Love in Unlikely Places: An Amish Romance

Linda Byler

Aug 2020 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

When Emma leaves the security of her Amish community for a job in North Carolina, she finds herself navigating choices, circumstances, and a relationship that she never could have imagined. Follow as she struggles to reconcile her faith and her complicated feelings in this romance by bestselling Amish writer Linda Byler.

Plenty of young men had noticed Emma's smooth auburn hair and her quick intellect, but at twenty-six years of age, she was still single, much to the bewilderment of her Amish community. "She's just too picky," they said, and she supposed they were right. Most did not know that she had been in love once, and had wound up brokenhearted.

When she becomes a nanny for an English (non-Amish) family along the coast of North Carolina, her world opens up in exciting—and confusing—ways. Not only is she getting used to life outside the safety of her Amish culture in Pennsylvania, but she finds herself spending time with Ben, the handsome Amish man who is working as a contractor on the house next door to where she's staying. He is charming, outgoing, strong, and so bold in his affection for her! 

When Emma is forced to leave North Carolina suddenly, she doesn't get a chance to say goodbye to Ben or to exchange phone numbers or addresses. She trusts that he will find her eventually, but as months go by with no word from him, she doesn't know what to make of the romance they had shared. 

Emma's best friend Eva invites her to go on a camping trip and she agrees, only to discover Eva has schemed to set Emma up with Matt, a cousin who had long since left the Amish community and was living a faithless, wordly life. Annoyed and longing for Ben, she is relieved when Matt assures her he has no interest in dating her. He's nice enough, but he's not Ben, and besides, Emma would never date a man who had chosen to leave his parents, their faith, and their deeply held traditions.

When eventually Emma returns to North Carolina to reunite with Ben, her world is shattered in a way she couldn't have imagined, and she is left to grapple with her faith, her future, and her complicated feelings. Why did God keep stringing her along, only to leave her broken again and again? 

Ratings and reviews

Love in Unlikely Places by Linda Byler is a unique Amish novel. I thought the book was well-written with friendly main character. Emma Beiler is ready for a change. After spending the last ten years teaching and working her families produce fields in the summer, Emma wants to do something different. She is twenty-six, unmarried, and has yet to become baptized. Emma would like a chance to spready her wings. When she finds an ad for an English couple who need a nanny, Emma calls them to apply. She would get to spend the summer at the beach in North Carolina looking after two children age two and four. I could relate to Emma’s feelings regarding the ocean. It is calming and so peaceful. I enjoyed the author’s descriptive writing that perfectly captured the beach and the vast ocean including the smell (that salty tang in the air). I felt bad for Emma who was being taken advantage of by her employers. They pulled a bait and switch. Hired her as a nanny and then made her a housekeeper too. Emma is out of her comfort zone, but we see her adapting. I had to laugh as she tried to figure out the coffee machine. Emma also gets to see a different style of parenting. She is unprepared for the little girl’s temper tantrums and how the parents cater to the child. Everything happens for a reason as we see in Love in Unlikely Places and we must wait for God’s timing not our own. Emma learns some valuable life lessons in her journey and meets an incredible woman along the way. Emma pushed the boundaries thanks to her supportive parents (they are also worn out thanks to their ten children). Love in Unlikely Places is unlike other Amish books which I appreciated. It would be great if Linda Byler did a story featuring Dena Beiler, Emma’s younger sister. Love in Unlikely Places is a captivating and atypical Amish story with temper tantrum toddler, beautiful beach, a temperamental teen, a libidinous lady, and a matchmaking comrade.

About the author

Linda Byler grew up Amish and is an active member of the Amish church today. She is the author of five bestselling fiction series, all set in the Amish world: Hester's Hunt for Home, Lancaster Burning, Sadie’s Montana, Lizzie Searches for Love, and The Dakota Series. In addition, Byler authored The Healing and has written several Christmas romances: A Horse for Elsie, A Dog for Christmas, The Little Amish Matchmaker, The Christmas Visitor, Mary’s Christmas Good-Bye, and Becky Meets Her Match. Linda writes all her novels by hand in a notebook and is also well known within the Amish community as a columnist for a weekly Amish newspaper.