Series: | “An Amish of Marigold Novel” |
Genre: | Amish |
Pub. Date: | 17 Jan 2023 |
Pages: | 318 |
Publisher: | Zondervan Fiction, Zondervan |
Cover: | Just okay. Says “Amish”. |
Rating: | 3.5 stars |
Charity Raber may drive the reader crazy at first. She wears neon signs, front and back, in bold, blinking letters — “I WANT TO GET MARRIED. NOW!!!!”
She is ditzy, obnoxious, and has the social skills of a two-year-old. Okay, there had been a newspaper ad saying Birch Creek had a lot of desperate bachelors wanting to be married. When Jesse Bontrager tells her he is not interested and especially not interested in her, Charity is hurt. But she doesn’t give up her “plan” — she just changes locations.
My review…
A year later, Charity lives in Marigold and is a caretaker for an elderly English lady. Charity hasn’t given up her Courtship Plan — she just has a new one. This time she won’t make a fool of herself — she does. Again, and again, and again…
Jesse Bontrager ends up in Marigold and oh no, lives next door to Shirley, the woman Charity assists. Both Jesse and Shirley learn about “The Courtship Plan” which mostly comes from a book (with a lot of bad advice in it).
The story certainly had amusing moments. Some were the “advice” from one of the books Charity checked out of the library. But frankly, Charity was just TOO. Too clumsy. Too unaware of her actions. Too everything.
It became very easy to lay the story aside and do something else. In all honesty, had this not been a NetGalley read, I probably would never have finished it. However, at about the 50% mark, Charity started growing up. A lot of credit goes to a character who never utters a word but does issue a well-placed bark here and there. Monroe, a cute little black and white dog, belongs to Shirley but likes Jesse and makes unauthorized visits. [My furry manager makes no-notice neighborly house inspections.] So Charity and Jesse talk even when they really would rather not. And slowly …
There are several sub-plots to “The Courtship Plan” which enrich the story. As well as some great laugh-out-loud moments. I just found that Charity was way too ditzy for way toooooo long for me, thus the 3.5 star rating, routed to four when necessary..
I received a complimentary DRC (digital review copy) of “The Courtship Plan” via NetGalley from the publisher, Zondervan Fiction. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Rating: 3.5 stars
#TheCourtshipPlan #NetGalley #KathleenFuller