A Seat by the Hearth

Priscilla Allgyer left home and moved to Baltimore to get out from under her father's hyper-criticism.  But what she did was jump from the frying pan into the fire. She got involved in a relationship with a man who physically abused her.  In desperation, she takes her six year old son and goes back to Lancaster.  In order for her to stay, her father lays down some rules:  she must re-join the church, serve her shunning time, and find a husband.

Mark Riehl is the first face she sees when she returns to town.  Mark has always had the reputation of being a flirt--always chatting up the other ladies to the point that two of the ladies believe he is going to ask them to marry him.  Oh yeah, he also works for Yonnie Allgyer--Priscilla's father. 

Mark tried to get Priscilla to talk to him, to open up to him, and allow him to share her burdens.  He found her in the barn crying and was trying to talk to her there and she was trying to get away from him, but her sleeve got caught on a nail and tore. That is when Yonnie and John, the bishop, come in and find them together.  Yonnie demands that they set the soonest wedding date possible.

Once Priscilla agrees to marry Mark, Yonnie has a self-satisfied look about him.  He had manipulated the situation to his desires.  His daughter is no longer his problem. 

Amy Clipston does her research on the Amish life and makes the research come alive in her characters.  A Seat by the Hearth is one of those slices of Amish life.  My favorite part is when Mark comes in on Yonnie's tirade on Priscilla.  He rips Yonnie a new one for his treatment of Priscilla and moves her out from under her father's thumb.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a man who will stand up for you in all circumstances.

My thanks to Zondervan Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.