Dianne Christner has penned a lovely story that is uniquely different and quite entertaining. Covered Bridge Charm, set in the Oregon Mennonite community, has rich characterization, spiritual depth, and is a story with heart. I'm so glad to have discovered Dianne's writing.
Carly and Adam both work at the Sweet Life Assisted Living Facility and captured my heart with their empathy for the elderly. Adam, who teaches a woodworking class, finds himself caught in the middle between his dad and uncle in their ongoing feud. And Carly is quite the character! While some consider her to be a little independent and strong willed for a Conservative Mennonite, no one can fault her heart and passion for the assisted living residents. I love that she rides a pink bicycle everywhere, often getting in situations that require Adam to give her a lift in his truck. And she has the most adorable pet, a unicorn lop rabbit with one ear up and one down a rescue bunny that "had always been on the nippy side when he didn't get his way." I loved seeing how there was a hierarchy in Cocoa's world, and let's just say that Carly was not at the top.
Dianne writes with a gentle humor and compassion for the assisted living residents and I easily became involved in their lives. That the staff had descriptive names for them was so cute like Nines (due to dress style), General, Magnificent, and Klepto (no explanation needed). Carly was clever at finding ways to reduce their loneliness and particularly touching was her encouragement that Martha read from the Psalms to her friend, Dot, who suffered from dementia. I appreciated these words of Dianne . . . "Covered Bridge Charm was birthed from my experience as a caregiver for elderly in-laws. This experience stirred up a passion against the aging process and the pain and humiliation which accompanies it."
Covered Bridge Charm is a heartwarming story of relationships, and I loved the chemistry between Adam and Carly. There's a lot of interesting secondary characters who add to the richness of this story, so I hope we get to return to this Mennonite community.
Recommended.
Thank you to Barbour for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Carly and Adam both work at the Sweet Life Assisted Living Facility and captured my heart with their empathy for the elderly. Adam, who teaches a woodworking class, finds himself caught in the middle between his dad and uncle in their ongoing feud. And Carly is quite the character! While some consider her to be a little independent and strong willed for a Conservative Mennonite, no one can fault her heart and passion for the assisted living residents. I love that she rides a pink bicycle everywhere, often getting in situations that require Adam to give her a lift in his truck. And she has the most adorable pet, a unicorn lop rabbit with one ear up and one down a rescue bunny that "had always been on the nippy side when he didn't get his way." I loved seeing how there was a hierarchy in Cocoa's world, and let's just say that Carly was not at the top.
Dianne writes with a gentle humor and compassion for the assisted living residents and I easily became involved in their lives. That the staff had descriptive names for them was so cute like Nines (due to dress style), General, Magnificent, and Klepto (no explanation needed). Carly was clever at finding ways to reduce their loneliness and particularly touching was her encouragement that Martha read from the Psalms to her friend, Dot, who suffered from dementia. I appreciated these words of Dianne . . . "Covered Bridge Charm was birthed from my experience as a caregiver for elderly in-laws. This experience stirred up a passion against the aging process and the pain and humiliation which accompanies it."
Covered Bridge Charm is a heartwarming story of relationships, and I loved the chemistry between Adam and Carly. There's a lot of interesting secondary characters who add to the richness of this story, so I hope we get to return to this Mennonite community.
Recommended.
Thank you to Barbour for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Covered Bridge Charm by Dianne Christner is a Christian romance novel. Carly Blosser is a member of the Old Holley Conservative Mennonite Fellowship in Sweet Home, Oregon. Carly dresses conservatively but she has a very outgoing personality (she is spunky and has many ideas). Carly's house is yellow, she has a bunny rabbit for a pet (that she takes with her), and she gets around town on a pink beachcomber bicycle (they are her personal symbols of freedom). Carly is twenty-seven and still single (and accident prone). She was going out with Dale Lapp until he wanted to move to Nappanee (Dale told a different tale and let horrible rumors spread about Carly). Carly works at Sweet Life Retirement Center (in the assisted living facility). Carly cares deeply for the residents (who have quirky nicknames like Klepto) and is always coming up with new ideas for Sweet Life (much to the dismay of Simon Lapp, director of Sweet Life and Dale's father).
Adam Lapp (thirty) volunteers at Sweet Life by teaching woodworking classes. He also works on his family's Christmas tree farm. Adam is good friends with Carly's brother, Jimmy. Jimmy is a trucker and has asked Adam to keep an eye on Carly when he is out of town. Adam had no idea it would be such a big job when he agreed to it. Carly is frequently getting herself into jams (stuck in the Sweet Life elevator), bicycle in a ditch (she goes too fast and tends to close her eyes), or looking into matters she shouldn't. One of the residents, Martha Struder is depressed and Carly wants to cheer her up. Martha had mentioned a secret boyfriend when she was sixteen. Carly sets out to find him based on clues Martha has provided (a covered bridge). Carly asks Adam for his assistance in locating the man. Of course, spending so much time together leads to unexpected attraction. Come along for the adventure by reading Covered Bridge Charm.
I found Covered Bridge Charm to be a cute novel, but very much a cliché romance novel. Covered Bridge Charm has jealously (and a little violence despite them being pacifists), lack of communication, confusion, and misunderstandings (along with the making up). I give Covered Bridge Charm 4 out of 5 stars. I liked the quirky characters (at Sweet Life). I thought Carly was a little over-the-top, but she was an interesting character (reminds me of myself).
I received a complimentary copy of Covered Bridge Charm from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Adam Lapp (thirty) volunteers at Sweet Life by teaching woodworking classes. He also works on his family's Christmas tree farm. Adam is good friends with Carly's brother, Jimmy. Jimmy is a trucker and has asked Adam to keep an eye on Carly when he is out of town. Adam had no idea it would be such a big job when he agreed to it. Carly is frequently getting herself into jams (stuck in the Sweet Life elevator), bicycle in a ditch (she goes too fast and tends to close her eyes), or looking into matters she shouldn't. One of the residents, Martha Struder is depressed and Carly wants to cheer her up. Martha had mentioned a secret boyfriend when she was sixteen. Carly sets out to find him based on clues Martha has provided (a covered bridge). Carly asks Adam for his assistance in locating the man. Of course, spending so much time together leads to unexpected attraction. Come along for the adventure by reading Covered Bridge Charm.
I found Covered Bridge Charm to be a cute novel, but very much a cliché romance novel. Covered Bridge Charm has jealously (and a little violence despite them being pacifists), lack of communication, confusion, and misunderstandings (along with the making up). I give Covered Bridge Charm 4 out of 5 stars. I liked the quirky characters (at Sweet Life). I thought Carly was a little over-the-top, but she was an interesting character (reminds me of myself).
I received a complimentary copy of Covered Bridge Charm from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
