Amish Mennonite Romance

Lydia still can’t believe that she is Mrs. Samuel Bontrager. Or that she is 17 with a six-month-old daughter. As Baby Mattie grows fussier by the day, Lydia wonders how she will survive a lifetime of marriage to a man she doesn’t love - at least not in the way she wants. Samuel knows that he and Lydia did the right thing by marrying when Lydia became pregnant. He has even grown to love Lydia, though he never seems able to say the words out loud. What if she doesn’t love him back? After all, she pushes him away whenever he tries to draw closer.

Her relationship with fiance Paul Waddell in tatters, Hannah Lapp has fled her secluded Old Order Amish community in hopes of finding a new home in Ohio with her shunned aunt. Hampered by limited education and hiding her true identity, Hannah struggles to navigate the confusing world of the Englischers.

Back in Owl's Perch, Pennsylvania, Paul is wracked with regret over his treatment of Hannah.

Mattie Diener can barely keep it together. A young Amish widow and mother of two young children, she faces the lingering heartbreak of lost love, her son’s mysterious illness, and a torrent of accusations that threaten to undo her. Bo Lambright is a fast-rising social services investigator whose high-society mother won’t rest until she finds his Mrs. Right. Despite Bo’s worldly success, the raw ache of a shadowy past and a series of unsettling dreams have left him reeling. When Mattie and Bo cross paths, all signs point to disaster.

When a newspaper ad prompts Darla King to travel to Birch Creek in search of a husband, her identical twin, Amanda, promises their parents she’ll convince Darla to come home. After all, Amanda is the responsible and reliable one. She has always protected Darla, who acts on impulse and trusts people too easily. The sisters’ close relationship is strained as Darla asserts her independence, and Amanda grapples with regrets of her past and the longings of her own heart.

Young Amish widow Sadie Fisher leads a simple life in the quiet countryside of Lancaster County selling Amish goods to a steady stream of tourists. Though it is a good life, lately she's wondered if it is God's will for her to remain without a husband and a family. Winters can be brutally cold and lonely in Pennsylvania, so Sadie rejoices when a renter signs up for a three-month stay in her guest cottage. But when wealthy, impulsive Englischer Kade Saunders arrives, she isn't sure she wants him around that long.

Anna is eager to begin a new chapter in her life as a Lancaster County tour guide in the picturesque area where her Plain grandmother once stayed. Anna wishes she could talk with her grandmother about those long-ago days, but the elderly woman suffers from Alzheimer's, and beyond a vague hint about an old stone wall, much about that time is a mystery. Thankfully, Martin Nolt, a handsome Mennonite, takes the young Beachy Amish woman under his wing for her training, familiarizing her with local highlights, including Peaceful Meadows Horse Retreat, for children with special needs.

Families rejoicing together, caroling parties full of cheer, and church get-togethers brimming with delicious cooking and warm fellowship. Ivy Weaver would give anything to be a part of Christmas in Wells Landing. But one reckless mistake made her an outsider, and it's all she can do now to tend to her ailing grandfather and make a living. She sure doesn't need Zeb Brenneman returning to help after he abandoned her for no reason. He's working hard to make amends, but Ivy isn't sure there's enough faith - or still-sparking love between them - to stir her forgiveness.

When Christopher Hostettler comes from Ohio to work at his uncle's shop in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, he gets off on the wrong foot with Emily Fisher. But when he finally opens up to her about his tragic reasons for leaving home, her heart begins to change. When Christopher compliments an old quilt, Emily decides to make a similar quilt for Christopher as a gesture of friendship. Emily knows she must guard her heart, as Christopher is not a baptized member of the church, but she's suddenly found someone with whom she can imagine sharing a future.

Elsie Stutzman's plain-spoken ways got her in trouble once before, so she needs to make a good impression at her new teaching job. But she's not about to let disabled student Wally Sensenig work below his potential. And she definitely won't put up with his hot-headed older brother sabotaging her efforts, no matter how handsome he is....

After her fiancé dies, 24- year-old Leona determines to never love again and devotes herself to teaching. But then she meets Jimmy, fresh from Washington state, and looking for work - and more.

Life is good on their Pennsylvania Amish farm for newlyweds Vic and Eleanor Lapp—until the day Vic's youngest brother drowns in their pond and Vic turns to alcohol to numb the pain. Things get so bad that Vic loses his job and their marriage is coming apart. Eleanor is desperate to help her husband and writes letters to her friend, Doretta, living in Indiana, for advice. The trust Eleanor places in her friend and the gentle words she receives in return are a balm for even darker days to come.

Sheltered yet adventurous, Betsy Detweiler is on a mission to get out of Kentucky and experience new things in life. She's got a list—a life list. What better place to start than with her friends in beautiful Pinecraft, Florida? From the moment Betsy walks into the Snow Bird Golf Course to sign up for lessons, August Troyer is mesmerized. Betsy is a mass of contradictions—beautiful yet awkward, outgoing yet unsure, joyful yet hesitant. She's like no one he's ever met before, and as the only child of missionary parents, he's met a lot of people.

Ruby Weaver's curly red hair isn't the only thing that sets her apart from her Amish community in 1863. Twenty-eight and single, Ruby doesn't believe a woman needs to be married in order to be happy. Her ailing friend Lovinia Fischer, however, has other ideas and wants Ruby to promise to marry her husband after she dies. Never imagining she'd have to fulfill that vow, Ruby agrees. And she's not the only one. Lovinia has extracted a similar promise from her husband, Gideon.

Welcome to Walnut Creek, Ohio, where Orley and Lois Troyer own an antique store they call “Memory Keepers”. Though knowledgeable in antiques and their repair, their real talent is in mentoring folks who are hurting and don’t even know it. Enter Jeff, a restaurateur, and Rhonda, a hotel manager, who recently moved to Amish country for the slow pace, but the change of scenery puts even more stress on their already strained marriage. Will an antique sled be the last straw, or will it lead to unexpected revelations and the fulfillment of dreams?

Essie Lapp's birthday is doubly blessed. There's a delicious meal to savor with her family, and the sweet gift of time spent with her beau, Harlan. Over two years they've forged a bond as strong and hopeful as a tree reaching for the sky. To practical-minded Essie, there's comfort in knowing exactly what her future will bring. Yet Gott has his plan, and it soon turns her family's world upside down....

The matchmakers have their eyes on romance - and in this small Amish community, no one is safe. Their sights are first set on plain, independent Willow, who’s shocked when her parents try to marry her off to bachelor Samuel. But can she and Samuel evade their parents’ meddling long enough to find love on their own? Then there’s Valerie, a widow who’s never recovered from losing the man she really loved. Now at her friend’s urging, she and Ed have one last chance to find their own happiness…if they can revive the spark that once promised a lifetime of love.

Romance is in the air, old-fashioned courtship is alive and well, and love is an eternal promise in these three novellas from Beth Wiseman, Kelly Long, and Kathleen Fuller.

For generations, Ellie Hostetler's family has tended their Lancaster County orchard, a tradition her twin brother, Evan, will someday continue. Yet when Evan's draft number is called up in the lottery for the Vietnam War, the family is shocked to learn he has not sought conscientious objector status, despite their Old Order Amish belief in nonresistance. The faraway war that has caused so much turmoil and grief among their Englisher neighbors threatens to touch much too close to home. Can she and her family find the courage to face a future unlike any they could have imagined?

The Grabers are planning a double wedding when they take in a young woman who has lost her memory. Well-known singer, Asha, runs away from her tour midway through when she discovers her manager boyfriend has double-crossed her. When she stumbles across an Amish community, she keeps her identity a secret. All she can do to prolong her stay with these quiet and gentle people is pretend she has lost her memory. Asha did not plan on falling in love with Amish man, John Williamson. What will John do when he discovers Asha has been lying to him all along?

When Abigail's family fall on hard times and is set to lose their farm, her family makes a heart-wrenching decision which turns Abigail's world upside down. Her heart once belonged to Caleb, but when he left their community without saying good-bye, she vowed to forget him. But Caleb is back, now a cold-hearted man with a deep and painful secret. When an arrangement is made between Abigail and Caleb, she is secretly thrilled, as her heart still yearns for him. But when she confesses to Caleb that she knows his secret, a shocked Caleb pushes her away.