Member Review

A Single Dad in Amish Country by Patricia Johns is a story that I enjoyed reading. Hazel Dobbs and Joe Carter are both single parents, but they are at different points in their lives. Hazel’s daughter is grown, and Hazel has just gotten her dream job as a pilot for an airline. Joe is a landscaper with a preschool age daughter. Lottie, Joe’s daughter, is obsessed with airplanes. Lottie is a scene stealer. She definitely keeps her father on her toes (she is a ball of energy). You can tell that Hazel is taken with Lottie and Joe. It was great to catch up with Belinda Wickey who owns the Butternut Bed and Breakfast as well as her crotchety neighbor, Eli Lapp. Let us not forget Belinda’s donkey, Eeyore who likes to pull a Houdini now and then. I like Patricia Johns writing style. It makes her stories easy to read. She creates characters that are realistic and relatable. Eli and Belinda have a unique relationship. Eli has cared for Belinda since she was a teenager. I enjoy their banter. It will be interesting to see if the two can get over their differences (like Eli having chickens on his dining room table). Hazel regularly talks to her daughter, Maddie, who is visiting her father in England for the first time. Maddie has some troubles with her father’s family and needs her mother’s guidance. I thought Hazel gave her some sound advice. A Single Dad in Amish Country is the second book in The Butternut Amish B&B series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but I do recommend reading Her Amish Country Valentine. I am eager to read A Boy’s Amish Christmas. One of my favorite lines from A Single Dad in Amish Country is, “Every family is different.” There are good lessons in A Single Dad in Amish Country. The ending left me smiling. A Single Dad in Amish Country is a sweet story with a precocious preschooler, a family calamity, pant patch-ups, an escaping Eeyore, a pretty pilot, an appealing landscaper, and high-flying fun.