Customer Reviews

Bygones: Sommerfeld Trilogy #1 (Truly Yours Romance Club #10)

5 star:		(22)
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3 star:		(1)
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Marie Quinn left the Mennonite community when she fell in love with a young truck driver who was just passing through. Now her Aunt Lisabeth is dead and she left her home and cafe to Marie's daughter, Beth. Henry Braun has been entrusted with the task of finding Marie and Beth and informing them of the inheritance. There is one condition, Beth has to live in Sommerfield for at least six months. Marie doesn't want to go back home, but she can't let her daughter go alone. When they arrive, Beth is horrified to learn there isn't any electricity, the people dress funny, and Main Street isn't even paved. And she has to live here for six months!

Marie has her own reasons for not wanting to be here, includidng Henry Braun, the man she left behind. The memories of her past life are almost overwhelming. In addition, someone is stealing antiques and as newcomers, she and Beth are suspected of being the thieves.

Kim Vogel Sawyer always tells a good story, with plenty of emotion and conflict. Her characters reach right off the page and touch the reader's heart. Bygones is book one of the Sommerfield trilogy and I'm looking forward to the next one.

I have never really sought out novels written about the Amish and Mennonite communities but I was completely charmed by Kim Vogel Sawyer's latest release, Bygones .

The storyline is familiar with Marie Koeppler leaving her Mennonite community some twenty years previously running away to marry trucker, Jep Quinn. When Jep is tragically killed Marie seeks the support of her family as she is alone with her newborn daughter, Beth. JD Koeppler turns his distraught daughter and grandchild away. Marie vows never to return.

Beth is now a headstrong young women seeking her way in the world when Henry Braun, the Mennonite man who fell in love with Marie when they were teenagers, comes to tell them of the passing of Marie's beloved Aunt Lisbeth and the unusual conditions of her will. In order for Beth to inherit her home and cafe, she must return to the Mennonite community of Sommerfeld and live in Aunt Lisbeth's home for three months. Marie acquiesces to Beth's plea to join her and the unfolding events will change them both forever.

Kim Vogel Sawyer's story has great depth and impacted me on many levels. It is a powerful story of forgiveness, the desire to belong and the pain of fractured relationships. Marie and Beth are characterised beautifully and Henry's devotion to Marie is heartfelt and in keeping with his character. The family dynamics between mother and daughter, and Marie's Mennonite family were so well described that I felt Marie's discomfort, Beth's frustration and Lisbeth's hope.

A dash of mystery enhances the story and makes Bygones an engrossing and thought-provoking read.

Marie Koeppler Quinn abandoned her Mennonite community for love and adventure. Now, twenty-three years later and widowed, Marie and her daughter, Beth, return to Sommerfeld for three months, a stipulation to claim Beth's inheritance of her Mennonite aunt's estate.

Not unexpected, the people of Sommerfeld are suspicious of their motives. When a series of thefts begins, Marie and Beth are likely suspects...just as Marie is rediscovering her Mennonite roots and an old flame. Will they ever be accepted back into the community, or will it be impossible to let bygones be bygones?

Kim Vogel Sawyer writes compelling stories about one of the lesser publicized Mennonite communities. Somewhere between the Amish and mainline protestant churches lay the Old Order Mennonites, fascinating in their own right and with many stories to tell.

I am especially drawn to Kim's stories as I know well the location and people, even though she uses fictional communities. But any reader will love these characters, their motivations and their journeys, and they will probably fall in love with central Kansas and the Mennonites as well. This was a quick and enjoyable read. I can't wait for the next installment in the Sommerfeld trilogy!

Armchair Interviews says: Good characters you will care about.

In her first book in the Summerfield Trilogy, Bygones, Kim gives us a powerful story of faith, family, and love. She introduces us to the Mennonite community from which Marie ran away over twenty years before with her non-Mennonite husband, Jep. When Henry Braun, her first love, appears after all those years and tells her of the death of her beloved Aunt Lisbeth, Marie learns that her daughter Beth is the sole beneficiary of her aunt's will. Now Marie must return to the community with Beth, live there for three months, and run the café owned by Lisbeth before Beth can claim her inheritance. As Marie reconnects not only with the community and Henry, she examines her life and tries to restore a relationship with her family. When thefts occur in the community, the first suspects are Marie and Beth. As Marie unravels the mystery, her family and friends are divided in their beliefs about who is behind the crimes. In Bygones Kim has created wonderful characters who grip your heart and keep you turning the page to see how the problems are resolved. It's a compelling story of one woman's journey into the past to rediscover her future.

I have read 2 other Kim Vogel Sawyer's books and this was as good as the previous ones. Sawyer touches something deep inside her readers. Henry's patience in his prayers is tremendous. He is confident that God's way is best for him. Marie comes to the community she left behind over 20 years ago with trepidation but eventually ends up coming back to her relationship with God and family. It is a wonderful book about God's grace. Don't hesitate to buy it. I can't wait for the other two in this trilogy.

Kim Vogel Sawyer has written another thought-provoking novel, Bygones. Marie Koeppler was shunned by her father when she left the Mennonite order in Sommerfield, Kansas to wed Jep Quinn. Her husband is killed early in their marriage leaving her with a small child, daughter Beth.

Marie's father's heart is so hardened toward his daughter he refuses to even speak of her. As a result, Marie raises her daughter alone, abandoning her Mennonite beliefs. Her aunt, Lisbeth, never forgot her niece. She and Henry Braun, a friend of Marie's, had prayed through the years for Marie to return to her home and her roots.

Unexpectedly, Henry shows up at the diner where Marie works in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He brings with him the news that Marie's Aunt Lisbeth has died and left her property, a house and a café, to Marie's daughter Beth.

The glitch - Beth must reside in Sommerfield for a minimum of three months in order to inherit the property. Marie's dilemma - Will she allow Beth to go alone, or will she return and suffer through the three months in the midst of people who see her as a traitor to their way of life?

Marie chooses to go with Beth to help guide her and protect her. Marie realizes the time will pass quickly, but it won't be without turmoil.

Henry is torn between his love of Marie, which never ended, and his duty to Lisbeth. His friendship with Lisbeth carries its own turmoil. Lisbeth held the belief that one day, with enough prayer and time, Marie would return to her heritage. Henry, knowing Lisbeth as he did, hopes her opinion will be proven true, but he is afraid to let his heart believe.

Can Marie resolve her emotional conflicts, as well as the mystery surrounding her return to Sommerfield? Or will she and Beth leave town once more amidst a cloud of accusation and controversy? Will Henry's heart be broken once again, or will he find the love he has longed for during the past twenty years?

Kim Vogel Sawyer's writing style will draw you into the lives of her characters with ease, and you'll have to let the housework go because you can't put Bygones down. So pick a time when you can send the kids off to friends' homes and your husband is on an out-of-town trip, or else call the pizza delivery number and let them all fend for themselves while you lose yourself in Bygones.

If you are a big fan of the Amish fiction by Beverly Lewis and others, you are going to love Bygones which is set in a Mennonite community. I'm not going to retell the story because other reviewers have done this well already, but I would suggest this book to anyone who likes strong Christian fiction, yet likes to see flawed characters who experience real life dramas and victories. Kim has a heart for single moms and those who fall to the way side. She likes to write stories that show their strength. Thanks Kim!

This is an incredible book with finely drawn characters you fall in love with! I can't wait to read more in this trilogy.

It's been over two decades since Marie Koeppler married Jep Quinn. Jep's world offered the young Mennonite girl an exciting new life - until his death left her a very young widow and a single mother.

Shunned by her Old Order Mennonite family and friends, Marie makes a life for herself and her daughter in the "outside" world. In the twenty-three years since she left Sommerfeld, Kansas, she has all but forgotten her roots. But then her old Mennonite beau shows up with shocking news: A beloved aunt has died, leaving her house and café to Marie's daughter, Beth. The stipulation: Beth must live three months in Sommerfeld in order to claim the inheritance.

When Marie reluctantly accompanies her daughter back to her childhood home, she's unprepared for the onslaught of emotions and memories that await her there. Before long, she's yearning for and finding the faith she lost so long ago, and - much to her daughter's dismay - reclaiming old habits, lifestyles, and maybe even an old love.

But then someone starts stealing from the Mennonites, and suspicion falls at the outsiders' door. Even Henry, who never quite healed from Marie's abandonment of their budding relationship so long ago, turns an accusing eye on her and Beth.

Sommerfeld is a community built on strict biblical principles and rigid tenets. It's populated by good people with preconceived and often misplaced suspicions of outsiders. Marie despairs of proving her innocence, and her sincerity in returning to the Mennonite faith. Can she and Henry overcome the obstacles and rekindle the embers of love? Can they all find a way to let bygones be bygones?

Kim Vogel Sawyer's Bygones is a fascinating look into the Mennonite world, seamlessly woven into a fascinating, completely believable storyline. It's a well-written tale of faith and hope, of forgiveness and love, and of human frailty and strength, all portrayed in characters so real they move and breathe. Definitely a winner!

I had this book done in three nights of reading when i went to bed..i just couldn't put it down! Loved the whole story line!