Realms Publishing, June 2015
Reviewed By Diana Flowers
5 stars~*****
A Totally Classic Tale!
In Second Chances, masterful storyteller Sarah Price pens a delightful retelling of the classic tale of Jane Austen's Persuasion harmoniously intermingled with the Amish! The Amish community in Ohio where lovely Anna Eicher resides is peaceful, and beautifully replete with rolling hills and white picket fences, grazing Guernsey cows, and red barns with lofty silos. But life also has its problems and heartaches as Anna knows all too well.
It's been eight long years since Anna broke up with Freman Whittmore, the man of her dreams, and nary a night has gone by that she has not spilled tears on her pillow from the pain of their separation. She had allowed her father and a close family friend to persuade her to break it off with Freman on the grounds that he was not good enough for her. Freman moves to Indiana and becomes quite successful, and much to Anna's amazement returns after lo these many years to find a wife. Anna patiently looks after her complaining sister's children, still pleasing her family at the expense of her own happiness. Watching Freman and her close friend, Leah, flirting and spending time together just adds to her misery. Will Anna ever learn the valuable lesson of saying "no" to people and yes to God?...and will the God of second chances grant her just one more?
Readers everywhere will fall in love with the frustrating Anna, who in her inability to say "no" to others, brings much heartache upon her own self. At times I wanted to shake her and say, "Stop doing this!!", but realizing she couldn't brought a tear to my eye. An eloquent tale of family, forgiveness, second chances, and a surprise twist at the end -- this is one that will long be remembered even after the last sigh-worthy page is turned!
"If a book is well written I always find it too short."
~Jane Austen~
Diana, thank you for yet again another exceptional review! Truly, you are able to persuade me every time via your beautiful reviews to read Amish stories, when normally I would veer in a different direction. :) I think I might just end up shedding a few tears by the sound of it too. I love the messages in this book!
ReplyDeleteThank you, NOELA! This one is definitely a tear jerker and I could have smacked Freman and Leah, but since I am a non-violent person.... Lol
DeleteThis sounds like a beautiful re-telling.
ReplyDeleteIt is, MARY! I hope you get the chance to read it!
DeleteThanks for a good review Diana. I would love to win Sarah's book. Thanks to sarah and the sweet OWG group for a chance to win. Maxie > mac262(at)me(dot)com <
ReplyDeleteHi, MAXIE! There is no giveaway with this one, just my thoughts. If you have a Kindle, however, it's now only $3.99! Not sure how much paperback is going to be. I do hope you entered the other giveaways this week--perhaps you'll be one of 3 winners drawn!
DeleteA beautiful review, Diana - thank you!! "Second Chances" sounds like such an emotional story. As with Noela, I'm not a huge Amish novel reader - although I do love touring the Amish communities and so respect them for their simplicity, convictions, creativeness, craftsmanship, and beautiful farms. That being said, Sarah's storylines are always so engaging, realistic, touching, and portray the Amish in their humanness - flaws and all. Some of the qualities I love in a novel - she may make me a lover of Amish fiction yet!!
ReplyDeleteBONNIE, welcome home! I think you're home - or you at least have internet where you are? I especially love Sarah's retellings of Jane Austen's stories. Her next one will be a retelling of Sense and Sensibility! I loved that movie! Never read the book by J. A. however. That is definitely on my bucket list to go to Amish country. Hubby used to live near them in Pennsylvania.
Delete