Temptation
Book 1 in the Temptation seriesYour heart misleads you.
That’s what my friends and family say.
But I love Noah.
And he loves me.
We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other’s arms.
It should be ROSE & NOAH forever, easy.
But it won’t be.
Because he’s Amish.
And I’m not.
**My thoughts**
I love Amish fiction. I especially love the romances involved in Amish fiction. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, because the description is so intriguing!
I was thrown off in the beginning, because I am used to reading Beverly Lewis. Her way of presenting the Amish and their voice is quite different from how Karen Ann Hopkins portrayed them in this book. To me, Noah often seemed very much like any typical high school guy that Rose would run into at school or in the community. Hormones were raging, causing them to take actions that are considered highly inappropriate in the Amish community, such as a lot of making out. Sometimes, the words that he used were definitely very contemporary and not at all what you would expect form an Amish teen. I was also thrown off by the lack of Pennsylvania Dutch thrown into conversations among the Amish people. However, if I was new to reading Amish fiction, and especially at the YA level, this would have made him a little easier to relate to. Once I got used to his contemporary English way of speaking, I was able to better focus on the story.
I think that Karen hit on a lot of the ideals of the Amish community, their beliefs and customs. I loved the explanations of how this community worked and felt like I learned something new about some Amish customs. While fundamentally they are the same, different groups have slightly different beliefs and customs. This community was described as being closer to where I grew up, but not where most of the novels I have read take place.
Some of Noah's ideas were tough for me to swallow. I am a fiercely independent woman and would have a hard time with a man dictating to me what I can do and whom I can see. But that is a part of his culture. What seems old-fashioned to us is completely natural for them. I could appreciate Rose's struggle with many of these. I often found myself wondering what I would do if I were in her shoes. Could I ever love someone enough to succumb to those rules?
On the other hand, Rose's English world is a lot for Noah to swallow. Women are much more independent. People are educated longer and much freer with their thoughts and actions. It's overwhelming to someone who has been relatively sheltered his whole life. He isn't prepared for life with the Englischers.
The star-crossed love between the two reminded me a bit of Romeo and Juliet. Just like that famous couple, these two fall madly in love with each other at first sight, despite being so young. It's like they were meant to be together. They don't know how to live without each other, yet have a hard time being together. They come from two totally different worlds. Their parents, friends, and families do not approve. They are extremely young to have such intense feelings, but that does happen sometimes. Trying to be together is going to require a major sacrifice on their parts. But which way of living is the right way? They can't maintain a relationship with one foot firmly planted in each world. Someone is going to have to give up his or her way of living and adapt to something completely foreign. Can two people this young be able to make such dramatic life changes in order to make this relationship work?
I'm not sure which direction I want them to go. I don't know if the answer is for Noah to give up his Amish ways and try to make it as an Englishman. I don't know if it is right for Rose to give up her family and dancing and independence to become Amish. I'm not going to tell you which path these two end up taking. This is the first book in the series, so their roller coaster ride is only just getting started. They may have to backtrack and take a different route in the next book. I can't wait to read the next book to find out where they are going, and will want to finish the series, too!
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I received a complimentary ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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