A Baby for Hannah

Hannah's Heart #3

by Jerry S. Eicher

In Jerry Eicher's final, never-before-published book in the Hannah's Heart series, Jake and Hannah Byler are adjusting to life in their Amish community in rural Montana. While Jake works long days as a furniture maker and newly appointed minister, Hannah stays busy keeping their home in order. Both anticipate their baby's birth with joy. When word of the Mennonite tent revival spreads and worry about losing church members mounts, Hannah's sister arrives and quickly catches the eye of the young bachelor whose brother left the church during the last revival. At the same time, Jake and Hannah's neighbor―an Englisha ―announces his interest in one of the Amish widows. Drawing from his own Amish experiences, Eicher tells this rich story of colliding cultures and gives his growing readership one last glimpse at Jake and Hannah's determination to stay faithful to God and the traditions of their church. About This The Hannah's Heart series follows Hannah Byler's quest for true love within the traditions of the Amish faith. Although life in rural Montana is unfamiliar and at times dangerous, Hannah learns to thrive as she shoulders new responsibilities, deals with sudden hardships, and embraces her place in this small community of believers.

Genres: Amish, Romance, Christian Fiction, Amish Fiction, Christian

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2011

About the author

Jerry Eicher’s bestselling Amish fiction (more than 210,000 in combined sales) includes The Adams County Trilogy, the Hannah’s Heart books, and the Little Valley Series. After a traditional Amish childhood, Jerry taught for two terms in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. Since then he’s been involved in church renewal, preaching, and teaching Bible studies. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina Eicher, and their four children in Virginia.

Reviews

[Maria Pierron]

I saw another review questioned whether the same person wrote all the books in this series and I have to agree. This one was written way different than the other two. For one thing, Hannah and Jake are all over each other but they're awkward and it's annoying.

I found myself rooting for the Mennonites to steal away members from this group of Amish because they were so cult-like. The number of times the ministers went to people's houses to chastise them was off the charts. Who wants to be part of a religion like that?! It's no wonder Amish were leaving.

Miriam was not smart and decided instantly that she was going to be in love with Dennis no matter what. First of all, his name is Dennis.

In the end, Hannah and just about everyone else in this community cared way too much about what other people thought of them and after reading three of these books I can only hope that this attitude isn't chipping away at my own confidence! Thanks, Jerry. Thanks for nothing.

[Debbiedowner]

In the past I've been a huge defender of Jerry S. Eicher. Many Amish Romance fans find his novels too "realistic." They want sap not honesty. Eicher is said to have been raised Amish, so he understands the real Amish world. However, I'm starting to think that Jerry S. Eicher might be another Franklin W. Dixon. If you don't understand what I mean, google it. His writing style changes dramatically from novel to novel. Sometimes they are okay, sometimes they are polished and professional, and then there's this one. A Baby for Hannah had so many issues I could not finish it. I probably tried five times at least. How badly I wanted to read it since I'd enjoyed those that preceded it. The first three chapters, for example, were literally the same story retold in different fashion--unintentionally. The repetitiveness is only eclipsed by the overuse of the gerund phrase, which many amateur writers do. The writing was long winded, boring, bad grammar.... an endless list of no-nos. I will not even attempt to finish this novel in the future, not even on a rainy day. Will I read any future "Jerry S. Eicher" novels (whoever he is)? I'm unsure.....

[Gail]

Interesting story. Third book of the series. A member of the AmIsh church had left to become a Mennonite. Now he's in town to hold a Revival and convert the AmIsh. This is the only AmIsh book I've read that has animosity among the two sects

[Marion Buehring]

After reading 3 books about Hannah and following her life, it ended unclimaticly.

[Cheryl]

While Hannah is having a baby , most of the story was about the fear of the Amish community over the revival meetings the Mennonites are having and people leaving their church.

[Margaret Nelson]

I was glad to finally get that baby born and Miriam married off :-) I continued to have a hard time identifying with the female characters.

[Laura]

Title: A BABY FOR HANNAH
Author: Jerry Eicher
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
July 2011
ISBN: 978-0736943369
Genre: Inspirational/women’s fiction/Amish

Jake and Hannah Byler have miscarried one very wanted baby, and now they are looking forward to the birth of another one—if Hannah can carry it to term. Hannah’s sister, Miriam, has come to “help out” after the birth of the baby, and in the mean time as a horsetrainer for another woman. Hannah gets involved in a very quick romance with an Amishman in the area, but there is some concern that her new beau will jump the fence.

Jake is upset and bothered because a Mennonite evangelist is coming to the area and there is a danger that some of the Amish will leave to follow that group. He’s also not happy that his English boss has expressed interest in joining the Amish church so he can get married to one of the Amish women. Jake has discouraged the romance, but is he able to stop forbidden love from blooming.

A BABY FOR HANNAH is the third book of Hannah’s Heart series. I didn’t read any of the other books in this series, but Mr. Eicher did a good job explaining things enough that I really wasn’t lost.

I enjoyed getting to know Hannah and Jake, and experiencing a bit of Mr. Eicher’s style of writing. I found it very informative, and Hannah and Jake both could be real people with very real struggles.

If you enjoy reading Amish fiction, then A BABY FOR HANNAH would be a good book to read. Hannah and Jake’s romance is already established, but there are two other romances in the book, Miriam’s and Mary’s, so if you want romance, you won’t be disappointed. $11.99. 277 pages.

[June Ahern]

This book is the third in the series of "Hannah's Heart" and I didn't read the two before this one. It seems Hannah and her husband, Jake, had a miscarriage in a previous one and are now expecting again. They are a nice young couple with a simple life but complicated relationships with family (Hannah's sister Miriam who comes to live with them and is desperate for a husband), friends and religious community members. Jake has drawn the lot so he is a popular young preacher for the Amish community. Trouble brews as members want to split from one fraction (or religion) and head to another.

There are parts I enjoyed but somewhere lost focus and found finishing the book to be a labor of "must finish" than wanting to finish. I probably would not read the first two books.



The Skye in June

[Cheryl Baranski]

A baby for Hannah

Hannah Byler has been happily married to Jake
for a while now. Jake is a recently appointed
minister in their Amish community. This was a
major change in Jake and Hannah’s lives.
Jake and Hannah are awaiting the birth of their
baby.
Members of their community are upset when a
Mennonite tent revival comes to their small
community. They are trying to draw members of
the Amish community away.
Will their lives get back to normal?
Will members of their community walk away
and join the Mennonites?
This is a must read series!
5 stars!

[Christy]

This was a most disappointing read. I know this seems trivial but this also was one of the worst Amish fiction covers I've ever seen. This whole book for me lacked a interesting story-line. Most of the book is about the Mennonite tent revival coming to town and of course Hannah is having a baby. Hannah is the main character and for me she lacked any emotional depth. It was just a book of words for me; no rise or fall. I can always appreciate humor in the books I read; a trait that for me a lot of authors are falling short on. This one lacked any endearment for me.

[Krissie]

When word of the Mennonite tent revival spreads and worry about losing church members mounts, Hannah's sister arrives and quickly catches the eye of the young bachelor whose brother left the church during the last revival. At the same time, Jake and Hannah's neighbor--an Englisha--announces his interest in one of the Amish widows.

[Rachel]

While Jerry Eicher isn't one of the best authors of Amish fiction I've read,some of his novels like this one are sweet and interesting. His characters can be a bit flat,but the plots tend to be pleasant.

[Robin Lewis]

Great. book by Jerry Wisher about an Amish couple trying to deal with everyday life after they lost their 1 st child to stillbirth. written with life in beautiful Montana mountains. very good story lines with a lot going on in this small town. I really enjoyed the book

[Hope]

This is the first book I read by this author so I wasnt sure what to expect. I really enjoyed this book because it had so many aspects that it kept me interested all the way to the very end. I loved the book!

[Debbie West]

great series dreams can come true even with stressful times

[Barbara Barber]

I loved this book. I really felt like I knew Hannah. Jerry Eicher is a great writer.

[Louise E.]

Good story. But, I was a little disappointed at the way it ended.

[Felicia de Kock]

Awesome

I like the settings of the book. But what I dislike is that they could've written a few more books in the series of Hannah's Heart!

[Dawn]

Fantastic ending to the Hannah's Heart series. Jerry is a wonderful Amish author. Love the books