Customer Reviews

A Widow's Hope (The Miller Family Series)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read every book of Amish fiction I could find. I am a huge fan of the genre. This is by far the best Amish fiction I have read.
Hannah is a young widow. Seth is a young widower. Both are more than a little stubborn. Though Hannah moves in with her sister and her husband, the Deacon, will she soften around the edges enough to allow love to happen? Not if the Deacon has anything to do with it. He never has liked the audacious woman. He definitely does not want his brother, Seth, to fall in love with her. Just when the seeds of love are planted, she decides to move back home with her brother. Will she follow her head or her heart? Will Seth finally admit his feelings for her? Can the Deacon accept her for who she is--a tomboy and business woman with a big heart who can't cook well?
There is depth to the plot and characters. Though, you feel you know where the plot is going, there is always a dash of doubt. Will the story line take a turn? I empathized with the characters--except for Simon. I wanted to read this straight through. Unfortunately, life got in the way. I read that this is going to be turned into a series! Do not pass up this masterfully written book!

A Widow's Hope is a very entertaining story of Amish life, loss, love, and family. I enjoyed every page, and hated to reach the end of the book. Mrs. Ellis is a talented writer, and hopefully there will be many more books on the Miller family, as I will be buying them as soon as they are released!

While I've read many an excellent Amish book, this one is refreshingly different with adventures and information involving caring for sheep. In addition, a broad range of human emotions and situations that transcend cultures and even a health condition add realism to the story line. Mary Ellis is a skilled writer maintaining suspense and interest through the entire novel. I look forward to the next book in the series. Most inspiring is the way the Holy Spirit softens hearts to respond in Christ-like ways to the characters' human failings and foibles.

This was a geeat book about an Amish Family. It was so real to me. A very easy book to read.

Book was entertaining and I learned about the Amish world. It was a beautiful romance and escape from our difficult world.

Hannah Brown has sold her farm to her brother, Thomas, after the death of her husband. She wants to stay on the farm, but can't rely on her elderly parents to care for her, and so she offers to help out her sister, Julia, who is suffering from arthritis. But Julia's husband, Simon, doesn't like Hannah, doesn't like her sheep, and finds Hannah extremely vexing.

Seth Miller is needing to find another cash crop for his farm so he can care for his mute daughter, Phoebe, more adequately. He thinks sheep, like Hannah raises, might be his answer. But when he approaches Simon with the idea of letting Hannah's sheep live on his property so that he might better learn about them, he's stunned when Simon vehemently refuses.

But Hannah is independent and willful, and Seth is equally so. Plus Simon doesn't want his brother to have anything to do with this vexing widow. Is it possible for Hannah and Seth to move past their difficulties and find a lasting love?

A WIDOW'S HOPE is the first book in The Miller Family Series. I had read the other books in this series but had missed this one, so I got this book so I could read the beginning book. Hannah is very well developed, as are the other characters. Simon and Seth both seem to be main point of view characters as well. I couldn't understand why Simon disliked Hannah so very much, but Hannah didn't exactly jump when he said jump.

If you are looking for a good Amish series to read and had missed this one (as I did) then be sure to pick it up. It is a good start to an excellent series by a talented author.

This book about Amish life is very simple and slow-moving, just as their life really is. It is about the 28 year old widow, Hannah, who sells her farm in Pennsylvania and moves in with her sister and deacon brother-in-law in Ohio. Hannah is more independent than most Amish women in the Old Order, consequently she continues to irritate her brother-in-law who follows the Amish precepts to the letter. And, of course, her brother-in-law has a younger widower brother, Seth, who is falling in love with Hannah. As I said, the language and the story are slow-moving and very simple, but it was a fast read for me and I found it very fascinating to be immersed into the daily life of the Amish. I also enjoyed the explanations for many of their traditions and values. This is the first of three books that Mary Ellis has written about this fictional family, the Millers, and it really makes the reader want to read the sequels.

Prior to this book, Beverly Lewis had been my favorite author of Amish books. This is the first one by this author that I've read and I really liked her better. Although it's certainly a predictable Amish story, it is a nice escape from the reality of our modern, hectic world. That's why I read the Amish fiction anyway.
I liked the author's style of writing and there weren't too many German words thrown in. Some authors can put too much of that in, causing it to be too distracting, but this author had a good balance. I could relate to the main character, Hannah, on some levels, so I think that makes the experience a bit better. The story line included some plots that I haven't read before in the Amish fiction, so that was a nice change, also. If you enjoy a nice, easy , relaxing read, you will like this book.

I was quite desapointed with this book. It was predictable and boring to me where I couldn`t read any more. My cousin had given me the second book of this series and I absolutly loved it. It was amazing and unpredictable and my favorite book I have ever read. I was so excited to read the other books for the series and bought them right when I was done with it, so if you are looking for a good book read, don`t read this one and read Never Far From Home by Mary Ellis. Thats a good book!

I just finished this fine book -my first by Mary Ellis. It was a bit different than the "run of the mill" ,predictable Amish stories I have been reading, although what WAS predictable was the happy ending. Otherwise, it had a spunky female protagonist, a "mean deacon" who it was easy to come to like, and a different twist on the theme of Hannah's life, in that she was not only previously married and thus more experienced than the usual maidens you read in these books,but also had a business of her own. I think that made her MORE interesting to read about.
What I do not know is if I will buy the other two Miller Family books. I see from reading here that they are about Emma and Leah, the two neices of Hannah. I am not sure how interested I am in reading about them. I am not sure why; I'm just not. Ms.Ellis did a good job setting up Emma as the main character for Book Two , in the last chapter of Widow's Hope. But it's not selling me on buying book two, at least -- not yet.
Overall though, I liked Ms.Ellis' work and would compare the quality and depth of writing to similar to that of Beverly Lewis.