A NIGHT OWL REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW | Reviewed by: Terri
Lilly Allen and her family moved to Sugarcreek after Lilly learned she was pregnant. She was a high school senior and her boyfriend wanted nothing to do with it. Wanting to hide Lilly’s pregnancy, she starts to take online classes while her family adjusts to living in a mostly Amish community. Lilly isn’t use to staying home though and soon gets a job waiting tables at an Amish restaurant. Soon, an unhappy, angry man starts coming in for coffee, Robert Miller. He intrigues Lilly who wants to make him smile. After Lilly looses her baby, he seems interested in her well being.
Robert Miller is Amish. He’s only 24 but he’s already a widower. His wife died three years ago from cancer. Now, his family is trying to get him interested in meeting acceptable Amish women. He wants nothing to do with their plan. He still misses Grace and doesn’t want someone to replace her. Yet, this English girl, Lilly Allen, has him smiling and feeling alive. This doesn’t make sense and he’s not sure what to do about it.
Finally, acting on impulse, Robert invites Lilly to the Saturday market. He knows that his family and most Amish will not approve. Still, he knows he wants to get to know Lilly better.
Lilly accepts Robert’s invitation. She knows that they can only be friends unless she want to convert to being Amish. Yet, she feels more than friendship towards Robert. Can she leave everything she knows behind to become Plain?
This is the last book in Ms Gray’s Seasons of Sugarcreek series. Lilly has been a focal character in each book. In winter’s awakening, her family moves to Sugarcreek and becomes friends with their Amish neighbors. Spring’s renewal has Lilly miscarrying her baby. Finally, in autumn’s promise does Lilly get her own book. While this book will be excellent without having read the previous two books, it’s even better having read them.
Though this is Lilly’s book, there is more going on in Sugarcreek than Lilly and Robert’s developing relationship. Caleb Graber is 16 and not happy being Amish. He doesn’t want to work on his family’s farm or in the family store. He’s not sure what he wants to do but he’s pretty sure that he’ll find it in the English world, not the Amish one. He hasn’t joined the church yet so it’s okay if he tries things out. But what will his parents do if he leaves? How can he tell them?
The characters and their situations are extremely life like. The decisions and repercussions that they are being forced to make are going to be life changing. If Caleb leaves, he won’t be in contact with his family and the English world is quite different from the one he is use to. Robert has joined the church and his beliefs are not going to let him leave it. That means Lilly would have to become Amish, give up her independence as well as her car, cell phone and many of her friends. By exploring these problems, the characters personalities come out naturally.
The town of Sugarcreek even appears to be real. The Amish community is concerned about each of its members. Weather it’s the birth of a new baby or watching courting couples, the presence is always there. It’s also a community that agrees to follow certain rules and that it’s members will act in a certain manner. To not do so brings censure. That is apparent when Robert is reminded that not only is Lilly not Amish but she got pregnant while not married.
I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I’ve really enjoyed this entire series. Ms Gray obviously knows her subject manner and is more than capable of sharing it with her readers. I’m not real comfortable with this book’s ending, though most people will find it acceptable. (I work in an Old Order Mennonite community which is extremely strict, meaning no phones or any other modern conveniences but I’m going to assume not all communities are like this.) Still, it’s a good ending and a good compromise.
This series is more than Amish romance stories. It’s letting you becomes part of a community, with its ups and downs. I’m sad to see it end. In fact, I’d love to see a few more stories bringing us back to this fantastic community. Besides Caleb has a story to finish and he has a sister, Judith and I’m sure we can find some more worthy characters in Sugarcreek!
Aug 15, 2010 | 9780061852374
5 = Rare - Top Pick | 4.5 = I Loved It - Top Pick | 4 = Good Solid Read
3.5 = Enjoyable | 3 Stars = OK - Needs a few changes | 2 Stars = It just didn't click / DNF
Book Blurb for Autumn's Promise
Some promises are meant to be broken. . . .
Until Robert Miller met Lilly Allen, his world had been dark. A widower after only two years of marriage, he'd been living in a haze, feeling that, at twenty-four, his life was already over. But thanks to his friendship with Lilly, he now has new reasons to wake up each day. He knows his connection to her doesn't make sense. She's only nineteen, with a past the whole town talks about. Even more, she's not Amish, like Robert. A marriage between the two of them could never happen.
Lilly's heart is drawn to Robert, not to his faith. No matter how much she admires his quiet strength and dependability, she doesn't think she could ever give up her independence and reliance on the modern world. Is their love doomed before it even begins?
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