Upon a Spring Breeze by Kelly Irvin
Published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing on March 28th 2017
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Christian, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
After a devastating winter, a spring breeze promises more than new flowers.… It promises a new chance at love.Bess Weaver, twenty and expecting her first child, is in the kitchen making stew for her beloved mann, Caleb, one minute, and the next she’s burying him after a tragic accident. Facing life as a young widow, Bess finds comfort only in tending the garden at an Englisch-owned bed and breakfast—even as she doubts that new growth could ever come after such a long winter.Aidan tries to repress his guilt over his best friend Caleb’s death and his long-standing feelings for Bess by working harder than ever. But as he spends time with the young son his friend left behind, he seems to be growing closer to the boy’s beautiful mother as well.When a close-knit group of widows in her Amish community step in to help Bess find her way back to hope, she begins to wonder if Gott has a future for her after all. Will she ever believe that life can still hold joy and the possibility of love?
As I’ve said time and time again, being a part of The Fiction Guild’s Elite Reader Program is such an honor for me. I am often provided with books to read (which I love to do) and the only requirement is that I have to share a report after I’ve read the book. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a winning arrangement for me and my mother, who loves anything written about the Amish. Today’s book is Upon a Spring Breeze by Kelly Irvin, and here’s my mother, Gloria’s review:
This is book #1 in An Every Amish Season series. The main characters in this story is Bess and Caleb Weaver and their best friend since early childhood Aidan Graber. Kelly Irvin makes these characters come alive and you feel that you have known them all of their lives. She starts out with a sad story and turns it into something sweet.
This sad story begins in Jamesport, Missouri with Bess and Caleb Weaver being married for a year and are expecting their first baby while living with Caleb’s parents and building their home. Before their child was born, her beloved husband was killed in a tragic buggy accident. Caleb’s dying wish was that Aidan would take care of Bess and their baby. Aidan is a very patient man and tries to help Bess. He is struggling to keep his chicken farm after losing all of the chickens due to a bird virus. Because of the virus he has to wait 6 months to restock his chickens, so that means 6 months without any income. How can the farm survive?
Heartbroken Bess begins her life as a 20 year old widow with an infant son (Joshua) the pain of her loss is very deep but will she let God help? How is she going to support herself? Her parents wants her to come to Haven, Kansas and live with them. Will she take Joshua away from Caleb’s parents?
Will Bess let joy and love come into her life once more? Does she recognize how much Aidan cares?
This is a story of dealing with loss, grief, love, recovery, depression, struggle, faith, and hope. It’s also a story to remind readers of Jeremiah 29:11 – that God has a plan for us and while it might not be the plan we set out to live, but He does promise a future filled with hope. I enjoyed reading this book very much and look forward to book #2 in this series.
A graduate of the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism, Kelly wrote nonfiction professionally for thirty years. She studied for three semesters at the University of Costa Rica, learning the Spanish language. As a journalist, she worked six years in the border towns of Laredo and El Paso, where she was exposed to culture and language that serves as fodder for her fiction writing. She has written hard news, features, entertainment pieces, restaurant critiques, editorials, and weekly columns. Writing awards include the Silver Star Award from the Texas Mental Health Association for articles pertaining to mental health and numerous awards in news, feature, and editorial writing from the Texas Press Association and Texas Press Women.
Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for almost twenty-nine years, and they have two young adult children and two grandchildren. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories, read books by her favorite authors, and visit the babies.
For more information, visit http://www.kellyirvin.com!
I received a paperback copy of this book without cost from the publisher through The Fiction Guild, a Thomas Nelson/Zondervan Elite Reader book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own, or in this case, my mom’s.
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