Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa [Kindle Edition]

Melanie Dobson (Author)

Book Description

As the rest of the nation is embroiled in Civil War, the Amana Colonies remain peaceful. Amalie Wiese arrives in the newly built village of Amana in 1863 only to find that her betrothed, Friedrich, has left to fight with the Union army. Amalie tries to overcome her worries as she sets up a communal kitchen. She hopes that working alongside Friedrich’s best friend will provide some comfort, but Matthias is abrupt and cold. Little does Amalie know that Matthias has been in love with her since childhood but will not betray Friedrich by pursuing her friendship. When Matthias himself leaves for the battlefront to deliver supplies to the soldiers, war wages in Amalie’s own heart. Will love claim victory?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

MELANIE DOBSON is the author of 5 novels including Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa, and has a background in
publicity and journalism. She grew up in a small Ohio town but now lives with her husband and two daughters in
Oregon. Read more at www.melaniedobson.com.

Product Details

• File Size: 623 KB
• Print Length: 310 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1609361350
• Publisher: Summerside; 1St Edition edition (December 1, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006H57AV4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,149 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but I wanted to Learn More July 30, 2011

By Deborah VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Groups about religious sects (Amish, Mennonites, Mormons, Shakers) have been very popular lately. I'm not sure if it's because of the bonnets or if people are simply just curious about what is considered the "simple way of life" but I swear everywhere I look more and more of these types of books keep popping up with new groups.

This story focuses on the recent immigrant group of the Amana Colonies during the 1860s. The colony is being set up with new settlers joining frequently. The focus of the story belongs to a subtle love triangle between Amalie, her fiance Fredrich and his best friend Matthias. It is against their religion to fight, yet Fredrich feels his calling is to join the Union soldiers. Slavery is brought up many times including the use of characters reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. I did get a sense from the book that characters felt that everyone should be part of their group nor did they think that what others who didn't believe as they did were wrong. I was a bit iffy on the love story as it seemed different than normal as well as too quick during some bits.

Until I heard about this book, I had never heard about the Amana group before. While the cover makes the story look like it is Amish related, the Amana Colonies were a different type of religious sect. Unfortunately after reading this story, I'm not really sure exactly what they believed in. There's talk about wearing plain clothing so no one stands out and the whole deal that they don't believe in fighting. I mean there's bits and pieces mentioned throughout out but I still never really felt like I understood exactly what consisted of their entire way of thinking. Even though I found Amalie, Fredrich and Matthias's stories very interesting, I never really got a sense of what their faith really meant to them. Maybe I'm just clueless but a brief primer about the Amanas would probably help.

Overall I enjoyed how this story gave a different take on romance during the Civil War. The story went in a different direction than how I originally thought it was going to end. I'm not really sure if I was pleased with this but I still had a good time reading the book. As I stated above, I would like to learn more about the Amana sect and learn more about exactly what they believe in and then I'd like to read more about them in these types of books.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Historical Novel July 25, 2012

By J. Hopkins

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I found the first part of the book dragged a little. For some reason, it was hard for me to feel close to Amalie or to care deeply what happened, however, this changed as the book, progressed. From somewhere around the middle on, the story became much better, although I would have liked to see more conversations between Amalie and Matthias. I did appreciate the clean read and enjoyed the novel.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Love Finds You in Amana Iowa January 24, 2012

By Lollipops

Format:Paperback

Amalie Wiese is traveling from New York to Iowa to join the new Amana communities as a head cook. She's also engaged to marry Friedrich, another man in the Amana community. It takes five weeks of brutal travel by wagon train to reach Iowa, and Amalie's train is almost stopped by Rebel soldiers burning Yankee cities and towns and running the wagon train travelers off in to the forest where who knows what evil waits.

When Amalie arrives in Amana, she is anxious to see Friedrich. But he is no where to be found. Then she learns that he went off, against the wishes of the community, to fight in the War Between the States. Friedrich's best friend, Matthias is still there, but he's distant and cold.

When Matthias also leaves for the battlefront, war rages in Amalie's heart. Who will claim the victory?

LOVE FINDS YOU IN AMANA, IOWA is set thirty years earlier than Ms. Dobson's Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa which is also set in the Amana communities. I loved the book in Homestead, Iowa, and was looking forward to reading this one. A friend of mine actually received this book for review but she hated it, and passed it on to me to review instead.

LOVE FINDS YOU IN AMANA, IOWA is a slower paced story, dragging at times, and Amalie at times seems a cold and uncaring heroine, but that is only because she cares so deeply she's afraid to let herself feel--she might violate the rules of the community. Friedrich is also a caring man. Deeply in love with Amalie, but also hating the war that is raving between the states, and what it is doing to the oppressed people. Matthias himself is torn by the war, but he is above all, obedient to his leaders and if they say no, the answer is no. I cared for all these people, and had to keep reading to find out what happens, but the story is very slow, enabling people to put it down and not forcing them to keep reading. I'm giving it 4.5 stars.

I received this book in return for review from Christian Bookworm Reviews

More About the Author

Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of eleven historical romance, suspense, and contemporary novels including Where the Trail Ends, Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan, and The Silent Order. Two of her novels won Carol Awards in 2011, and Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana won Best Novel of Indiana in 2010.

Melanie has been writing fiction since her first attempt to write a mystery when she was in middle school. Her first novel (Together for Good) was published in 2006-a story inspired by the adoption of her oldest daughter.

"My desire," she says, "is that the stories God has etched in my heart will give readers a glimpse of His love and grace even when they don't understand His plan."

Melanie and her husband, Jon, have two daughters. After moving numerous times, the Dobson family has finally settled near Portland, Oregon, and they love to travel and hike in both the mountains and the cliffs above the Pacific. When Melanie isn't writing, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, line dancing, and reading stories with her kids.

More information about Melanie and her books is available at:

www.melaniedobson.com

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#36 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#93 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#36 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#93 in Books > Religion & Spirituality