A BOOK REVIEW OF A WEDDING FOR JULIA BY VANNETTA CHAPMAN

The Pebble Creek Amish series authored by Vannetta Chapman continues with A Wedding for Julia (Harvest House Publishers).  Readers who are admirers of sweet romances will swoon over the courtship of Caleb and Julia.  The excellent writing style of Vannetta Chapman will captivate and mesmerize booklovers of all ages.

Julia is 37 years old and has stayed at home in Pebble Creek, Wisconsin to take care of her widowed mother Ada, missing out on any chance to marry and have a family.  She is stunned to find out that prior to her father’s death, her parents had modified their will to force Julia to move many states away to live with relatives unless she has married by the time of her mother’s death.  Julia is sick with hurt feelings and dread as she wants to make her own way in Pebble Creek; she wants to open a café where she can cook and earn enough to make a living.  No amount of pleading to her mother or Bishop Atlee will change their minds or the terms of the will.

Caleb, 40 years old, has only lived in Pebble Creek for a year; he is a hard worker, delivering groceries to the area’s Amish families.  One day while Caleb is delivering groceries to Julia, she confides in Caleb about her family situation and to her great surprise, he proposes a solution to her problem.  Will these two strangers be able to forge a happy life together? 

Meanwhile, 17 year old Sharon, from Monroe, Indiana and cousin to Caleb, has gotten into trouble once again with her parents.  She has been sneaking out of the house to see her good for nothing boyfriend.  Sharon’s parents have had enough and decide to send her to Pebble Creek to live with Cousin Caleb.  Will Sharon be able to put her rebellious nature behind her?  Will she be able to forget the disastrous last night with her boyfriend?

Sharon, Ada, Julia, and Caleb end up living together and working together at the café that they open in the first floor of their home and the story unfolds from there.  This is one of the most beautifully written novels in the Amish genre.  Vannetta Chapman has a true instinct and aptitude for writing romance in her novels and nowhere is that more true than in A Wedding for Julia.  The Pebble Creek Amish series concluded with this third novel, A Wedding for Julia which was published July 1, 2013.