Amish Sweethearts by Leslie Gould

  Book Info For years Zane Beck and his Amish neighbor Lila Lehman were best of friends. But just as Zane gathered the courage to discover if their friendship could develop into something more, her controlling father arranged for her to be courted by their bishop's son. Zane, heartbroken and frustrated, joined the Army, running away from his shattered dreams.

The passing of time and the distance between Zane and Lila haven't been enough to halt their--now completely hidden--feelings for each other. Any hope for their love grows even more impossible though as Zane's service takes a dangerous turn when he's deployed to Afghanistan. Being on the frontline, confronted with the hard choices of war, has him questioning everything, including whether he can continue to serve or not. But all choices have consequences, and with Lila preparing to marry another, will these one-time sweethearts ever find the life together that they both still long for?    My Review I believe this is the first book I have read by Leslie Gould. The plot sounded a little different than what I normally read so I decided to try it. And I was happily surprised with how great the book was! Even though I did not read the first book in this series I did not feel like I was missing anything. The writing was wonderfully done, and there were surprises in the story that I did not see coming. I also really enjoyed getting a look at the different cultures that were in the story, one in Afghanistan and the other one in the Amish community back in the US. Plus the settings and details in the story were beautifully done and made the book feel even more real.      I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. The opinions are my own.