An Amish Cinderella

Now that her friends are all marrying or moving away, Heart Beachy has started feeling lonely. Worse, everyone keeps asking when she’s going to find a man of her own. Don’t they realize Heart has her hands full at home with her widowed dad, too many chores, and a menagerie of needy, small animals? Besides, she doesn’t understand the fuss about marriage. It’s enough to make her consider finally becoming a pet-sitter, or moving to an English community, where she won’t be an oddity . . .

Newcomer Clayton Glick is utterly charmed by Heart—and completely confounded. He can’t figure out why this beautiful woman is as awkward as a teenager whenever he’s around, which is often now that he’s an apprentice to her blacksmith father. So Clayton starts assisting with Heart’s never-ending tasks, even helping her corral her unruly pets. How else can he court an adorably flustered woman who doesn’t know the first thing about courtship? Because courting is exactly what he intends . . .

Heart doesn’t know why her pulse hammers every time she sees Clayton. She only knows yielding to such emotions will mean trouble. . . But maybe with a little faith—and the loss of a shoe—Clayton can convince her to join him on the road to happily ever after.

My Review:

First off — this really isn’t a Cinderella retelling — not unless you want to call every book with a motherless heroine who feels overworked and under appreciated a Cinderella tale as well. So, that was disappointing, especially since I specifically picked up this book for a fairy tale retelling challenge I was participating in.

BUT

It is a really good story, told to Shelley Shepard Gray’s exacting storytelling standards. She expertly blends humour and drama as she leads likeable characters through personal challenges towards their happily ever afters. And we get two love stories here which was all kinds of fun.

Have to admit that Heart’s father, Levi, kinda stole the spotlight for me. An oversized blacksmith with a reputation for being intimidating but really, he’s more gruff than grump and I enjoyed his story very much.

Clayton made for an intriguing hero with a back story that tugged at my heart and made his personal musings all the more emotionally charged for me. And Heart was a delightfully cheery, forthright foil to his wary reserve.

A fun, quick read — just don’t go in expecting a fairy tale retelling.