I have loved all of Suzanne Woods Fisher's books, so was not surprised in the least , that this new one had everything that I believe a great novel should have! "The Newcomer" is the second in a series of three, entitled "Amish Beginnings". It is fabulous sequel to "Anna's Crossings", book one.

The setting was described in such a realistic, detailed way , that I felt that I was living in this strange land, speaking a language very different from most other residents. The time frame of the 1700's was fitting for the newcomers. The rules and laws seem to be very different from what they are used to, making them fearful of what will happen next.

The characters are practical people who strive to make new lives for themselves under the most difficult circumstances. At once, I was able to identify with their problems, challenges and fears. Their uncertainty in this new land was felt deeply within as they encountered problems that seemed insurmountable. Losing their leader unexpectedly , was an experience that threw them into a complete panic. One of my favorite characters was a young lad named Felix, a most adventuresome boy, who constantly seemed to find trouble, while at the same time , discovered important and valuable information. All of the characters were described in such detail that they became my friends, as I walked alongside them in their rocky journey.

Although I am not a great fan of historical fiction, Suzanne writes in such a way that I learn as I enjoy the plot. There are constantly unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader engaged from beginning to end of the novel. The plot progresses steadily and quickly. I must say, that I NEVER was prepared for the next bump in the road as these immigrants fought to find a home in this strange, new country.

This author has never failed in writing a book that amazes me! She keeps a reader totally enthralled from beginning to end of the book.

Definitely a five star book! I am impatiently waiting for the concluding book in this series!


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This book was a gift. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

The Newcomer is book two in the Amish Beginnings series by Suzanne Woods Fisher. A historical Amish novel set in the 1700’s in the raw Pennsylvania Frontier.

Anna Konig and her fellow church members have just stepped off the small wooden ship that they have been on for the past ten weeks. Eager to start their new life in the raw Pennsylvania Frontier. Waiting on the docks of Port Philadelphia is Jacob Bauer, the founder of the settlement and father to Bairn, a ship carpenter. The Bauer family is reunited, and Anna and Bairn’s romance can bloom.

A story of unexpected events and love. Their in a new place and Bairn is learning to grasp what it means to be Amish in the new world but with an overpowering father, Bairn decides to take the offer to cross the ocean one more time, leaving Anna behind.

Will Anna wait for Bairn or will she fall for Henrik Newman a newcomer to the church? What secrets will be revealed? Will their lives ever be the same?

I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Newcomer today, this has been one of the best Amish books I have read so far. One you will not want to put down until your finished.

I received a copy of this book for free, a favorable review was not required. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Newcomer, the second in the Amish beginnings series by Suzanne Fisher Woods holds more than an Amish story. Finding your true self, staying loyal to family, or holding onto the past are themes throughout the novel. Anna has loved Bairn since her time on the ship coming over to America but he has changed since finding his real family. Bairn only knows the sea and remains in turmoil with his choices now that he has found his kin.
As the settlers land, they discover their dreams will be harder to accomplish and many obstacles unknown to them stand in their way. Someone new to them helps them on their way, but Bairn's parents seek the land that his father purchased for the community and he opposes their decision. This fascinating story even includes Benjamin Franklin and held my attention to the last page.
I look forward to the next installment of the Amish Beginnings series.
I received a copy of The Newcomer from NetGalley for my honest opinion which I have given.

I always enjoy Suzanne Woods Fisher's novels....This one did not disappoint. Have shared it w/ all of my reading friends.

This was a really difficult book for me, and honestly, I’m sorry to say so, because I have loved everything I’ve read by Suzanne Woods Fisher. Her normal genre is contemporary Amish fiction, and she is one of the better authors in this genre. In this book, she takes the setting back to the early days of settling America (think Benjamin Franklin and Poor Richards Almanac), and somehow it just didn’t work for me. To start with, it was a pretty slow book. There was nothing that really propelled it forward. It followed three different storylines, which wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but I really struggled with feeling invested in any of them. Even though I liked the characters of Anna and Bairn, I didn’t feel like they were fully developed. They seemed somewhat flat and two-dimensional. And I’m sorry, but Felix was just annoying. At first I kind of liked his precociousness, but then he just would never listen to anyone!

Honestly, the best part of this book was the last few chapters. I know that maybe kind of a ‘duh’ thing to say, but it seriously finally seemed to actually be moving forward.

I’m sorry to write such a negative review, but it wasn’t just me either. My mom read it too and had the same thoughts.

Disclaimer: I received this from Revell Books in exchange for my honest review.

I'm really enjoying this series. It is definitely a departure from the normal Amish fiction book. This series is set in the time frame of the original Amish settlers in America. The hardships and challenges that they faced were similar to those of early settlers but it is interesting to read about how their devout faith played into the setting. In this installment we're introduced to a settlement with a new set of believers. They are odd yet interesting. I found the author's notes at the end to be very enlightening. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

This is historical romance meets Amish book. I've read many other books by this same author and I truly enjoy her writing. I must say, although this was still a good read, it is perhaps one of my least favorites of her books. That being said, I did still enjoy this book. As always her character development and descriptive text make for a interesting read.

This is book 2 in a series of 3. It will leave you eager for Book 3. This is a stand-alone book, which I very much appreciate. This is a historical book, which I normally do not care for, but I loved this one. You will also find adventure in this book.
Surprises, not predictable, which was a treat. I love learning Amish history and this book helped fulfill that desire. I have enjoyed all books by Suzanne Woods Fisher that I have read, including this one.

Imagine being stuffed like sardines in the lower deck of a ship for ten weeks, unable to even stand up in the quarters, but having to bend over to walk. Only to arrive and find obstacles.....and Indians! And the plan to go to an unsettled wilderness...when they've landed in a settled and very nice city. Anna and Bairn and the other settlers find themselves in just such a predicament. But Bairn deserts Anna for the sea and Henrik is here on land, beside her, and very attractive, persuasive, and positive. In fact, Henrik positively exudes a happy energy that spreads to the others.
As I read the book, I was fascinated. I imagined the sheer excitement AND the sheer terror the Bauer family felt. To inhabit a land that is so markedly different from their homeland and so barren of other people and homes. They started out with one cabin built by Jacob Bauer and his unlikely Indian (Native American) friend. I wondered what it would be like to work alongside an Indian, neither of us able to verbally communicate and yet, working in harmony. Wow! just Wow! I don't think I'm adventuresome enough to handle the New World as this group of church members did. The most adventuresome I've been in that regard was to move from Virginia to Texas for my husband to attend seminary along with our two little daughters in tow. We traveled on land in motor vehicles and didn't have to rely on horses and carts to move our belongings. We moved into a small apartment, granted we had never seen so much as a picture of said apartement. We were fortunate to be surrounded by other seminary students and their families and a large seminary with eager professors and administrators to point us in the right direction. I have great admiration for these settlers of Pennsylvania, and after reading Suzanne's novel, my admiration has grown.
Thank you, Suzanne, for expanding my world and my vision and for making me very keen to conduct my own research on the Amish who settled in Pennsylania to escape the persecution of Germany and a few other European countries.
This is a top-notch novel. Suzanne Woods Fisher never fails to deliver an amazing piece of literature when her fingers hit those keys.
What could I rate this novel other than 5 stars? Well, I could give it 10 or 20 but most rating systems are based on a scale of 1-5, BUT it is my novel after all as a recent facebook commenter suggested, so I will give it 5+ and leave it to future readers to determine their own rating!

Enjoyable, truly categorically memorable, dangerous at times, educational, and a kaleidoscope of emotions, problems and situations that they go through going to America to escape persecution. Some show they can be deserters, leaders and some can be led, some can be chivalrous, debonair, enchanting, frightened, frustrated and most of all lovers of the LORD and without HIM they could not be doing what they are doing and succeed in doing it. Anna and her people - the Amish are looking to find America to escape persecution in their country - so they start on their way- well as they get started the leader well he goes and............ You absolutely will not believe what he does it totally blows the mind, you have to get the book in order to believe with your own eyes what that guys does. I seriously could not believe what I read.

If you like Amish literature like I do, you are going to enjoy this book. I love reading about the culture, and this author does a wonderful job of giving us details about their everyday living, without making them seem like saints. I appreciated the real life tone of this book.

What a pleasure to discover that Suzanne Woods Fisher has written a sequel to Anna’s Crossing! In The Newcomer, I enjoyed reading Bairn’s story; how he tried to find a way between his love for the sea and Anna. The church of Ixheim tries to start a new life in the New World, but meets many challenges. The characters were wonderful and I loved reading from the different POVs from Anna, Bairn, Dorothea and young Felix—what a joy this last one was!
The author drew me in and made me want to continue reading—the signs of an excellently written book.

I absolutely loved the first book in the Amish Beginnings series, Anna's Crossing. I was thrilled when I learned that it would become a series and we had two more books to look forward to, continuing Anna and Bairn's story. The Newcomer picks right up where Anna's Crossing left off, so I highly recommend reading Anna's Crossing first in order to get to know the characters and especially to understand Anna and Bairn's relationship. In The Newcomer we also get the point of view from Bairn's mother Dorothea and his little brother Felix. I appreciated that as some members of the church become separated we are able to see what is happening with each smaller group. Felix adds plenty of humor to the story with his curiosity and talent for getting into scrapes; he was one of my favorites in this book! Dorothea and Bairn's journeys were far apart in miles but paralleled in spirituality. They both did quite a bit of soul-searching and I loved the theme of drawing closer to God in order to find peace in the midst of tribulation. Anna endured the complaints and uncertainty of the church members at the homestead with grace and compassion, which is what I love most about her character. Henrik's optimism helped her during this anxious time when Bairn was absent, but the foreshadowing woven in had me feeling anxious and I just wanted to quickly read to see how the book would end, how Anna would choose between these two men. I missed the interaction between Anna and Bairn that made me love the first book, so I'm hoping that the next book will offer more in the romance department ;)

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

I cannot imagine what it would be like to leave everything and start a new life like Anna did. It would be hard enough to leave in modern times when you can go to the nearest store to get everything you need, but to try to set up a house and live on the frontier would be something else. I enjoyed seeing Anna's romance and learning how she chose who to give her heart to and I really enjoyed seeing the twist in the story and how it all came together.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, the review is my own.

This had a slightly slower start for me than her other books but I was glad I kept reading. I wasn't sure for quite a while as to who Anna was going to really fall in love with. This had a few twists and turns toward the middle and the end and this really kept my interest. I look forward to book three in the series. I received a copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

A beginning novel about finding your true place in life.

Bairn Bauer has had rough life after being separated from his family and sold into slavery until he was bought to be a cabin boy for someone who was actually good. Then on a trip across the sea, he sparked up a romance with Anna Konig, who was coming to the New World from Germany with her Amish Church. He was even reunited with his mother on the ship and his father once it arrived at Port Philadelphia. But now they don’t want to talk about the lost years. They just want to move on like nothing happened and have Bairn become a leader in their church. But Bairn being a man of the sea can’t resist an opportunity he is given as a first mate on a ship running to England and back over the winter. Will Anna wait for him upon his return? Especially with a newcomer on the ship over named Henrik Newman?

Anna Konig has fallen in love with Bairn Bauer, but is pained watching his reunion with his parents. She knows it must be difficult, but hopes that Bairn can find a way to get along with his parents as they travel to the land that their bishop has warranted. But when Bairn suddenly tells her that he is going back on a ship, she begins to question whether she ever rely or trust him. As they travel to meet up with their bishop, a newcomer, Henrik Newman seems to have taken an interest to her. His views are a little different, but he seems to be a natural leader. When they arrive at the settlement, no one has seen or heard from the bishop. When people begin getting restless for a new leader, they begin looking to Henrik and possibly to Anna to become his wife. But what is in Anna’s heart?

I’m not a huge reader of Amish fiction, but I decided to give this one a try. I was very impressed with how much this story intrigued me. I haven’t read the first in the series, but this on easily stands on its own. The romance between Bairn and Anna played out very well, but was pained to see them part. Then the events of the ship that Bairn was on that led her to believe he was dead easily played into Henrik’s hand. I found Henrik very easy to dislike through the entire book, even up till the end. At one moment, there was a pang of sympathy (only a pang), but it was quickly erased within the next few pages. Not quite a happy ending, but definitely an open transition to the next book. I’ll be looking forward to it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

After Suzanne Woods Fisher’s release of <i>Anna’s Crossing</i>, her fans clamored for more. True, it was in the Amish genre (ALWAYS a good choice), but Fisher discovered a NEW storyline – which is becoming rare these days. Needless to say, when the sequel to <i>Anna’s Crossing</i>, <i>The Newcomer</i>, came out I was overjoyed. Suzanne Woods Fisher has struck gold again!

In <i>The Newcomer</i>, readers will be reunited with familiar characters like faithful Anna, mischievous Felix and his awful dog. Bairn, a.k.a. Hans, has also returned. And then – then there is this newcomer: Henrik. Henrik joins the Ixhaim group as they head to the area near Philadelphia that was staked out the year before. But illness, hardship, intrigue, and mystery surround this next part of their journey. And is this newcomer a friend or foe?

I was given <i>The Newcomer</i> in exchange for my honest review. I found it to be a stellar read. I read it in two days and was disappointed to see it come to an end (thankfully a third book in the series is yet to come!) The characters are full of life and charm. I am particularly fond of Felix and his impish ways. But I was most taken by Dorothea’s story as part of the intricate patchwork quilt that Suzanne Woods Fisher pieced together into a wonderful work of art. Definitely another win for Suzanne Woods Fisher!

The Newcomer by Suzanne Woods Fisher is the second book in An Amish Beginnings Novel series. The Charming Nancy has arrived at Port Philadelphia on October 15, 1737. The group is happy to arrive after ten long weeks at sea. Jacob Bauer, the bishop and founder of their new settlement, is there to meet them. Jacob and his wife, Dorothea are happy to reunite with his long, lost son Bairn, the ship’s carpenter. Jacob’s land is the farthest he could purchase under British rule with his land warrants (and you have to get through the Indians first). Jacob wants to make sure that they are truly separate from others who do not share their Amish beliefs. Jacob gets tired of waiting for the group to be able to depart for their new home and sets out ahead with Dorothea. The men on the ship cannot travel until they swear allegiance to the British crown. This is problematic for these religious men. Bairn finds a way to help the men, but he starts having doubts about becoming a farmer after marrying Anna Konig. Bairn is offered an opportunity as first mate on a ship, and he jumps at it. One final journey and then he will settle down with Anna (he assures her). But is Anna willing to wait for Bairn? Will Bairn ever be happy away from the sea? Henrik Newman arrives in Port Philadelphia and wishes to join the group on their journey to their new settlement. Henrik is charming and outgoing (opposite of Bairn). He becomes indispensable to the group. Will Henrik also win Anna’s affections while Bairn is away? The Amish’s journey to their new settlement will not be easy nor will Bairn’s on the ship especially after he finds a stowaway. To see how they fare, start reading The Newcomer.

The Newcomer is a different take on an Amish novel. We are taken back in time to when the Amish first came to America (to have religious freedom). In Anna’s Crossing (the first book in An Amish Beginnings Novel series) we experience their trip on the Charming Nancy. In The Newcomer we get to see how different life is in America for this group. The Newcomer is well-written and has good characters. My favorite character is Felix. I like his curious nature (he is also entertaining). I appreciated Ms. Woods writing style. I also liked the time-period and felt that Suzanne Woods Fisher did a very good job at capturing it. I was especially entertained with her addition of Benjamin Franklin. I give The Newcomer 4 out of 5 stars. I did feel, though, that the pace of the book was a little slow in a couple of sections and there is a little predictability (regarding Henrik, Felix—the little rascal, and the romance between Anna and Bairn). The Newcomer can be read alone. The author summarizes what occurred in Anna’s Crossing (I do recommend reading it, though, because it is such a lovely novel). I look forward to reading The Return (the conclusion to the series) when it releases this summer.

This is the second book in this series and the story continues of Anna's Crossing. The Charming Nancy arrives at Port Philadelphia. They are all waiting for a new beginning and there Bishop Jacob Bauer.. Barin pieces his life together and realizes that Dorothea is his Mother and Felix is is brother. It has a lot of great historical tie ins from back in time. It is a story of finding his parents and not knowing what to do about his mixed emotions. I loved Felix in the book he was a young boy that got int a lot of trouble and it added some humor to the story I can not wait to the third book comes out this Summer to wait and see more of this story..