cover image Promise Lodge

Promise Lodge

Charlotte Hubbard. Zebra/Kensington, $7.99 mass market (309p) ISBN 978-1-4201-3941-9

Hubbard’s newest series introduces a cast of strong, independent Amish women looking to remain true to their faith and family-based traditions, but under their own terms. Sisters Rosetta, Christine, and Mattie have lived their whole lives in the Coldstream colony of Missouri. But when Mattie and Christine are widowed and their parents die, the women have far more reasons to leave than they do to stay. Selling their homesteads to purchase an abandoned church camp, the women, along with the widowed Preacher Amos, plan to prepare the property as a new colony—with a few new rules. When Christine’s son’s old flame appears, it soon becomes apparent that the troubles of Coldstream may not be so easy to escape. While her characters learn to compromise, as well as challenge some of the more stringent ordinances of Amish communities, Hubbard firmly grounds the story line in the principle of Amish grace. This is a simple story showing the value of forgiveness and second chances in the complex world of human relationships. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency (Mar.)