About the Book
Book: Hannah’s Courage
Author: Molly Jebber
Genre: Amish Historical Romance
Release Date: January 28, 2020
A loaf of fragrant cinnamon bread for breakfast . . . a sweet and creamy custard pie for dessert. In 1912 Ohio, the Amish Charm Bakery has something to delight locals and visiting Englischer alike. And within this warm, welcoming community, there’s always room for love to grow . . .
Hannah Lapp’s life, like a long-cherished recipe, is satisfying just the way it is. She enjoys whipping up desserts at the bakery, tutoring local children, and socializing with dear friends. One of those friends, Timothy Barkman, has made his interest in Hannah clear, but she’s been in no hurry to change her circumstances.
No sooner does she feel ready to grow closer to hard-working, handsome Timothy than Hannah finds she may have waited too long. Charlene Shetler intends to become Timothy’s fraa. It’s little wonder he’s attracted to such a pretty, forthright young woman, but is the newcomer all that she seems? Only when Hannah is willing to confront some difficult truths can she move bravely toward a life of abiding faith and love . . .
Click here to get your copy!
My Review
Hannah’s Courage by Molly Jebber is a cute, Amish romance with a love triangle that confounds me.
Hannah Lapp works in a bakery with Ellie and Magdalena, and eventually a few others. The relationships we see there are warm and energizing. If you wouldn’t want to work in Liza’s Bakery, you would at least want to make it a daily stop, like Sheriff Williams and Dr. Harrison. These older mid-life men are fun secondary characters, adding breadth to the story.
No one but Timothy Barkman is going to like Charlene. At first, helping a newcomer to the area, he finds she attaches stronger than a hungry flea. Unfortunately, she’s rude and rotten to the core. (Ellie likes to call Charlene “Miss Nasty.”) Everyone but Timothy can see Charlene’s bad personality, and I’m left thinking, ”Can even a person in love be this blind?!” Charlene fails to consider Timothy’s wishes and requests about her forward behavior.
As a former teacher, the book both delighted and dismayed me. These reactions had to do with Hannah and the course of actions she took. I can’t say more without spoilers.
What unimpressed me? The story moseyed a little slower than I would have liked. I wished the novel would have had a little more substance. Also, I felt like there was one possible loose end that loomed over most of the book and then quietly disappeared.
Why would I want to read more? The relationships in the bakery mentioned earlier. Maryann is a person that enters the book early on. By the end, I am intrigued enough that I will look for the next book by Molly Jebber to read her story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and publisher. This does not influence my opinions. I am voluntarily leaving my thoughts, for which I am solely responsible.
My Rating
4 Stars – Excellent – I Would Recommend This Book
About the Author
Molly Jebber’s Amish Historical Romance books have been featured on Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Ten Recommended Reads, in USA Today’s HEA, Romantic Times and many other media sites. She’s tours and speaks for Stonecroft Ministries – Women’s Christian Connection, and about Amish history/traditions, writing, marketing, publishing, and her books. She loves God, her family, and friends. She enjoys swimming, golf, reading, and says yes to butterscotch pie and parasailing, but no to coconut and skydiving! Visit http://www.mollyjebber.com for a complete list of her books and speaking events.
More from Molly
I related to Hannah in this book where I had to find the courage to make some hard decisions. Maybe you’ve had some hard choices to make and finding the courage to follow through has been difficult for you.
Have you had a bad day where nothing goes right? We’ve all had those. Hannah’s has many days like this, and she is torn about what to do from one problem to the next in her life. She makes some snap decisions, and faces life-altering challenges. You’ll laugh and want to stomp your feet at the twists and turns in this story. She’s good at giving her friends advice, but has trouble following it. I can relate to this in my life at times. Maybe you can too.
The Sheriff and Dr. Harrison are still regular customers at the bakery where she whips up mouth-watering desserts. She and her friends cry, laugh, and offer each other advice. I love time with girlfriends, and Hannah’s no different. You’ll relate to her, root for her, want to reach in the book and shake her at times (I’m sure my friends have wanted to do this with me a time or two!), and wonder how what the future holds for her.
I hope you’ll follow my blog tour and enter for a chance to win the Grand Prize at the end of the tour. The more you enter, the more chances you have of winning!
Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. Your Facebook comments help me to get to know you better, and I appreciate it so much!
Here’s a recipe Hannah’s whipped up for you. And there are more in the back of Hannah’s story.
Cake
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¾ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoonnutmeg
- ½ teaspoonsalt
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cupbrown sugar
- 3eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 3large apples, peeled and cut into large pieced
Glaze
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoonvanilla
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 pan with butter and coat with 2 tablespoons of flour
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Sift two additional times and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine oil and both sugars, and mix until well blended.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and mix again.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to the batter and mix thoroughly. By hand, fold in apples and walnuts and mix until evenly combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove cake from the oven and allow to cool in the bundt pan for 20 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine all of the glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil and allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute.
- Remove the cake from the pan, onto a serving plate. Spoon the glaze over the warm cake.
- Cool for a little longer before serving.
Blog Stops
The Avid Reader, January 30
Genesis 5020, January 30
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 31
Texas Book-aholic, January 31
Batya’s Bits, February 1
Quiet Quilter, February 1
She Lives to Read, February 2
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 2
Bigreadersite , February 3
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, February 3
For Him and My Family, February 4
deb’s Book Review, February 4
Inklings and notions, February 5
Jeanette’s Thoughts, February 5
Pause for Tales, February 5
Older & Smarter?, February 6
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, February 6
Blossoms and Blessings, February 7
Lighthouse Academy Blog, February 7 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, February 8
Christian Bookaholic, February 8
For the Love of Literature, February 9
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 9
SusanLovesBooks, February 10
Adventures of a Travelers Wife, February 10
Connie’s History Classroom, February 11
SPLASHES of Joy , February 11
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 12
Vicky Sluiter, February 12
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Molly is giving away a Molly Jebber grand prize collection that includes a handmade quilt and Amazon card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/f564/hannah-s-courage-celebration-tour-giveaway
Thank you for your review. I am anxious to read one of her books.
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Lori, thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you get a chance to read Hannah’s Courage.
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I really liked your review. I also loved the bakery and the visits the older gentleman made everyday, it made it feel like a friendly small town.
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Weren’t those guys great! I really wanted to sneak in and listen to a few convos!!🤣
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Thank you for the review . old men are fun secondary characters. 🙂
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Deb- Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog. Now you have me wishing I could see that part acted out on screen!!😊
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Thanks for sharing your book with us. I think we all enjoy hearing about new books we previously didn’t know about. Also, thank you for the giveaway.
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James Robert, Good luck with the giveaway. I hope you get a chance to read the book.
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