A Dream of Home by Amy Clipston

★★★★★
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When she moves to Amish country to find peace and healing, Madeleine finds a special community – and a special man – who pull her out of her solitude into a new life.

Moving to Pennsylvania wasn’t in Madeleine’s original plans. She should still be in California and should have married her pilot fiancé a year ago – but death has a way of changing everything. Now the former Air Force flight nurse is living alone in Paradise, Pennsylvania, and working as a maid at the Lancaster Grand Hotel. She isn’t exactly a widow… but she sure feels like one.

Saul Beiler isn’t exactly a widower… but his wife is long gone. His six-year-old daughter, Emma, doesn’t know that her mother fled the Amish community – and married another man – but she does know that her dat is lonely, and that a pretty young maedel just moved in next door. Madeline’s numb heart begins to thaw as she spends more time with the innocent and ever optimistic Emma. The stronger her friendship grows with the young girl, the more intrigued Madeline grows about the humble, strong, man raising her on his own.

But even as a strange attraction pulls Saul and Madeleine across a stark cultural divide, they – and everybody else – have to wonder: What could they possibly have in common besides heartache? Will love allow Madeleine to finally find the home she’s been dreaming of all along?

As can be expected of Amish fiction, Amy Clipston’s A Dream of Home offers a sweet, clean romance with endearing characters and encouraging themes of faith, family and home. Madeleine and Saul have both been left brokenhearted from previous relationships and together, their growth and healing create a fascinating, heartwarming journey, mixing Amish and Englisch, throwing in a few twists and turns for good measure. Fans of Amish fiction – don’t skip over A Dream of Home.

However, I should give a fair warning: as the third novel in the Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel, A Dream of Home has many appearances from previous main characters, as well as references to their stories – which I am sure that fans of the series will definitely enjoy. Since I have not read either of the previous novels, I was confused at times – but I just kept reading and eventually I put enough pieces together to sufficiently understand the backgrounds and the roles of these characters in the newest story. And though this certainly provided a bit of challenge in my reading, it did not detract in any way from my enjoyment of A Dream of Home. So, readers new to the series should not be afraid to pick up this third novel (though it could be a good idea to start at the beginning. I know I’m eager to go back and read A Hopeful Heart and A Mother’s Secret now.) Overall, Cliptston’s A Dream of Home is a great novel for any Amish-fiction reader and I would recommend it.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of A Dream of Home and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. (I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

About the Author

Amy Clipston is the award-winning and best-selling author of the Kauffman Amish Bakery series. Her novels have hit multiple best-seller lists including CBD, CBA, and ECPA. Amy holds a degree in communication from Virginia Wesleyan College and works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC. Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, and four spoiled rotten cats.