ALL OF BEVERLY LEWIS' BOOKS ARE GREAT. I TRULY ENJOY READING BOOKS THAT HAVE CLEAN LANGUAGE AND A SPIRITUAL LESSON IN EACH BOOK. SHE IS THE GREATEST.
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Review 2 for Secret, The - eBook
Overall Rating:
5out of5
Excellent Reading
Date:May 23, 2011
Andrew Wapakala
Location:Nairobi, kenya
Age:25-34
Gender:male
Quality:
5out of5
Value:
4out of5
Meets Expectations:
4out of5
The story is very captivating and provides excellent reading. It held my attention from start to finish. The story is emotional as well as insightful. You really connect with the characters as they go about their daily lives.
It was excellent to get this book via e-book download and start immediate reading. Saves us the waiting for delivery.
Lewis is one of my favorite Christian authors and I have read all of her books. She always does a lot of research into the Amish culture and lifestyle. While I would not rank “The Secret” as Lewis’ best book, I would say it is one of her better books. As with many of her series this first book ends with many unanswered questions and with nothing completely resolved. This makes the reader excited for the next book in the series to see what happens. On the whole, it leaves readers excited to see what will happen in the next book by leaving many unanswered questions. It tells an interesting story which keeps readers entertained and is definitely worth reading.
I enjoy reading the books written by Beverly Lewis and this trilogy (The Secret is the first in the series) has it all, but especially God. A great, quick read but with lots of intrigue. I will pass it on to friends who also enjoy books by Lewis.
Though the story is interesting I find when I finished this book I was left unsatisfied. I am having a hard time beginning the second book of the series because I find the story is moving very slow. I feel like nothing was concluded in the first book and that is a little frustrating. However, the characters are likeable and maybe the next in the series will develop a little more now that the secret is known to the readers.
While this book in no way is as good as some of Ms. Lewis' earlier works, I have to say that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. I've read several reviews that practically bashed it, saying that it's too depressing, that there are too many characters to follow, that there are loose ends not resolved, etc. I have a few things to say about each one of those points.First of all, yes, the book is slightly depressing, but I don't think she meant for this particular series to start off as happy. Yes, the mother leaves her husband and her children, and none of them know why. They are left to pick up the shreds of their dignity among their community. None of that is pleasant, but that's the story Ms. Lewis chose to write. Secondly, the characters. I didn't think there were too many to follow; it seemed to be an adequate amount to keep it interesting, but not too many to keep up with. The only complaint that I had were a few characters had names that were too similar. Martin and Marian look very similar, as do Adam and Andy. I think a little bit more creativity could've been used when she selected the names.Lastly, yes, there are loose ends at the end of the book, but that's the author's preference. Not every author is going to have a complete resolution at the end of every book. There are several storylines that are going on, and they can't all be covered in one book. Otherwise, there would be complaints that the story was too rushed. Personally, I didn't mind that the story ended the way it did. The actual "secret" of the book was revealed, but how it will play out will be revealed in books 2 & 3.I am quite excited to read the rest of the series, mainly because the storyline is outside the norm for Amish fiction. Women just do not walk out on their families in the Amish world. I'm not expecting happy resolutions all around, but I do think it will be some great reading....I'm really looking forward to it.
I have to honestly say that I'm writing this review for the first and second books. I loved the characters of Grace and Yonnie. I haven't seen anything like them before. But Lettie, her husband, and Heather I just didn't enjoy as much. I've read all of Beverly Lewis's books and to me this one wasn't as good as some of her others. She already used the child out of wedlock story in Abram's daughters, the englisher-once-Amish story in Annie's people, and just seemed like it wasn't original. It wasn't really planned either. The fact that heather is adopted just pops up, no leading up to it or anything. There it is she's adopted. The second book was so slow. Nothing happened. It was so predictable that I let a friend borrow it not more than a week after it was out and she returned it claiming she had read it before. I fairly devoured the 2nd book only to reach a cliffhanging end and feel completely ripped off. There was no information that was really conveyed in the 2nd book. And not only that, I have to wait till next year to read what I know already happens.If you plan on reading this book, I recommend you wait till the last one is done and have all three readily available to read in one sitting, that way you won't feel let down.
actually Karen is the one who ordered and read it. I loved the book and can't wait to read #2 coming in Sept. that I have already ordered. Beverly Lewis is one of my favoriate authors and I love reading the Amish books.
This was a really great book. I love all of Beverly Lewis books but I especially love her Amish series. It gives those of us that would never know anything about the Amish a look inside their world. It is great.
REALLY good - and again makes us realize that perceptions of another's actions are just that and not always reality! Am really looking forward to the sequel!
I apologize for such a poor review but I must be honest. Beverly Lewis is one of my favorite authors, however, I have not enjoyed her last few books, as much as, her earlier novels. "The Secret" was SO dull, it took me three weeks to trudge through it. I had to force myself to pick it up and read. I usually devour this genre of novels, but not this one. The author failed to tie these two unrelated storylines together. I don't mind a cliffhanger, but this book lacks any suspense. The ending was flat... it just stopped... What's with that??? The character development and personalities were more worldly and odd for Amish. On a good note, I am glad to see writings about the life of a woman in her 40's. BUT did she have to be such a FLAKE??
I enjoyed this book, as I usually do enjoy Beverly Lewis. However, I have a question: On page 297, it is written "Grace had left lean ground beef to thaw on the counter while she was in Bart." How did she get it frozen? I thought this family did not have electricity and I'm wondering what kind of freezer she might have. But the book held my attention throughout and was very enjoyable.
This wasn't my favorite. I love Amish fiction and I love Beverly Lewis. This book seemed to develop very slowly and I found myself wanting to skip to the end and read some. It was as if it were drawn out more than necessary to be able to create book 2, instead of putting the story closer together in one book. I suppose I like series books that tend to close one story and then have characters branch off from story one to create story two. Still a fan even though I found this one lacking.