Description:
Meet Tobit Lapp, a widower raising a son, hired as the schoolteacher and new to the community.
Meet Cora Koffman, who expected to be hired as the schoolteacher, and was very upset that she wasn’t.
But … she volunteers to teach for him when he falls off the windmill. So which has the secret? And could it really bring a halt to a possible romance between Tobit and Cora?
My review …
Emma Miller is a prolific author of Amish stories and an author I’ve read before. But sorry folks, this one was a disappointment, at least for this reader. The setting is current day but in an Old Order Amish community. The plot concerns a secret held by the teacher. The secret has a serious nature and will deeply affect the person who holds it and their family.
My rating is three (3) stars and occurred the INSTANT I read that an (old order) Amish woman enters her kitchen and flips on the light switch. I did finish the book but was alert for every other action by someone Old Order Amish that wasn’t believable. And, unfortunately, there were several.
The characters of Tobit and Cora are okay but I did not find them particularly engaging. Tobit holds himself aloof and separate from everyone but the passages that were meant to let the reader see the “real” Tobit just didn’t quite do that for me. Cora has a stubborn streak a mile wide and seems to hold onto an idea even if it’s wrong. I do not know what to suggest to make Cora more “likable”. I didn’t dislike her but I probably wouldn’t invite her for coffee (until the end of the book).
Again, I caution authors. Please do not “play” with common knowledge about the setting of your story. If your characters are in an Old Order Amish community *THEN* follow what the Old Order Amish use and do not use. If you want to deviate, you have that privilege as a writer but, for goodness sake, give your readers a clue that you are doing so in a Preface or Introduction.
I received a complimentary DRC (digital review copy) of “The Teacher’s Christmas Secret” via NetGalley from the publisher, HARLEQUIN – Romance (U.S. & Canada), Love Inspired. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Rating: 3 stars
Cover: Appropriate.
Pages: 203
#TheTeachersChristmasSecret #NetGalley #EmmaMiller
