Treasuring Emma

Middlefield Family #1

by Kathleen Fuller

Emma always put the needs of others ahead of her own. When will it be her turn to be treasured?

Adam was her first love and best friend. But then he went away. Determined to experience the freedom of living in the Englisch world, he left Emma heart-broken. How could he have chosen the world over her?

Now Adam is back in Middlefield and Emma can't seem to keep him away from her family's farm. But this time she's determined to guard her heart. It might be love that keeps him there . . . or perhaps just guilt.

When a newcomer arrives in town and shows an interest in Emma, she dismisses Adam's insistence that she be cautious. All this attention is new to her and she doesn't know quite how to accept it. Emma knows her Heavenly Father treasures her. But will her new beau?

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

303 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

Best-selling author of Amish fiction. Also a wife, mother, crafter, coffee addict, football fan, and chocolate aficionado.

Reviews

[Kav · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's no secret that I love a good Amish story and Treasuring Emma is definitely that. If you love Amish fiction like I do, you will love this book. But, if you aren't a fan of the Amish, I bet you'll love this book too. Why? Because there's nothing typecast in Fuller's characters. Many people think that Amish stories are sweet little ditties about forgiving characters who love the Lord and want nothing more in life than to be obedient.

Nuh-uh!

Not in Treasuring Emma. Let's see, we have a heroine who is just a tad bitter about her lot in life and isn't above being a bit snarky on occasion. And unreasonable. Especially with her sister.

And the sister -- oh my -- she's not your cliche Amish frau, that's for sure. The woman is stressed to the gills and not handling it well at all. Her poor husband!!! But then if he says "God will provide" one more time I might have rebelled as well.

And then there's Adam -- stalwart hero material finding out that 'you can't go home again'...or can you? Maybe with a little maturity and lowered expectations you can. See, Adam comes from a dysfunctional home...a dysfunctional Amish home. His dad is taciturn and difficult. His mother...struggling. He's caught in the middle and feeling like he's the problem.

Then there's the newcomer sweet on Emma! Oy! Don't get me started!!!!

Thank goodness for Leona. She's kind, compassionate, understanding, non-judgemental, loving and forgiving. Everything a good Amish grandmother should be. Hopefully her example rubs off on the rest of them! :-)

Fuller throws these poor, tortured characters into a plot full of surprises, adds a good dose of suspense and action and voila...a-not-your-typical-Amish-story is born. I couldn't put it down and I bet you won't be able to either.

[Carolyn Vandine West · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the other books I have read by Fuller. But somehow I just didn’t connect with anyone in the story. Emma the main character seemed to be a little wish washy and wasn’t able to forgive Adam for his past abandonment. But she also didn’t seem to move on with her life. I will read the next book in the series because I do want to know what happens. Library book.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a extremely well written Amish romance novel with great character development. I enjoyed seeing the relationships between both Emma and Adam as well as Clara and Peter be restored. I liked the themes of forgiving those who've wronged us and of trusting God for provision. The only problem I had with this novel is that I'm not sure how I feel about the author leaving a con artist in the process of wooing another victim. However, I really loved this novel, and it has earned its place on my favorites list.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!! Great story!! Didn't like her sister at first!! Didn't like mark!! Glad her and mark got back together!! Can't wait to read the next book in the series!! Love this author's books!!

[Terese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good or heartwarming as her stuff usually is. The Mark plot felt awkward and forced. So many things were just glossed over.

[Maureen Timerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that you want to get to the end to find out what happens, but you never want it to end! It is Emma's and Adam's story, along with a lot of family! The book opens at the home of Emma and her Grandmother, just after burying Emma's Mom Mary.
Adam has left being Amish and was embracing the English life, or was he? When Leona, Emma's Grandmother, writes him to tell of Mary's passing and that his Mom Carol has not been well, he decides to come home for a visit.
Emma is trying to figure out what to do now that he Mom has passed, and she has a lot of bills to pay. Her sister Clara, now wants to turn her Grandfather's shed into a Fabric Shop. Adam was her "lost Love", her heart is torn in so many directions. Makes you wonder if things are ever going to work out? Enter Clara and Peter's cousin Mark, who appears to have taken an interest in Emma?
There is a lot of suspense and scary things going on, you will not be able to put it down.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treasuring Emma had me from page one. When I had to put the book down I couldn't wait to pick it back up.

Emma Shetler's story begins with the death of her Mother. Emma feels completely dead inside. It was Emma and her Grandmother Leona now. Of course there was Clara, her Sister, but they had never gotten along. Clara, her husband Peter and their three children lived in their own little house not too far from Emma and her Grandmother's.

Emma's first love and best friend Adam left the Amish community two years ago breaking Emma's heart. She had loved Adam. Adam didn't feel the same way or he would never have left. Emma knew she was a little on the heavy side and thought of herself as homely. Who would love her?

The author from the beginning of the book and throughout the book right up until the end made it a point to teach us that God will provide if we only allow Him to. It is about turning everything over to Him in complete Faith. As you will read in the book several characters in the book were not doing this. Will they eventually do this?

I think another lesson to take away from this book is lasting love. Do we treasure the love we share in our own relationships? Did the characters in this book treasure the love in their relationships?

This is a book you won't want to miss!

[Carrie Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ohhhhh this book hit home - on many levels. I saw myself in both Clara and Emma and found lessons I could learn from each. The element of mystery included in "Treasuring Emma" added an extra boost to an already wonderful story, and the questions left unanswered at the end of the story provide the perfect lead-in for the next book in the series. I'm excited to see how Fuller knits the threads together.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite good and I liked it. The reason for 3 stars is that it wasn't as good as Written in Love also by K. Fuller which was my first book by the author.

[Rachel Brand · Rating 4 out of 5]

GENRE: AMISH ROMANCE
PUBLISHER: THOMAS NELSON
PUBLICATION DATE: AUGUST 02, 2011
RATING: 3.5 OUT OF 5 – GOOD

PROS: Storylines provide an interesting contrast; easy, compelling read

CONS: Villain seemed slightly caricatured and had unconvincing motives; found it hard to sympathise with one of the central characters; romance is relatively predictable

Several years ago, Adam Otto left his family and Amish community, breaking Emma Shetler’s heart in the process. Emma never stopped grieving for Adam, and now the death of her mother has created more pain. Emma needs to find a way to support herself and her ailing grandmother, but she isn’t convinced by her sister’s idea to open a fabric shop in her grandfather’s old workshop. But Emma doesn’t know that Clara and her husband are struggling financially, especially now that their cousin, Mark, has come to live with them for an indefinite period of time.

Clara’s marriage is experiencing difficulties, not only because her husband, Peter, has been out of work for nine months. The strain of having an extra person living in their house only seems to make things worse, especially as Mark’s interest in her younger sister is making her realise what she’s missing in her marriage. But someone else isn’t too pleased with the attention Mark is paying to Emma – Adam Otto, Emma’s first love.

Home on a visit from the English world, Adam can’t help but keep running into Emma. Initially he just wants to help her and her grandmother get back on their feet, but when he realises that she’s caught the attention of a newcomer to the community, he can’t help but feel jealous. Or is it more than jealousy that he’s feeling? Do all of Emma’s friends have reason to feel uneasy about Mark’s unexpected presence in their community?

Although I’m a devoted fan of Amish fiction, Treasuring Emma is the first full-length novel that I’ve read from Kathleen Fuller. I enjoyed reading a few of her novellas last year and hoped to experience more of the same with the first novel in the Middlefield Family series. The story of a young man returning to his Amish community and trying to win back his lost love is a fairly common one, but Kathleen adds a few twists to it by inserting a potentially dangerous love interest and exploring the relationship between Emma’s married sister and her husband. The main storyline was still fairly predictable, but Kathleen’s writing is very compelling and I found myself returning to the book whenever I had a spare moment. Even if Treasuring Emma isn’t the most original Amish novel that I’ve come across recently, it certainly contains a lot of the key aspects that make this genre so popular.

Much like some of the other well-known authors in this genre (Shelley Shepard Gray, Mary Ellis, Amy Clipston) Kathleen explores multiple perspectives in Treasuring Emma. While following multiple characters often means that you connect with some of them more so than others over the course of the story, I appreciated being able to gain insight into the minds of Leona, Clara and Mark, as well as Emma and Adam. Leona’s sections provided some encouraging insight into the grandmother’s wisdom and deep faith, while Clara’s allowed us to see the reasons why she was so pushy and overbearing with Emma at times. While I did eventually understand why Clara was such a difficult character, I still never felt like I completely sympathised with her. I’m not the sort of person who tries to take complete control over a problem and fix everything by myself, so I had trouble relating to her, although I’m sure her behaviour is typical of some women. I did find Mark’s perspective quite interesting to begin with, and I was intrigued by the mystery that was built up in his initial sections of the novel. However, as the story progressed I found Mark to be a bit caricatured. His story wasn’t entirely finished by the conclusion of Treasuring Emma, so I hope that the second book in the series provides more insight into his backstory and what made him into the kind of person he was in Treasuring Emma. While I appreciated the suspense that his character provided, his villainous nature felt a little over the top in places, particularly as we had little insight into his motives.

As I said, Emma and Adam’s romance is relatively predictable until Mark enters the picture. I liked the way that Mark bridged the gap between Emma and Adam’s story and Clara and Peter’s. The two couples provided an interesting contrast, which means that the reader never gets bored with one storyline as the book switches between the two fairly equally. Although the primary romance is one that’s been done many times before in this genre, I did really love Adam’s character, and I wanted him to win Emma’s heart simply because of how caring and genuine he seemed. Strangely enough, I actually found him a lot more realistic and sympathetic than Emma. The same can be said for Peter and Clara; while I loved Peter’s patience and wisdom (not so common among male Amish characters) I found myself getting frustrated with Clara after a while. It’s not common for a writer to make me connect with male characters over the female ones, so Treasuring Emma surprised me with this.

Ultimately, I was pleased with how most of the storylines worked out. It was encouraging to see Adam realising that he needed to make things right with God before he fixed matters with his family, community and Emma. The issue of Adam’s faith was never overbearing and seemed very natural. I was also pleased to see how his relationship with Emma concluded, just as I was with Clara and Peter. While I’m sure that both couples still have a lot to work on, the ending was open but optimistic. I’m intrigued to see where Mark’s storyline goes, and hope that it is wrapped up later in the series, since his plot was the only one that I felt needed more attention.

I’ve read a lot of great Amish books lately, so Treasuring Emma was up against some stiff competition. Although it wasn’t quite as original as some of my favourites in this genre, I did find Kathleen’s writing to be very compelling and easy to read. Some characters were less convincing and sympathetic than others, but as Treasuring Emma is part of a series, I hope that this is something that will be improved upon in the next book, Faithful to Laura.

Review title provided by Thomas Nelson.

[Catherine Flusche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story

Not a bad story so long as you don't think too hard about the details. The main issue is that in a secular romance communication issues are expected because people are "lone wolves" . But the Amish have a foundation of family and community, two things that shouldn't exist without excellent communication...except that's exactly what happens. Religious communities are usually governed by submission; everyone is submissive to someone older or in the case of women, male. Real communication isn't necessary because one person always has more say.

Clara got thrown under the bus twice by this author. Yes, she's a poor communicator, but her husband wasn't giving her much to work with, literally, and like I said above, she wouldn't have had any real practice really communicating because of their society. But I'm sure most readers will be content to think she's a bitch who needs to put more faith in God.

[Glynith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treasuring Emma by Kathleen Fuller is a very pleasing book. This is my first Kathleen Fuller book. Emma is grieving for her mom who recently died from cancer. Although her sister was not able to help in taking care of their mother while she was sick. Clara, the sister have ideas to help with their financial situation. But Emma is not ready to tackle with it just yet. Emma loved Adam who left the Amish lifestyle and broke her heart. Then Adam came back, sparkling all of Emma's old emotions. Mark King showed up in their community and is showing interest on her. How is Emma going to cope with all these while also taking care of their grandmother and the farm? Is Adam back for good or is he going to break her heart again? This book provides a glimpse of the Amish world, some mystery and even suspence and love. A good book to relax with for all ages.

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam was Emma’s best friend and first love. But he left the Amish community for the freedom of the English world and to get away from his father’s many rules. Now, a couple of years later, he is back, mostly because of his mother. Fearing she is in poor health, he decides to remain for a few weeks. But his attitudes -and his heart - are changing. Emma attracts the attention of a new man, and the whole situation distresses Adam. This first book in the series is well written, with likable characters placed in an interesting plot. It’s a nice story and a good lead-in to even better tales to come in the rest of the series.

[Susan Garatino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middlefield Dilemma

I love reading Amish stories. This one was very good. Emma has had it rough. First her dad passed, and then after a long illness, her mom. She and her elderly grandmother are left alone to manage the huge farm. She has no idea how, and is receiving little help from her sister and brother in law. Her former boyfriend, who left the Amish, returns home and begins helping her out. Her brother in law's cousin comes from out of state and shows an interest in Emma. Which is the one God intends for her, former boyfriend Adam or cousin Mark? God's leading and her grandmother's wisdom help Emma sort it out.

[Larisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy Kathleen Fuller’s writing style and the transparency of her characters.

In Treasuring Emma, Emma learns that she doesn’t need to be dependent upon Adam fir her happiness and contentment, but instead that when she relies on God, HE will bring His best plans for her life together.

Adam goes through great growing pains, leaves the Amish faith, but through it all...God’s plans unfold and Adam grows into the man he was called to be and appreciates his upbringing, values he was taught and how to “treasure” the woman God called him to be with.

[Amy C]

A wonderful book about how what you think you want usually isn't what you actually need to be happy and have peace. There are good and bad people everywhere and just because you live among the super strict/religious doesn't mean everyone actually adheres to those concepts. Seeking knowledge isn't a bad thing, just keep your eyes wide open. Asking for help along the way doesn't mean you're weak or incapable - usually it's the strongest among us that can ask for help and receive it graciously. GOD provides in "mysterious" ways (at least to our human mindset).

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young love, wanting to explore the outside world, and Adam felt empty.
A note of his mother being ill brings him back to Middlefield. The first thought he hand and felt was peace. Getting rid of the trappings and asking forgiveness was one step. For Emma she didn’t want heartbreak again.
She needed help keeping up the house and her grandmother. A story of forgiveness, even from Adams dad, and Emma.

[Tina Forry · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the first book that I read by this author. I was surprised to discover that she’s written quite a few Amish fiction books it seemed to me that she’s not familiar enough with the culture.
They do have phones and write letters. Realistically news about the “villain” in the story would have gotten around.
“God Helps those who help themselves” isn’t in the Bible. The author also didn’t handle Adam’s shunning very well.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treasuring Emma (Middlefield Family, #1) by Kathleen Fuller is just so sweet and nice. It is a good change up for me. In this one, it is obvious from the beginning who is the bad guy, but always a surprise to see the lengths he will reach to get his revenge. It is really well written with wonderful characters. I would read a hundred of these.

[Theresa Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book & Kathleen's style of writing. So different from other Amish books I've read. I was drawn into the characters and story from page one. Just enough of a mystery, love story (without being sappy) and intrigue to keep me turning the pages. I'm eager to read the other two books in this series.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Returning

A young man who left Amish life returns to find the girl he left still angry with him. Life is confusing for Emma as two men peruse her, her grandmother becomes ill and her sister tries to force her into a business she doesn't.

[Melissa H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emma never forgot her best friend Adam, even though he was bann and excommunicated from the Amish community. Despite others expressing interest in her, she holds true to her heart and Adam discovers life outside isn't what he was looking for after all.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story - enjoyed reading this book. The end part was a mystery - which you don't often find in this type of literature. I will try to find more books by this author.

[Megan Rang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Amish story was action packed an a great book to read.

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. Just did not want to put it down.

[Phyllis Stinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

Loved this read! The plot was great! The characters were great! Excellent! Going to buy the next one! Read this!

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, more dramatic than most Amish stories. Will read the rest of the series. Shows there are good and bad in all communities.

[Mary J · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant story to listen to. I find listening to stories like Emma, relaxing when I need to download my worries.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the twists and growth of each character's faith and realization of God's hand on their lives.

[Lisa Quenon · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are sweet, tender books that I am very much enjoying.