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The Amish Animal Doctor
Will she give up what she loves for who she loves?
Forced to return home to care for her ailing mother, veterinarian Abigail Mast must make an impossible choice—between her career and her Amish community. And handsome neighbor Benjamin Troyer isn't making the decision any easier for her. When an opportunity to stay in Montana presents itself, can Abigail come to a decision that will yield the greatest rewards?
Forced to return home to care for her ailing mother, veterinarian Abigail Mast must make an impossible choice—between her career and her Amish community. And handsome neighbor Benjamin Troyer isn't making the decision any easier for her. When an opportunity to stay in Montana presents itself, can Abigail come to a decision that will yield the greatest rewards?
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 29, 2022
31 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Patrice Lewis
62 books42 followersLiving on a remote self-sufficient homestead in North Idaho, Patrice Lewis is a Christian wife, mother, author, blogger, columnist and speaker. She has practiced and written about rural subjects for almost thirty years. When she isn’t writing, Patrice enjoys self-sufficiency projects, such as animal husbandry, small-scale dairy production, gardening, food preservation and canning, and homeschooling. She and her husband have been married since 1990 and have two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 27, 2022
I really enjoyed this story.
Abigail comes home other Mum's new Amish community to help her Mum recover from a total hip replacement, she is also using the time to recover from an incident at work. Abigail was brought up Amish but left to pursue her calling from God to be a vet. I liked that her parents supported her decision and are pleased that she has done so.
On the night she arrives her Mum's neighbour and landlord arrives asking Abigail to treat his dog. She does so and word soon gets round about Abigail, so more Amish people are asking her to treat their animals.
There is conflict for Abigail, as she realises that she has missed her Amish roots but knows that her calling to be a vet from God. Also, there is her growing feelings for her Mum's neighbour. The Bishop is also putting pressure on her which I didn't like. I felt he was being very unfair, so that spoilt the story for me.
All in all a good read and one I would recommend.
Abigail comes home other Mum's new Amish community to help her Mum recover from a total hip replacement, she is also using the time to recover from an incident at work. Abigail was brought up Amish but left to pursue her calling from God to be a vet. I liked that her parents supported her decision and are pleased that she has done so.
On the night she arrives her Mum's neighbour and landlord arrives asking Abigail to treat his dog. She does so and word soon gets round about Abigail, so more Amish people are asking her to treat their animals.
There is conflict for Abigail, as she realises that she has missed her Amish roots but knows that her calling to be a vet from God. Also, there is her growing feelings for her Mum's neighbour. The Bishop is also putting pressure on her which I didn't like. I felt he was being very unfair, so that spoilt the story for me.
All in all a good read and one I would recommend.
April 29, 2022
A sweet story from a new-to-me author. Anything about Montana always is a worth the read.
April 18, 2023
I guess I've become like my high school English teacher, after all. She hated on romance writers, saying they were brainless women who never researched a thing and typed nonsense from their kitchen counters. I was offended by that... FOR YEARS... until I stumbled upon the 'Love, Inspired' books.
Having said...? This one's actually worth reading. Which is not something that I was expecting. I went in pretty jaded and was pleasantly surprised. It has some amazing elements to it.
First, there's a bishop/leader who is willing to admit he's wrong. Second, there's Amish who admit they're freakin' hypocrites. Third, there's a hero who's willing to step OUT of the traditional role of provider and allow his (((AMISH!))) wife to be the breadwinner, while he is full-time parent to their children.
Unheard of, in chrischun books, for the most part. And believe me, I've read hundreds of these LI books, now. This was refreshing, surprising, and absolutely delightful to me.
MORE, this particular book has more romance than the average 'Love, Inspired' book, with some really deep, moving moments in it. Benjamin is pretty amazing, as Amish heroes go.
Also, the author has a degree in zoology and actually had the background to write about animals and their care believably. In Love, Inspired's world of "let's-not-bother-researching-anything-we-write-about", this was also a breath of fresh air, to me.
Not to say that the book doesn't have its share of issues. Lewis has this way of writing illogical scenarios. Like an Amish man staying single until 30 for... no apparent reason. That's not Amish culture - the Bishop would've found him a match long ago, and it wouldn't have been something he could wriggle out of. Their whole lifestyle is community - this doesn't fit with the character of an Amish man, and it's preposterous.
Lewis writes that Abigail has to come to Montana to care for her mother after a hip surgery, when there are scads of brothers and sisters who could more easily have come than she... but we're not supposed to think about any of them.
Abigail has been TEN YEARS living amongst the Englisch, but the ENTIRE book, she uses Amish-speak, from the moment she drives in from Indianapolis. That wouldn't be in character for her... it would take getting used to. But we're not supposed to think about that, either.
The writing in this one is off, too. First page: "She opened her eyes into the dark room and smelled the cool summer night..." INTO? It would be 'TO' the dark room, not into.
"Tall, muscular mountains" rose above the conifers. Muscular? That's... it's... I got nuthin'. That's weird. Mountains don't flex, don't do work... that's really, really wrong.
Also weird is the fact that Abigail puts so much weight on the Bishop's declarations. Yes, he's head of the community... but SHE'S NOT BAPTISED, so he has NO say over her, at all. He can deny her admittance to the 'fold', but frankly, she can live as his next door neighbor and there's not a dang thing he could do about it. She can associate with anyone she likes- she's not shunned. It was kind of silly, how much 'power' the author wanted us to believe he had, when he had NONE over her, at all.
More, on pg 187 Abigail bemoans the fact that if she decides not to join the church and retain her job "I'll be alone. I won't have a husband, I won't have children, I won't have a church". NOT TRUE. It's amazing how many Englisch people get married and have children, really. And it's not like there aren't churches out there that teach scripture, hello... It sat all wrong with me, that she was so narrow-minded and small in her scope/view, for an 'educated' woman.
Also, my daughter is in shoe repair. Of her customers, 30% are hip replacement surgeries that need lifts for their shoes, because after the bone is cut off and fitted to the new hip, it's SERIOUSLY hard for a doctor to get the legs the same length. I'm not sure if Lewis just didn't bother researching hip replacement surgery, or if she was going to play it like there was no difference in length, but it was never addressed. Most people wouldn't consider this, but... it niggled me, just because of my daughter's work.
But like I said, there's as much to admire about this story as there is to grimace at. And I did end up enjoying far more than I expected to. So I have to say... definitely consider giving this one a chance.
Having said...? This one's actually worth reading. Which is not something that I was expecting. I went in pretty jaded and was pleasantly surprised. It has some amazing elements to it.
First, there's a bishop/leader who is willing to admit he's wrong. Second, there's Amish who admit they're freakin' hypocrites. Third, there's a hero who's willing to step OUT of the traditional role of provider and allow his (((AMISH!))) wife to be the breadwinner, while he is full-time parent to their children.
Unheard of, in chrischun books, for the most part. And believe me, I've read hundreds of these LI books, now. This was refreshing, surprising, and absolutely delightful to me.
MORE, this particular book has more romance than the average 'Love, Inspired' book, with some really deep, moving moments in it. Benjamin is pretty amazing, as Amish heroes go.
Also, the author has a degree in zoology and actually had the background to write about animals and their care believably. In Love, Inspired's world of "let's-not-bother-researching-anything-we-write-about", this was also a breath of fresh air, to me.
Not to say that the book doesn't have its share of issues. Lewis has this way of writing illogical scenarios. Like an Amish man staying single until 30 for... no apparent reason. That's not Amish culture - the Bishop would've found him a match long ago, and it wouldn't have been something he could wriggle out of. Their whole lifestyle is community - this doesn't fit with the character of an Amish man, and it's preposterous.
Lewis writes that Abigail has to come to Montana to care for her mother after a hip surgery, when there are scads of brothers and sisters who could more easily have come than she... but we're not supposed to think about any of them.
Abigail has been TEN YEARS living amongst the Englisch, but the ENTIRE book, she uses Amish-speak, from the moment she drives in from Indianapolis. That wouldn't be in character for her... it would take getting used to. But we're not supposed to think about that, either.
The writing in this one is off, too. First page: "She opened her eyes into the dark room and smelled the cool summer night..." INTO? It would be 'TO' the dark room, not into.
"Tall, muscular mountains" rose above the conifers. Muscular? That's... it's... I got nuthin'. That's weird. Mountains don't flex, don't do work... that's really, really wrong.
Also weird is the fact that Abigail puts so much weight on the Bishop's declarations. Yes, he's head of the community... but SHE'S NOT BAPTISED, so he has NO say over her, at all. He can deny her admittance to the 'fold', but frankly, she can live as his next door neighbor and there's not a dang thing he could do about it. She can associate with anyone she likes- she's not shunned. It was kind of silly, how much 'power' the author wanted us to believe he had, when he had NONE over her, at all.
More, on pg 187 Abigail bemoans the fact that if she decides not to join the church and retain her job "I'll be alone. I won't have a husband, I won't have children, I won't have a church". NOT TRUE. It's amazing how many Englisch people get married and have children, really. And it's not like there aren't churches out there that teach scripture, hello... It sat all wrong with me, that she was so narrow-minded and small in her scope/view, for an 'educated' woman.
Also, my daughter is in shoe repair. Of her customers, 30% are hip replacement surgeries that need lifts for their shoes, because after the bone is cut off and fitted to the new hip, it's SERIOUSLY hard for a doctor to get the legs the same length. I'm not sure if Lewis just didn't bother researching hip replacement surgery, or if she was going to play it like there was no difference in length, but it was never addressed. Most people wouldn't consider this, but... it niggled me, just because of my daughter's work.
But like I said, there's as much to admire about this story as there is to grimace at. And I did end up enjoying far more than I expected to. So I have to say... definitely consider giving this one a chance.
April 18, 2022
The Amish Animal Doctor by Patrice Lewis
Will she give up what she loves
for who she loves?
Forced to return home to care for her ailing mother, veterinarian Abigail Mast must make an impossible choice—between her career and her Amish community. And handsome neighbor Benjamin Troyer isn’t making the decision any easier for her. When an opportunity to stay in Montana presents itself, can Abigail come to a decision that will yield the greatest rewards?
This is Abigail Mast and
Dimly, through the fog of sleep, Abigail Mast heard a pounding at the front door.
She opened her eyes into the dark room and smelled the cool summer night through her open screened window.
A glimmer of pale light had barely seeped over the eastern horizon.
“I understand you’re a veterinarian—is that true?”
“Ja, but—”
“I have a dog with a broken leg.” He gestured toward the yard. “Can you help her?”
Abigail peered through the gray dawn light and saw a huge bundle of white fur lying on the grass.
But rather than approaching the animal, she drew her robe tighter around her, as if to shield herself from the man’s plea. “There is a vet clinic in town.”
The Amish Animal Doctor by Patrice Lewis is a wonderful well written 5 star book.
I am looking forward to reading more books by Patrice Lewis.
Will she give up what she loves
for who she loves?
Forced to return home to care for her ailing mother, veterinarian Abigail Mast must make an impossible choice—between her career and her Amish community. And handsome neighbor Benjamin Troyer isn’t making the decision any easier for her. When an opportunity to stay in Montana presents itself, can Abigail come to a decision that will yield the greatest rewards?
This is Abigail Mast and
Dimly, through the fog of sleep, Abigail Mast heard a pounding at the front door.
She opened her eyes into the dark room and smelled the cool summer night through her open screened window.
A glimmer of pale light had barely seeped over the eastern horizon.
“I understand you’re a veterinarian—is that true?”
“Ja, but—”
“I have a dog with a broken leg.” He gestured toward the yard. “Can you help her?”
Abigail peered through the gray dawn light and saw a huge bundle of white fur lying on the grass.
But rather than approaching the animal, she drew her robe tighter around her, as if to shield herself from the man’s plea. “There is a vet clinic in town.”
The Amish Animal Doctor by Patrice Lewis is a wonderful well written 5 star book.
I am looking forward to reading more books by Patrice Lewis.
August 12, 2022
I really enjoyed this fun story by a new-to-me author. It was the cover with the cat and dog that drew me in.
Veterinarian Abigail Mast returns to her Amish upbringing to help her mother recover from hip surgery. Almost immediately upon her arrival, her mother's landlord, Benjamin, calls on Abigail to help his dog who's broken her leg. Will the Bishop ever make an allowance for Abigail to practice her God-given calling to help animals in need and also become a baptized church member? And what will become of Abigail and Benjamin's burgeoning friendship?
If you're an animal lover who also enjoys reading clean Amish romance, you won't want to miss this heartwarming story.
Veterinarian Abigail Mast returns to her Amish upbringing to help her mother recover from hip surgery. Almost immediately upon her arrival, her mother's landlord, Benjamin, calls on Abigail to help his dog who's broken her leg. Will the Bishop ever make an allowance for Abigail to practice her God-given calling to help animals in need and also become a baptized church member? And what will become of Abigail and Benjamin's burgeoning friendship?
If you're an animal lover who also enjoys reading clean Amish romance, you won't want to miss this heartwarming story.
October 5, 2023
The cover for The Amish Animal Doctor drew my attention immediately when I spied it at our local library used sale.
I’m so glad as this is one fantastic tale with the setting in Montana. Abigail Mast went there to care for her mother when unexpectedly she was summoned to assist Benjamin with his injured dog. The characters, setting and plot kept me reading till the end. How will Abigail find a way to fulfill her gift and calling from God in caring for the animals in this new Amish community when the bishop gave her an ultimatum?
I’m so glad as this is one fantastic tale with the setting in Montana. Abigail Mast went there to care for her mother when unexpectedly she was summoned to assist Benjamin with his injured dog. The characters, setting and plot kept me reading till the end. How will Abigail find a way to fulfill her gift and calling from God in caring for the animals in this new Amish community when the bishop gave her an ultimatum?
June 9, 2022
Sweet Story
This is such a sweet story! My heart went out to Abigail as she struggled to balance her calling, her faith, and her friendship with Benjamin, who faced struggles of his own. Their story is also a story of faithfulness, forgiveness, love and God's will. It will definitely tug at your heartstrings.
Book Quote:
"Gott will direct your way," her mother said with a smile. "He's had His hand on you all these
years.... Why would He abandon you now?"
This is such a sweet story! My heart went out to Abigail as she struggled to balance her calling, her faith, and her friendship with Benjamin, who faced struggles of his own. Their story is also a story of faithfulness, forgiveness, love and God's will. It will definitely tug at your heartstrings.
Book Quote:
"Gott will direct your way," her mother said with a smile. "He's had His hand on you all these
years.... Why would He abandon you now?"
April 30, 2022
THE AMISH ANIMAL DOCTOR
I like this kind of reading, it was in between lingering on pinning on the same subject, and moving right along. It moved right along, but then it would go back on the same subject again. Always just enough to keep you interested, which in my opinion, made it a well written book! J👱
I like this kind of reading, it was in between lingering on pinning on the same subject, and moving right along. It moved right along, but then it would go back on the same subject again. Always just enough to keep you interested, which in my opinion, made it a well written book! J👱
April 27, 2022
Amish conflict
The Bishop is unyielding! She cannot be a licensed veterinarian and a baptized member of their community of faith. Yet, it is a calling. This is a wonderful novel of God's grace and how the tide of one's thinking can be turned.
The Bishop is unyielding! She cannot be a licensed veterinarian and a baptized member of their community of faith. Yet, it is a calling. This is a wonderful novel of God's grace and how the tide of one's thinking can be turned.
Read
April 27, 2022Very good.
Shows some of the Amish as hypocritical and unforgiving. However it is a very interesting read about an Amish community moving from Indiana to settle in Montana, and an Amish woman who makes unconventional life choices.
Shows some of the Amish as hypocritical and unforgiving. However it is a very interesting read about an Amish community moving from Indiana to settle in Montana, and an Amish woman who makes unconventional life choices.
August 17, 2025
Great Read
I really enjoyed this book. I like Amish fiction and fell for the main characters. I also like reading clean books. Since I don't want to give too much of the story away I will stop here but hope someone will enjoy this book as much as I did. Happy reading!
I really enjoyed this book. I like Amish fiction and fell for the main characters. I also like reading clean books. Since I don't want to give too much of the story away I will stop here but hope someone will enjoy this book as much as I did. Happy reading!
August 20, 2025
A very inspiring story
This book delves into the struggle of making life choices. Choices that not only involve your personal life but, that of your faith. Very well written and I enjoyed reading this book!
This book delves into the struggle of making life choices. Choices that not only involve your personal life but, that of your faith. Very well written and I enjoyed reading this book!
February 7, 2022
what a fun real book! Patrice Lewis is a good author
April 17, 2022
a good story
I love dog and cats . This is a beautiful story and I’ve never a Pyrenees dog be for but I will be looking then on line they sound great.
I love dog and cats . This is a beautiful story and I’ve never a Pyrenees dog be for but I will be looking then on line they sound great.
May 17, 2022
If you are a person who enjoys animals like I do than I feel you really would enjoy reading this book. I enjoyed this book and author so much that I read this book in two days. Happy reading!
June 6, 2022
Everybody gets a happy ending. Characters grow and learn.
June 11, 2022
The cover and the title attracted me to the book I like the author so far haven't read lot of hers yet..
I really enjoyed this book couldn't put it down. I can't wait for more of her books.
I really enjoyed this book couldn't put it down. I can't wait for more of her books.
October 31, 2022
I couldn't put this down
This story was not your typical Amish love / romance story. When I started reading, I couldn't put it down.
This story was not your typical Amish love / romance story. When I started reading, I couldn't put it down.
January 26, 2023
Awesome
I absolutely loved reading this interesting book. I had a hard time putting it down. Kept me guessing about a lot of things. The ending was fabulous!
I absolutely loved reading this interesting book. I had a hard time putting it down. Kept me guessing about a lot of things. The ending was fabulous!
March 21, 2023
I liked the newness of her being an actual vet.
May 9, 2023
I liked the characters and the storyline was unique.
June 10, 2025
very good book
February 16, 2022
wonderful
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews