A Mother’s Secret by Amy Clipston #review

A Mother’s Secret by Amy Clipston is Book Two in the Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel series. Our main character, Carolyn Lapp dreams of marrying for love. But will the errors of her past destroy this dream forever?

Carolyn longs to have a traditional Amish family. But she lives on her brother’s farm with her parents and her fifteen year old son, Benjamin. Carolyn has never revealed the identity of Benjamin’s father and lives daily with the guilt and shame of her youthful indiscretion. Her brother simply will not forgive her.

His answer is to arrange a practical marriage for Carolyn to Saul, a widower with a young daughter. But Carolyn is not convinced that Saul really loves her and believes he is simply looking for someone to help raise his daughter.

When Benjamin causes trouble at a local horse auction, horse breeder Joshua Glick decides that he must be taught a lesson. Carolyn and Joshua are unmistakably drawn to each other but Joshua mistakenly assumes that Benjamin is Carolyn’s brother. Carolyn fears that if he discovers the truth her past will destroy their budding romance.

A Mother’s Secret was an excellent and intense read. It had me crying at parts and at other times praying for Carolyn. My heart bled for her and the guilt she carried for having her child out of wedlock which went against her family’s beliefs. You just kept wanting her to realize she did nothing wrong and that she was perfect in God’s eyes. The way she was treated by people around her was awful. You want to hold her and protect her. It was an incredible tale of forgiveness, family and acceptance. At parts I had the sense that she was building this story into a possible third book – which I really hope so! I would love to read more about Carolyn, Joshua and Benjamin! A definite must read – you will not be able to put it down!

You can find more reviews of A Mother’s Secret on the Litfuse Blog tour here. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.