A Bond Never Broken - review

I agreed to review this book, A Bond Never Broken, the third book in the Daughters of Amana series, with mixed emotions!!  So excited because I had read and loved the first one in the series, really sad because I had never had the chance to read the second.  I decided to review it anyway knowing that if I loved it as much as the first one, I would definitely be reading the second one.  Verdict is in and I will be reading the second.

Ilsa Redlich, the daughter of hotel owners, living in the Amana Community.  She spends her days helping her parents run the hotel.  She has had a peaceful life in the Amana Community but this all comes to a halt when the United States enters the Great War.  Her brother enlists and is sent to fight, and her, used to be good and accepting, neighbors become suspicious and unfriendly.

Jutta Schmidt is the daughter of bakery owners who are former Amana Community resident.  They left the Amana Community several years ago and now live a short train ride away.  Their life has also been peaceful and they are very accepted in their new community until the war.  Unfortunately, members of the Council of National Defense show up with accusations and threats.  Their solution is to send Jutta back to the Amana Community to spy of her old neighbors.  

Jutta ends up at the hotel in South Amana and begins her job eavesdropping and noting any and everything she can report to keep her parents safe.  She is extremely torn between her friendships, what she knows God wants her to do, and her strong desire to keep her family safe.  Will she deceive her new friends, will she become as disloyal as those who have turned on her and her family?  Well you will just have to read this wonderful book to find out.

I highly recommend not only this book, but the whole series.

Thank you Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Judith Miller for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.  

Happy Reading!!

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  A Bond Never Broken  Bethany House (March 1, 2011)  by  Judith Miller  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: A Word from Judith:

Most readers want to know how authors 'got started' writing. My first novel, Threads of Love, was conceived when I was commuting sixty miles to work each day. I wanted to tell the story of a pioneer girl coming to Kansas and the faith that sustained her as she adjusted to a new life. When the book was completed, I tucked it away. I had absolutely no idea how publication of a book occurred and had given no thought to the concept. However, through a co-worker, I was directed to Tracie Peterson who, at that time, worked down the hall from me. Having never met Tracie, I was totally unaware of her writing career, but God intervened. The rest is, as they say, history...

With a graciousness that continues to amaze me, Tracie agreed to read my story, directed me to a publisher, and gave me information on a Christian writers conference. Since that first encounter many years ago, I have been blessed with the publication of numerous books, novellas and a juvenile fiction book. Joyously, Tracie and I had the opportunity to develop a blessed friendship. In fact, we have co-authored several series together, including The Bells of Lowell, the Lights of Lowell and The Broadmoor Legacy. In addition, I have continued to write several solo series.    

ABOUT THE BOOK    

For many years, Ilsa Redlich has helped her parents run a hotel in South Amana, but as the United States enters the Great War, she can feel her world changing. The residents of the towns surrounding the Amana Colonies used to be accepting of their quiet, peaceful neighbors, but with anti-German sentiment running high, the Amana villages are now plagued by vandalism, threats, and insults.

Things get even worse when Ilsa finds out her family won't be allowed to speak German in public--and that Garon, the childhood friend she's long been smitten with, has decided to join the army. Jutta Schmidt is shocked when several members of the Council of National Defense show up on her family's doorstep. Sure, the Schmidts once lived in the Amana Colonies, but that was years ago. She's even more surprised when the council demands that she travel to Amana and report back on any un-American activities.

Not daring to disobey the government agents, Jutta takes a job at the South Amana hotel, befriends the daughter of the owners, and begins to eavesdrop every chance she gets. When Jutta hears Ilsa making antiwar remarks and observes Garon assisting a suspicious outsider, she is torn at the prospect of betraying her new friends.

But what choice does she have? And when Garon is accused of something far worse than Jutta could imagine, can the Amana community come to his aid in time?

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Bond Never Broken, go HERE.