Book Review: A Sister’s Wish by Shelley Shepard Gray

In Shelley Shepard Gray’s third book in her Charmed Amish Life series, a respectable young woman finds herself falling for an Amish man from the wrong side of the tracks.

Amelia Kinsinger is the perfect Amish woman—at least according to her neighbors. And while Amelia takes pride in her role as homemaker, she’s also harboring a secret: She’s been in love with bad boy Simon Hochstetler for as long as she can remember. Too bad he’s about as far from “perfect” as an Amish man could get… but that’s exactly why she’s so drawn to him.

Life hasn’t been kind to Simon. He ran away from an abusive home at fifteen and things went downhill from there. Eventually, Simon landed in prison. But the experience changed him. Now back in Charm as a grown man, he’s determined to make a new life for himself and not think too much about his wild past…unless it pertains to Amelia.

He’s loved Amelia for years. To him, she represents everything good and kind in the world. When he realizes that she returns his affections, he starts calling on her in secret, even though her older brother Lukas—who just happens to be Simon’s best friend—has made it perfectly clear that Amelia deserves better. Simon disagrees and believes he’s the only one who can truly make her happy.

But when Amelia gets hurt, it sets off a chain of events that forces them to consider their future together—and face their past mistakes. There’s a chance for love… but only if Simon dares to trust Amelia with the secrets of his past.

SERIES: The Charmed Amish Life #3
GENRE: Inspirational Amish Romance
PUBLISHER: Avon Inspire
RELEASE DATE: September 27, 2016
PAGES: 272

“Do you know that you’re everything I’ve ever dreamed about?”

I have been waiting for Amelia and Simon’s story, and A Sister’s Wish does not disappoint! In fact, it’s richer and more profound than I ever imagined it would be.

Amelia is sweet and helpful and loyal and… feistier than I gave her credit for being. Although, considering she has a pet goat that tends to cause problems, I probably should have suspected as much. 😉 Simon is not the typical Amish hero… and I LOVE IT! I love him. And Amelia. And Simon and Amelia together. And more than once in A Sister’s Wish I wanted to purse whomp some sense into her siblings.

The Charmed Life series looks at how different people deal with grief and personal pain. Simon’s response was to run away from his pain and run to things that would never satisfy. He’s paid the price for his mistakes but he still bears the marks of his past in more ways than one. Amelia is his best friend’s little sister, the daughter of the man who helped him restore his faith and his dignity, and the one girl he’s always wanted.  Yet, he starts to believe that she’ll be tainted by his past and that’s when things start to fall apart for the two of them (hence the previously threatened purse whomping of the previously mentioned siblings). Their tentative journey back to a lasting relationship is sweet and tender and full of grace. One scene in particular had me in tears AND fanning and grinning – all at the same time.

And in the meantime – while they’re working out their issues – some other young men come to call on Amelia.  Enter the delightful humor that I always find in Shelley Gray’s books! “I think it’s a bit early to discuss herding goats together, don’t you?” Hahaha! Trust me, that scene is hilarious. You’ll love it! The epilogue is another grin-inducing favorite!

Bottom Line: Shelley Shepard Gray always writes with such charm (the pun works) and grace and heart, and A Sister’s Wish is yet another example. The characters feel like dear friends before you’ve ventured very far at all into the story, and the message of not being defined by the mistakes in your past is authentic and touching. Amelia and Simon’s romance is deliciously swoonworthy and sweet, and I’m very much looking forward to the next installment in this series.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 5 stars / Loved it!

KissingBook Level: 4 / Keep that fan handy!

Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

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What about you? If you have siblings, are you the sibling who interferes or the one who gets bossed around?