Book Review - Eventide

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A young Amish woman harbors a difficult secret. Does she dare share the truth with the man she hopes to marry?

Elsie Keim doesn't want to be left behind. Her twin sister, Viola, and her older brother, Roman, have both found love and are building lives of their own. But Elsie? She's still stuck at home, being treated like a child. No one seems to consider her a capable woman-all they see are the thick lenses of her glasses, constant reminders that Elsie suffers from keratoconus and is slowly going blind.

Elsie knows there's much more to her than her disease. That's why when a new neighbor, Landon Troyer, shows some interest in her, she doesn't want anything to scare him away . . . even if it means keeping her condition a secret.

Landon is ready to start a new life and feels like Elsie may just be the right woman to start it with. But when Roman steps in and shares the truth about Elsie's illness, Landon is floored. His job is demanding and takes him away from home, sometimes for days at a time. How could he keep up with his responsibilities and take care of Elsie?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shelley Shepard Gray is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the "Sisters of the Heart", "Seasons of Sugarcreek", "Secrets of Crittenden County", and Families of Honor series. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town's bike trail.

Connect with Shelley here: http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com/

MY REVIEW:

I read this book in one day! I loved each and every character and the message of the book. I really hated to turn that last page and set the book down because it was so well written and it made me care about what happened to everyone.

Elsie is a young Amish woman whose family sees her in just one way - a woman who is going blind. They protect her to the point that she really has to push to be allowed to live her own life. When Landon moves next door, he doesn't know about her eye disease and is quite smitten with her. It's so lovely to follow along as Elsie encounters her first courting. She never thought she would ever have anyone interested in her, but of course, longed for it nonetheless.  

Landon is a young man with goals. Everything is black and white with him and when he finds out that Elsie has an eye disease that could potentially blind her, suddenly that doesn't fit into his goals. He forgets who she is and instead, is looking on the surface and his own wants. 

I also loved the back story of Lovina and Aaron, Elsie's grandparents. It's the story of assuming one thing when really it's another way entirely (how many of us have done this?) and how facing the situation makes it clean and allows forgiveness. They had walked away from their past, but it had followed them for decades anyway. It was a wonderful and powerful lesson for all of us in this storyline.

There's also a major decision that Elsie has to make towards the end of the book. This had me on pins and needles and I had made up my mind which way I thought she should go. It made the story even more powerful when you find out what her decision is. 

I highly recommend this book! It's one of the best I've read this year and you'll love it just as much as I do - I'm sure!

*This book was provided to me for my honest review by LitFuse Publicity Group

You can read more review of this book HERE


Blessings - Julie