About the book: From bestselling author Kelly Irvin comes the fourth and final book in the compelling Every Amish Season series.
Will the long, cold winter prove to be Laura and Zechariah’s season of renewed purpose and love sweetened with age?
Laura Kauffman has been a widow for eight years–since her husband of forty-five years passed away in his sleep on Christmas Eve. She tries to keep herself busy with her nine children, fifty-two grandchildren, and twenty-eight great-grandchildren. But she can’t stop wondering: What does God expect her to do with her days now? Has her usefulness been expended? Why leave her to carry on alone? Those are questions she can’t answer until a friend suffers complications during childbirth and needs someone to help care for her newborn twins and three older children. The twins’ great-grandfather, Zechariah Stutzman, a widower himself, seems to need some upkeep as well. Suddenly, Laura has her hands full, and the long winter days don’t seem so long.
Zechariah suffers from Parkinson’s disease. When his wife died of breast cancer two years earlier, his children insisted he live with one of his grandsons and their growing family because of his disease’s progression. He’s not allowed to drive, chop wood, or build fires. He feels he has outlived his usefulness. Then Laura comes along and seems determined to change that.
Both Laura and Zechariah must seek God’s will to find the purpose for this season in their lives. They have to be willing to trust and to accept that second chances for romantic love are possible–even probable–when they give control of their lives to God.
Publication Date: February 5, 2019
Publisher: Zondervan
Genre: Amish fiction
Series: Every Amish Season, 4
My thoughts: With so many Amish fiction books focusing on the younger Amish and their rumspringa, courting, and marriages it is refreshing to come across a book like With Winter’s First Frost. Kelly Irvin has penned a relevant and realistic story about the older generation of the Amish and the issues they face whether it be arthritis, Parkinson’s or just not feeling needed so much anymore. And at times, even being treated like a child.
This story was so believable for me and the situations the characters were in weren’t just ones limited to the Amish. This book could have easily been about characters of any faith or walk of life. I did enjoy the glimpse into how the Amish care for the elder family members and how the elders viewed their place in the family and district. Also interesting to me was how they applied the bann to a member of the district when it was needed.
This was a quick read for me because the author did such a wonderful job of telling the story and creating characters I cared about. It was easy to empathize with Laura and Zechariah as they navigated the winter season of their lives and feelings for each other. As always I love the author’s writing style and the pace at which she tells a story. There is plenty of time to get to know the characters but at the same time, I’m never bored with the story.
This book is simply a must-have for fans of Amish fiction. While it is the final book in the series it can easily be read as a standalone. From the lovely front cover to the last page this book was a wonderful read!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through BookLook Bloggers and was not required to write a review. All opinions are mine.
About the author: Kelly Irvin’s newest series, Every Amish Series, began with the debut of Upon a Spring Breeze, in April. The second book, Beneath the Summer Sun, will debut in January 2018. It is a four-book series published by Zondervan/HarperCollins Christian Publishing. This follows the Amish of Bee County series, The Saddle Maker’s Son, released in June 2016. It is an ECPA bestseller. It follows The Bishop’s Son, and the critically acclaimed bestseller, The Beekeeper’s Son, which earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The reviewer called it “a beautifully woven masterpiece.” The Beekeeper’s Son was a finalist in the romance category of the 2016 ACFW Carol Awards Contest.
Kelly has novellas in The Amish Christmas Gift and The Amish Marketplace, both of which were also ECPA bestsellers. She is also the author of the Bliss Creek Amish series and the New Amish Amish series. The first series includes To Love and To Cherish, A Heart Made New, and Love’s Journey Home, published by Harvest House. The New Hope Amish series includes Love Still Stands, followed by Love Redeemed, which was an ACFW Carol Award finalist, and A Plain Love Song.
Kelly has also penned two romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine..
The Kansas native is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and ACFW’s San Antonio local chapter Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers.
A graduate of the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism, Kelly has been writing nonfiction professionally for thirty years. She studied for three semesters at the University of Costa Rica, learning the Spanish language. As a journalist, she worked six years in the border towns of Laredo and El Paso.
She worked in public relations for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department for 22 years before retiring earlier this year. Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for twenty-eight years. They have two young adult children and have two grandchildren. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories, read books by her favorite authors, and looks forward to visits with her grandchildren.
Two Girls and A Book 