She could never marry for love. But what about for a family?
Still grieving her beloved fiancé’s death, Katie Mast is not interested in finding a new husband—even if the matchmaker believes widower Micah Bontrager and his three children are perfect for her. But Katie’s compassion knows no bounds and she agrees to nanny the little ones. Could this arrangement lead to a life—and love—she thought could never exist again?
From Love Inspired: Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.
Katie Mast is heartbroken over the death of her fiance one month before the weddin Micah Bontrager has moved back home with his children after the death of his wife. He knows he needs to remarry for his children and hires a matchmaker to find him a wife. Her choice is Katie! But Katie has decided to never marry but she will help with Micah's children. The only problem...Micah is the older brother of her former love. Can anything come of this? A good read.
Katie Mast and Micah Bontrager both know what it's like to have experienced a huge loss. What they don't know and what they don't see at first is that this common thread is exactly what will draw them together. Katie and Micah's story is a beautiful story of forgiveness, overcoming, and love that will greatly touch your heart.
Another unnecessarily cute Amish romance that had me all gooey and gushy. Almost-a-bride, Katie Mast is grieving over the death of her fiancé, Jacob, and rightly so. How is she supposed to move on when she thinks she's seeing his ghost?! Enter widower and father of three, Micah Bontrager, who has his hands full and a heart full of grief after the death of his wife. Micah needs a wife to care for his children and Katie needs a husband, according to her mother. Thank goodness the local matchmaker has an idea. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for everyone involved it turns out Micah is Jacob's older brother, who missed the funeral. There's no way they can get involved now! Right? Except Katie is determined to do the right thing and Micah needs the extra pair of hands. After all, it won't turn into anything more than a nanny job. Right?
This novel falls under the semi-forbidden romance, more specifically where the hero and/or heroine falls for the sibling of a former lover, which is a hard trope to do right. Thankfully, author Rebecca Kertz handles it with care. Katie and Micah never had the chance to meet so there were no feelings brewing while Katie was engaged to Jacob. The minor hiccup of Micah and Jacob looking similar (they are siblings, duh) is gradually faded out as Katie falls for Micah, the individual, not Micah, Jacob's older brother. Like other Amish romances, the story centers on grief and the hardship of moving on from a loved one's death. As the two main characters acknowledge their grief individually, they build a strong bond centered on house and home. The love Katie gives to Micah's kids is endearing and it's easy to see why he falls for her. How could he not? Clearly I loved this book, I got gooey all over again writing this review, so it's easy to give it a four out of five stars. My only hiccup was there was a lot of mystery lingering around Jacob's mysterious death. It seemed like we were leading up to a resolution but never got one, which was a bummer. Back on a positive, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes the blended family trope (cute kids baking for the win) and slow burn romance.