Beauty in the Binding: Book Review: Under the Blue Skies by Elly Gilbert & Tricia Goyer

Under the Blue Skies JustRead Takeover + Review Blitz

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for Under the Blue Skies by Elly Gilbert & Tricia Goyer hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: Under the Blue Skies

Series: Big Sky Amish #3

Authors: Elly Gilbert & Tricia Goyer

Publisher: Sunrise Publishing

Release Date: August 8, 2023

Genre: Contemporary Amish Romance

Thomas Smucker moved to West Kootenai for a fresh start—one where he could make his own decisions and build a life away from his deceased father’s harsh reputation. But when a tragedy occurs, he finds his five-year-old niece in his care. Now, he has to build a life he didn’t want and face a past that he longed to escape.

Lovina Graber dreams of a husband and family of her own, but a lifelong limp and disfigured face have her doubting it will ever happen. Instead, she’s content working as a scribe for The Budget and spending her days helping her parents and the less fortunate in her community. Well, mostly content. And then there’s that secret anonymous column she’s been writing too …

When a newly arrived bachelor becomes an instant father, Lovina feels compelled to come to the rescue, helping Thomas care for his Englisch niece as he works toward gaining custody. Although Thomas and his niece clash at every turn, Lovina finds herself building a bond with the girl. Could this be the family she’s longed for?

Afraid he’s too much like his anger-driven father, Thomas has no plans to ever marry or have children, despite the sparks between him and Lovina, and his growing fondness for his niece. When he finds out Lovina’s secret—and believes she’s perhaps not the person he thought—he strikes out in caring for Emily on his own.

But when his custody is threatened, he must do what’s best for his niece. The only problem is he’s not sure what that is. Can he and Lovina work together to fight the lies they’ve believed all their lives—and fight the system to get back their girl?

Find out in this third installment of the Big Sky Amish Collection.

More Books in this Series

Excerpt from Under the Blue Skies

Monday, July 24

Right now, all Thomas Smucker wanted was a nice, warm bed. Well, maybe a quick, hot shower too. Grime covered every inch of his body. A two-day train ride from Pittsburgh to Whitefish would do that to a man.

Instead, he had to make polite conversation with strangers.

And yes, one of those strangers might have the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen on a woman, but Thomas wasn’t here for love.

He was here to work. To find peace. To escape.

But first . . . sleep.

Just not yet. He sighed.

As Wyatt helped Miss Graber out of the van, Thomas stole a long look at the energetic, nearly elfin woman. The headlights of the van illuminated her slight five-foot frame. Like him, she had to be in her mid-twenties. Frizzy spirals of brown hair dared to escape from her kapp. The dark expressive eyes he’d noticed earlier remained lowered, and her jaw clenched tightly, as if she concentrated on each movement.

And along the left side of her face ran a puffy, purplish scar.

She trudged toward the house, and he noticed a limp. Initially, he believed she was having trouble balancing her bags while keeping her long dress from dragging in the mud, but the farther away she walked, the more obvious the limp became. He couldn’t help but wonder if the limp and the scar were connected.

My Thoughts:

As a contemporary Amish romance, Under the Blue Skies by Elly Gilbert and Tricia Goyer rests beyond my normal reading zone. Feeling brave and spontaneous, I signed up to read the story, planning to have an open mind. The novel adhered faithfully to Amish-romance-novel structure with some predictable plot points and the setting of a close-knit community living together in the Plain lifestyle. Though West Kootenai calls itself a progressive Amish community, I still struggled with the normal things that push me away from Amish fiction: forgiveness without healthy boundaries, all male leadership, and humans as high spiritual authority. Readers who love Amish fiction will likely not be as put off by these things as I was.

Obviously, I am not the ideal reader for Amish fiction, including Under the Blue Skies by Elly Gilbert and Tricia Goyer. However, I did like the novel’s strong theme about how the words of others can plant lies within one’s mind. Lovina and Thomas both had to learn to embrace the truth as a means of refuting the embedded lies. At times, both main characters demonstrated immaturity and angst that made them seem more like teenagers than mid-twenties adults and this particular theme supplied some needed character growth.

Under the Blue Skies by Elly Gilbert and Tricia Goyer read fine as a standalone novel though it is the third installment in the Big Sky Amish series. This isn’t a book I would read again, but fans of Amish romance will likely enjoy it more than I did.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the Authors

Elly Gilbert Tricia Goyer

Elly Gilbert lives in central Kentucky with her husband, daughter, and twin sons. A lifelong bookworm, she finds joy in reading and writing inspirational fiction and devotions for adults and teens. When she’s away from her desk, you can find her scoping out the nearest nacho joint with her family or snuggled up with her rescue dogs, Gus and Bella. She adores leopard print, never turns down dessert, and believes that when it comes to earrings, bigger is always better.

Connect with Elly by visiting ellygilbert.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Tricia Goyer writes out of her passion for God and her love for family and others. The author of more than 70 books, she writes both historical fiction and nonfiction related to family and parenting.

This USA Today best-selling author has won a two Carol Awards and a Retailer’s Best Award. She was also an ECPA Gold-Medallion Nominee and a Christy Award Nominee and won Writer of the Year from the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference.

Tricia’s contemporary and historical novels feature strong women overcoming great challenges. She is a beloved author of Amish fiction, having written the Big Sky and Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series.

Whether for fiction or nonfiction, Tricia’s writing style is vivid and heartwarming, allowing readers to take home more than engaging stories, but also messages that inspire faith and hope. Her goal is to write stories that matter.

Connect with Tricia by visiting triciagoyer.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a print copy of Under the Blue Skies and a $10 Sunrise Shop gift voucher!

Under the Blue Skies JustRead Giveaway

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight August 16, 2023 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on August 23, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

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