The Thorn by Beverly Lewis

🌹The Thorn by Beverly Lewis🌹

Book One in The Rose Trilogy. 

Blurb:

Rose Kauffman, a spirited young woman, has a close friendship with the bishop’s foster son. Nick dresses Plain and works hard but stirs up plenty of trouble too. Rose’s sister cautions her against becoming too involved, but Rose is being courted by a good, Amish fellow, so dismisses the warnings. Meanwhile, Rose keeps house for an English widower but is startled when he forbids her to ever go upstairs. What is the man hiding? 

Rose’s older sister, Hen, knows more than she should about falling for the wrong man. Unable to abandon her Amish ways, Hen is soon separated from her very modern husband. Mattie, their young daughter, must visit her father regularly, but Hen demands she wear Amish attire–and speak Pennsylvania Dutch, despite her husband’s wishes. Will Hen be able to reestablish her place among the People she abandoned? And will she be able to convince Rose to steer clear of rogue neighbor Nick?

My thoughts:

Ok.. so I don’t usually like reading Amish fiction for a variety of reasons, but this one was actually really good! It probably will be one of my favorite series by Beverly Lewis 🙃. 

First things first! I will say that just because I read an Amish book does not mean that I agree with the Amish cult and beliefs. I do not.. that’s why I had to take away a half star. Anyways, I liked the story and how intriguing it was. It did make me want to read the rest of the trilogy to see what will happen to Rose Ann and Nick! 

All the characters were done well. I just didn’t like how Rosie’s father and the bishop constantly trying to force Nick and others to join the church. I don’t see the gospel in any of that so it was a little disappointing, but everyone else I liked. Rose Ann was a good FMC.. she really cared for everyone around her and was always trying to be selfless. Hen wasn’t my favorite, but she was alright. I didn’t like how she was disobeying her husband and not submitting to him. Nick I loved most of all! He’s a lot of the reason why I want to finish the series lol. He was a very sweet best friend to Rose! I was rooting for him the entire time.. but Silas Good had to get in between them and ruin EVERYTHING! I seriously don’t like Silas..he seems flat to me, like he has no depth. I’m really hoping something will happen between Rosie and Nick. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book and hope to continue this trilogy! If you enjoy Amish fiction and some light romance, then this is a great book to put on your TBR! 

[Spoiler!] ⬇️

And please, please tell me it isn’t over yet with Nick! 

⚠️ Age recommendation: 13-14+ (caution for 13 year olds) ⚠️

My rating: 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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Ages 10-12 rating: ⭐️⭐️

Ages 13-14 rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ages 15-16 rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sexual Content: 

A married couple kiss once(not detailed), A few cheek kisses (most of them by a married couple; one or two that weren’t by a married couple), a forehead kiss, 3 hand kisses, a couple of embraces, and light touches on the hand. Noticing (light), Attraction, Nearness, and slight blushing. A mention of waiting to lip-kiss on a couple’s wedding day and a mention of a man asking a girl if she saved her lips for her beau. A “sexy” (describing a pair of jeans). A mention of a girl wishing to know the joys of marriage and having children. A mention of a man snipping off a strand of hair off a woman’s head. A mention of a short-lived crush on a tall, muscular, and handsome boy. A mention of a woman’s sweaters to be too revealing. A mention of a man asking his wife if she wanted to have another baby (not sexual or seductive). A mention of a woman on a TV show “prancing seductively”. A mention of a woman being a man’s “steady girl”. Many mentions of the troubles a married couple is going through. Love and the emotions. (2 couples)

Profanity:

A stupid. A string of unsaid curses by a passerby. 

Violence: 

A couple mentions of wanting revenge. Some death and threats. Some Pain. [All of this is semi-detailed](There’s not a lot violence in this book)

Other Content: 

Mentions of Nick’s mother being an alcoholic. A mention of a man finding bottles (liquor) hidden by his son. 

POV’s: Switches between 

       Rose Ann Kauffman 

       Hannah (Hen) 

       and Solomon Kauffman a couple of     times 

346 pages