Brides of Lehigh Canal

Brides of Lehigh Canal #1-3

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Relive bygone canal days with the Brides of Lehigh Canal! For artistic Kelly, life is a daily drudge of driving her father’s mules along the canal. Can a general store owner prove he’s not like Kelly’s father and just right for her? Betsy reluctantly returns to small-town Walnutport, Pennsylvania, only to butt heads with the new pastor. Will the two find enough common ground to stand on—and build new love? Widow Sarah dreams of a life without locks and gates. But when a canal captain and a blacksmith both vie for her affection, will her heart or mind prevail?

Genres: Fiction, Amish, Romance, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

733 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, Wanda E. Brunstetter is one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre. She has written close to 90 books translated in four languages. With over 10 million copies sold, Wanda's stories consistently earn spots on the nations most prestigious bestseller lists and have received numerous awards.

Wanda’s ancestors were part of the Anabaptist faith, and her novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Her books are well-read and trusted by many Amish, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the people and their customs.

When Wanda visits her Amish friends, she finds herself drawn to their peaceful lifestyle, sincerity, and close family ties. Wanda enjoys photography, ventriloquism, gardening, bird-watching, beachcombing, and spending time with her family. She and her husband, Richard, have been blessed with two grown children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

To learn more about Wanda, visit her website at www.wandabrunstetter.com.

Reviews

[Taryn Spearey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with this trilogy from the second i started the first page. This is a series takes place around a boat canal.

In each book, we follow a different woman going through her own struggkes in life.

My favorite story was the first one. I found it really fasinating.

If you love amish fiction, definatl read this trilogy. It's so good!!

[Vicky Sluiter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series!

[Tawny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite line:
"A man's life is judged not on the things he has but on the things he does" (p. 549).

[Staci Kinman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this historical romance trilogy! Kelly's Chance, Betsy's Return, and Sarah's Choice are stand-alone novels that are combined into one book to make the Brides of Lehigh Canal Trilogy. Endearing characters that overcome life's many hardships draw the reader in, and I kept turning pages because I had to know what happened next! I appreciate how the stories build upon one another, and that characters continued to show up in the later stories so the reader had a glimpse into how life progressed for them. Set in Pennsylvania in 1861, the stories reflect the lives of people living in a small canal town. The heroines (Kelly, Betsy, and Sarah) each have their own strengths, dreams, challenges, and faith walks. Each book includes Discussion Questions for book clubs and group discussion. Each of the heartwarming tales in this trilogy left me smiling! I highly recommend this trilogy to anyone who loves Christian fiction, historical fiction, or romances.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanda Brunstetter's recently re-released Brides of Lehigh Canal trilogy of stories as a large single volume is a wonderful set of stories that are a feel-good read. Each story centers around a different main female character, each with their own concerns and desires in life. Their lives on the canal include hard work and and making life's decisions while relying on their faith. Can all three find the happiness and contentment with life that they hope for? Great book that I enjoyed from cover to cover. Definitely enjoyed the historical aspect of these stories as well. I also enjoyed how these stories are written to encourage faith and trust in the Lord. Overall, a really pleasant read.

[Bev Walkling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This trilogy of three books set on the Lehigh Canal was actually fairly interesting from a historical perspective and I enjoyed that the main character terms featured in all 3 books so the reader had a better chance to get to know them. This book is written by a Christian and the primary purpose in writing it appears to be as a means to evangelize. Quite often it came across to me as being too "preachy". This tended to interfere with the flow of the story. Bible verses are sprinkled throughout. For some this may be the perfect read. Personally I have a strong faith but found this story a little too blatant in its message.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

You’ll find this collection of historical romances spotlights the bygone days, the drudgery, and hard life along the Lehigh Canal. Kelly’s Choice, Betsy’s Return, and Sarah’s Choice showcase the perseverance, tenacity, and faith three women needed to survive. Each is stand-alone but you will want to read all three.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these stories! It is so refreshing to read about people whose hearts' desire is to tell others about Jesus and to live for Him. These characters went through some really hard and scary times, but the Lord was with them. Very well done!

[lisa G Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this series. It was very interesting and kept you into the story lots of history about the canal. The books show peoples love for telling others about Jesus and how hard times were in those a days.This is one series that I will pull back out and read again. Love it

[Beverly Duell-Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read these books many years ago. They were so, so good! I enjoyed reading these books.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This trilogy was well researched, and therefore historically accurate. Each story has unique lead characters for a well written story filled with plot twists, lessons learned, and faith in God.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read these books a while ago and loved every page of them!

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series, so many challenges in each book, amazing how each character over came them, at times, the answer was right in front, find out how they were succesful.

[Penny Huddleston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new release of a favorite series of mine.

[Karen Hoth]

Great reading. Could not put it down. Love reading books by Wanda Brunstetter

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Book By Wanda. I Really Love Her Books. A Page Turner from the Beginning. It Kept You Guessing. ♥️

[Debra Howdyshell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three stories that go together all in one book. Enjoyed reading these stories and learning some about the canal.

[Abby Stopka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall series is five stars. Check out each individual book for the reviews for this series.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting insight into life of the late 1800s but perhaps a little idealistic.

[Arlene Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The three books are fairly good reads if you like alot of talk about religion and religious quotes.

[JoAnn McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous book! I just loved the history of life on the canal, I even did some research to understand .

Wonderful characters , great story line .

[Reeda Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. All 3 stories are good but the 2 and 3 ones was the two I didn't want to put the book down on.

[Codi Lessner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the historical & romance of this book. However gets a little too preachy at times with be religious parts.

[Keshia Burchette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally I never read Historical Fiction because it has just never appealed to me. As I was browsing my shelves of accumulated books I decided to give this trilogy a shot. I liked it much better than I thought I would and it was a pretty quick read for me.
Kelly's Chance--
In Kelly's Chance I felt so bad for Kelly and her mother because they had to live with, listen to and work for Amos, Kelly's father. He was an angry man made even more hateful by the fact that his other daughter had run off and gotten married to get away from the canal. He felt she abandoned her family and responsibilities so he worked Kelly even harder. At times Kelly resented her father for being as hateful a man as he was but she also tried to pray for him.
Meanwhile, Mike Cooper was doing some praying of his own for the Lord to bring him a good Christian wife. Luckily he owned the General Store along Kelly's family's route. So she was able to stop in and see him from time to time.
I really enjoyed this book because it shows God has a plan for you even when you don't think he is listening.
Betsy's Return--
I was so glad to see that Betsy had grown up and matured since Kelly's Chance. She grew into the woman God made her to be.
When she returned to Walnutport from New York I hoped like crazy that her father Reverand Nelson wouldn't be as bad off as he was because he was really all the family Betsy had. I was happy though that she at least got to spend some time with him.
As Pastor William Covington came to Walnutport to take over the Reverand position previously filled by Betsy's father I wasn't sure if Betsy could get past why he was there and I wasn't sure I could get past the attitude of Mrs. Bevens. Here they had moved into a nice little town of kind-hearted, hard working people and she thought she was above everyone else.
I thought this was a wonderful story of having faith in the Lord, coming together as a community and of course young love.
Sarah's Choice--
I was so happy in Kelly's Chance when Sarah came back to the canal because then the family could be together once again. I was even happier when Sam decided to man up and become the husband and father he needed to be. Unfortunately, Sam lost his life to the canal leaving everything for Sarah to try to do on her own. I felt so terrible for her through most of the story because she worked herself to death, had 3 children to take care of and baked bread as a side job when really her dream was to open a bakery.
When Elias came to Walnutport I knew he was the one for Sarah and her family it just took them both a while to realize their true feelings. I was so glad she decided not to marry Patrick since he felt the way he did about her children. I just wasn't a fan of his from the get go.
All in all I loved all three of these stories because they tell of a time when hard work and faith got you through. The world today needs to take a lesson from some of the people living in Walnutport.

[Myrtle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Kelly's Choice, the first book in the Brides of Lehigh Canal Trilogy. Very very nice story. Can't wait to read Betsy's Return.

Finished reading Bety's Return on 6/16/14. Starting Sarah's Choice.

I would highly recommend this Trilogy. It has been fun following Katie, Betsy and Sarah through their journeys.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Qe visited the Lehigh Valley this spring & I thought this might be an interesting historical romance about life on the canal there. Downloaded the ebooks from the public library.