The Matchmaker (The Amish Classics, #2) by Sarah Price

When Emma’s interference in her friends’

lives backfires, will the consequences

be more than she bargained for?

Emma Weaver is twenty-one years old and has found a passion for playing

matchmaker with her friends.  Her neighbor, Gideon King, warns her about

interfering in people’s lives, but she disregards his advice and plans to set up

Paul, the son of the bishop, with her friend Hannah.
 

But when Paul misinterprets Emma’s attention, believing she has feelings

for him, he begins asking her to ride in his buggy after Sunday singings and

shows up at her house for Friday evening visits.  As she tries to repair the

damage that’s been done and mend the hearts that have been broken, she

finds herself in trouble with the community.  Will she learn her lesson and

stop meddling in the affairs of others?  Will she find a love of her own?

 

SERIES DESCRIPTION: The Amish Classics series is a retelling of novels by Jane Austen in a contemporary Amish setting. The main story lines are accurately followed but told within the Amish culture and religion. These stories will introduce readers of Amish romances to these classics, while also being attractive to Jane Austen’s many loyal fans.

 

About The Author

 

The Preiss family emigrated from Europe in 1705, settling in Pennsylvania as the area's first wave of Mennonite families. Sarah Price has always respected and honored her ancestors through exploration and research about her family history and their religion. At nineteen, she befriended an Amish family and lived on their farm throughout the years.

As a masterful storyteller, Sarah Price prides herself on presenting an authentic Amish experience for her readers. Many of her stories are based on actual people she has met and her own experiences living among the Amish over the years. Sarah now resides in Morris County, New Jersey with her family.

While she started out as an Indie author, she signed on with Realms, an imprint of Charisma House and Waterfall Press, an imprint of Brilliance Publishing. Her first book, First Impressions: An Amish Adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was released in May 2014.

Get the latest news about Sarah Price on Facebook, Twitter, and sarahpriceauthor.com.

 Author Notes

Based in an Amish setting, my Emma follows the same trials and tribulations of Jane Austen’s Emma. She thinks a little too highly of herself and those around her. She is quite happy to express her opinions, often when she shouldn’t. Personally, I love Emma as a character because she is so real. Let’s face it…she’s flawed. Aren’t we all? But her flaws get her into a few situations that will make the reader chuckle. That’s the best part of retelling Jane Austen’s novels: She had the greatest characters!

Many of my regular readers tend to stick to just the Amish genre. I often hear that it’s because they are clean and godly. However, so are the classics.

I know that reading classic literature—such as Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, Charles Dickens, and Victor Hugo, to name a few—can be a daunting task. Many of us were forced to read one of these authors’ books in English class during our high school years. As adults, many of us prefer lighter reads to balance our stressful lives as we juggle home, family, and work. Picking up a classic book might not be at the top of our TBR pile.

Yet, there is something intellectually stimulating about the classics that is missing in many of these lighter reads. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors. Her writing style is brilliant, her attention to detail is amazing, and her character development is second to none. So I decided to challenge myself and retell Jane Austin’s book in an Amish setting, combining the Amish culture and religion with a Jane Austen style of writing and story-telling.

A lot of people loved First Impressions, the first book in this series. I suspect that they will also love Emma since she is not the quintessential female character in an Amish book. But she is real…perfect only in the fact that she is flawed and, most likely, quite similar to people we encounter in our daily lives. Perhaps even a little bit like ourselves.  ;-)

If you would like to learn more about The Matchmaker and visit other tour stops here is the link to take you to the Blog Tour List.

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 My Review

This newest book by Sarah Price is so good; I couldn’t put it down, and kept reading. The focus of this is on Emma Weaver, and right from the start I felt myself being she, I literally walked in her shoes.
At first when I met Emma, and she pointed out to a friend some bad points about another person, I was a bit disappointed, and then realized that I might not say anything, but my mind would have the same thoughts. I also find that I am at times judgmental, and often find myself wrong. So Emma and I have a lot of the same traits, no wonder I thought she was a snob!
Emma is also very considerate and caring, she has made a home for her Dad and really takes great care of him. She is also looking out for her elderly neighbors, and often times her visit to them when she knows that their primary caretaker is not home.
There are some very funny happenings here, and I’m sure that you will find a good chuckle, she plays matchmaker, and things don’t seem, on each occasion, to turn out like she planned. Was a bit surprised that one of the characters was able to put together a new match very fast, and was married to another in record time.
We also meet Gideon King, her sister’s husband’s older brother, and he is a dear family friend. Gideon and her Dad seem to spend a lot of time together, and have formed a wonderful friendship. Gideon also seems to be the one who can put Emma in her place, and she does realize how wrong she has been.
Emma has vowed to never marry, she will continue to take care of her Dad, can one of these suitors she has picked out for her friend actually be the one God has chosen for her. We see her in action as she puts men in their place, and out spoken Amish woman.
Come along and enjoy this unusual matchmaking story, Emma’s record doesn’t seem to be very good, but oh how I loved this page-turning read. Enjoy!