Love In Unlikely Places

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.