Sense and Sensibility An Amish Retelling of Jane Austen's Classic By Sarah Price

Spring is here!  We went from about three inches of snow to 75 degrees in a span of two days. Welcome to Virginia weather.  With the nice weather I was able to sneak outside to the front porch swing with a brand new book.

I attended an online book party and of course found a whole bunch of must reads.  This one topped my list.  I was excited to have this book arrive last week.  I started the book on a Monday and despite the many interruptions of kids, dogs, and an invisible fence person I still had it read in about three days.  I had a hard time putting it down.

Henry Detweiler dies unexpectedly, leaving his second wife and three daughters, Eleanor, Mary Ann, and Maggie, in the care of John, his oldest son from a previous marriage. John and his wife, Fanny, inherit the farm and, despite a deathbed promise to take care of their stepmother and half-sisters, John and Fanny make it obvious that Mrs. Detweiler and her daughters are not welcomed at the farm. When Edwin Fischer, Fanny’s older brother, takes notice of Eleanor and begins to court her, much to the disapproval of his sister, Fanny makes life even more difficult for the Detweiler women. 
 
In their new home, Eleanor wonders if Edwin will come calling while Mary Ann catches the attention of Christian Bechtler, an older bachelor in the church district, and John Willis, a younger man set to inherit a nearby farm. While Eleanor quietly pines for Edwin, Mary Ann does not hide her infatuation with John Willis. When the marriage proposal from John Willis does not materialize, Mary Ann is left grief-stricken and humiliated as the Amish community begins to gossip about their relationship. In the meantime, a broken-hearted Eleanor learns that Edwin is engaged to another woman.
Will admitting her affections for him result in the marriage proposal Eleanor has always desired?

I'm a Jane Austen fan.  I wondered how it would fit together with an Amish storyline.  The answer is it fit rather well.  I loved how the story unfolded and Sarah brought this together.  The story weaves biblical truth into it and the characters will have you laughing and crying.  

All of Sarah's characters were lifelike and I found myself wanting to chase Fanny off of the farm while cheering on Edwin and Eleanor and getting a little chuckle when the bishop visited some of the village gossipers in the end.  The book was a wonderful read and being a fan of the original and of Amish fiction it was great to see it all come together.  

This is a fantastic read and I'm excited to find this series.  I plan on getting the other books in the Amish Classic Series and enjoying some new classics!  So grab a copy today.  Happy Reading!