Amish fiction is a real escape for me so I enjoy a tale or two in the course of my reading year. I thank TLC Book Tours for sending me a copy of The Amish Baker’s Rival by Marie E. Bast at no charge for my honest review.
About The Amish Baker’s Rival:
Mass Market Paperback : 224 pages
Publisher : Love Inspired; Original Edition (December 29, 2020)
This exciting new Amish romance is from Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Amish Baker and The Amish Marriage Bargain.
She’ll do anything to protect her bakery… no matter the cost to her heart.
Small-town, Amish baker Mary Brenneman is devastated when handsome Englischer Noah Miller opens up a bakery right across from hers. Now she must win a local baking contest just to stay in business. But somewhere along the way, Noah and Mary’s kitchen wars are quickly warming into something more…
Still mourning the death of his parents, Mary helps Noah search for the Amish grandparents he has never met. And when a crisis hits Mary’s bakery, Noah volunteers his assistance.
After Mary’s now ex-fiancé broke their engagement so he could go live in the Englisch world, she vows to stay away from men…especially Englisch men. Even though she likes Noah more each day, she keeps her distance.
With her heart packed with distrust, Noah hopes to soften her resolve and convince Mary of their undeniable love. But trouble brews at the baking contest when Mary thinks Noah has stolen her recipe. After the surprising result of the contest, Noah and Mary must face their feelings and decide what road God has set them upon.
About the Author:
MARIE E. BAST is the Publishers Weekly Bestselling Author of The Amish Baker and The Amish Marriage Bargain, and the first place 2015 contemporary winner of the Ignite the Flame Contest for The Perfect Client. She is also a finalist in the 2020 Book Buyers Best Contest for The Amish Baker. Her stories whisper words of hope, healing, and forgiveness through complex characters and twisting plots. Her books are sold all over the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland and Australia. She has published short stories and poetry in book compilations to include Chicken Soup for the Soul. She lives in Illinois with her husband of twenty-nine years. When she’s not writing, she’s walking, golfing, gardening, or spending time with her family. She loves to bake and enjoys her homemade rolls and bread way too much.
Learn more about Marie and her books HERE.
My Opinion:
Sometimes a little sweetness is just what you want when you pick up a novel. I know when I read an Amish novel I am in for tidy tale of family, community and love. Yes most of them have an overarching religious theme but even this cynical atheist can enjoy the stories for what they are; tales of kindness and love with a morality play at their center. Sometimes it’s just what a reader needs as a brain cleanser, ya know?
In this story we meet Mary who runs the bakery in her town. She is getting over a broken heart as the man she thought she was meant to be married to has left the faith and her. When a big supermarket open across from her that offers baked good she is concerned for her livelihood. But as she gets to know the man who owns the store – and his sister – she finds herself feeling things she should not feel for an outsider.
Noah wants to find his roots which is why he is opening his store where it is but little does he know he is finding so much more than his family’s past. As he gets to know Mary and the rest of the community he finds what has been missing in his life. But will he be able to fit in?
This was a fast and very satisfying Amish story. I do so enjoy novels of this ilk as they are a gentle read and take to a very calm place. The characters are gentle and the romance is sweet. Of course the fact that this one has baking involved certainly didn’t hurt in holding my interest. There is a recipe at the end for Peanut Butter Bars that I will try in the near future – it looks delightful.
If you are looking for a very pleasant, quick read with sweet characters this will be the book for you.
Rating:
4
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