About the Book
Author: Lacy Williams
Genre: Contemporary Christian romance / Amish romance
Release date: November 1, 2021
Torn between family loyalty
and her dreams for the future…
Grace Beiler’s shocked when Zach Miller arrives at her family’s farmhouse seeking forgiveness for his teenage mistake that cost her sister’s fiancé his life. But when her father gives Zach a job, Grace gets to know the man he’s become…and starts to want more than friendship. Can love bloom amid hidden secrets and family grief, and give them a fresh start at Christmas?
Click here to get your copy!
My Thoughts:
The first thing Zach does when out of prison after five long years is to seek forgiveness from those he wronged and hurt. Knowing that this will not bring back their loved one, he still is doing what the Bible says and knows that to move on with his life he must.
The first stop is the Beiler home, the home of Sarah the woman whose fiancé was killed when Zach decided to drive drunk. Sarah really isn't up to forgiving Zach, but her sister Grace has a soft heart towards him and seems to understand more than others.
Zach did not have an easy life. His Amish parents dying early in his life and being sent to live with an Englisher uncle who really had no use for him scarred and shaped him. Things went from bad to worse as he ended up with the wrong crowd and girlfriend whom none stood by him as he was incarcerated.
Grace is different than anybody he has ever met. She sees past his mistakes and seeks him out and is not afraid to stand up for him or touch him. Her father even gives him a chance by letting him work for him.
However, there is a lot of pain to overcome and there is plenty of heartrending revelations for this couple to get past. A nice Christmas read about the importance of letting go and forgiveness.
I was provided a copy of this novel from the author I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.
About the Author
More from Lacy
The Best Part of a Barn Raising
Have you ever had your community rally around you? Maybe some of your friends threw you a baby shower. Maybe your church helped with a meal train when you were ill for a time. Maybe you played sports and raised money together as a team.
Has your community ever built you a house?
I’ve written lots of historical books. I’ve written a barn-raising or two into my books. Until I started researching for THE AMISH OUTCAST’S HOLIDAY RETURN, I didn’t realize that community “raising” events still happened in 2021. They do!
In some Amish communities, builders will gather all the materials for the house or barn and on (usually) a Saturday, the entire community will gather to build the whole structure. There’s a really cool timelapse of a barn raising on YouTube that you can check out.
I’ve always loved writing about these events because of the community aspect. We need human connection and there’s something special about having your community surround you and show their love in a tangible way. Imagine walking into your home that your friends built for you. Every time you walked over the threshold you could remember the friend who built the door frame. When it storms, you could appreciate the roof over your head that many friends helped stretch the frame for. What an amazing feeling of belonging.
Of course, barn raisings and house raisings wouldn’t be complete without the food. Typically, the women and girls put together a giant potluck for the men and boys who are doing the physical work of building the structure. Brainstorming for this always makes me remember church potlucks when I was a child. Our church met at the local 4-H building. We would stretch out folding tables and chairs in long rows. And the food. Pasta salad. Fried chicken. Chocolate cake!
(I also remember roller skating in the back of the massive building with my friends, but that is a whole other story…).
Memories and friendships are forged at church potlucks and barn raisings. And when you are on the inside, it creates a lovely sense of belonging. But the hero in THE AMISH OUTCAST’S HOLIDAY RETURN, Zach, is not on the inside. He’s an outsider who has come home and is searching for a place to belong. The barn raising/potluck is the moment when heroine Grace sees a hint of vulnerability in Zach—because he wants to belong. It changes everything in their new acquaintanceship.
Want to know more about this book? Check out the “read inside” feature and try Chapter One on your favorite retailer.
Blog Stops
Debbie’s
Dusty Deliberations, November 3
The
Avid Reader, November 3
Texas Book-aholic,
November 4
Maureen’s
Musings, November 4
Lighthouse
Academy Blog , November 5 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)
Inklings
and notions, November 5
lakesidelivingsite,
November 6
Bigreadersite,
November 6
For Him and My
Family, November 7
Mary Hake,
November 7
deb’s Book
Review, November 8
SusanLovesBooks,
November 8
Locks, Hooks
and Books, November 9
Happily
Managing a Household of Boys, November 9
Ashley’s
Clean Book Reviews, November 10
Simple Harvest
Reads, November 10 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
She
Lives To Read, November 11
Because I
said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 12
Labor Not in
Vain, November 12
Older
& Smarter?, November 13
Abba’s
Prayer Warrior Princess, November 13
A Modern Day
Fairy Tale, November 14
Splashes of
Joy, November 14
Musings
of a Sassy Bookish Mama, November 15
Pause for
Tales, November 15
Truth and Grace Homeschool
Academy, November 16
Vicky
Sluiter, November 16
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Lacy is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card & paperback copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/12f81/the-amish-outcast-s-holiday-return-celebration-tour-giveaway
This sounds like a wonderful book.
ReplyDeleteGood book for holiday reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the contest.
Lacy, I enjoyed following the tour and learning about your book, which sounds like a great holiday read! Thanks for sharing it with me and I hope the tour was a success! Congrats on your release of The Amish Outcast's Holiday Return and good luck with your book! Thanks Pause for Tales for sharing your thoughts! Have a wonderful holiday season!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this awesome book!
ReplyDelete