Helpful Score: 6
This is a sweet story of love, prejudice, loss, and hope. The main characters are well crafted and I cared about their stories. It's a fast read with short chapters and, though it's hardly 'action packed,' it never drags. While it has a religious theme, it never preaches or suggests that one belief is better then another, something that endeared it to me even more. I am left impatient for the second in the series, not due out until September.
Helpful Score: 3
Much different from the usual Amish books that I've read. BJ Hoff writes about the prejudice the Amish faced because they were different, and the violent acts done against them by intolerant people. She also includes a storyline about the Underground Railroad and has her characters (even Amish ones) participating. Ms. Hoff is an excellent writer and storyteller. I really liked this book and recommend it.
Leola C. (swamponkeymom) reviewed Rachel's Secret (Riverhaven Years, Bk 1) on + 353 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Its different than Amish books I have read. A different look at the they are treated by others. Good and Bad. It was a fast read and left you wanting to read the next book in the series. I definetly will read more of her books.
Connie A. (jazzysmom) -
Helpful Score: 2
Be prepared when you pick this book up, have the casserole made ahead of time, make the biggest cuppa, find a snuggly blanket and turn off the phone, you will be pleasently surprised at the depth of this read and the suspense that this beautiful cover holds. The time honestly just flew by while i was enjoying every page of this novel. The story of the slave smugglers and forbidden love is wonderful, but there is also alot more dilemmas in this book to be engrossed in. I think i will be removing myself from my wish list for books 2 & 3 and just go buy them, i can't wait. B. J. Hoff rocked this one out of the park.
Helpful Score: 1
There are lots of twists and turns in this book. BJ Hoff is well versed in Amish ways and uses them in an exceptional way. I enjoyed the book a lot.
Bj's books are always enjoyable. If you like Amish storied this one is a "reader". Good family reading.
Sylvia T. (squeakers244) reviewed Rachel's Secret (Riverhaven Years, Bk 1) on + 67 more book reviews
I enjoy the interaction of the underground railroad and Amish culture in Ohio area.
Love this book
A very good read.
This book was very enjoyable to read. It was very fast reading and I love to read Amish Stories.
Bestselling author BJ Hoff promises to delight her many faithful readers with her compelling new series, The Riverhaven Years. With the first book, Rachel's Secret, Hoff introduces a new community of unforgettable characters and adds the elements readers have come to expect from her novels: a tender love story, the faith journeys of people we grow to know and love, and enough suspense to keep the pages turning quickly.
When the wounded Irish American riverboat captain, Jeremiah Gant, bursts into the rural Amish setting of Riverhaven, he brings chaos and conflict to the community--especially for young widow, Rachel Brenneman. The unwelcome outsider; is a conductor on the Underground railroad and needs a safe place to recuperate from life threatening wounds ; before continuing his secret role as an Underground Railroad conductor. Asa, a free black man brings Captain Gant to To Rachel's home.He saw a light in the window and a quilt outside believing her to be his Underground railroad contact.She is not.The candle is for her widowed mom to see and the quilt is just there. There is another Amish family involved in the underground railroad, which Rachel and her mom Susan find out. They promise not to tell the bishop which is against their Amish beliefs, but their conscious tells them the Amish family are doing the Lord's work so both Rachel and Susan agree to keep quiet. Neither Gant nor Rachel is prepared for the forbidden love that threatens to endanger a man's mission, a woman's heart, and a way of life for an entire people. Rating10++++++
When the wounded Irish American riverboat captain, Jeremiah Gant, bursts into the rural Amish setting of Riverhaven, he brings chaos and conflict to the community--especially for young widow, Rachel Brenneman. The unwelcome outsider; is a conductor on the Underground railroad and needs a safe place to recuperate from life threatening wounds ; before continuing his secret role as an Underground Railroad conductor. Asa, a free black man brings Captain Gant to To Rachel's home.He saw a light in the window and a quilt outside believing her to be his Underground railroad contact.She is not.The candle is for her widowed mom to see and the quilt is just there. There is another Amish family involved in the underground railroad, which Rachel and her mom Susan find out. They promise not to tell the bishop which is against their Amish beliefs, but their conscious tells them the Amish family are doing the Lord's work so both Rachel and Susan agree to keep quiet. Neither Gant nor Rachel is prepared for the forbidden love that threatens to endanger a man's mission, a woman's heart, and a way of life for an entire people. Rating10++++++
