Betrayed

by Amy Clipston

Book by Clipston, Amy

Genres: Amish

259 pages, Hardcover

First published September 16, 2009

About the author

Hi! I'm a bestselling author of heartwarming romance and happily ever after.

Contemporary Romance (Non-Amish)
The Heart of Splendid Lake (2021)
The View from Coral Cove (2022)
On the Way to Christmas (Anthology) (2022)
Something Old, Something New (2023)
Starstruck (2023)
Finding You (2024)
With This Ring (2025)
Second Chance at Sunshine Inn (7/2025)
The Lighthouse at the Cove (12/2025)

Stand Alone Amish Fiction
Caring for the Amish Family (4/2025)

Guideposts Amish Suspense
A Heart Set Free (9/2025)


An Amish Legacy
1. Foundation of Love (2022)
2. Building a Future (2022)
3. Breaking New Ground (2023)
4. The Hearts of Shelter (2023)

An Amish Marketplace
1. The Bake Shop (2019)
2. The Farm Stand (2020)
3. The Coffee Corner (2020)
4. The Jam and Jelly Nook (2021)

An Amish Homestead
1. A Place at our Table (2017)
2. Room on the Porch Swing (2018)
3. Seat by the Hearth (2018)
4. A Welcome at Our Door (2019)

An Amish Heirloom
1. The Forgotten Recipe (2015)
2. The Courtship Basket (2016)
3. The Cherished Quilt (2017)
4. The Beloved Hope Chest (2017)

Hearts of Lancaster Grand Hotel
1. A Hopeful Heart (2013)
2. A Mother’s Secret (2014)
3. A Dream of Home (2015)
4. A Simple Prayer (2015)

Kauffman Amish Bakery
1. A Gift of Grace (2009)
2. A Promise of Hope (2010)
3. A Place of Peace (2011)
4. A Life of Joy (2012)
5. A Season of Love (2012)

Amish Anthologies
• An Amish Kitchen (2012) – Spoonful of Love (Stand-alone story)
• An Amish Cradle (2015) – A Son for Always (This story complements A Mother’s Secret)
• An Amish Market (2016) – Love Birds (This story complements The Forgotten Recipe)
• An Amish Harvest (2016) – Love & Buggy Rides (This complements The Courtship Basket)
• An Amish Home (2017) – Home Sweet Home (Stand-alone story)
• An Amish Summer (2017) – Summer Storms (Stand-alone story)
• Amish Sweethearts (2018) –Complements The Kauffman Amish Bakery Series and also has a sequel to my story in An Amish Summer
• An Amish Heirloom (2018) – Complements A Place at our Table
• An Amish Homecoming (2018) – Complements A Place at our Table
• Seasons of an Amish Garden (2019) – Complements The Christmas Cat, novella included in An Amish Christmas Love
• An Amish Reunion (2019) – Complements Room on the Porch Swing
• An Amish Christmas Bakery (2019) – Cookies and Cheer (Stand-alone story)
• An Amish Singing (2021) (Collection of four stories by Amy Clipston)
• An Amish Christmas Wedding (2020) –Evergreen Love (Stand-alone story)
• An Amish Barn Raising (2021)
• An Amish Schoolroom (2021)
• An Amish Quilting Bee (2021)

Young Adult
1. Roadside Assistance (2011)
2. Reckless Heart (2012) (Kauffman Amish Bakery young adult book)
3. Destination Unknown (2014)
4. Miles from Nowhere (2015)

Non-Fiction
A Gift of Love (2014)

Seasonal
• A Plain and Simple Christmas (2010) Naomi’s Gift (2011)
• Kauffman Amish Christmas Collection (2012)
• An Amish Christmas Gift (2015) includes Naomi’s Gift
• An Amish Christmas Love (2017) –The Christmas Cat
• An Amish Christmas Bakery (2019)
• An Amish Christmas Wedding (2020)
• On the Way to Christmas (2022)

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was a disappointment. I have enjoyed all of the Amy Clipston books I have read, but I wasn’t wild about this one. It’s definitely my least favorite of hers. Lacey’s father owns a racing company that she inherits after her father dies in a car accident that may or may not have been accidental. She teams up with Reese, a race car driver that she has had a crush on forever, to get to the bottom of the mystery.

My biggest problem with this was definitely the romance. Lacey has liked Reese forever so I was ok with the attraction on her side, but his attraction to her reeked of insta-love. Not to mention the fact that she’s a 21 year old college student and he’s 5 years older than her. I usually enjoy stories where couples pretend to have a relationship and fall in love for real, but this one was flat. Lacey has so many trust issues with Reese it’s ridiculous. They get married to save the company, she drops out of college and then ends up pregnant because she’s “too busy” to buy birth control? This from a girl who didn’t want to marry the guy in the first place because she thought everyone would think the only reason he married her was because she was pregnant. She just didn’t think and act like a 21 year old.

The secondary plot line of the mystery wasn’t really satisfying either. If Carl and Greg were such good friends, why couldn’t Carl have told Greg he needed money to take care of his dying wife rather than embezzle it from the company? And then he paid a blackmailer for 20 years rather than come clean. It didn’t make sense that he wouldn’t trust his best friend.

The writing was pretty good, but overall I much prefer Amy Clipston’s Amish books. She has really found her niche there.

[Catmom 4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for a Summer Day. Yes, you can finish it in a day. There is mystery, intrigue and romance. Not quite the climax I was looking for but a good book, all the same.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite by this author. I found the author from her Amish series and a friend. This is not Amish. It is more romantic suspense. It was pretty good read for that genre, but I found it to be predictable.

[Hannah Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, but not as clean and innocent as this author's other books. Definitely a different genre from her Rom Coms and Amish series. Wish it would have been less inappropriate, and a little less drama, but it was a great storyline and had me turning the pages to see who betrayed Lacey.

[Cecily Wolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most readers are familiar with Amy Clipston’s highly acclaimed Amish stories, but they may not know about her racing romance, Betrayed, published the same year (2009) as her first Amish fiction book. Fans of Clipston’s current work will be able to recognize the author’s now trademark ability to create likable characters, even as the writing, which is uneven but endearing, isn’t quite up to the caliber as her well-known and loved inspirational titles. Writing takes time and practice, and Clipston has made the most of both since Betrayed was published. The story itself seems predictable at first, as champion driver Reese and Lacey, daughter of the team owner, share an innocent flirtation that hides their deeper feelings, but when tragedy strikes and secrets are uncovered, Clipston throws predictability out the window with a twist to the villain’s motivations. Even at the beginning of her writing career, Clipston knew how to keep readers entertained with relationship development between characters that feels realistic without being contrived, and believable emotional reactions in difficult situations that readers can understand and relate to. Racing fans will particularly enjoy the background in which the characters earn their livelihoods, with references that speak directly to readers who know the terminology and tracks. As Lacey tries to juggle her final term at college with her new responsibilities after her father’s death, the reality of life as she has known it comes to a crashing halt and she is overwhelmed by loneliness and heartache. Reese makes himself available, as an old friend who cares more about her than she knows, and is devastated when she pushes him away. Romance between childhood friends isn’t a new idea in romance novels, but Clipston makes Lacey’s girlhood crush on Reese and his own newly discovered feelings for Lacey both sweet and sultry, which is not always an easy combination to manage. The story is racier (no pun intended) than her Amish series but doesn’t cross the line into explicit details, so fans of her Amish work can be assured of a safe read while taking a spin through this charming love story.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Betrayed
Amy Clipston
2009
Five Star Publishing
Fiction/Romance/

Reviewed by Cindy Loven

Betrayed! That was how Lacey felt, when just eight short months after her father's remarriage, he and her stepmother were killed in a horrible accident. Then at the reading of the will, she was outraged and hurt that her father had left his racing company to her and Reese.

Reese, the most gorgeous and sexy man that Lacey had ever laid eyes on. However, she had known him since they were babies, their dads were best friends, and he had worked his way up to a driver on the team. Now she had to share "her" racing company with him. Oh the problem was not that she did not like Reese, it was that she did like him. Way too much!!

Zipping home for a short visit, from college, after her dad's death, Lacey discovers that something is seriously amiss! Things have been moved around in her house, Carl, Reese's dad and her father's best friend is acting downright weird. Something is not right, and she turns to Reese to help her figure it out.

Working together they will solve this mystery. But will Lacey's heart survive? Will Reese betray her trust?

A well written novel, Amy Clipston has once again shown her great talent. However as a fan of her Christian fiction, I was disappointed that this was not in that same genre. There was mild language and sexual innuendos, that did not add to the story line at all. 257 pages $25.95 US

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy Clipston is know for Amish fiction and the Kauffman series. I have really enjoyed them.

Betrayed tells the story of Lacey, the daughter of a NASCAR team owner who has been in love with Reese for as long as she can remember. Reese is driver on the team and had grown up with Lacey. He sees her as a kid sister an grew up with her. He also dates around a lot.

When Lacey's stepmother and father were killed in an accident she begins to suspect things aren't quite right. She turns to Reese to help figure out what happened. The story moves along at a good fast pace keeping you involved and guessing what will happen right until the end. Will Reese and Lacey learn to trust each other? Will they uncover what really happened to her parents? Well, I'm not going to spoil it for you.

Now I really enjoyed the book but I do want to give fair warning, this is a departure from Christian fiction. If you are looking for bonnets and buggies you won't find them here. It is a fiction, mystery, romance combination. Pick up a copy and enjoy!

[kerrycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been meaning to read this not very well known racing romance by the grand master of Amish fiction for quite some time, and finally got my hands on it. Is it as good as her current work? Of course not, but it's a sweet story with plenty of fun racing references and some pretty cute romantic moments. At first it seemed like it would be predictable (of course the romantic aspect was, because the two main characters had to end up together or it wouldn't have fit the line formula) but I didn't have the villain aspect figured out as I thought I did, so it had that surprise twist. Oh, how I wish there was more racing romance out there, but for now, I'm glad I found Clipston's early effort, which was worth the effort to track down and the time to read.

[Kathleen Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Betrayed is an enjoyable book with a wonderful hero. I'm not a fan of NASCAR but Clipston brings that world to life without overwhelming the reader with details about cars or races. The story has a nice twist I wasn't expecting. All in all a great read.

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Book, kept me interested.