About the Book
Book: The Amish Outcast’s Holiday Return
Author: Lacy Williams
Genre: Contemporary Christian romance / Amish romance
Release date: November 1, 2021
Torn between family loyalty
and her dreams for the future…
Grace Beiler’s shocked when Zach Miller arrives at her family’s farmhouse seeking forgiveness for his teenage mistake that cost her sister’s fiancé his life. But when her father gives Zach a job, Grace gets to know the man he’s become…and starts to want more than friendship. Can love bloom amid hidden secrets and family grief, and give them a fresh start at Christmas?
Click here to get your copy!
MY REVIEW:
THE AMISH OUTCAST’S HOLIDAY RETURN is the first book I’ve ever read by Lacy Williams and I can’t wait to read more of her stories.. It is the story of Zach Miller who is back in town after spending years away. He is looking for forgiveness for something tragic that happened when he was a teenager. When Grace Beiler sees him standing on her family’s porch, her heart breaks for him. She is torn between helping him and staying in her sister’s good graces. At first Zach doesn’t entertain making her his girlfriend because he doesn’t believe he is good enough for Grace. His past will hang around his neck forever, or so he thinks. Lacy Williams does a great job of fleshing out her characters and making them likeable.
THE AMISH OUTCAST’S HOLIDAY RETURN is about Grace learning to trust her heart and Zach and letting go of the past. Lacy Williams sure knows how to make the reader feel as if they are right there at the kitchen table with the family dealing with all their troubles. She made me sad, then the next moment I was smiling and giggling out loud! You will never go wrong with a Lacy Williams book if you are a fan of the Amish genre. All of her characters feel genuine and relatable and put your emotions on one heck of a roller coaster ride. As you are reading, you will find yourself cheering for all of them, praying they can work out their problems and be happy once again. You will also wonder how much heartache a family can stand before it completely breaks down and splits.
THE AMISH OUTCAST’S HOLIDAY RETURN is a heart tugging story that will hold you hostage until the very last page. Once I started this heartwarming story, it was very hard to put down! All of the Amish value their family time at the kitchen table. It is where they come together after a long, hard day of work. Is there a place at the table for Grace and Zach? Will Zach have the simple Christmas his heart has been yearning for? Will Grace and Zach find a way to make it work? Or does God have another plan in store for them? I couldn’t wait to finish this wonderful story to see if Zach was able to find balance in his life or would he just keep working while life passed him by. The romance between the two main characters in THE AMISH OUTCAST’S HOLIDAY RETURN is so well done that it left me sighing with happiness.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Love Inspired through CelebrateLit. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
About the Author
Lacy Williams wishes her writing career was more like what you see on Hallmark movies: dreamy brainstorming from a French chateau or a few minutes at the computer in a million-dollar New York City penthouse. In reality, she’s up before the sun, putting words on the page before her kids wake up for the day. Those early-morning and late-night writing sessions add up, and Lacy has published fifty books in almost a decade, first with a big five publisher and then as an indie author. When she needs to refill the well, you can find Lacy birdwatching, gardening, biking with the kiddos, or walking the dog. Find tons of bonus scenes and reader extras by becoming a VIP reader at http://www.lacywilliams.net/vip .
More from Lacy
The Best Part of a Barn Raising
Have you ever had your community rally around you? Maybe some of your friends threw you a baby shower. Maybe your church helped with a meal train when you were ill for a time. Maybe you played sports and raised money together as a team.
Has your community ever built you a house?
I’ve written lots of historical books. I’ve written a barn-raising or two into my books. Until I started researching for THE AMISH OUTCAST’S HOLIDAY RETURN, I didn’t realize that community “raising” events still happened in 2021. They do!
In some Amish communities, builders will gather all the materials for the house or barn and on (usually) a Saturday, the entire community will gather to build the whole structure. There’s a really cool timelapse of a barn raising on YouTube that you can check out.
I’ve always loved writing about these events because of the community aspect. We need human connection and there’s something special about having your community surround you and show their love in a tangible way. Imagine walking into your home that your friends built for you. Every time you walked over the threshold you could remember the friend who built the door frame. When it storms, you could appreciate the roof over your head that many friends helped stretch the frame for. What an amazing feeling of belonging.
Of course, barn raisings and house raisings wouldn’t be complete without the food. Typically, the women and girls put together a giant potluck for the men and boys who are doing the physical work of building the structure. Brainstorming for this always makes me remember church potlucks when I was a child. Our church met at the local 4-H building. We would stretch out folding tables and chairs in long rows. And the food. Pasta salad. Fried chicken. Chocolate cake!
(I also remember roller skating in the back of the massive building with my friends, but that is a whole other story…).
Memories and friendships are forged at church potlucks and barn raisings. And when you are on the inside, it creates a lovely sense of belonging. But the hero in THE AMISH OUTCAST’S HOLIDAY RETURN, Zach, is not on the inside. He’s an outsider who has come home and is searching for a place to belong. The barn raising/potluck is the moment when heroine Grace sees a hint of vulnerability in Zach—because he wants to belong. It changes everything in their new acquaintanceship.
Want to know more about this book? Check out the “read inside” feature and try Chapter One on your favorite retailer.
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 3
The Avid Reader, November 3
Texas Book-aholic, November 4
Maureen’s Musings, November 4
Lighthouse Academy Blog , November 5 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)
Inklings and notions, November 5
lakesidelivingsite, November 6
Bigreadersite, November 6
For Him and My Family, November 7
Mary Hake, November 7
deb’s Book Review, November 8
SusanLovesBooks, November 8
Locks, Hooks and Books, November 9
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 9
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, November 10
Simple Harvest Reads, November 10 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
She Lives To Read, November 11
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 12
Labor Not in Vain, November 12
Older & Smarter?, November 13
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, November 13
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, November 14
Splashes of Joy, November 14
Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, November 15
Pause for Tales, November 15
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 16
Vicky Sluiter, November 16
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Lacy is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card & paperback copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/12f81/the-amish-outcast-s-holiday-return-celebration-tour-giveaway
Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful Monday!🍁
It sounds really good, thanks for sharing, Susan!
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Lovely review Susan, I sure enjoyed the author’s note about barn raisings!
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Wonderful review Susan. I am not familiar with this author either. I have a picture in my basement of my in-laws barn during their barn raising over 50 years ago. 💖📚😀
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Congratulations on your new release, Lacy, your book sounds like a wonderful holiday read! Thanks for bringing it to my attention! Thanks, Susan, for sharing your lovely review! Have a magical holiday season!
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Thank you for sharing your lovely review of this story, it sounds like a wonderful read
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This sounds like a wonderful book.
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Good book for holiday reading.
Thanks for the contest.
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Good luck Slehan!❤
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