The Haven: A Novel (Stoney Ridge Seasons)

Sadie Lapp returned home from her visit to Berlin, Ohio with a surprise. Not a large surprise in size, but huge in the effect it had on her, her family and the community. When she arrived with a baby in a basket, she never imagined the chaos and confusion that would ensue.

Gideon Smucker has been

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waiting for Sadie to return from her trip, but he never dreamed she would not be coming home empty handed. Gideon's assumptions and well-meaning attempts to help only hinder his pursuit of Sadie. Gideon has a rival in Englischer Will Stoltz, who is working for the Game Warden. As the three lives entangle, Sadie has to make a decision which will affect her entire future.

First, I would like to say that this is Book Two of the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, a fact of which I was unaware when I began reading the book. Therefore, for the first few chapters, I was "plumb ferhoodled". When I got the characters straightened out and understood the background a little better, I began to enjoy the story. There was a little more comic relief than I prefer in these series, but this is not a terrible problem. I enjoyed it enough to know that I have to look for Book One before Book Three becomes available.

3 stars

“Available August 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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This is the second in the Stoney Ridge series from Ms. Woods Fisher, the first was The Keeper (see my review HERE). This tale focuses on Sadie Lapp as she returns to the community at Stoney Ridge after having spent time in Ohio with her sister - she had been studying with a healer there but felt

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very strongly that it was time to return home. On the return trip, while napping in the bus station she is presented with basket that contains something that will upset family and ruin her homecoming reunion with her boyfriend Gideon but she feels she has no choice but to take it with her.

As she arrives home Sadie finds a large crown at her family farm. It seems a rare pair of Peregrine falcons have chosen the farm as a nesting spot and bird watchers from all over are coming to see the birds. The local Game Warden wants them protected so he leaves his intern Will at the farm to make sure nothing happens to them and to monitor their progress.

Will has many issues he needs to work out as his life is a general mess; he and his father do see eye to eye, he has been suspended from school and then there was that DUI. But he finds talking to Sadie so easy and suddenly a simple farm life is seeming very attractive.

I enjoy Amish fiction. It's simple, it's escapist. Ms. Woods Fisher's books are generally very enjoyable with solid plots and likable characters. They always contain interaction between the Amish and the Englitsch with a pseudo romance of sorts to test the Amish person's faith. I like them for a peak into a world that was not too far from where I grew up in Philadelphia. This book however was not as good as past novels. The plot seemed overly contrived and Sadie was and her sister, MK are not as likable as past characters. I really had to force myself to finish this one and I feel badly about that because all of the other books I have read from Ms. Woods Fisher have been so very enjoyable. I just think in this one she had a poor heroine.

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When Sadie Lapp returns home after several months of living with her newly-married sister, she comes bearing a foundling baby. She wants the baby to remain a secret until she can discover who the mother might be, but to her dismay rumors immediately start flying around town that she is the mother.

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On top of all that stress, Sadie is now questioning her own interest in Gideon Smucker, who has been in love with her for years. Does she like him? Or does she prefer Will Stoltz, the city-boy who's living on the farm as a wildlife intern who babysits a pair of endangered falcons that are nesting in the area? This is a sweet romance about the painful effects of gossip and the power of forgiveness. I think this was a wonderful follow-up to the first book in the series, The Keeper. Although you could, theoretically, read The Haven as a stand-alone book, I'm really glad I read The Keeper first. Reading The Keeper helped me to understand some issues that would have gone right over my head if I hadn't read it first. On the other hand, although The Haven continues with themes introduced in The Keeper, The Haven is a very different book because the lead characters are so different. Sadie is a cautious, awkward, unobtrusive girl who (at the beginning of the book, anyway) allows people and circumstances to take advantage of her. She needs to blossom into a more assertive young lady. Although I've read reviews which criticized her personality, I rather liked her. She reminded me of myself when I was that age. Fisher did a wonderful job of portraying the tortured shyness of Sadie - and then Sadie's transformation into assertiveness was very touching. No, her character isn't perfect, she made mistakes - as everyone else in the book did - but she was a realistic character. And one that I loved. If you like Amish romance, you'll like this series. (These were my very FIRST Amish books, to be honest!)

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I really enjoyed this book and picked it up as often as I could. It is one of those stories' that grabs you from the first page to the last page.

Sadie Lapp returns home after spending the winter in Ohio with her sister and brother-in-law. She brings a surprise with her that causes tongues to wag in

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the community. This causes much distress for Sadie to think that people could actually think the worst about her.

Mary Kate (MK) is up to being her same old self when it comes to spying on others and spreading gossip. I loved her in "The Keeper" and she is still one of my favorite characters.

This is a heart warming story about God's grace and forgiveness. It is always easy to see other's that need to forgive but how often do we see it in ourselves? It's about doing the right thing. We find that God's love comes through once again.

I can't wait to read book 3, The Lesson.

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Sadie Lapp returns home to Stoney Ridge only to find two young men also there to begin showing her their affection toward her.

Good story with an underlying theme of forgiveness. Sadie returns to Stoney Ridge after a visit with her sister in Ohio and the opportunity to learn methods of healing from one of their best. By the time she gets home she is accompanied by an infant that was left in her care at a local bus station.

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Her arrival home is somewhat overshadowed by the news of a pair of endangered falcons nesting on her family's property. Also resident on the property is college intern Will Stoltz, who has been assigned to study and watch over the birds. Gideon Smucker, the young man who had been courting Sadie before she left, has also been waiting anxiously for her return.

Sadie's return gets off to a rough start when everyone assumes that the baby is hers and she becomes the subject of gossip. She is especially hurt when even Gideon makes the same assumption. It feels like the only person she can really talk to is Will, who always seems to be there when she needs him. He is charming and funny and skilled at getting Sadie to relax and have a little fun.

Will has come to work with the birds and try to recover from some trouble of his own. He made some foolish decisions during his last semester which have gotten him suspended from school. His father has cut him off financially, and set up this internship to give him something productive to do. But Will has also come with some secrets of his own that begin to weigh on his conscience. His growing friendship with Sadie opens his eyes to another side of life and he's left questioning what he should do.

Gideon has always been shy and rather tongue-tied around Sadie. He loves her but has never been able to get the words out. Jealousy hits him rather hard when he sees Sadie with Will and he makes some assumptions that gets him into trouble with her. Every attempt he makes to fix things seems to go wrong for him and just make things worse.

I enjoyed this book and seeing the changes that each of the characters goes through. Sadie starts out as very shy and doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence. She also seems to have a bit of trouble with being judgmental. Taking care of the baby and using her healing skills starts to change things, as does the admiring attention of Will. I liked seeing the way he encouraged her to stand up for her wishes. I liked seeing the influence she had on Will.

I have to admit that Gideon was not my favorite character. For someone who claims to love Sadie, he was awfully quick to believe the rumors. He didn't even bother to ask her about the truth. I really didn't see that he had much in common with her to make a successful relationship.

Will was pretty interesting. His attitude at the beginning was pretty bad, and he certainly came across as selfish. But he did seem to care about the birds he was watching over. I liked his willingness to jump in and help Sadie with the baby. I really enjoyed their developing friendship and how they were able to talk about anything. He was surprised by how much he opened up to her, and the effect that it had on him. He seemed to be developing a real caring for her, even though their lives are so different.

The secondary characters all add depth to the story. Sadie's little sister M.K. seems to be the catalyst for many of the things that happen. She has the habit of speaking before she thinks which creates some trouble for Sadie. But she has a good heart and always means well. Their father is loving and wise, but also somewhat clueless, especially when it comes to women and their actions and feelings. I liked their housekeeper, Fern, and her way of guiding people the way she thought they should be.

There are quite a few interesting plot twists and turns in the story affecting the main characters and others. I was surprised by the one involving the baby. Will has several things going on in his life, one of which is his relationship with his father. That takes an interesting turn, especially with a revelation about his father that explains several aspects of Will's life. His story seems to have been left hanging, so I'm curious to see if he's in the next book.

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