A Time To Love by Barbara Cameron

This book is about Jenny, a news correspondent who covers stories in war-torn countries. She also focuses on how these wars affect children. She has a soft spot for kids and it’s safe to say that the children are her main cause in her news career. When she’s seriously injured from the fallout of a bomb, she returns to her grandmother’s Amish home to recuperate. She also “meets” Matthew, an Amish man with whom she shared a budding romance as a teen. Matthew’s wife has died from cancer and he’s raising his three children with the help of Hannah, his sister.

Matthew and Jenny grow closer as she heals from her accident. However, there is an elder/bishop in Amish territory who objects to the budding romance. Jenny has to convince the elders that she’s in the area to heal and not to cause any trouble. This is a sweet, enjoyable romance that doesn’t have a heavy plot. If you want something sweet and breezy to read, then I recommend this book.

Have you read this book? If so, what’d you think about it?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

SPOILER:

I was reading an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) so, it’s possible these issues were cleared up in the final version of the story: A few things happened in the story which puzzled me, but I didn’t want to write these things in my review because I didn’t want to spoil the plot for anyone. These things in no way make this a bad book, and I’m recommending the book as a good read, but these are just a few things that I felt I should mention.

I felt that there were a couple of holes in the story. Matthew encourages Jenny to write her thoughts in a journal since she’s no longer able to help the children through her news correspondence. Jenny enjoys writing in the journal since it’s therapeutic for her and she also purchases a journal for one of Matthew’s children. When Phoebe, Jenny’s grandmother, overhears Matthew and Jenny talk about the journal writing, she clearly gets very upset, but, it’s never explained why she’s so upset.

When Jenny talks to her grandmother about the journals, she mentions Anne Frank (the famous Holocaust diary author). It appears her grandmother has never heard of Anne Frank, which I think is odd. Although the Amish live separately, they’re still in America and I know they do have an educational system up to the eighth grade. I’d think they’d learn about US history and such in school? It appeared that the Amish were more separated and far removed in this book than in other books I’ve read.

For example, Jenny appears to believe that her grandmother’s never been on an elevator – I’d think that most Amish may have been on an elevator in a public building (like a hospital or a visit to the doctor.) Her grandmother explains she’s been on one, but I thought it was unbelievable for Jenny to think of her grandmother and the rest of the Amish as living in a totally separate world – I believe the Amish mix with the English more than what this story portrays. Also, her grandmother is puzzled by the term “microwave”. Again, although she doesn’t own a microwave, I’d think that the Amish mix with the English enough to know about cell phones, microwaves, etc. although they don’t own these things.

Also, Jenny marries Matthew and becomes Amish. However, prior to this, she was a famous news correspondent and she lived in the world using her laptop computer, phone, modern conveniences and other electronic gadgets and she was on TV. There was NO discussion about her giving up her former way of life – NONE. I’d think to make the story more believable, there’d be some discussion about what Jenny would be giving up – her career, her electronic stuff, but this is not mentioned at all. I’d think there’d be some struggle for Jenny as she converts to Matthew’s world, but I did not see this struggle portrayed in this story.

In spite of these few things, this is still a sweet, gentle read that is very enjoyable!