Amish Mennonite Romance

It isn't that Lizzie doesn't want to stay Amish. It's just that there is so much to figure out. Like why can't she let her hair a little looser on top? And why can't she wear shoes with a little bit more of a heel? And will she ever really just know for a fact who she is going to marry, like her next-older sister, Emma, does? And how does it happen that her just-younger sister, Mandy, is going on a date before Lizzie ever has a real one?

Though she has blossomed into a beauty, Lily Christner doesn't really believe it. Deep down she still feels like a lonely, gawky teenager. Maybe that's why she's all but promised herself to Paul Glick, the one boy who never teased her in her awkward girlhood, unlike Dan Kanagy, whose creative name-calling left her in tears many a time.

While taking her morning run, Amish schoolteacher Jodi Winfield makes a startling find on the side of the road - a preschool-aged girl, crying and clad only in her undergarments. Jodi takes the girl with her, but no one knows who she is. Then fate brings Jodi to Hickory Hollow’s Lancaster Old Order Amish, and she finds clues to the girl’s identity.

Unspeakable tragedy strikes the Amish hamlet of Johns Mill when an unstable Englischer opens fire in the Hochstedler’s General Store. In the aftermath, and under the media’s spotlight, Joseph Hochstedler struggles to hold his shattered family together, drawing unexpected comfort from a faithful childhood friend. Born with a serious heart defect, optimist Naomi Schrock has always longed to live a life of service. She rolls up her sleeves, determined to help Joseph cope with this terrible crisis. But dare she hope that his friendship will finally deepen into love?

Widowed sisters Esther and Lizzie are the town innkeepers—and the town matchmakers. But when a new tenant moves into a guest cottage at their Peony Inn, the sisters are shocked to discover that maybe this time, one of them might finally find a match of her own. Retired dentist Dr. Benjamin Stoltzfus has signed a six-month lease at the cottage—and gentle Esther and spirited Lizzie are in a surprising competition for the kind doctor’s affections.

Barns are burning in Amish author Linda Byler's second book in the Lancaster Burning series, and no one knows who's doing it or why. Can Sarah Beiler end the terror that is pulling apart her community, even as her own heart is pulled between two young men? Sarah Beiler's barn was the first to burn, and it was quickly followed by two other barn fires.

Jalon Chupp has a past he isn't proud to claim. He's worked hard to overcome his youthful mistakes, and he has recommitted himself to his faith. When he receives a sweet note included in a piece of misdirected mail, he can't help but write back. Soon, the letters he receives from Phoebe are the highlights of his days, and with a hopeful heart, he suggests they meet in person.

Sophie Wittenbauer left her strict Mennonite hometown under a cloud of shame and regret. After a rough childhood, her teenage poor choices harmed others, leaving her with no choice but to change her life. Her entry-level writing job at a newspaper puts her in the right place at the right time to overhear office gossip about a prisoner who has information on a decades-old unsolved crime. While the other reporters write off the tip as the ravings of an angry criminal, Sophie can't ignore it because she knows the name of this prisoner from her old life.

Five tumultuous years have changed Titus Lambert in every way. Back then, Titus was preparing to marry his longtime sweetheart, Mandy Yoder. Then came the unthinkable - a tragic car wreck that left Titus serving time for vehicular manslaughter. Titus isn't sure he belongs in this peaceful place anymore, but he must make amends. When he goes to visit the Kings, whose son, Alvin, died that terrible night, he's shocked to see that their farm has fallen into disrepair.

Lia Shetler is resigned to being a spinster. She's too tall and sturdy to ever be marriageable - so says her overbearing dad. Instead, she's helping her pretty, spoiled sister, Rachel, secure the perfect husband - the Helmuths' grandson, Moses Zimmerman. But the more Lia sees of his gently teasing ways and quiet understanding, the more she wishes that Moses could be hers alone.

Luke Schrock is a new and improved man after a stint in rehab, though everyone in Stoney Ridge only remembers the old Luke. They might have forgiven him, but nobody trusts him. Amos and Fern Lapp allow Luke to live at Windmill Farm under two conditions. First, Luke must make a sincere apology to each person he's hurt - a four-page, single-spaced list. Second, he must ask each victim of mischief to describe the damage he caused.

Sarah's joy at her recent reunion with her sister, Hannah, and meeting the niece she didn't know she had is too soon interrupted when Deputy Sheriff Paul Gleason informs Sarah her sister has been killed. As she learns more about Hannah's death, the circumstances are eerily similar to their parents' murder. Sarah enlists Paul's help in digging deeper into the murders the police are dismissing as burglaries gone wrong. Paul's concern encourages Sarah's growing feelings for him, but as their investigation uncovers layers of lies almost 20 years old, they get close to uncovering the truth.

Much to her mother's chagrin, Lily Yoder is not the only one among her siblings to remain unwed. Uncertain she even wants to be anybody's wife, Lily doesn't mind her single status one bit. But when she meets Elijah Bontrager, suddenly marriage is all she can think about. The handsome glazier is everything she never realized she wanted in a strong Amish man. But a shocking secret from Elijah's past looms large, threatening to tear them apart. And when Lily finds out the truth, she'll have to decide if marrying Elijah is what her heart truly wants.

Born a Native American but brought up Amish, Hester Zug, at age 20, flees her Amish home. Her father's too-tender care of her has made her stepmother wildly jealous, and so Hester sets off, knowing only that she can't stay. Hester's natural instincts for navigating the forests in colonial Pennsylvania, along with the book of medicines and remedies given to her by an aged Native American woman, allow her to survive until she gets sick from drinking river water.

In The Shunning, beautiful 22-year-old Katie Lapp longs to experience the forbidden things of the outside world, even while she is making plans to forever embrace the traditions of her people. In a few days, Katie will marry Bishop John, a widower with five young children. She should be excited, but instead she feels trapped. Her thoughts in turmoil, she heads to the attic to be alone. As she explores a dusty trunk, she discovers a satin infant gown, much too fancy for an Amish baby.

The setting is the beginning of an Amish settlement in colonial America in the forests of eastern Pennsylvania. There, a young Amish couple, Hans and Kate Zug, are in their ninth year of marriage, still waiting to have a child. Then, one April morning, Kate finds a Native infant, wrapped in deerskin and placed next to the spring where she went to fill her water bucket.

The Secret by New York Times best-selling author Beverly Lewis is a compelling portrait of an Amish family's struggle to overcome the effects of a baffling secret. Soon-tobe-engaged Grace Byler is perplexed by her mom's nocturnal weeping and wandering - and her dad's refusal to discuss what's wrong. But when her mom runs off, Grace puts her own life on hold to pick up the pieces her mother left behind.

Housed in a rustic red barn, the Simple Gifts crafts shop celebrates the talents of the Amish of Willow Ridge and the faith that inspires them. For the acceptance of simplicity opens the path to love. As far as Edith Riehl is concerned, the baby twins thrust suddenly into her arms are a heaven-sent gift. Unable to conceive, she longs to be a mother with a home of her own.

Priscilla Allgyer left the community in hopes of escaping the expectations of Amish life. Now, years later, she is forced to return to the place she thought she'd left behind forever - along with her six-year-old son. Though once estranged from her family, Priscilla is welcomed by her mother, but her father is cold and strict. He allows Priscilla to stay with them provided she dresses plainly, confesses her sins, and agrees to marry within the community. As Priscilla reluctantly completes her shunning, she catches the eye of Mark Riehl, a farmer with a playboy reputation.

Lizzie's dream of teaching school has finally come true. She loves the brand-new school building, the sound of the children singing, and the independence she has in the classroom. Even the occasionally unruly boys can't ruin the excitement she feels each morning when she starts the school day. But at home things are in turmoil again. What do Dat's sudden health problems mean for the future of their farm? And what about Lizzie's future?