I enjoyed this second book in the Sisters & Friends, but not as much as the first one. Although I really loved seeing Emma overcome her panic attacks and the relationship that developed between her and Sam, I felt that this one was a little too strong in the judgment of Emma's past. For a Christian romance, I thought it went a little too overboard with the emphasis on Emma being someone no one would want to marry. I'm still trying to decide if I'll read the third book.

It's been quite a while since i last read Amish fiction, so this book has come as a refreshing change from what i usually read. I really enjoyed this book, although I was surprised to find that this is the second book in a series, An excellent story! I hope to read more books by this author and am pleased to see that some books are in Kindle Unlimited.

I loved it! I look forward to more from this author. I really do enjoy reading novels of the amish lifestyle and this did not disappoint

The title had me wandering what the buried secrets was. Well, I am not going to give it away, read the book to find out. Rose moves back to her hometown after her husband death with her young son. Luke was there helping his cousin but he had gotten better so he works for Rose to get her place more livable. I really enjoyed all the characters, of course the children always add so much to a story. This is part of a series but definitely read as a stand alone book. This is book 2 so I will have to read book 1. I look forward to reading more of the series. I received an complementary copy of the book from the publisher.

Buried Secrets is not your typical Amish Fiction novel. Rachel Good has outdone herself with this one. Book two in her Sisters and Friends series, Buried Secrets will have staying up all night to finish and then leave will leave you wanting more!!

It’s been three years since Emma Esh was in an accident that she almost didn’t make it out of alive. She has recovered physically but has suffered memory loss, in fact she has no recollection of the year before her accident. This is hard on Emma so she decides to move to a new community to help her sister and brother-in-law prepare for the birth of twins.

Emma meets Lydia’s neighbor Samuel, it isn’t long before Emma is falling in love. Things will begin to unravel: the twins are born prematurely, the sudden return of Emma’s memory along with a visit from the Englischer Emma once dated. All of Emma’s secrets from her past will be revealed. Will the love Emma and Samuel have be able to make it? Will love overcome the obstacles of life?

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

Rachel Good writes an amazing story in Buried Secrets! The story continues with the Esh family. Emma is over the physical part of her injuries from the accident from Book One. She now lives with her sister Lydia and her husband Caleb so she can help with the last weeks of Lydia’s pregnancy and help with the twins after they are born. Everyone still cannot remember her life immediately before the accident or much of the year she was healing, and Lydia and her family wants to keep it that way, but Caleb isn’t so sure about that. One of the things Emma does remember about her past is the way Lydia hovers over her, and she still does the same thing, even though Emma is old enough to live her own life.

This story is one you don’t want to stop reading until the end! I’ve grown to love the Esh family and following Emma’s journey as she heals from the car accident with Caleb’s brother. My heart goes out to Emma because she is dealing with the memory loss, the fears from the accident that cause panic attacks, and it seems everyone is keeping secrets from her. I really got irritated at Lydia because she still treats Emma like a child. She has a lot of issues herself wanting to control Emma like she does. Caleb is a sweetheart and does a fantastic job keeping his wife calm. And then there is Sam. Another amazingly kind and patient Amish man that Lydia has a problem with because he and Emma are attracted to each other. Will Lydia ever cut her controlling attitude towards her sister and let Emma live her life as her own? You don’t want to miss this second book is the Sisters and Friends Series. I highly recommend Buried Secrets if you love Amish fiction!

Buried Secrets is one of the best-named books I’ve ever read. The title alone contains more subtleties than you suspect until you reach that last page. Rachel Good wrote a well-layered story of love, loss, growth, forgiveness, and redemption. She drew me into characters who weren’t your typical Amish folks and made me care about even the ones who made me want to slap them. That’s pretty impressive.

This book includes a lot you don’t expect from Amish fiction and most of it in a very good way. One of the primary characters didn’t grow up Amish. Let’s face it. You don’t see that every day. Another character did something so heinous, you’d never expect it of someone a part of a group known for “non-violence.” The characters are consistent, even when that consistency fits outside the normal expectations for the Amish. Unlike historical fiction where they often attribute modern ideals and ideas to historical characters, Buried Secrets shows people who keep themselves separate from “the world” still being impacted by that world. And that’s important to see.

And one of the best parts? LOVE that cover. I mean, look at it! They blended the Amish objection to being photographed with the modern preference for people on covers and did it without making that girl too made up and polished OR too raw and unappealing (because on covers “plain” photography can look rather amateurish. It’s just a beautiful cover–even more so than the other book I saw by this author, A Change of Heart. After reading this one, I suspect I know what that’s about! And, I will probably buy the book and read it.

As Amish fiction goes, I really loved Buried Secrets.
In the interest of full disclosure, however, sometimes showing that intrusion of modern life into a world that eschews most of that modern sometimes felt incongruous. I don’t know that they are. I want to be very careful not to say that Ms. Good is “wrong” about any of it, but a few things jerked me out of the story. The reference to the babies’ nursery… I just never picture the Amish with nurseries! Even if the author meant the bedroom the children would sleep in, I just see them calling it a bedroom or something like that. Nursery conjures up the idea of a rather trendy, “not plain,” thing.

She made references to not dating and having a girlfriend—again, they felt removed from what I’m accustomed to in Amish fiction. And again, I refuse to say she’s “wrong” about it. However, that’s one problem with very specific genre fiction. They tend to create expectations.

Revised:
However, since discovering that some Old Order Amish DO have “nurseries” and it is common to “date” and have “girlfriends,” I can’t help but wonder if perhaps I SHOULD be jerked out of the story. I mean, if my understanding is severely outdated, isn’t it an author’s job to educate me? For example, the time period for one of my books called recipes “receipts.” Some people were bothered by that. They thought I’d been caught by the spellcheck bug or something. I was just being accurate to the time period. And so is Ms. Good. So, I’m revising my opinion on this one. I think that’s a pretty cool thing–learning something new that challenges your expectations!

On the other hand, a few of the Amish-isms got a little old. Okay, only one that really made a lasting impact now that I’m removed from the story a bit. I know that the Amish word for baby is boppli. And if I didn’t, by the time I got done reading this book, I would never be able to forget it. In speech, using that word makes so much sense, but in narrative, it really became a bit burdensome. It’s a bit nit-picky of me, but since it annoyed me, I thought I’d throw it out there for those who are also bothered by such things.

There was one thing though…
The thing that bothered me the most about the book were certain bits of repetitiveness. Sometimes the author would state something, and right away, state it again. I couldn’t tell if she rewrote it one way and then the other, only to forget to remove one or if she just wanted to make sure we really understood what she wanted us to take away from it. And honestly, this was big enough for me that she almost lost a star over it.

Buried Secrets is just a really great story with interesting characters and a rather unique plot for Amish fiction. If it were not Amish, most of my “complaints” would be moot. However, the big plot twist would not have had the same impact. Now… do you think we could talk her into an Amish archaeologist in Cairo… with a kappe and buggy?

If you've read my blog much in the last couple of years, you've noticed that I really like Amish fiction. I've loved to read it for a while, but got away from it, and since I've been reviewing, I'm remembering why I enjoy it so much.

This book is the second book in the Sisters & Friends series, but can be read as a stand-alone (although I recommend reading the first in the series, Change of Heart!). This story offers a little heartache, a little redemption, the excitement of babies... just about anything you could ask for.

Emma has amnesia regarding an event that occurred when she wasn't making good decisions. She has moved in with her sister to help as she prepares to have twins. She becomes acquainted with the next door neighbor, Samuel, and begins to fall in love with him...

But just like it always will for each of us, her past comes to haunt her, and she must face the ugliness and decide how to move forward.

These characters are well-developed, and you truly feel for them. The book is well-written and easy to read. I'd highly recommend it!!!

A good read ideal for the summer. Easy and enjoyable. As you progress you slowly find out the 'buried secrets'. I read this book fairly quickly and it held my attention in wanting to find out what had happened to the main character, Emma, in the past. The revelations didn't disappoint.

I really enjoyed this book once I figured out what was going on. This book is a sequel to CHANGE OF HEART. I had to buy the first book to understand what was going on in the second book. The first book was also excellent.
The book is about Emma who was in a car accident and doesn't remember the previous 3 years. Her sister is trying to protect her from her terrible memories.
These books are well worth the time to read and I can't wait for the next one to come out.

I have always been a fan of Amish fiction though sometimes they can be written too preach or too sweet. Not so with Buried Secrets. Good explored the path of recovery from past trauma. Emma's battle with anxiety and her fears was commendable and well done.

I didn't realize that this was a sequel when I picked it up, which I think actually added to my experience. Like Emma I had no inkling of what happened during her lost year and was waiting along with her for either for something to trigger her memory, or someone in her family explaining what was going on. The suspense was not overly done where I wanted to just get to the end to figure it out already, but when it did I was prepared for it and didn't feel like it was being added just for shock value.

I enjoyed reading this and would highly recommend it.
**I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

I enjoyed this Amish story with its suspense and struggles. I had not read the previous book in the series so had the pleasure of discovering the past as details were revealed in this novel. I think the books could be read in either order, which is not usual for a series—there are benefits both ways here. The characters seemed realistic and faced their challenges with authentic reactions. The author truly makes you care about the characters and what happens. There’s quite a surprise near the end for those who haven’t read the preceding volume. I appreciated the character growth and development and the resolution. I’d say this title can definitely stand alone. It also has some elements I haven’t seen in other Amish fiction.

Awesome read. If you love Amish fiction then you will love this book

Enjoyed this story full of hope, mystery, inspiration and reality. Thank you for sharing it w/ me. I have recommended it to all of my reading friends.

In this sequel to Change of Heart, Rachel J. Good brings us beautifully full circle in this story of a very human Amish family fiercely dedicated to one another. This is a deeply emotional and well-developed narrative of familial commitment, true love, redemption, faith and healing.

This story brings together a lovely cast of well-developed characters and completes the picture begun in Change of Heart. The reader is given an in-depth look at the characters’ history, motivation, reactions and understanding of the myriad challenges life brings their way.

One of my favorite quotes: “Although he’d been stunned and pained by the revelation of her past, his first response had been right and true: she was a different person.”

Another excellent Amish-genre book by Rachel J. Good. Five-stars all around!

Buried Secrets

Rachel J Good




BURIED SECRETS is the second book in the Sisters & Friends series. I haven't read the first book and found the story easy to follow along with. Rachel uses the first few chapters to bring the reader up to speed with what happened in the previous book, and I never felt lost at all. But I am going to go back and read the first book, Change Of Heart just because I love Rachel J Good's writing. She hooked me from the very first page and never let go. Her characters weren't perfect and they all had faults which only made them more real and more endearing to me.


Emma stole my heart right away and while reading her story, I couldn't help but feel all of her emotions and anxiety. I just wanted to reach into the story and give her a big hug and help her try to remember her past. Emma was involved in an accident three years before and it almost killed her. While she healed physically, she couldn't remember anything that happened a year before the accident or the accident itself. BURIED SECRETS is exactly what her family tries to do with what happened to her and how she was acting right before the accident happened. The characters aren't your usual Amish folks and that will pull you in even more.


BURIED SECRETS is filled with happiness, love, loss, letting go, forgiveness, healing, and real heart break. I've always loved Amish fiction and the way they take their time falling in love. In most contemporary romance books, it's insta-love and to me, that isn't very realistic. Slow courtships and taking the time to get to know someone seems to work for the Amish and it will keep you flipping the pages trying to see if Emma ever remembers her accident and what led up to it. All the while she finds her feelings growing for Sam, her neighbor. Will he help her to remember? Will Emma ever figure out why her sister is intent on keeping Emma and Sam apart? I read BURIED SECRETS in two sittings. That's how emotionally invested I was in Emma's story. Once I started reading, it was very hard for me to put this wonderful story down.

I have never read one of Rachel Good's books before but am so glad I started with this one, because now I'm a lifelong fan! The author's style is both witty and engaging, and keeps you hooked throughout the story. There is really no 'down' part of the book that makes you feel like it's too dragged out.
I didn't know any of the characters from previous books, but the way they and their situations are described makes you familiar with them right away - no missing stories here! I love that there is a mystery element to the book too, one that keeps you guessing throughout the story about why Emma's family acts the way they do.
Definitely will be recommending this one to my fellow readers!

It is no secret that Buries Secrets is one great book.I love books that evolve around the lives of sisters. Rachal J. Good once again delivered an enjoyable read in the Amish fiction category.

This was such a beautiful story! Rachel Good is an extremely gifted writer, one from whom I look forward to seeing more novels. I plan to buy the book and share it with friends.

A INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF FACING THE PAST, SEEKING FORGIVENESS AND MOVING FORWARD! EMMA LEARNS SOME AMAZING LESSONS THAT WE ALL CAN RELATE TO. IT MAY NOT BE THE SAME AS WHAT SHE ENDURED. A BOOK THAT IS A GREAT READ! WITHIN ITS PAGES YOU'LL SEE HOW SECRETS CAN BE HURTFUL, YET YOU WILL ALSO SEE FORGIVENESS, LOVE AND DREAMS FULFILLED!
BLESSINGS,
Karen Hadley
Rating: 5*
I received this book as a gift, all opinions are my own.