Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa [Paperback]

Melanie Dobson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2011 | Series: Love Finds You

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

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Summerside Press; 1St Edition edition (June 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1609361350
• ISBN-13: 978-1609361358
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Civil War backstory, October 14, 2011

By 

Janna R. Ryan (Nebraska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa (Paperback)

I love the Amana Colonies and reading about how things were there way back when so this book was right up my alley. I loved the setting being the Amana Colonies as they were just getting started and it being in the middle of the Civil War but since it was in Iowa how did that affect a bunch of people opposed to war? This book answers that question. And what about if one man from Amana felt God leading him to enter the war even though it went against everything he had been raised to believe? This book answers that question too. I was kind of expecting some kind of mystery or suspense just because this book is written by Melanie Dobson and that wasn't to be found, but it was so enjoyable and I loved the characters. A very satisfying book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

Deborah "Books, Movies and Chinese Food" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa (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.

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

By 

Lollipops "lollipops5" (Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa (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