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Amish Connections #1
Lancaster Hearts
Will Judith win her love while still following her calling to heal?
When nine-year-old Judith Hershberger witnesses her daed's collapse and death in her family's Lancaster County cornfield, she vows before God never to be so helpless again. Now at seventeen and on her Rumspringa, she's doing her best to balance life as an Amish woman with the pursuit of Englischer education. But things come to a head when an Amish guest preacher comes to Judith's district's church meeting, bringing along his handsome son, Isaac. Will Judith win Isaac's love, and can she be true to her heart without abandoning her calling to heal? Find out in Amish Connections, Book 1, the fifth part of the Amazon Bestselling Out of Darkness Amish romance series.
When nine-year-old Judith Hershberger witnesses her daed's collapse and death in her family's Lancaster County cornfield, she vows before God never to be so helpless again. Now at seventeen and on her Rumspringa, she's doing her best to balance life as an Amish woman with the pursuit of Englischer education. But things come to a head when an Amish guest preacher comes to Judith's district's church meeting, bringing along his handsome son, Isaac. Will Judith win Isaac's love, and can she be true to her heart without abandoning her calling to heal? Find out in Amish Connections, Book 1, the fifth part of the Amazon Bestselling Out of Darkness Amish romance series.
126 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2014
99 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Ruth Price
83 books43 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
As a lifelong Pennsylvanian, I’ve (Ruth Price) had a unique opportunity to meet Amish folks in my everyday life. It’s a delight to get to know a culture and people who may have a different way of living but share a common love of God and a common belief in the goodness of other human beings. I try to channel this higher good through my fiction, and while I can’t say I always reach that ideal, I hope my stories inspire and entertain. If you want to try a free short story from me, you can sign up to receive updates from me at http://www.bltgo.com/Ruth-Price-Newsl....
If not, I do hope you enjoy my books and stories however you stumble across them.
You can also follow me on Facebook (Ruth Price Amish Romance Author) and Twitter (@ruthpriceauthor.)
As a lifelong Pennsylvanian, I’ve (Ruth Price) had a unique opportunity to meet Amish folks in my everyday life. It’s a delight to get to know a culture and people who may have a different way of living but share a common love of God and a common belief in the goodness of other human beings. I try to channel this higher good through my fiction, and while I can’t say I always reach that ideal, I hope my stories inspire and entertain. If you want to try a free short story from me, you can sign up to receive updates from me at http://www.bltgo.com/Ruth-Price-Newsl....
If not, I do hope you enjoy my books and stories however you stumble across them.
You can also follow me on Facebook (Ruth Price Amish Romance Author) and Twitter (@ruthpriceauthor.)
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 4, 2013
This is The first book of the series Amish Connections, however it is also part of the Out of Darkness series (#5). It's best to read the others of the series to have some background. I finished last week, but have been unable to review until now.
My rating: 4 1/2
Storyline/plot: 5 stars.... First, this book provides a wonderful lesson. The information about performing CPR was excellent. I was glad to find that it was included. .... Now, Ms Price departs from the normal Amish fiction in the first books of the series (with the mystery-suspense). She continues in this book, with Judith, a young Amish girl/woman struggling with her decision to pursue more education instead of doing as expected (courting, marrying and having children). She does include a budding romance which I liked.
Characters: 5 stars..... Some new character were introduced in this book and I enjoyed "meeting" them. I really liked the character of Isaac. He seemed sweet and shy, but yet he stood up for what he wanted(a relationship with Judith)to his father. I didn't care for the father, however I believe that is actually the way things would be in the "real" Amish community. In the end I did
like him somewhat. There were others, however I won't go into them.
Editing: 3 1/2 ...... Unfortunately this has been the biggest problem for the books of this series. There were so many errors in the first and second books that by the third I quit counting (or noting what they were) - just shook my head and went on reading. This one, I didn't actually notice that many, however, that again is probably because I'd trained myself not to notice them. Thus, the lower score. I apologize if I'm in error and there weren't many mistakes.
Enjoyment level: 5 ...... It was fascinating to see how Judith's life was affected by the death of her father. And not in a negative way as so often happens. She wanted to try and see that it didn't happen again, so she decided to do something about it. I found myself reading beyond my "limit" so that I could see what would happen next. The only problem I have is the same I had at the end of In God's Hands...there is no true ending, we have to provide one ourselves, and I dislike that.
My rating: 4 1/2
Storyline/plot: 5 stars.... First, this book provides a wonderful lesson. The information about performing CPR was excellent. I was glad to find that it was included. .... Now, Ms Price departs from the normal Amish fiction in the first books of the series (with the mystery-suspense). She continues in this book, with Judith, a young Amish girl/woman struggling with her decision to pursue more education instead of doing as expected (courting, marrying and having children). She does include a budding romance which I liked.
Characters: 5 stars..... Some new character were introduced in this book and I enjoyed "meeting" them. I really liked the character of Isaac. He seemed sweet and shy, but yet he stood up for what he wanted(a relationship with Judith)to his father. I didn't care for the father, however I believe that is actually the way things would be in the "real" Amish community. In the end I did
like him somewhat. There were others, however I won't go into them.
Editing: 3 1/2 ...... Unfortunately this has been the biggest problem for the books of this series. There were so many errors in the first and second books that by the third I quit counting (or noting what they were) - just shook my head and went on reading. This one, I didn't actually notice that many, however, that again is probably because I'd trained myself not to notice them. Thus, the lower score. I apologize if I'm in error and there weren't many mistakes.
Enjoyment level: 5 ...... It was fascinating to see how Judith's life was affected by the death of her father. And not in a negative way as so often happens. She wanted to try and see that it didn't happen again, so she decided to do something about it. I found myself reading beyond my "limit" so that I could see what would happen next. The only problem I have is the same I had at the end of In God's Hands...there is no true ending, we have to provide one ourselves, and I dislike that.
October 1, 2013
Usually I enjoy Christian fiction and a little Amish fiction, but I did not like this book. There are so many grammatical errors in the Kindle edition that it made it hard to figure out the story. The writing wasn't bad, but there were also lots of sentence fragments and sentences that just didn't make any sense. It seems the author would confuse the names of her characters and it made it very difficult to sort out which character she was talking about. I will not be reading the sequels to this book, although I did enjoy the general plot and the way that the book ended.
February 5, 2021
Lancaster County. The Hershberger family had got their corn in.
Samuel Hershberger (14, kinner) helped Mark Hershberger (mann/daed) in the field.
Esther Hershberger (fraa/mamm) watched as Judith Hershberger (8, oldest kinner, hospital cleaning) helped them also.
Sweet Potato Hershberger, Mary Hershberger, & Miriam Hershberger are the other 3 youngest kinner.
Isaac Graber lived in Ephrata borough Lancaster County, PA.
Rumspringa is a natural phase of Amish kids’ life.
He met Joseph (13, kinner) & Caleb (16, kinner) who helped on the Hershberger farm also.
Caleb fancied Judith.
Mark had collapsed/died in the field.
Hannah “Fawn” is sweet on John.
Deacon Hilty (35) had collapsed & had to be revived by the Amish EMT’s.
Judith went to ER to see him.
I do not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing free books from publishers & authors. Therefore, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one.
An awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very professionally written Amish romance book. It was quite easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters & facts to keep track of. This could also make another great Amish romance movie, or better yet a mini-TV series. To be continued. There is no doubt in my mind this is an amazingly easy rating of 5 stars.
Thank you for the free Author; Global Grafx Press; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
Samuel Hershberger (14, kinner) helped Mark Hershberger (mann/daed) in the field.
Esther Hershberger (fraa/mamm) watched as Judith Hershberger (8, oldest kinner, hospital cleaning) helped them also.
Sweet Potato Hershberger, Mary Hershberger, & Miriam Hershberger are the other 3 youngest kinner.
Isaac Graber lived in Ephrata borough Lancaster County, PA.
Rumspringa is a natural phase of Amish kids’ life.
He met Joseph (13, kinner) & Caleb (16, kinner) who helped on the Hershberger farm also.
Caleb fancied Judith.
Mark had collapsed/died in the field.
Hannah “Fawn” is sweet on John.
Deacon Hilty (35) had collapsed & had to be revived by the Amish EMT’s.
Judith went to ER to see him.
I do not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing free books from publishers & authors. Therefore, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one.
An awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very professionally written Amish romance book. It was quite easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters & facts to keep track of. This could also make another great Amish romance movie, or better yet a mini-TV series. To be continued. There is no doubt in my mind this is an amazingly easy rating of 5 stars.
Thank you for the free Author; Global Grafx Press; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
June 3, 2018
Finding God's destiny for your life.
This is a short novella. It is put together well but novellas are too short for depth. I am giving this a 3.5.
JUdith lost her dad at age nine from a heart attack. After that she had a desire to know if something could have been done to prevent it. AT 16 Judith volunteered at the local hospital and signed up to get her high school diploma and take a CPR course. This caused quite a stir in her Ordung especially when a young man Isaac wants to court her. AN interesting novella wondering if you can be Amish and still follow what you feel is your destiny
This is a short novella. It is put together well but novellas are too short for depth. I am giving this a 3.5.
JUdith lost her dad at age nine from a heart attack. After that she had a desire to know if something could have been done to prevent it. AT 16 Judith volunteered at the local hospital and signed up to get her high school diploma and take a CPR course. This caused quite a stir in her Ordung especially when a young man Isaac wants to court her. AN interesting novella wondering if you can be Amish and still follow what you feel is your destiny
February 7, 2021
Lancaster Hearts
This is a wonderful Amish love story between Isaac and Judith. Judith lost her Dad to a heart attack and felt like God was calling her to take classes to become a nurse or doctor even though it was in the English world. In her Amish community, women were expected to become wives and mothers instead of going to college. She was torn between the two worlds until she met Isaac, an Amish young man who believed in her and the choices she had to make. When she was able to save an Amish man's life after she learned CPR, and met an Amish man who was a Paramedic her choices became clear. I highly recommend this interesting story about choices Amish people face.
This is a wonderful Amish love story between Isaac and Judith. Judith lost her Dad to a heart attack and felt like God was calling her to take classes to become a nurse or doctor even though it was in the English world. In her Amish community, women were expected to become wives and mothers instead of going to college. She was torn between the two worlds until she met Isaac, an Amish young man who believed in her and the choices she had to make. When she was able to save an Amish man's life after she learned CPR, and met an Amish man who was a Paramedic her choices became clear. I highly recommend this interesting story about choices Amish people face.
January 30, 2021
I enjoyed this book. It is written from the perspective of a young Amish girl (16) trying to figure out how she wants to live the rest of her life while staying true to her Amish religion. She wants to learn how to help her community with health concerns. She learns how to do CPR against some of the wishes of the strict Amish in her community.
Short but good. There are a few grammatical errors in the Kindle edition, but not enough to make it unreadable.
Short but good. There are a few grammatical errors in the Kindle edition, but not enough to make it unreadable.
January 31, 2021
Career vs Amish Beliefs
Judith feels God has called her into a medical career, yet she also wants to be a wife! When she meets Isaac, she realizes he is the one she could be happy with. His father Jacob lives by strict Amish rules and she is afraid gorgeous never want his son Isaac to marry an Amish girl with and Englisher career. How can this be resolved? Read and find out! An excellent book!
Y
Judith feels God has called her into a medical career, yet she also wants to be a wife! When she meets Isaac, she realizes he is the one she could be happy with. His father Jacob lives by strict Amish rules and she is afraid gorgeous never want his son Isaac to marry an Amish girl with and Englisher career. How can this be resolved? Read and find out! An excellent book!
Y
September 2, 2021
it’s never too late to change your attitude
A coming of age story that is sweet and thought provoking. The main characters are so true to life. A visiting guest speaker finds himself at odds with his interpretation of the Church laws. He has become so ridged that he drove his oldest son away from the Amish church and was well on his way to driving his other son as well. This is a great story and well worth the read.
A coming of age story that is sweet and thought provoking. The main characters are so true to life. A visiting guest speaker finds himself at odds with his interpretation of the Church laws. He has become so ridged that he drove his oldest son away from the Amish church and was well on his way to driving his other son as well. This is a great story and well worth the read.
October 3, 2021
A freebie ~ an easy read… with of course a happy ending.
Judith is Amish and as a young girl her father dies of a heart attack. Growing up she wants to study medicine (unheard of for an Amish girl) ..but her mother encourages her. And one day she saves a deacons life And now she is finding support among the people.
Judith is Amish and as a young girl her father dies of a heart attack. Growing up she wants to study medicine (unheard of for an Amish girl) ..but her mother encourages her. And one day she saves a deacons life And now she is finding support among the people.
March 18, 2022
Lessons
This book exposes the lack of understanding of some elder Amish as younger Amish wish to further their education and learn what outsiders take for granted. In this case a visiting preacher and his son are at odds when the son wishes to learn CPR and to court a girl who doesn't appear to be as pious as the elder visitor wishes.
This book exposes the lack of understanding of some elder Amish as younger Amish wish to further their education and learn what outsiders take for granted. In this case a visiting preacher and his son are at odds when the son wishes to learn CPR and to court a girl who doesn't appear to be as pious as the elder visitor wishes.
February 19, 2021
When Judith's dad dies she decides she wants to learn about Englisher's medicine. She takes high school courses from the English. She takes a CPR class. She ends up having to give CPR to some one. I enjoyed this book.
February 20, 2025
Amish Life
This was a very enjoyable read. It explained many of the ways of Amish life that most people do not know. The story has tenderness, sorrow, love, excitement in it all to keep you reading to see what will happen next.
This was a very enjoyable read. It explained many of the ways of Amish life that most people do not know. The story has tenderness, sorrow, love, excitement in it all to keep you reading to see what will happen next.
April 15, 2019
The book is brilliant
The book is brilliant story again and I like to reading the book from the beginning to the end. Many thanks for your wonderful writing books.
The book is brilliant story again and I like to reading the book from the beginning to the end. Many thanks for your wonderful writing books.
January 27, 2021
Amish
I enjoy reading about the Amish in books, their faith in God is wonderful and I understand some of the rules but sometimes I don’t.
I enjoy reading about the Amish in books, their faith in God is wonderful and I understand some of the rules but sometimes I don’t.
March 27, 2021
Nice, short story with interesting characters.
November 15, 2021
Great book
January 13, 2025
what I Thought
Well written good character development. Interesting themes for this type of book. Engaging characters. Nice to see a mind change from a firm character
Well written good character development. Interesting themes for this type of book. Engaging characters. Nice to see a mind change from a firm character
September 26, 2013
I really enjoyed this (short) book. An interesting idea for a solution to how an Amish young woman can stay in her faith and yet follow her dream which she fully believes is God's calling for her life.
The visiting preacher and her son experience different reactions to Judith's family.
I loved how Judith's mother did not buckle when it came to support of her daughter.
This is the first book by Ruth Price I have read. It won't be the last. Highly recommend.
The visiting preacher and her son experience different reactions to Judith's family.
I loved how Judith's mother did not buckle when it came to support of her daughter.
This is the first book by Ruth Price I have read. It won't be the last. Highly recommend.
October 10, 2013
This is the first Amish novel i have ever read but i LOVED it - this was a short sweet simple yet powerful read for me one afternoon in the back of the car on a long drive - i read this book and then jumped right onto my kindle and brought the next two in the saga that same afternoon - i'm just away to start Courting Miriam book now !
November 17, 2013
The overall plot was a good one but there's a few problems for me with some things I don't think are true to the Amish way of life. I just can't believe that an Amish person would say, Oh my G-d! That really irritates me. Also I have read many fiction books based on Amish and in every one but this,they pray silently at meals. It was still worth a read.
October 1, 2013
Loved it enough to seek out the next two books in the series. Very well done Amish romance.
December 27, 2013
Aside from editing problems, I felt the author needed to research Amish ways a bit more. There were atypical story items to normal Amish ways.
October 13, 2013
I loved the story, plot, and characters. I wish the typos and other errors of the kind had been caught in proofing this story.
October 13, 2014
Loved the series!
January 23, 2025
True love bar nothing
True love can be sticky at times, but with God, all things are possible. Sometimes it Just takes time to find the True Will of God for your life.
True love can be sticky at times, but with God, all things are possible. Sometimes it Just takes time to find the True Will of God for your life.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews