Amelia DeVries is a concert violinist who has spent her life preparing to play the classics in music halls around the world. Her fiance' is a musician as well and they have had to work at finding time for one another during the three years of their courtship. As the book opens, Amelia is enjoying her secret pleasure...opening for a county singer as a fiddler with a country band. Her stage name is Amy Lee and she has kept this guilty secret from her agent, and even more important, her mom and dad. They have spent Amelia's childhood years encouraging constant practice to hone her skills and refine her talents.She is a big hit at the country concert, but she is startled when she sees her agent back stage afterwards. He is understandably upset with her, but reluctantly promises not to tell her dad if she will tell him as soon as she gets home. Her parents and her agent have set their hearts on a European tour to begin in just a few months. Amelia is torn between the heartbreak of disappointing her parents and her own dream of exploring the possibilities of a career in country music.But as she starts the long trip home a heavy thunderstorm causes her to miss an entrance ramp back onto the Interstate and before she knows it, she is slowly driving in blinding rain on narrow roads through the hills of Pennsylvania. When she blows a tire, she notices a light through the woods not far from where she is stranded in the rain, so she walks to what turns out to be a rustic log cabin, and what do you know, there is country music pealing out from within!Here Amelie/Amy meets a handsome young Amish man with troubles of his own. His sweetheart has just broken off with him and his father is exasperated with him for exploring English ways, refusing to commit to the Amish lifestyle, but not walking completely away from it.Amy is charmed by Michael Hofstetler and is both eager to postpone her return home to her parents, knowing what she wants to say will hurt them deeply, and eager to see the home Michael has described to her, the Amish community of Hickory Hollow. Will their friendship help or hurt the tenuous relationships that each has with their own parents? Is their any hope that this chance meeting of two people from very different worlds can lead to something more? Beverly Lewis tells a sweet story of two young adults making decisions about their separate futures that take into account their obligations to their families and their somewhat different takes on faith in God. Beverly Lewis has done as much or more than any fiction writer to familiarize readers with the practices and culture of the Amish and the Mennonites, and she tells an interesting story, building characters that are easy to care about. I enjoyed it and will enjoy reading more about the folks who inhabit Hickory Hollow. I picked this up as I had won the fourth in the series in the good reads giveaway and I was unsure what to expect not knowing much of the Amish life. It was a typical tale of two people from different sides of the fence finding the middle ground to be together. The author writes very convincingly of the troubles the characters face in following their own hearts and also honouring their families. Worth reading when you fancy a light hearted romance, but I'm not in a huge rush to read the others in the series, although I will at some point.
What do You think about The Fiddler (2012)?
Enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. Can't wait to read the next one.
—Nikapika
This author was recommended to me-Amish romantic fiction writer
—emmie
