THE. RETURN By Suzanne Wood Fisher Amish.Beginning Book 3
Year is 1763 and the Zook family has settled on what might have been Indian land. Indian attacks, strike the Amish and Betsy is taken, a world of cruelty and hardship. The blessing was Caleb, his words to thank God in all things. When she is returned, how does one face the strictness of the Amish, the love she had for Hans, is it gone. A deep story, and Suzanne has done a good job writing, about something that did happen. Given ARC by Net Galley for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

This book is poignant and gripping! In every way. It was such a fabulous read! So happy to have been able to read it. The cover is perfect and the characters are detailed and real.

The trials and heartaches of early settlers forging a new frontier, is always a solemn read, but this book brought it to life for me and the historical facts were so well researched and often hard to grasp.

This book and the previous two of this series, were all real page-turners and so descriptive. But read them in order to understand the characters, and their lives.

I highly recommend this series and hope so much that there could be a fourth??? That would be wonderful, because the book leaves one wanting more of what she has written. Suzanne Woods Fisher is clearly a wonderful author and her books are so well written and well researched.

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The Return is a very well written book with a good plot and well developed characters. I enjoyed the author's writing.

You will see the characters that were introduced in Anna's crossing as their story continues in The Newcomer you will see them again in the return. You will also get to read about new characters. I recommend you read Anna's crossing first. If you haven't read the series. My favorite characters in the story was Tessa and Betsy I grown to like Caleb you will see why as you read the story . It had me on my toes trying to figure out what happens next . I really love Suzanne books. I fell like the story can continue. I really loved this book I love the whole series but it's my favorite.

The Return by Suzanne Woods Fisher is an Amish story of love and forgiveness set Pennsylvania in the early 1760’s. It is book 3 in a series.
Betsy Zook has been in love with Hans Bauer for years and he with her. They plan to marry until Betsy is taken hostage by Indians. While a captive she meets half-blood Caleb who encourages her to keep her focus on God. Hans is devastated and turns to Tessa for comfort. Tessa has been infatuated with Hans for some time so welcomes his attention and overlooks his comments about seeking revenge for Betsy’s kidnapping. She also feels some guilt as she has always been jealous of Betsy and Hans’ relationship and prayed Betsy’s family would move away. What will happen when Betsy returns? Will Tessa and Hans be married? Will Hans still be seeking revenge? Has his heart become so hardened that no one wants him?
I did not feel lost even though this is book 3; there was enough background that the characters quickly became familiar. The book is inspired by true historical events that occurred before the revolutionary war as immigrants moved into Pennsylvania and pushed the Native Americans further and further. There are times of uncertainty and confusion for the characters as the world around them changes drastically. I was rooting for all of the community to stick together and stay true to passive beliefs. I recommend this book even though at times it may be difficult to read due to the circumstances of Betsy’s captivity and events of groups seeking revenge against all Native Americans. There are also many other story lines going on- the new breed of horses being raised by Felix Bauer with the help of a mysterious stallion, the Conestoga wagon being built by Bairn Bauer, and the relationships between the Amish, Mennonites, other settlers and local Native Americans. I rate this book 5 of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I am generally not a lover of Amish Fiction but I thought that the premise for this book was intriguing, so I took the plunge to read it and was not disappointed. The story is split between the girls - Betsy and Tessa. Although, I wanted more of Betsy's story and less of Tessa's story. I did not connect with Tessa but wanted to know all about what Betsy was experiencing. It seems as if there will be another installment of this story to which I eagerly look forward.

Suzanne did an excellent job writing the characters in this story and making them realistic and believable. The hardships of life, and how the characters choose to deal with the results of their choices showcased their growth.

I struggled a bit at the beginning to get immersed in this story. Maybe because I hadn’t previously read the other two books in this series. Personally, I would have enjoyed reading more from Betsy’s perspective, as her story of captivity by the Native Americans is the part of this story that grabbed my attention and enticed me to pick-up the book.

I appreciated the historical research that was the framework for the story. I hadn’t previously known the history of the Conestoga wagon. Wanting to know more, sent me on my own little research (see bonus section below).

Both fans of Amish fiction and those who haven’t read the genre before will enjoy this terrific book. I’ve not read an extensive amount of Amish fiction, but I can say that as a whole I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading the other books in this series.

(I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. I am not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own)

*Received through NetGalley* I read Amish fiction every once in awhile, it's not a genre I read regularly but I like to switch up what I read. I was intrigued by the story of a young woman kidnapped and becoming part of a Native American community so I requested this book, not realizing it was part of a series. The fact that it's the third in the series wasn't really an issue, I didn't seem to really miss much not having read the previous books. I enjoyed the book, despite it not being as much about the young woman as I expected - though she was certainly the main focus. It was also thankfully not too religious or Christian, it seemed to be part of the characters and not too overt. The ending kind of dragged on a bit too long, though at least everything was wrapped up nicely. The appearance of Benjamin Franklin seemed extraneous, he served no purpose. I liked the way real-life events and people were woven into the story. I would definitely recommend this book to others, it's an enjoyable fairly quick read that is also informative.