Treasuring Emma by Kathleen Fuller

From the Publisher


Emma has put everyone else first in her life. Now at nearly 25, has she missed her chance at marriage?

Emma was Adam's first love but circumstances made them both choosedifferent paths in life. Emma's heart breaks all over again when Adamreturns to the Amish community of Middlefield, Ohio, years later.
For the past ten years, Emma has been raising her siblings aftertheir parents' untimely death. She's put their needs above her own andnow, with them grown, she can focus on herself and her dream of openinga yarn store in the vacant cider house on her land.

With Adam's return come feelings Emma's long buried. They're olderand life hasn't turned out the way they thought it would. Adam'sfeelings for Emma are stronger than ever, but will he be able toconvince her to put others aside and give their love a chance?



My Take

I love books about the Amish. For some reason, their lifestyle & faith are very interesting to me. I imagine what it would be like to live that life but then realize it would be impossible after growing up Englisch.

Treasuring Emma adds a twist to the usual Amish book. It's not the straight-forward young Amish girl looking to find a husband and how they make their romantic journey together. The "bann" has always intrigued me and how the Amish people can disown their own family. And if they have "banned" that person, how they can take them back into the fold and not cause disharmony among them. I believe in forgiveness and that people can change but treating them as if nothing happened is hard for me to comprehend.

As with non-Amish, Emma grows through turmoil and seeks God's help in her life's plan. We think that Amish families are perfect and don't know heartache and family issues, but we see in Treasuring Emma that it's just not true. Emma's faith will help her through these issues and she realizes it's HIS plan and he will reveal it to her eventually.

While the story line was good, there were a couple disconnects with a couple characters. I think the author could have done more with with a couple story lines about Emma's sister's relationship as well as Adam's mother. Maybe they are left open for a second book in the series? But like many Amish novels, the ending seems to get all wrapped up in a bow and is over in an instant. Life doesn't always happen that way but then again it may be that another book may be coming to clear it up.


I'd like to thank BookSneeze for making a review copy available via NetGalley. All opinions are my own and unbiased. A positive review was not required. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."