Book Review: The Fiddler

Recently, I signed up to be part of Bethany House Book Reviewers.  As an avid reader of Beverly Lewis' Amish fiction, you can imagine my excitement when the first book review opportunity to come through my email was for her newest book, The Fiddler.  Obviously, I was thrilled (and I might have even done a little dance) and immediately said, "YES, please!"

I seriously devoured this book.  The writing, the content, the story line - every piece of it was captivating and enthralling.  I found myself transported to the "small cabin hidden away in the woods" and the "thousands of rows of corn in a landscape dotted with farms and adorable barefoot children dressed like mirror images of their parents".

The Fiddler begins with the story of Michael Hostetler, an Old Order Amishman who is stuck between the expectations of his parents and community to join the Amish church and his own passion for learning and the English world.  He escapes to his uncle's cabin nestled deep in the woods of Welsh Mountain, where an unexpected storm causes Amelia Devries, an Englischer torn between her love of fiddling and her parent's expectations for her to succeed as a well known classical violinist, to stumble upon his path.

"Maybe it was Providence that we met," he said...


"Actually, I was thinking you might be right." She shrugged shyly and bit her lip. (page 51)

Beverly Lewis has a way of capturing the heart and soul of her characters, so much so that they begin to feel like real life friends to the reader.  I found myself wanting to pull up a chair next to Amelia and listen to her as she searched for answers, like two good friends bearing each others burdens.

And, of course, as a hopeless romantic, I found myself caught up in the growing friendship and the underlying romance between Michael and Amelia.  I could hardly wait for the ending...and yet, I found myself wanting to read more as I soaked up the last few pages.  Now, I'll be counting down the days until The Bridesmaid, the second book in this Home to Hickory Hollow series releases!

For more of Beverly Lewis' fiction, visit her author's website or Bethany House Publishers.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.