Amy Lillard is back with the second installment in the Amish of Pontotoc series. In this book, we get to know Leah better. Leah is the twin sister of Hannah whom we met in the first book in the series. Leah is a headstrong character who butts heads with Jamie Stoltzfus, an equally headstrong character who is caring for his nephew Peter. Will these two headstrong people be enemies, friends, or more?

I found this book to be a quick read. I really enjoyed getting to know Leah better and I found her to be an interesting character. When her sister left the Amish years ago Leah went with her. Now both have returned and Hannah is going to join the Amish church. Leah is now a Mennonite and insists she can't join the Amish church. This causes problems because there is an attraction to Jamie, who is Amish. Leah leads an independent life although she is caring for Hannah's son, Brandon. I really liked the relationship between this aunt and nephew. They have a strong bond that shows through the pages and some of my favorite parts of the book include these two and their banter with each other.

Now, as much as I liked most of the characters in the book there is one I disliked with a passion. Deborah King, Jamie's ex-fiancee. I disliked her from the moment she set foot in Pontotoc and the more I knew of her the more I disliked her. At times I wanted to jump into the story and run her out of town. Seeing as how that's not possible I just had to deal with this Nellie Olson-like character. She did add to the story though and she's a fine example of Amy's ability as an author to create a wide range of characters so I didn't totally hate her, just strongly disliked, Perhaps despised, even.

I really enjoyed the storyline of this book and the focus on the differences between the Amish and Mennonites. This story is by no means a history of the two religions but delves into the differences between the two groups and how it plays in the lives of the two main characters and how they feel they can/can't be a couple due to their different religions. There is a lot of emotion in the book as well and I enjoyed it all from the easy banter between characters to the more emotional scenes with Peter, a little boy who can't find his words.

While this book is second in the series I suppose it could be read as a standalone. I would recommend reading the first book before this one though as to have an understanding of all the characters and the events that have brought them to where they are now. I'm excited to read the next book in this series to see how these characters are doing and to meet new ones! This is definitely a book for the keeper shelf.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and was not required to write a review. All opinions are mine.