THE HEIRLOOM is the prequel to The Shunning by Beverly Lewis. I’ve never read The Shunning so I knew starting with THE HEIRLOOM was the way to go. This story is all about two Amish women who are grieving. Clara is grieving for her mom who was her rock. She misses her terribly. Her Aunt Ella Mae is also grieving for her husband who she isn’t quite ready to let go of. Ella Mae is not quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent over fifty happy years, but her children are ready for her to downsize and move. So when Clara reaches out to her to come for a visit, it seems like Ella Mae’s prayers have been answered. If you have read The Shunning, THE HEIRLOOM is a great way to learn more about your favorite characters. If you are like me and haven’t read it, and love Amish fiction, you can’t go wrong with a Beverly Lewis book. She really knows her stuff!

While Clara is in Pennsylvania helping Ella Mae restore an heirloom wedding quilt, she never stops dreaming of returning home. But over time, she comes to love being in Hickory Hollow. All the while, she never loses hope or her faith. THE HEIRLOOM finds Clara struggling with staying there as her Dad wants her to come back home. Clara Bender’s mother died and her father quickly married a woman who isn’t exactly warm toward her grieving step-daughter. Her father hears about bad news in Ella Mae’s town and wants Clara back home. Why would she go back home when she feels so much more welcomed at her Aunt’s home?

THE HEIRLOOM is about Clara trying to learn more about her mother from her family. My heart broke for Clara. Her story is so heart tugging and filled with faith, devotion, and love that the reader can’t help but cheer for her. Beverly Lewis grabs hold of the reader’s heart and never lets it go! She made me sad, then the next moment I was smiling and giggling out loud! You can never go wrong with a Beverly Lewis book if you are a fan of the Amish genre. THE HEIRLOOM is a heart tugging story that will hold you hostage until the very last page. Once you start reading, it will be very hard to put down! Beverly Lewis surely knows the Amish people and their hearts!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a fantastic inspirational romance. I liked the plot and the characters were a lot of fun. Very much recommend this book.

I read Beverly Lewis's The Shunning sequel several years ago and loved it. She rapidly became one of the authors that I automatically know I will enjoy their books. I love the sweet, easy to read stories and the settings she writes them in. I especially love the books set in Hickory Hollow. So, imagine my surprise when I found out that a prequel had been written. I had to read it. It was my ticket back to Hickory Hollow and a chance to spend more time with Ella Mae and Katie and Mary. And, this book absolutely did not disappoint. I absolutely loved getting to know Clara, Roseanna, Aaron, and the rest of the new characters introduced in The Heirloom. Honestly, I enjoyed it so much that I think I'll be rereading The Shunning series again. It absolutely reintroduced me to how much I enjoy Lewis's writing.

The Heirloom
by Beverly Lewis
Pub Date 12 Sep 2023
Bethany House,Bethany House Publishers
Christian| General Fiction \(Adult\)


Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley sent me a copy of The Heirloom to review:


A widowed father remarries and Clara Bender, 19, is no longer needed to run his household. Getting married seems like her best chance of moving out, but her tiny Indiana Amish community has few young guys. A letter from her mother's aunt Ella Mae Zook inspires her to visit Lancaster County's Hickory Hollow to decide her future.



Despite her children's eagerness to resettle her, Ella Mae isn't quite ready to leave the farmhouse where she and her late husband spent over fifty happy years. While restoring an heirloom wedding quilt and sharing their lives, Ella Mae confides about a tragedy from her courtship. In the end, Ella Mae suggests Clara stay for the summer, giving Ella Mae more time with her and Clara a chance to meet young men. When the unexpected happens, will Clara find the true love of her life?


I give The Heirloom five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

My thoughts: The Heirloom goes back in time to before Ms. Lewiss's best selling series Theom Shunning. We revisit some favorite characters from the past. The book started slow and draggy and it took me awhile to get into but eventually I did and I enjoyed getting to know Clara and renewing aquaitences with Katie Lapp and others. If you like Amish fiction you will enjoy THE HEIRLOOM. Grab your copy now. I was given a copy free and all opinions are my own.

The Heirloom is the prequel to Beverly Lewis' beloved The Shunning series. I thought it was great and enjoyed it very much. Five stars.

The Heirloom, by Beverly Lewis, is a beautifully written story of a young Amish lady, Clara, who visits her great aunt in another state and find a place and friends she does not want to leave. She is faced with the difficult decision to make, that of obeying her father and following her heart. When Clara is dealing with the loss of her mother and breaking it off with her boyfriends she goes to visit the aunt her mother loved so much. the aunt, Ella Mae is still grieving the loss of her husband and her children feel she should move.

I just loved reading this story. It is so easy to read and imagine the happenings. It touched my heart with the young lady and the elderly woman who both need each other at this particular time in their lives. I enjoyed how quickly Clara fit into the community and made friends. I especially enjoyed how the two women went about repairing the heirloom quilt. It is interesting to read how rules of the Amish community can so easily be changed. I appreciate the love Clara has for her family and how she will give up her happiness for them.

I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book, this is my honest review.

The Heirloom by Beverly Lewis – Loved This Book, Enjoyable Characters, and Interesting Relationships

I enjoy Amish fiction but had never read any novels by Beverly Lewis. After reading the description of the The Heirloom, I wanted to read her newest book. I am so glad I did!

The Heirloom tells the story of Clara Bender and her great aunt Ella Mae Zook. Clara’s world has changed since her mother’s death a year ago. In the months after her mother’s passing, Clara had grown closer to her father. But since he remarried a couple of months ago, things had changed and home didn’t feel the same. At nineteen years old, Clara knew that one day she would leave home. The prospects for a good match in her community were not promising because eligible men about her age were not available.

While clearing out her mother’s desk, Clara found letters her mom had exchanged with aunt Ella Mae. It seemed they had a very close relationship and a deep connection. That got Clara to thinking, perhaps she could go visit her great aunt in Pennsylvania for a couple of weeks. Get to know her and connect over their shared love for Clara’s mom. Her dad is reluctant to let Clara go but relents with the understand that she will be back in a couple of weeks. His concern is that the Amish community in Hickory Creek is much stricter than the one in First Light, Indiana. That was one of the reasons they had moved.

I absolutely loved reading The Heirloom. I enjoyed the main characters Clara and Ella Mae and the people surrounding them. I found the storyline compelling and moving. Clara’s grief was relatable and Ella Mae was such a kind and caring person to all who were around her. Both characters were thoughtful, hardworking, and other centered.

What I appreciated the most about this book is the aspect of their Christian faith. It was part of their everyday life and impacted how they lived. I have read other Amish fiction and have often thought it seemed like faith based on works, instead of faith that bears the fruit of repentance and good works. That part of the Amish faith was explored in this book. Not in a heavy-handed manner, but in thoughtful way. I appreciated that the Gospel of Christ was clearly shared. It was enjoyable to see young people building relationships that were pure.

The Heirloom by Beverly Lewis was so enjoyable. The characters and relationships were well developed. This novel had a richness you don’t often find in books. Not everything was sunshine and flowers, there were some difficult subjects addressed. I was very moved by Clara and Ella Mae’s story, and found myself grieved and wondering how the story would turn out. I trusted the author no matter if it had a good ending or a sad ending, she handled the story and characters well.

I highly recommend The Heirloom by Beverly Lewis. It was enjoyable, rich, and thought provoking. So glad that I found this author whose work is new to me and look forward to reading more of her books.

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read complimentary copy of The Heirloom by Beverly Lewis. I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.

Several years ago, I stumbled across my first Amish Romance, The Shunning, and entering Beverly Lewis’ Amish world captivated me and I’ve loved reading about the Amish people ever since. Imagine my delight to see that Beverly Lewis returned to that world to write a prequel about events before The Shunning with a new heroine seeking answers and finding a chance at friendship and romance in the homey and heartwarming Amish world.

The Heirloom begins in an Amish community some distance from Lancaster County’s Hickory Hollow when Clara Bender’s mother dies and her father rapidly remarries to a woman who isn’t exactly warm toward her grieving step-daughter. Clara’s reeling from all this and needs time and distance from the home that no longer feels like her place. She finds letters from her mother’s aunt, sees the closeness between the two women, and decides this is a good time to discover more of her mother from the aunt in Hickory Hollow.

I was taken from the start with Clara and her need to find her own place now that she’s at loose ends. Her desire to visit Hickory Hollow is complicated by her father not wanting her there because the two Amish communities have distinct differences in how strict they will be about the tenants and practices of Amish faith. He knows she’ll meet eligible men and hear about matters from Ella Mae, but he does let her go for the visit. He was right about Clara on that count because she does meet someone nice and wants to stay in Hickory Hollow, but she is also dutiful and will obey her father. My heart agonized with her when it came right down to it after she found peace and happiness only to possibly have it snatched away.

Clara’s timing is impeccable from her great-aunt Ella Mae’s perspective because Clara’s arrival means she doesn’t have to leave her home and resettle at the insistence of her children. Clara can take care of the household, get a grip on her personal concerns, and the two different generations of women form a bond not just of family blood, but of understanding and of course, their shared belief in God and his work in their lives. Working on the heirloom quilt is a symbolic heart of it all. I couldn’t wait to get Ella Mae’s own story which she has been reticent about. There are dual plot lines that go back to Ella Mae’s youth so young Ella Mae touches the reader’s heart, too.

I like how much attention to detail and authentic the Amish community and faith feels as part of the story. Their desire to live away from the modern world to be close to God, their choice for simplicity of life, home, and work, and their tight-knit communities and families was all so vivid and as present as the characters. I’m not a sewing craft person or made from scratch always, but I get a yearning to try after reading about the Amish work- and yes, the delicious foods mentioned and made have me salivating, too.

For those looking for familiar faces from The Shunning, there is a Katie Lapp sighting and others. That said, they are background. I was happy to be back in the Hickory Hollow world and it seems there will be more books now. This will be for those who want full immersion into an Amish setting in their Inspirational Romance.

I loved this book!
It follows Clara , an Amish woman , whose father recently remarried . Clara recently broke up with her boyfriend at the same time she isn’t getting along great with her new step mother which is odd because she’s never had a problem getting along with anyone.

She finds some old letters from her mother to her aunt and decide that she’d like to get to know this favorite aunt. , Ella Mae. Ella Mae lives in a different Amish community with stricter rules and ways but Clara needs a break a time away from family and a chance of pace.

I loved reading about Clara and Ella’ Maes love stories. Both kept me captivated and wanting to know more. The Amish communities are very different from each other . I never knew until reading Beverly Lewis books how different Amish communities could be .

Without ruining the story , I loved how much Clara’s significant other loves her and tells her dad that he won’t be leaving her , that he would sacrifice his world for hers.

It is a beautiful told story with great character development , relationships , family and love .

Thank you to Netgalley for the free download in exchange for an unbiased review.

If there were a title for Queen of Amish Fiction, Beverly Lewis would be the reigning monarch. She has written many lovely books that depict Amish life. My favorite of hers would be The Daughters of Abram. When I got the opportunity to read Mrs. Lewis' latest book. I was excited. The Heirloom is the prequel to The Shunning. We finally get more of Ella Mae Hook, the amazing, strong, woman of conviction that is known as the "wise woman". We get more of her history and we meet her grandniece Clara Bender.

The story revolves around these two women who are grieving for a loved one. Ella Mae, her husband. Clara Bender, her mother. Ella Mae's family is pressuring her to move out of her house and Ella Mae is not quite ready. Clara has come to visit Ella Mae after her father remarried not long after her mother had passed away. Her father is concerned that she will be visiting a more strict Amish church and he doesn't want Clara to forget that by grace we have been saved, that relationship with Christ is important. Eventually, Clara wants to stay with Ella Mae in Lancaster County, but her father forbids it. Can she trust God and be obedient to her father's wishes, even though her heart is leading her elsewhere?

Together the two women navigate grief and Amish living. Being available to be a blessing to others and serve others while trusting in God to hear their prayers and place them each where they belong.

If you know the characters from The Shunning, this is a great read to learn more about your favorite characters. Even if you haven't read The Shunning or watched the movies, this is a great read for Amish fiction fans. No one writes it better than Beverly Lewis.

I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are on my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”


Description
This heartwarming prequel to The Shunning is a tender story of love, belonging, and the courage to move forward.

After her widowed father remarries, nineteen-year-old Clara Bender is no longer needed to help run his household. Marriage seems like her best hope of moving out, but there are few young men in her tiny Indiana Amish community. When she comes across letters from her mother's aunt Ella Mae Zook, she sets off to visit Lancaster County's Hickory Hollow to decide where her future lies.

Ella Mae is not quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent over fifty happy years, but her children are eager to resettle her, making Clara's visit seem like an answer to prayer. The two women form a warm bond while restoring an heirloom wedding quilt and sharing their lives, with Ella Mae confiding about a tragedy from her courting years. Eventually, Ella Mae suggests Clara stay for the summer, allowing Ella Mae more time with her and giving Clara an opportunity to meet the area's eligible young men. But when the unexpected happens, will Clara find where her heart truly belongs?
Available Editions
EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780764237560
PRICE $17.99 (USD)
PAGES 336

The Heirloom by Beverly Lewis

Summary:
This heartwarming prequel to The Shunning is a tender story of love, belonging, and the courage to move forward.

After her widowed father remarries, nineteen-year-old Clara Bender is no longer needed to help run his household. Marriage seems like her best hope of moving out, but there are few young men in her tiny Indiana Amish community. When she comes across letters from her mother's aunt Ella Mae Zook, she sets off to visit Lancaster County's Hickory Hollow to decide where her future lies.

Ella Mae is not quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent over fifty happy years, but her children are eager to resettle her, making Clara's visit seem like an answer to prayer. The two women form a warm bond while restoring an heirloom wedding quilt and sharing their lives, with Ella Mae confiding about a tragedy from her courting years. Eventually, Ella Mae suggests Clara stay for the summer, allowing Ella Mae more time with her and giving Clara an opportunity to meet the area's eligible young men. But when the unexpected happens, will Clara find where her heart truly belongs?

Review: 5-Star
First, I want to say I didn’t not read the summary before requesting to review this book. Miss Beverly is one of those Authors I’ve never seen a bad book come from so I requested it solely off her name. This book is one of those books you start reading and can’t put down until you finish it. And I mean once I started it, I couldn’t put it down and read it from front cover to the end all in one sitting and yes, the sun was raising when I was just finishing up the book and went and got a few hours of sleep. As always with Miss Beverrly’s books the story line grabs you and you are sucked into the Amish world. The Characters feel so real they could be your next-door neighbor, or the person who lives down the street. The flow of the story line is flawless. The way you can feel each emotion and picture the scenes in your head makes it like watching a movie or tv show. As I said before I didn’t read the summary so I didn’t know this was a prequal, but part way through the book you can tell that it is and it just warms your heart even more.
Thank you, Miss Beverly, for always taking us a on journey worth our time and money.
I received this book for free for my Honest Review from NetGalley

For now the memories made here are a shelter in my storm of sadness.

Clara Bender is still in mourning over the loss of her mother. Her father is now remarried and is going on with his life. Clara is still in limbo. Going thru her mother's desk, she finds letter from an aunt from her mother's community where she grew up. The letters bring Clara comfort and she longs to meet her aunt Ella Mae that her mother obviously loved so much. With some hesitation, her father allows her to visit her aunt in Lancaster County with the promise to come home.

Ella Mae has been going thru her own mourning over the loss of her husband and her children wanting her to move from the big house. She can't release the house because of the memories of what her family built on that house. Ella Mae and Clara uncover an old quilt that needs restoration and the restoration of the quilt becomes their restoration to a new beginning.

Ella Mae meets many friends and a few special friends. She is welcomed in the community that her father questions their faith and what their faith is based. (work vs grace) Work and grace have been pitted against each other for years so this was a good reminder of how they work together instead of against each other. I enjoyed getting to know Ella Mae and Clara and how they came to their own restoration.

A special thank you to Bethany House and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

If you liked 'The Shunning' you are going to love 'The Heirloom'.

I am a huge fan of Beverl Lewis so I know I am bias, but I loved this book. If you are a fan of Amish fiction, you will most definitely love this book.

I think it is one of Beverly's best works and very highly recommend.

This is a prequel to The Shunning series, which is perfect for me as I haven’t read them yet. I loved the relationship between Clara and Ella Mae, seeing their faith. Definitely lives up to her other books. Read it and then read The Shunning.

Like many people I first read The Shunning and the books that followed in the late 90's. I also saw the movies and enjoyed them as well. So naturally when I found out there was going to be a prequel I knew I had to get it and read it. I'm so glad I did.

The story in The Heirloom does not center around Katie Lapp who is the main character in The Shunning. Instead Katie is a side character and the main character is Clara Bender. Clara isn't from Hickory Hollow but she takes a trip to visit her aunt, Ella Mae Zook, who does live in Hickory Hollow.

While in Hickory Hollow Clara finds a sense of renewal. Even though the Hickory Hollow community is more strict than her district she finds a freedom that her very soul was craving. She is able to begin emerging from the grief of losing her mother and opening up to the prospect of not spending the rest of her life as an old maid.

I really liked that this was a completely new story. It takes place shortly before the timeframe of The Shunning which gives a lot more insight into what led up to Katie's story and why the punishment was so severe. Someone that hasn't read the previous series is going to thoroughly enjoy how seamlessly this storyline goes when they read the prequel first and then the series.

By the way, this would also make a good stand alone read if you aren't interested in reading all four books together. But for those of us that have already invested in the series, I say you are in for a real treat when you add this book to your reading list.

Clara is going through her Mother's desk. She finds some letters from an Aunt. She longs to make a connection with her Aunt. She is not feeling connected to her new step-mother.

She travels to stay with her Aunt. Her Aunt is also grieving, she has just lost her husband. Claras visit comes at a time when she not only needs a companion.

As both the ladies work through their grief, they become closer to each other, deeper in faith, and are able to let go of past hurts. Will it be enough? Will Clara be able to join her love in marriage? Will her Aunt find peace in the new dawdi house? #netgalley gave a preview of this novel for an honest review. #prequel #theheirloom

I am a huge Beverly Lewis fan and love reading about Hickory Hollow and the different stories she creates for her characters. This newest one is not as in-depth in my opinion. I feel like it is a little glossy and the two characters Ella Mae and Clara are not really given enough emotion. It felt a bit stale and honestly I would have loved more 'first person' view of Ella Mae's teenage years. A good read if you are a fan of this genre but not the best I have read from Mrs. Lewis.

In this prequel to Lewis' popular Shunning series, the reader discovers the backstory of wise woman Ella Mae. As she comes to grips with loosing her husband, Ella Mae must find a new purpose or risk being lost in her grief. At the same time, her great niece, Clara Bender, is looking for her place as well. Following her father's remarriage, Clara grapples with how she fits into the family and seeks refuge in Ella Mae's home. Both women follow a similiar path of rediscovering themselves when the circumstances of life are difficult. But as time moves forward, will these two be able to move with it? Or will they find themselves being left behind?

I often enjoy Beverly Lewis' work, but this was one of the better titles that she has written in recent years. The characters were rich and complex. And Lewis did a wonderful job of paralleling their journeys while maintaining the integrity of both women. Ella Mae's life transition was particularly relatable at my stage in life as Clara's path would be equally as relatable for a younger reader. Although this title is a prequel, it can easily be read on it's own. And in fact has encouraged me to go back to the original series and reread those as well. I really felt like Beverly Lewis hit her mark with The Heirloom and would whole-heartedly recommend this title to anyone who enjoys Amish fiction.

*Disclaimer: I recieved a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Readers who love the book, The Shunning will love this prequel. Readers will become more aware of the Amish culture and the differences between the sects. Ella Mae Zook is a powerful character, filled with love and wisdom. Clara and Aaron's story is a sweet one. Their faith throughout was strong. Readers will want to read the Shunning to refresh their memory about Katie Lapp's story and to continue this series. Recommended!