Amish Promises by Leslie Gould

She made a deathbed promise to care for her sister-in-law's children.  That may have ended her own hopes of a family of her own, but she would do anything for her.  It didn't matter, she wasn't in love with anyone anyhow.

Bethany House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, you can grab a copy now.

When I began reading this, I knew it was going to be about conflict between an Amish family and their non-Amish neighbors.  Ms. Gould drops an even thornier problem in this mix; Joel was injured in the war and has a bad leg and even worse attitude.  Mixing military and Amish is like oil and water; it doesn't.

Eve is caring for her brother's family and she's happy to have a woman living next door that she can chat with.  Joel's friend, Charlie, comes to help the family settle in and enjoys chatting with Eve, too.  Tim is the widowed patriarch next door, and he doesn't like his sister mingling with the Englischers.  However, when Zach inadvertently hurts his favorite son, he's willing to take Shani's help at keeping him alive and tells Zach he has to do Simon's chores until he's healed.  This connection leads to more interaction between the two families. The most devastating thing that could happen happens.  Eve falls in love with Charlie.  Her brother forbids her to see him again.

There's always conflict between Englischers and the Amish but adding a military family next door is a bit extreme.  The author also mixes the stories of the two families so you learn about Joel's problems, too.  Both families have a lot to work out before they can smile again.

All in all, this is a story of hope and love mixed with stress and emotional outbursts.  Sounds just like life, doesn't it?