not it. Her. With her chin raised and cold disdain in her eyes, she was a living tribute to the foolish things he’d done in his life.

He guessed she wouldn’t be leaving soon. Not when it would have been dangerous for her to try to drive her car with compromised struts. The storm would have the roads closed soon, if they weren’t already. She was stuck in Bliss Valley at least for tonight, and he couldn’t leave her stranded in the shop.

He owed her at least that much.

The urge to laugh clawed at his throat. He owed her so much more, but the best thing he could do for them—and for his family—was to get her somewhere safe tonight. Somewhere he could avoid her and the past she’d brought to life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Publishers Weekly bestselling author Jo Ann Brown has created characters and stories for as long as she can remember. After college, serving as a US Army quartermaster officer, getting married and increasing her blessings with three children, she sold her first book in 1987. Since then, she has sold over one hundred titles.  RT Book Reviews called her “a truly talented author.” She loves teaching and established the romance writing course at Brown University. She divides her time between Florida and Massachusetts with her husband of over forty years. Find out more about Jo Ann and her books at www.joannbrownbooks.com.

CONNECT WITH JO ANN: Website 

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy of A Wish for Home!

Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight March 30, 2021 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on April 6, 2021. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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