Book Review: The Wounded Heart by Adina Senft/2 Stars

About the book:

When a business offer turns into something more personal, Amelia is torn between what logic tells her is right, and the desire of her heart. 


A widow with two small children, Amelia Beiler is struggling to make ends meet. She is running her late husband's business, but it's not what she was raised to do, which is run a home. When she gets an offer for the business from Eli Fischer, she's only too relieved to consider it-especially when it looks like Eli's interest might include more than just the shop. But when she begins to experience strange physical symptoms and is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it's difficult not to question God's will. If she pursues the treatment she believes in, she risks going under the bann. But how can she allow Eli to court her when she can't promise him a future?

Includes instructions to make the quilt block featured in the novel.

My thoughts:

I feel like I've hit a rut with reading.  You know what I mean...nothing seems to grab your attention, you struggle to finish a book, you find other things to do that are more exciting, and on and on.  That's where I'm at right now...nothing is blowing me away, and I hate that.  What's worse is that the Amish genre is one that has always been steadfast for me, always intriguing.  And because it's been a good while since I've read an Amish novel, I was hoping that this book would snap me out of my funk.

Well, it didn't.  It never felt like the author knew where she wanted her story to go.  First off, you've got these three women who are so painfully difficult to tell apart in the beginning, and for the most part, they're pretty opinionated to be Amish.  It seemed for awhile that I had stepped into a modern women's fiction novel rather than an Amish one.

Secondly, you've got the thread of this mysterious illness that has plagued Amelia for weeks, and almost has her on a wild goose chase to Mexico for treatment.  Now, I'm not bashing that people do stuff like that when they've exhausted all other options, but please...we're talking about the Amish here.  None of that part of the storyline was believable to me at all.

Thirdly, there's the drama of Amelia selling her business, which ruffles the feathers of quite a few of the local Amish men.  I thought it was embarrassing that the men with whom she had been friends with for years berated her for even thinking of selling to an Englishman.  What nerve!  She had no choice at the time but to consider all of her circumstances, including her children, and it just made me so mad that all these men seemed to gang up on her.

Lastly, there's this nagging tooth problem that Amelia has (which is very instrumental to the overall story, so I won't spill the beans too much).  I'm not a dentist or a tooth expert, but I have a little bit of knowledge about teeth since I worked in a dental office a few years ago.  I don't know how much detailed research the author did on this particular part of her story, but there were some issues with procedures and pricing that were not accurate at all. 

I really doubt I will read the rest of the series.  There were too many plot twists and too many stories going on at once to make much of it remotely believable.  It may be a great read for other Amish fiction fans, but it was not the book for me.

2 Stars

**Many thanks to Faithwords and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

Southern?  No
Sass?  Surprisingly, a little bit.