The Hope Chest

Brides of Lancaster County #4

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Rachel Beachy wants something she can't have-her sister Anna's boyfriend. Silas Swartley has been in love with Anna since they were children, and Rachel has loved Silas nearly as long. Rachel feels that her swiftly moving days are spent without hope, but when Anna unexpectedly leaves the Amish faith, Rachel's hope is rekindled. She begins filling her hope chest as she initiates a campaign to win Silas's heart. Can Silas set the pain of Anna's rejection aside and see Rachel as anything more than a child? Will Rachel be disappointed in Silas and in God, or will she learn the true meaning of hope? The Hope Chest is book 4 in the Brides of Lancaster County series. Other books in the series include A Merry Heart: Book 1, Looking for a Miracle: Book 2, Plain and Fancy: Book 3.

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

287 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

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

[Abyssdancer (Hanging in there!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last book in the Brides of Lancaster County series … I like to think I’ve befriended so many flawed but hopeful characters in this series … I’ve enjoyed both the complexities and the simplicity of their lives … I know the faith and struggle to follow God’s will will linger in my heart for a long time …

Rachel is in love with Silas, a man five years her senior … a man who is madly in love with Anna, Rachel’s older sister … unfortunately, Anna has no feelings toward Silas, and Anna ends up leaving the Amish community to become English and marry her true love, Reuben …

Rachel misses her sister terribly, but she sees this as an opportunity to get Silas to fall in love with her instead … several Jane Austen like twists bounce back and forth between Silas and Rachel, as eavesdropping and fear of rejection interfere with the relationship between Rachel and Silas …

This book did not have the sparkling dialogue and enamored wit of a Jane Austen book, but it was an enjoyable read … I was really rooting for the main characters to finally fall in love …

I’m going to miss the charming romantic innocence of Lancaster County … it was an eye-opening experience learning about Plain culture, kind of an anthropological adventure into the hearts and minds of a faith-based culture that thrives despite the lack of modern conveniences and strict rules about courting, marriage, and parenthood … all of the books in the series are quick, stand-alone reads … and if you embrace the simplicity of the writing style, you will come to know kind characters with a bounty of faith, hope, and joy …

[Sandy Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice read, but kind of had an abrupt ending. I don't know if it was just me, but the last quarter of the book had me in tears so keep your tissues handy.

[Pamela Pavkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hope Chest is the fourth inspiring story written by Wanda Brunstetter in her Brides of Lancaster series. Wanda has done a remarkable job developing her characters and her story. I love the plain and simple cover that helps draw the reader to the story. This story is filled with love, faith, family, and definitely hope.

Rachel Beachy has been in love with Silas Swartley for a very long time but he doesn't know she exist except as Anna Beachy's tomboy sister. Knowing she can't have Silas because he is her sister's boyfriend leaves Rachel heartbroken. When Anna unexpectedly leaves her Amish community and Silas can Rachel grab Silas's attention? Rachel believes in hope and trust that God will work with her. Things aren't always as they seem and hope may not be enough. This is an incredible love story.

I was not given a complimentary copy of this book to read and review. I have rated this story with five stars for meeting my expectations of a wonderful story that I can highly recommend to others. All opinions are my own.

Congratulations to Wanda Brunstetter for writing this remarkable story to conclude her series. I recommend all the books in this series.

[Tracy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Amish fiction and this one surely did not disappoint me. Wanda Brunstetter sets wonderfully graphic scenes that make you feel like you are right there with her sweet characters. In this story, 2 sisters find themselves in 2 very different life situations but rely on faith and love to keep their families connected.

Follow Grace and Anne Beachy as they follow their hearts to be with the men that they love! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about the Amish ways mixed with sweet romance. Happy Reading!!

[ANNETTE · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one pulled my heart strings.
I enjoyed this story.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Beachy is in love with her sister Anna's boyfriend. Anna doesn't pay Silas any attention and doesn't act like she cares that he likes her. Rachel has fallen in love with the sweet Silas and doesn't know if she should tell her sister how she feels or not. When Anna tells everyone a secret she has been keeping the Amish community is flipped upside down and so is Rachel and her family. Anna decides to leave her Amish faith behind after secretly getting married. Now forced with the harsh reality of Anna leaving, Rachel now is alone and beginning to think more and more about the man Anna left behind. I enjoyed this book and I thought the characters came together nicely. If yu enjoyed any others from the series then you will not be disappointed.

[C Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

#4 Brides of Lancaster.
Enjoyed this 4 book series. Rachel Beachy has been in love with Silas for many years. Silas was in love with her older sister Anna. Anna decided to marry Reuban and they leave the Amish life. This book was interesting because it explores how the family feels when a child decides to embrace the English life. It also shows how generations leave legacy's by tying the 4th book with the first in the series.




For thou art my hope, oh God: thou art my trust from my youth. Psalm 71:5

[Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book very well written, I really felt the emotions of the family members, not just the main character Rachel. The scene where she found her father took me right into Rachael's panic. The fact that Anna gave Rachel her hope chest when she left and Rachel didn't open it, showed how much Rachael was convinced Anna would change her mind. I love reading about such a pure why of living, the Amish have a special reverence for living the way we all should. The scene on the back porch with Rachel and Anna caught my heart with theirs.

[Lynn Grier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brides of Lancaster County is a wonderful series. I have read books 2-4, somehow I missed the first book which I will read. I can not get enough of Wanda. Her books are amazing and can't get enough. This series is a keeper and to be read many times over.

[Patricia Marvin Hilfiker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book. I loved the book and am sorry that this is the last of this series. When you finish reading one of Wanda's books you can't wait to start the next. Can't wait to start another series.

[Lynne Kravitt]

Great Book.

[Londi]

Definitely worth reading!

[Shirley Dolin Snider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was saddened to realize the oldest daughter remained English and didn't return to her Amish upbringing. Great storyline, had me till the very last page.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amish life is interesting - I think it would be very hard to be shunned by your family and for the family to have to shun one of their own.

[Jessie Cumpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was also very moving. A lot about trust and leaning on God. The whole series is worth reading, if you are into Amish love stories. Easy read.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

no review yet :)

[Aleida Oskam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het laatste boek in de serie De Bruiden van Lancaster County. Wat zal ik er over zeggen. Eigenlijk toch weer een boek als de andere. Niet super tof maar ook niet vervelend om te lezen.

[Pelican Rapids · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sad story but a happy ending.

[Sandra Swartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting. A lot more drama than the other three that is for sure.

[Joseph Bradley]

the series continues...not much new in plot

[Louise E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story. I feel a little disappointed in this author. So much detail in her stories. But, when the end comes...it's blunt.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such and enjoyable story, I always learn something new about the Amish way of life when I read these stories. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys an easy read Amish romance.

[Lennine]

Excellent.

[Alisha]

need tissue at the end

[QuakerMaid · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give more than one star no matter what, as long as it's easy to get through.
The prob with these books with Amish main characters is that the author makes them too 'clean'. As someone who lives near Amish, I know they have their own cons ~like alcyholism, child abuse, spousal abuse, misogynies and so much more.
Currently, a local Amish family is battling the county over proper well and septic issues. Even out here in Podunksville, most people DON'T know how modern Amish live. All but the Schwartzentrubers have indoor plumbing, with cold AND hot tap. AAMOF, the community here moved old dumpy trailer-homes onto their property to serve as the dawdi house. Every modern convenience, including commode, shower, and sink are in these houses.
And don't get me started on how all their neighbours are complaining about how much electricity those Amish are 'borrowing' from them ~~one of the people said 'for someone who doesn't believe in having electricity, she sure does have a lot of extension chords'. One person even relocated because they were tired of having to supply utilities to these people.
Yet this same group of people are hiring lawyers to fight the county so they won't have to hook their sewer & well up to Consumers. The only reason the county wants them to hook up is to make sure there's proper sanitation in the home, and so there won't be any sewage issues poisoning the water system (this Amish community uses a gasoline-powered pump. Of course, they've been known to recharge some of their pumps using the neighbour's electricity). The Amish excuse for not doing so is "We just don't do that" when asked why they just don't hook up to electricity and simply not use it. The police can't arrest one for not using the plugs installed in their house.
But these books, from Brunstetter and others, romanticize the Amish.
Rant over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyway, this book has issues other than romanticizing the Amish. As an atheist, the 'god' thing is pushed a bit too much. But it might just be because I don't believe in god that it seems that way.

In this book, the main female character seems very juvenile. She's suppose to be 18 or 19 yet acts like a silly 9YO.
Another issue I have is the main male character, Silas, is a stalker. His first 'love' ~and boy does Brunstetter use that word loosy-goosy throughout the whole book~ repeatedly makes it clear that she's not interested in Silas. Yet he still pursues her to the point of her trying to avoid his presence.
[Note for women: If you try to physically avoid a person just because you don't want to have to deal with their 'come ons', that person is, by definition, a stalker.]
Anna is repeatedly referred to as having 'lead him on' ~in other words, she's being called a 'tease'~ simply because she rode home with Silas ONE TIME after a singing. And everyone comes down hard on her, implying she jilted him. This is the misogyny I'm so against in patriarchal societies.
Yet Silas is back and forth with Rachel constantly through the book and there's no degrading of his character.
And when is a 3 year age difference a 'thing'? Pauline and Joseph are only 3 years apart in age and Brunstetter makes this big deal about it.
Back to the word 'love' being overused in this book: Rachel 'loves' Silas. Silas 'loves' Anna. I can't remember if this term was used between Pauline and Joseph, I admit. Someone needs to do a sit-down with the author and explain this word she's so fond of using. She needs to be told the difference between that and 'lust'.

I think people outside the Amish community shouldn't be telling stories of it. It's like someone with a college degree is social economics explaining the issues of homelessness. You fall flat on your face and sound like a dingbat to those who are in the know.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read other books by this author but don't know if any are in this series or not.

I liked Rachel's journey overall: from wanting the boy who liked her sister instead, to holding out hope that he might like her once her sister left the Amish faith, to giving up her hope, to realizing she needed to turn to God, and then God giving her what she had long hoped for.

There's a lesson in Anna thinking things are greener on the other side of the fence. For a while, I wasn't sure if she married Reuben because she loved him or because she wanted to get away from the restrictions of Amish life. She did find that some of the things she'd thought she'd look forward to weren't as exciting as she'd thought or what she'd thought them to be. I was glad to see that Anna and Reuben seemed to have come to an agreement by the end of the book. He'd started going to church with her and seemed to be spending time with her again--for a while in the middle of the book I really did wonder if they were going to end up split up.


I didn't like many of the ways that journey came about.

Rachel seemed a bit bitter that Silas liked Anna and not her at some points in the story.

Rachel seemed selfish in not wanting to help her family in the ways they needed her to help. She would prefer to be walking somewhere looking at birds or daydreaming--nonproductive things. Don't get me wrong, I think all of us have times we want to do things like that, but I'd have felt better about her choices if she'd wanted to do a different job on the farm or even fishing since that might bring back food for her family if nothing else. I can understand not really liking the greenhouse though.

Rachel's supposed to be almost 19 and doesn't like being thought of as a child but to be honest, many of her actions seemed childish to me. She eavesdrops a lot. She likes Silas until she thinks she overhears him tell another Amish man that he still likes Anna--then she decides that she can't like him and won't even give him the chance to talk to her--even though by that point he is starting to like Rachel for herself and not be dwelling on what he could have had with Anna.

Instead of talking to each other, Rachel and Silas both just assume things. Rachel assumes Silas can't forget Anna and that Anna will always be first in his heart. Silas doesn't tell Rachel he's struggling and needs to spend time in prayer. Rachel doesn't tell Silas that Abe asked her out and she refused.

Anna learned valuable lessons in her journey but in ways I wish she hadn't had to learn them.

[Jennifer Feltz Milkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was by far one of the best Amish stories I have ever read.

My only complaint was that I listened to it on Audible and I really wish we had a male reader for the male parts it may have made the listen a 5. There are a lot of points of view so it would just be easier if we go to hear a difference in male and female voices. The narrator also didn't seem to do a great job of differentiating the voices.

I loved the story, I loved that it didn't just follow one character but basically the whole family, we got to know and care about what happened to each of these people. I do suggest that you read book 2 of the series before you read this one, just because this one spoils the ending of that book as we are following two of the characters from that book.

I liked the turns in this book. I was interesting to see how this family deals with some of the things that happens to them and very sad about what brings them back together again. There are also a lot of assumptions that cause our couple to have doubts in themselves and their faith and it really seemed like they wouldn't figure it out. I do wish that Rachel and Silas would have figured a way to talk and not spent so much time not trusting themselves or God.

Spoiler Question:


Did I miss if Rachel got what was left from her Hope Chest back?

[Danielle Turko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel is in love with Silas. For almost as long as she can remember she's been in love with him, even though he is a few years older than her. She knows he looks at her as a kid, 5 years is a lot when she's only 19, but that's not the biggest hurdle she has to overcome. She has competition for his affection, her very own sister Anna. Anna, however, is not in love with him but that doesn't stop Silas from following her around like a puppy dog. Rachel doesn't let that get her down though, she believes in miracles. She and Silas are far more alike than Anna and Silas. When Anna makes a drastic decision it looks like Rachel's prayers are being answered, but can she convince Silas they were meant to be?
I believe this is the final book in the series, which follows the same family. It started with Miriam, then moved to Miriam's niece. The third book is Miriam's stepdaughter's son, and this final book is Miriam's niece's daughter. It's nice to see the evolution of the family, although it is hard to believe that one family has so much relationship drama. I am a little sad to see the end of the family though. It is a well written series and has you really rooting for them

[Vicky Sluiter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me say right off the bat that although this is book 4 in the series it can be read as a standalone. That said, if you enjoy author Wanda Brunstetter’s books then you’ll enjoy this one so grab a copy. I actually did the audio of this one and really enjoyed it.

Hope and jealousy are prevalent in this story as the characters, who I came to love, learn that our desires may not be what God has planned for us. When we follow His will our lives are so much better.

The Hope Chest was easy and quick to read but still enjoyable. The plot was interesting and kept me wondering. Yes, I knew how it would end but how would it get there? Let me say I was surprised and sad but won’t give any spoilers here. You’ll need to read the book to find out what happened. All in all, I did enjoy the story and recommend it.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last book in the Brides of Lancaster County series, The Hope Chest finished off an amazing Amish Series. Wanda Brunstetter gives a look into the Amish way of life. Her books touch on God and His Word.

In The Hope Chest, Rachel is in love with Silas. The only problem is that he loves her older sister, Ana and thinks of Rachel as a little kid. Ana unexpectedly leaves the Amish faith, giving Rachel hope that Silas will fall in love with her. But, can Silas get over Ana? Can he ever trust someone with his heart, again?

If you enjoy Christian Fiction, you would enjoy this series, I think. I highly recommend Brunstetter's books and The Brides of Lancaster County.

😊 Happy Reading 😊

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