A Mother’s Love

Hubbard (Christmas at Promise Lodge) gently challenges Amish gender roles in this endearing romance loosely linked to her Seasons of the Heart series. Rose Raber, a recent widow living in a close-knit Amish community, learns from her mother’s deathbed confession that she was adopted. Rose’s birth mother was an unwed teenager who still fears the revelation of her transgression. While coping with this news, Rose feels compelled to find work to provide for herself and her young daughter, despite pressure from her bishop to rely on the community’s kindness. When Rose’s highly marriageable suitor, widower Matthias Wagler, enters into a business arrangement with Saul Hartzler, who’s married to Rose’s birth mother, the secret can only stay hidden so long, and when it comes out, Rose struggles to mitigate the damage. Matthias and Rose’s romance builds naturally and sweetly as they learn to imagine futures without their first spouses. Hubbard crafts self-reliant women willing to hold their ground amid domineering men, though happy coincidences and quick changes of heart resolve most conflicts. By making a space for determined women inside the Amish community and providing a satisfying conclusion to various familial hurts, Hubbard provides readers with a comforting tale of love and forgiveness. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency. (Apr.)