Lilly's Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long

Jacob is in love with a woman whom he cannot have, and Lilly’s life has been devoted to caring for her mother and teaching the children in their community. Jacob and Lilly had grown up together but never thought of the possibility of a relationship, until a series of unlikely events throws the two together. They impulsively decide to marry as a way to protect Jacob and save Lilly’s reputation and so begins the story of their courtship – after their marriage.

Issues of trust, kindness and compassion manifested in several ways that I found to be really interesting. Jacob’s love of and work with horses, Lilly’s teaching and efforts with a young special needs student Able (as well as Jacob’s caring for this boy), and the way that the community responded to Lilly’s mom’s depression. It was through seeing how Lilly and Jacob cared for others that they were able to trust each other at first to find a common ground, and later to discover a love for each other that they had denied due to their past hurts and heartbreaks. Long made sure that Jacob and Lilly had a strong foundation of friendship and respect before they loved eachother romantically.

The character of Kate Zook really bothered me and seemed so inconsistent with what I thought I knew about Amish youth – although her character helps to illustrate the Amish belief in forgiveness. “It is the Amish way, to go beyond fairness and to think about forgiveness first. Then we can be angry, or hurt, or sad” (p. 229). I can see why her character was developed as she was, but I could have done without this added drama.

Other than the story line of Kate Zook, I really enjoyed the second installment in the Patch of Heaven series by Kelly Long and am interested to see where the author takes the characters in her next book.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.