About the Book

Book: Remain True: Amana

Author: Thomas Nye

Genre: Christian Romance

Release Date: January 31, 2023

Rebounding from a failed relationship, Author Timothy Hayes escapes to the beautiful Amana Colonies to begin a new life. Smalltown Iowa, during the 2020 pandemic, proves lax with social distancing. Social awkwardness, however, is at an all-time high as a host of quirky neighbors crowd Tim’s personal space. Tim’s pug must go for walks which opens the door for adorable children, annoying neighbor men, old ladies who want to tell their life story, and a matchmaker set on “fixing Tim up.” Several attractive young women emerge as contenders for Tim’s heart. A woman twice his age infatuates him with her magical gift of storytelling. Remain True is a dual timeline. Tim’s life in 2020 becomes interwoven with the storyteller’s history, resulting in a surprising singular conclusion. No matter what happens in life, God will Remain True.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Thomas Nye, author of the beloved Amish Horses Series, writes romance novels with an Historical flare and a touch of humor. He and his wife live on an acreage her grandparents bought in 1918. They have five grown children, nine grandchildren, and a team of draft horses. Their home is situated between an Amish community and the Amana Colonies, a perfect location to inspire his writing.

More from Thomas

Most of us have experienced some dark episodes in this life. How do we find our way back into hope and sunshine? My wife and I have been married for almost 43 years, but about halfway through we were separated for 4 months. The storyline of Remain True has almost nothing in common with the details of my dark time. The difficult emotions and subsequent hopefulness of God’s graceful intervention led me to write this novel.  

For Timothy Hayes, life has become incredibly dark. In the opening scene we find him reluctantly removing his wedding band and placing it in a miniature, coffin-like box. To make matters worse, Tim’s personal struggle coincides with the heaviness of the Coronavirus outbreak. His will to live is shrinking. Tim visited the Amana Colonies ten years earlier and thought of the villages as a hauntingly beautiful getaway where he could sulk.  

God has another plan. 

Small town Iowa is not the place to isolate, even during Covid, as it proves an epic failure in social distancing. Social awkwardness, however, is at an all-time high as a host of quirky neighbors invade Tim’s personal space and refuse to allow him any opportunity to submerge into depression.  

I hope those who read Remain True will be able to relate with Tim’s struggle enough to rejoice with him as God provides a ray of sunshine during his darkest hour. 

My wife and I found hope and restoration and are looking forward to our 43rd anniversary. We thoroughly enjoy grandparenting our 9 grandchildren (and counting) together. God is good!

My Impressions

“if you circle through all seven Amana Colonies, you will find true love.”

Spending part of my childhood near Cedar Rapids, the Amana Colonies were a family trip or school field trip destination. So, discovering Remain True: Amana by Thomas Nye was an automatic draw for me, as well as the fact it is a dual timeline.

Tim, a young, divorced writer has retreated to the rural Amana Colonies (Main Amana to be exact) to lick his wounds and try to re-ignite his life as a writer.

Tim’s annoyance at his neighbors’ friendliness (and possibly over-interest in his life) annoys me. I am thankful that Linda pushes him to help the neighbor children out, when he might choose to ignore them! They are adorable, and a dog like Chimichanga would easily capture their attention and curiosity!

Oma is a little more formidable. Tim handled her better than I might. One part friendly and two parts gruff, her storytelling ability is superb as she relates the “history” of Tim’s house. When Tim questions Oma’s stories being about people not individuals, Oma has a ready answer. “I thought you were going to tell me stories about my cottage.” Oma frowned at him. “A home is defined by those who live there.”

Eventually, like Tim, one falls in love with this old woman who has seen so much life.

One part of life portrayed heavily in the story is COVID. The constant mention of the disease, masking, social distancing, etc, made me uneasy. While I’m not sure ignoring it in literature is the way to go, so many people suffered so much. One needs to at least know this is a possible trigger in the book.

Nye does an incredible job of tying everything and everybody together by the end. A few stereotypes were involved, but there were also some surprises that were fun to uncover. Overall, a fun book with a bit of history in the setting.

I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great! Nice to read a dual timeline set in the Amana Colonies!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, November 6

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, November 7

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 8

Lighthouse Academy Blog, November 9 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Texas Book-aholic, November 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 11

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 12

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, November 13

lakesidelivingsite, November 14

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 15

Artistic Nobody, November 16 (Author Interview)

Exploring the Written Word, November 16

For Him and My Family, November 17

Pause for Tales, November 18

Tell Tale Book Reviews, November 19 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, November 19

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Thomas is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift 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/28d2e/remain-true-celebration-tour-giveaway