Often when I see the word "mending" I think about clothes that need a seam reinforcement or something like that. That's not what this novel is about.

Malinda has Crohn's Disease and she believes that excludes her from getting married or having children. She believes the cost of her medications and possible surgery would put her completely out of any bachelor's market. This theme runs throughout the book. Malinda seems to be waiting for the next flare of her disease and can't see who she is beyond her disease. In some ways I can relate to her struggles: I too have a chronic disease and I work hard not to let it define me. Malinda has let her condition define who she is.

Susan Lantz Simpson has written a fairly good Amish fiction book that resonates with many readers. There is love, tension, complications, and a too helpful family. A solid four star book.

My appreciation goes to Kensington Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book was my first one I read by this author and I loved it. I found it different than other Amish books I read and enjoyed it very much. I am looking forward to more of this story. This book kept me interested from the beginning to the end and i felt it had some interesting turns. If you love Amish books you will certainly enjoy this one.

This is the second book in the series and it was wonderful. The protagonist, Malinda, is dealing with a disease that has robbed her of her lifes joys. She must come face to face with issues that could cause a flare up, and learn to allow herself to live and enjoy each day. The characters were great and the plot was realistic. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I loved The Mending. It was so well written and really gives us an inside view of what it is like to live with a chronic illness.

Malinda Stauffer leaves her community in Maryland to go to Ohio to visit her aunt and help take care of her after an injury. While Malinda is in Ohio, she has a flare up of her illness and lands in the hospital. A doctor at the hospital becomes interested in Malinda, but Malinda has no interest in him and tries to make that clear. When Malinda is discharged from the hospital, she returns to her community in Maryland. As Malinda settles back into her community, she continues to heal and get stronger. But she lives with fear of her illness flaring up again. She also believes no man would want her for his wife because of her illness.

Timothy Brenneman is a friend of one of Malinda's brother. Timothy has wanted to tell Malinda that he has feelings for her for a long time. Now that Malinda is back in the community, Timothy takes a chance and begins to talk with Malinda and let her know he in interested in her. Malinda responds well to Timothy and the two begin to spend time together, but Malinda's fear of making a husband live with her illness keeps her from getting serious with Timothy. When the doctor from Ohio returns to the community to see Malinda, things get very dicey and Malinda has no idea how to handle it.

I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest feedback.

I liked The Mending by Susan Lantz Simpson. It was a little different from most Amish books I have read. I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Malinda, suffering with Crohn's disease battles with the idea that she is a burden because of her illness. This will touch the hearts of many who may be suffering from this disease or other illnesses. This is a sweet story of love and family. I love that Malinda has
bruders that love and tease her so much which I think
adds a lot to the story. The English doctor and nurse adds a twist to the story that I did not expect. Looking forward to the next book in this series. Highly recommended!

I loved this book!
I too suffer with illness and have to remind myself His grace is sufficient for me.
The main character Melinda suffers with illness and longs to feel whole. She feels like everyone looks at her as an invalid and feels she is of no value.When her brothers best friend Tim takes interest in her she struggles to believe she is worthy of him.She fears she can never be a useful helpmate and tries to encourage him to look elsewhere. When Timothy is hurt he struggles with feeling unworthy,Melinda then comes to see her worth through this event.

This is the first book I've read by Susan Lantz Simpson and I absolutely loved it! This is a very well written book and I can't wait to see what she writes next. If you like Amish fiction, you will really enjoy this book. Thank you NetGalley and Kingston Books Zebra for an ARC copy of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

The Mending started out a wee bit slow for my liking, but once I got to understand Malinda and her situation I couldn't help but want to know what her future held.
When Timothy comes into the picture I couldn't help but hope for the best. I felt with the faith Susan wrote into the book it was beautiful. I loved how Timothy had such strong faith and grew to care for Malinda.
I can't wait to see what Susan Lantz Simpson comes out with next!

I was so excited at the opportunity to read and review not just one book by Susan Lantz Simpson, but two, and so close together! And the Mending was also of interest to me in that Malinda, the main character, suffers from Crohn's disease, an illness that affects many of my close family members and friends. My close knowledge of this condition really helps me to emphasize with Malinda's suffering and her feelings about coping with Crohn's Disease.
As the story of The Mending begins, Malinda is returning home to Maryland from Ohio- where she was helping her aunt until Malinda experienced a major relapse of Crohns that required a lengthy hospitalization. Malinda feels quite weak and still not 100 percent well. However, she is relieved to be home again with her parents and brothers. Her parents, her mother especially, seek to give her opportunities for rest and for building back her strength and gaining weight. Malinda struggles with feelings of frustration when people wish to help her- she doesn't want to be pitied or treated like an invalid. Malinda also must get over the hurt of being passed over by her one time boyfriend Isaac. She is at first confused by and then touched and pleased by the attention of Tim, her brother Sam's long time best friend. Tim is quite eager to show her that he cares for her and wants to share life together. However, Malinda also is quite alarmed that her doctor from Ohio is pursuing her romantically- which has her uncomfortable and frightened, as the doctor acts inappropriately.
The Mending is a beautiful novel that will have readers losing track of time until they finish the story. I was up well into the night reading!