PINE CREEK COURTSHIP

A young Amish woman finds unexpected romance in this first volume in Hope’s series, set in rural Pine Creek, Minnesota.

Young Emma Ziegler is suddenly facing three major challenges: dealing with the recent death of her father, trying to raise her younger siblings, Sadie and Ezekiel, and keeping the family’s maple syrup farm in business. She’s a respected member of her Amish community, and traditionally, “The Amish took care of those in need, just as they knew the Lord had intended.” In the eyes of the community elders, that care includes finding the unmarried Emma a husband as soon as possible. Her father, during his final illness, matched her with Ivan Bontrager, whose family farm lies adjacent to hers. Emma had considered Ivan “a bit of a bore” and pleaded with him privately to reject the match, and at the opening of Hope’s story, he’s already happily paired off with another woman. Emma’s aunt stridently proposes another candidate: Amos Stoltzfus, who’s so abrasive and unpalatable—he argues with tourists!—that Ivan’s brother Levi steps forward to claim that Emma can’t become engaged to Amos, because she’s already affianced to him. In this way, Hope neatly sets up a fake-romance plot that fans of the genre will find pleasantly familiar. Emma is grateful for Levi’s offer and agrees to play along, but she’s also puzzled by it, as she’s unaware that Levi has been in love with her for as long as he can remember. Readers’ pleasure comes from witnessing Emma and Levi’s slow realization that their ruse has become a genuine romance over the course of this lively, brightly written book. As a bonus, Hope ably fleshes out the tale with a rich and detailed evocation of the Amish culture in which he characters live.

A charming and atmospheric Amish romance tale.