Something Blue

Plains City Bridesmaids #3

by Dianne Christner

Life is going well for Megan. She’s always wanted to marry a missionary and now she’s working with Chance, a charming and daring missionary pilot. Then Micah Zimmerman moves into her parent’s home as a pastoral candidate for their Conservative Mennonite church—and he doesn’t look anything like the gawky young man who had a crush on her in college. As Megan struggles with her own personal identity and faith, she begins to see the true difference between Chance and Micah. Will her insight come too late, or is there still time to find the hero of her dreams?

Genres: Amish, Christian Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Christian, Amish Fiction

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Dianne Christner - Christian Fiction Author - writes Christian romance novels. She writes both Historicals and Amish Fiction. Raised in the Mennonite church, she brings authenticity to "The Plain City Bridesmaids" series.

She keeps a lighthearted reality blog called plaingirl romanticizing.

Her passion is reading and connecting with other readers and writers.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this from a Goodreads giveaway for an honest review.


At first, the story started out rough and boring to me. It seemed like the love triangle wasn't really put together well. I got tired of it. Maybe it was just because I havent read the other books in the series to where I felt drawn into the story. But, the book later caught me and it turned out to be really good. I usually like these types of stories because it adds a little wholesomeness to your heart.

[Margaret Fraleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brother Troyer is working in his wife's garden and has a heart attack and dies.

The congregation begins looking for a pastor for their church.

The committee brings forward two names.

One of the name is Micah. When he arrives he finds Megan... a girl that went to his college. Their
interaction at the school wasn't the best.

Megan's boss has taken a leave of absence to try and repair his marriage. Chase (her boss's bother comes to fill in while he is away.

Will Micah be asked to become their new pastor?
Will Megan find love like her two best friends did?

[Sydni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something Blue is the third and final book in the Plain City Brides Series and Dianne Christner finished strong! This book pulls the reader right in from the very beginning and leaves you begging for more. Megan, the main character, goes on a journey of self discovery all while seeking God's plan for her life. This is a romance that weaves you throughout her journey, but the applicable Biblical Truths all throughout give the reader a sense of Jesus drawing you to Him. We find the truest, greatest love in Jesus!

[ANNETTE · Rating 3 out of 5]

GOOd read was very interesting

[Nikole Hahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something Blue by Dianne Christner defines hero a bit too glibly. The tag line says, “A hero isn’t always easy to spot.” However, the story doesn’t live up to this tag line. Rather, it’s a story about a girl torn between two men.

Chance is Megan’s boss’s brother. Flying planes is his obsession as is being a pilot missionary in Ecuador. Red X’s mark his calendar in the office of Char Air as he impatiently waits for his brother to return. His brother took a leave of absence after cheating on his wife. Megan Weaver is an assistant to Chance’s brother, and now to Chance. It’s not easy keeping your mind on your work when a single, good-looking Christian pilot is now your temporary boss. Chance is not a Mennonite and that brings an added complication to Megan’s crush.

Throw in another man with more honorable intentions into Megan’s life and the pot is stirred. Now Megan is caught between the wrong man and the right man with enough of the lines blurred as to make her question whether her Mennonite faith is worth holding on to as Chance claims to be a Christian, too.

Micah is the pastoral candidate for Megan’s church. Brother Troyer died in the garden of the parish house and the search committee chooses someone younger and single, much to the dismay of some of the gossips and the delight of the single, young women in the parish.

As Megan sticks to her beliefs, Chance becomes more aggressive and angry. However, Christner takes Chance’s character only to the edge of his anger. The novel doesn’t become one where Micah needs to run to Megan’s rescue. Complicating Micah and Megan’s friendship is the misunderstanding that Micah thinks Megan loved Chance until gossips force the truth out in a confrontation. The novel was good, except for one part.

When Megan and Micah discussed Chance’s Air Force background, the military was put down. I understand it was part of the storyline as a Mennonite’s belief is pacifist. Still, I didn’t like how long that conversation went about having to kill people and had to deduct a star for it. Megan discounted Chance as relationship material because of his non-Mennonite and military background. Also, because he wasn’t firm in whether he wanted to marry Megan even if she moved to Ecuador to become a missionary with him. In past books, Megan has always been a bit more worldly than her friends. What was left unanswered in the novel was her urge to serve as a missionary in another country. For a while, it appeared that both Megan and Micah’s storyline headed towards a missionary conclusion. Her dream fizzled with no memorable explanation.

A real plus to Something Blue came about when Micah refused the offered candidacy until he got the gossip’s approval. He served the gossip until he broke down her barriers and found out why she hated him and others. The conclusion left me pleased. Overall, I gave this novel four stars.

*book given by author as gift with no obligation to review.

[Kathleen (Kat) Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Megan Weaver has a true heart for those in need. As the only daughter of Mennonite parents, she has had to define her own boundaries when it came to protecting her own heart. She is also the only Mennonite working for Char-Air, a company that offers charity flights to those in need from natural disasters or medical supplies that need to be flown in simply based on donations and volunteers. When her boss, Ray leaves work on a temporary leave to work on his own marriage, he has his brother, Chance Campbell fill in for him. Yet sparks begin to fly as Chance tries to find a way into her impenetrable heart and she tries to keep the wall up even though she is clearly attracted to him. Yet she vows she can never fall for a man who isn't a Mennonite, no matter what he believes.

When the pastor of their long time church dies suddenly from a heart attack, the church decides to find a replacement. When their choices are narrowed down to just two men, Megan learns that both will be staying with them at her family home. What she doesn't realize is that one of the men, she knew from her time in Bible college, Joe Zimmerman, who she knew as Micah Zimmerman who was relentless in his pursuit of her affections. Now how will she ever be able to deal with this man living across the hall from her?

In the novel, Something Blue by Dianne Christner, Megan Weaver finds herself at a difficult intersection in her personal life. Faced with friends that have already found a man to marry, she finds herself with two likely candidates who couldn't be more different from one another. One is the man who relationship and standing with God is the one she promised herself she would willingly accept in a marriage, and the other one has not only claimed her attraction but it seems her heart as well for missionary work around the world as a pilot. When she decides to leave fate up to whatever God decides, she finds faced with two difficult situations; when a tornado threatens Megan's life and home, will the new pastor be able to save her? Or when a chance to finally go on a missionary flight to help out disaster victims in a nearby city as a fellow Mennonite, will Megan be able to keep her heart from taking flight as well?

I received Something Blue compliments of Barbour Publishing and author Dianne Christner for my honest review and LOVED it. This is the third book in the Plain City Bridemaids series and never having read the previous two, I found this can be read as a stand alone book as well. But trust me when I say, that once you begin this book, you will be hooked! Dianne has a way to engage her readers right from the beginning that you immediately feel a part of the story and have to keep reading just to see where it will end up! For that reason I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait to pick up the first two books in this series, Something Old and Something New!

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: Something Blue by Dianne Christner
5 STARS I enjoyed watching Megan grow and change. This was a perfect sunday book to enjoy. Megan is a Mennonite. She is working for a small airplane company. They do private charters and charity flights. Megan's boss is Randy and he is taking off two months to try and save his marriage. His brother Chance Campbell works in Ecuador as a mission piliot and coming to run the company for him. Chance flirts right away with Megan and tells her stories about his work. Chance has a hard time understanding why Megan does not want to date him or even have lunch together as friends. Megan is very attracted to Chase and keeps saying no to him but she is worried about him. Megan's Preacher died and they are interviewing two men for the job. The first one to come is going to stay with Megan's family. Her father is an Elder of thier church and they have room for him. Megan is surprised when she comes home to find the preacher who has come first to interview and preach is Micah Zimmerman. She knew him at collage and in fact he asked her out time after time. She finally had to threaten to get him to leave her alone. She hoped he did not come here just to try with her again. Micah the moment he first met Megan in his last semester of collage he felt that she was going to mean a lot to him. He remembered how he kept asking her out. Micah was having lots of allergies problems. He felt like he was looking like a fool to Megan. Then he found that Megan had lots of allergies too. Megan got to know a little bit more about Micah and they became friends. Micah realized he still felt attracted to Megan but he was afraid of thier past would hurt him to get the job. Micah was asked back to stay for a three months and than the members would vote to offer him the job or not. Chance really wanted Megan to come with him to Ecuador when he left. He thought she would love it. He hid somethings to Megan. Megan confided to Micah about Chance. Megan was starting to think that she needed to spend more time with Chance. This story did have a lot of different scriptures and subjects of different sermons topics came up. It was all natural to the story. I liked the Characters. This is the third book of a series. I have now read the second & third books. I would love to go read the first one sometime. Look forward to reading more of Dianne's novels in the future. I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest reviews from Netgalley. 08/01/2012 PUB Barbour Publishing, Inc.

[Mercedes Cordero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megan always dreamed of marrying a preacher or a missionary. Now it seems that her dream may come true as her boss' brother, a handsome and charming missionary pilot named Chance, starts working alongside of her. However, Micah Zimmerman reappears in her life as a pastoral candidate in her church. She thought she didn't want anything to do with Micah, but immediately he starts to prove to her that he is not the same tall and gawky guy she knew in college. Now Megan has to choose between the life she always thought she wanted and the life she never knew she dreamed of.

This is a novel about second chances, the struggles we face in terms of our faith and our love life, about making good decisions, about trusting God to lead our way and the importance of understanding when God is the one doing the leading, not our own desires. Megan is a pretty strong character, very set in her beliefs and very straightforward. Micah is sweet, strong-minded, and somewhat needy but in a good, you want to reach out to him kind of way. Chance is likable, fun and interesting.

I like when a novel gives us not only the girl's point of view, but also the guy's, and in this case, guys'. Here we get to see things from Megan's perspective, but also from Micah's and Chance's. And I love to have an insight into the guys' mind, how they feel, what they are thinking. It makes for a more interesting and compelling story. However, as nice and well written as both guys are, I think that you will gravitate more towards one depending on your personality and type, which means that a few of you may be disappointed with Megan's choice in the end. But it will not come as a surprise, since the story, although nicely written, sweet and touching, is highly predictable, at least the romantic side of it.

Aside from the romance, we have a few side stories —Micah's possible job as a minister in Megan's church, a gossiping widow, changes in friendships— that are well told, keep you interested and make the story advance. However, I thought that the side story for Megan's mom was much ado about nothing and Megan's reaction to it was disappointing and exaggerated.

This is the third novel in the series, but it can very easily be read alone, which I really liked. I would recommend this novel to a teenage girl or an adult who wants to read a nice, sweet and endearing romance.

3.5 stars out of 5

*I received a copy of this book from Barbour Books through NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Megan has watched her two best friends fall in love and get married. She has always seen herself either marring a missionary or a preacher so when her bosses single missionary pilot brother Chance takes over for 6 weeks Megan finds herself drawn to him only problem is he is not Mennonite and off limits. Also adding to her problems is Micah the possible new preacher to her church and someone who tried to date her in college. She finds herself drawn to Chance and his work yet Micah soon becomes a trusted friend. Who will she choose the missionary or the preacher?

This is book three on the series and again deals with the issue of possibly choosing your faith and community over love.

What I liked: I liked how Megan and Micah became friends and got to know each other in this book. So many stories jump straight into love and we don’t always see how friendship can lead to more but how it can also be just that, friends. Megan also had to grow up and see things differently as well and I enjoyed seeing her mature in her faith.

What I did not like: The story line of marry a Mennonite gets under my skin as well as her being upset when she finds her genetic gene pool may not be full Mennonite. I get that the author is telling a story from the more strict Mennonites but I felt the story line could have done a better job of letting that go and seeing how we all are children of God not based off of a denomination. I have read plenty of Amish books that deal with a similar issues but this book bugged me a little more then others.

Over all it was a good book and the romance was sweet and the author does a good job of keeping you guessing who she is going to choose. I thought the one she did not choose was given more of a bad wrap then he deserved but it was just how the storyline went.

http://abbiesreadingcorner.com/2012/0...

[Iola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megan Weaver a Conservative Mennonite who works as the assistant to the owner of Char Air, a charter airline who also operate charity flights. Her boss is taking time out to mend his marriage, and his brother is taking over in his absence. Chance Campbell is a missionary pilot in Ecuador, and is immediately attracted to his pretty assistant, despite her unfashionable Mennonite appearance. The attraction is mutual, especially as Megan has always felt she would marry either a minister or a missionary. But Chance is not a Mennonite.

Meanwhile, Megan’s church is recruiting a new minister, and one of the applicants is her college nemesis. Micah Zimmerman has changed. He is still attracted to Megan, but finds himself competing for her attention. Micah is trying to get the church members to support hiring him, without giving any of the single women false hope.

I found Megan to be a bit naïve and shallow. I could accept her wanting to marry within her own denomination and even could understand her reluctance to move to another country. But I thought it a bit shallow that she felt she couldn’t marry outside her ‘faith’, the Mennonite denomination. After all, Chance is a Christian. Shouldn’t that be enough?

Micah was sweet, caring, sensitive, and hiding his true feelings so he could develop a friendship with Megan. And he’s a Mennonite minister – what more does Megan want? Well, it takes her a while to work out whether she wants the dashing Chance or the conservative Micah, but the ending was worth the wait, and made up for the mid-book dithering between the two.

Something Blue is the third book in the Plain City Bridesmaids series (following Something Old and Something New), but can easily be read as a stand-alone. Enjoyable romance, probably better suited for a younger readership.

Thanks to Barbour and NetGalley for providing a free book for review.

[Breath of Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

To start with, OH MY! Author Dianne Christner did it again! This story is the third book in author Dianne Christners series, Plain City Bridesmaids. And believe me when I say, "I want more from this series!"

My first book and review of author Dianne Christner's was SOMETHING OLD and then my second was the next in this series SOMETHING NEW and I so enjoyed them both. Was anticipating the third book in the series and devoured it when it came out.

The three girls from the first story has now grown into fine young women, two with their own families now and Megan who is at this point ready to find true love herself. Her sweet friends, family and some from within the church, not to mention the ones from her work, try to give Megan advice where needed but for (you will need to read for yourself) seems to not always be there at the times she needs them. Or offer advise when or the kind that she really needs. I am not going any further into the story line than this. But I will say you need to start from the first book in the series and keep reading.. A Must Read.

Author Dianne Christner is one amazing clean reads, very insightful, authentic artistic writers that I so very much enjoy reading. Her characters are down to earth and in to everyday issues as you can get. The Mennonite story is so interesting to read and author Dianne Christner has a way of writing that puts you right smack dap in the middle of the story. And I love a book that is a page turner.. Well the three books in this series did that for me.

Again, A Must Read. And I am looking forward to reading more of author Dianne Christner work.

So due to the above, I am giving this book a Breath of Life ratings of:

Five Clock Rating!!!

Disclosure: I purchased this book for myself. This is honest opinion and review. Opinions are my own and yours may differ.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

ter reading Katy’s story in Something Old and Lil’s story in Something New, I had to read Something Blue to follow Megan’s story as author Dianne Christner continues the journey of these three best friends. Katy and Lil have now found love and married the man of their dreams, and now it is time for Megan.

Megan can’t believe the first new pastor candidate is the same guy that had a crush that really frustrated her while in college. And to beat it all, he would be staying in their home, because they had more room than other church members. Has Micah changed from his college years, or is his mind still set on Megan? This could be a long weekend, and even longer because it is a holiday weekend and Megan is off from work.

I thoroughly enjoyed this third book in the Plain City Bridesmaids Series. Where I thought this book started off a bit slow, it soon captured my attention and I had to keep reading until I finished the last page. The characters created by the author were real and enjoyable. I really like Megan and her close family. And Micah and Chance made the story very interesting with many twists and turns.

If you are looking for a really good, clean, sweet, light story, then you will love Something Blue. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy for your reading enjoyment. And while you are at it, go ahead and pick up Something Old and Something New and read them together. You will not be disappointed.

Thanks to Barbour Books for providing a copy of this book for me to read and review. I was not expected or required to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are mine only.

[Christie Hagerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Megan's story is the third book in The Plain City Bridesmaids series, but I read it as a standalone novel and had no problem figuring things out. A slight variation from Amish romance, this Mennonite romantic fiction has the same strands. A young adult questions her faith. An outsider tempts her to stray from her conservative roots. Her community puts pressure on her and doesn't understand all of her decisions.

What made this story stand out is that I really didn't know which way she'd go, right up till the end. Sure, there were some clues, but the choice between the preacher and the missionary pilot wasn't as cut and dry as it seemed. I have to admit that I'm disappointed she chose as she did. I guess to tell you why would ruin the whole story, but I'll at least tell you that I was hoping the author would step out of the expected ending.

Overall, it was an easy read that I finished in two nights, one that touched on some important spiritual truths but left lots of room for interpretation. This is a great vacation book or rainy day read, one that I will put on my teen girls' bookshelf not only for its clean view of dating and romance, but also because it deals with making sound choices about a lifelong mate.

[IrenesBookReviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the series called The Plain City Bridesmaids. It is about Megan Weaver as she decides the next steps to take in her life. She is working with Chance Campbell and drawn to his personality. She is also finding herself attracted to Micah Zimmerman, whom she has known for awhile. Will she go against her family and choose adventure or stick with her principles and follow her heart?

Overall this was an entertaining book and this is why I gave it 4/5 stars. The dilemma of the main character was realistic but some of the struggles she encountered were not. I did enjoy how the character worked through her problem. The author did great at writing the steps Megan Weaver thought about and some good advice was given in the book that could definitely apply to real life situations. I also think this would be a great book for a teenager girl to read.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book I enjoyed reading. I gave an honest review based on my opinion of what I read.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is the third book in Dianne Christner’s Bridesmaids of Plain City series and though having not read the previous two books in this series, I found this could be read as a stand along book as well.

In Something Blue, I laughed and cried at the peculiar dilemmas that Meagan Weaver, a single conservative Mennonite gets herself into. She has found herself at a difficult crossroad. Two men, Chance with his Christian beliefs & charm and Micah who is hoping to be their next Conservative Mennonite minister has both came into her world. Which man is right for her? I felt this book somewhat dragged on at the first but I still couldn’t put it down. I wanted to know whom Megan would choose. It was worth continuing it to find that the end was where I had hoped it would be.

After I put the book down, I realized that while reading this book, I was humbly reminded that I should put faith and trust in God to set my paths straight and keep my eyes focused on Him

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book as far as the story is concerned. I liked how the main characters were very real a relatable and how we were not portrayed as having "perfect lives" like many authors do. The characters in this book are very real and relatable.
However as far as accuracy and t whole missy face scene needs to be toned down some. A conservative girl would not be kissing each man she dates. We believe our lips are for our husbands. Also a young conservative man would not be writing a young lady such sensual letters of nature, let alone make refrence to their wedding night . Also there is no way Meg would have her hair down,around Micah.

[Christina Sparks-Peak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from Good-reads First-reads! & I was so excited to get this book! I didn't know much about the Mennonite Religion & It was very interesting and informative. I loved Megan & how strong she was in her Faith. I loved the pure love between her & Micah. I really enjoyed this book & would highly recommend it to everyone!

[April Suter · Rating 3 out of 5]

And now it is Megan's turn. Lil and Katy are married and starting their families. Micah, a student she had met in college, arrives in Big Darby to be the temporary minister since the congregation just lost their beloved Brother. Megan is working and is attracted the new pilot, Chance. Will she choose going with him to Ecuador or the minister that is right at her side?
316 pages

[Sandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of the wonderful series of books.. Megan is the last of the 3 girls to go on. She is having a difficult time deciding the way the Lord wants her to go. She keeps fluctuating, but in the end goes the way He wanted her to.. Mr. Christner is a wonderful writer and keeps you involved all the way through her stories.

[Dorrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! This is the third in the trilogy Plain City Bridesmaids, and possibly the best of the three.It was clear early in the story how the happy couple were SUPPOSED to be such at the end, but like much in the field of romance, much had to happen first. 5 Stars!

[Shana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this from Goodreads First-reads! This was the sweetest book I've ever read. Interesting and informative, a good read.

[Andrea Woodard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book awhile ago, it was the kind of book you don't want to put down.

[Jennifer Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved reading this book

[Wendy Waldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series so much and am sad to see it come to an end!