The Amish Widower (The Men of Lancaster County)

The Amish Widower by Virginia Smith is the fourth book in The Men of Lancaster County series. Seth Hostetler lives in Lancaster County with his second wife, Hannah. They are on their way home from Sunday services when a car with two teens inside start causing trouble. The boys hollering and honking causes the horse to spook and the carriage ends up flipping over. Hannah is flung from the carriage and dies on impact. Seth vows he will not marry again and endanger another woman. A year later Seth is living on the family farm and he has yet to get over the loss of Hannah. The woman in his family, though, have decided that it is time for Seth to find a new bride. When Seth takes the ladies on a shopping trip, they stop at Plain Man's Pottery owned by Elias Beachy. Elias offers Seth a lesson and it turns out that Seth has a knack for pottery. Seth finds it soothing and a chance to escape from his family's matchmaking. Elias' granddaughter, Leah works in the shop, and there is something about her that attracts Seth. They both have suffered losses. One day a young man stops by the Hostetler farm. His name is Robbie Barker, and he offers to be a driver. Seth is not comfortable driving a buggy since the accident and uses Robbie's services. Robbie is nervous around Seth in the beginning, but they soon become friends. Robbie has a secret that he needs to share with Seth, but it will change the relationship between the pair. In addition, it could send Seth's temper spiraling out of control. Find out what happens by reading The Amish Widower.

The Amish Widower is a beautifully crafted novel that captured my interest immediately. Seth is a man struggling with the loss of two wives, and he feels responsible (though he had nothing to do with either of their deaths). We get to see him work through his grief and anger (he has trouble controlling his temper). It was nice to see him find an outlet in pottery. The author takes readers through process of creating the pottery (which I found fascinating). I loved the descriptions of Seth's creations especially his unique candleholders. I felt that The Amish Widower has a great flow and good writing. The story develops naturally and easily. I give The Amish Widower 4.5 out of 5 stars. While The Amish Widower is a part of a series, each book can be read alone. The ending is expected, but I still enjoyed reading the book (I did not want to put it down). I appreciated how Ms. Smith shows the healing power of forgiveness. We can see how forgiveness helps both parties. The Amish Widower is my favorite story in The Men of Lancaster County series.