Love's Dwelling

 Title: Love's Dwelling

Series: Amish Blessings #1

Author: Kelly Irvin

Publisher: Zondervan

Genre: Amish, Christian Fiction

Source: Net Galley

My Review:

 I enjoyed this story. Cassie does not know what she is getting herself into when she decides to move in with the Keim's and help with their grandchildren. Cassie is a joy and a delight. She radiates energy and possesses a genuine love of her life. She is enthusiastic in all that she does and has many admirable qualities. 

"Stay-at-home moms, childcare workers, teachers, and nannies should be paid more than pro basketball players and celebrity actors combined."

Mason is from the school of hard knocks. He does not want to give custody to the grandparents he has never known but doesn't have a say in the matter. He is also a remarkable character. He is strong, faithful, and loves his siblings something fierce. His willingness to learn about the Amish that his siblings are living with also speaks highly of his character.

"Why do people care how Plain folks live? They even read made-up romance stories about us. We're just trying to live our lives in a way that pleases God."

This story has many tender moments, you can't help but love the enthusiasm of the children. This story is incredibly well written, with engaging characters, heartache, love, forgiveness, redemption, and a theme of coming home. Some moments will surprise you and other moments will bring tears to your eyes. I appreciate the originality of this story and its emphasis on families coming in different shapes and sizes. It's not just another predictable Amish story.

I would recommend this story to anyone who loves Amish fiction that will grip you from the beginning and keep you hanging until the concluding sentence...and leave you wanting more. I don't know when the next book in the series will be coming out, but you better believe I will be keeping an eye out! 

Thank you to Net Galley and Zondervan for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

★★★★/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Cassie Yoder loves her job as a housekeeper for elderly couple Job and Dinah Keim. Their only children, a son and daughter, left the Haven, Kansas, district and their faith more than twenty years earlier with no contact. Cassie feels for the Keims because her own parents’ infertility struggles left her an only child in a community where big families are a blessing.

When Child Protective Services shows up on the Keims’ doorstep with their five grandchildren, their quiet lives—and Cassie’s—are turned upside down. Mason, the oldest grandson at twenty-two, believes his siblings should be his responsibility and struggles with giving the Keims authority.

Moving in with the Keims, Cassie jumps in with both feet and is happy for the challenge of caring for these English-raised children.

Mason and Cassie strike up an uneasy alliance that turns into friendship, and then something more, but neither dares to admit it. Can an English man and an Amish woman find common ground and a home together?