Turning Home (Tompkins Mill #1) by Janice Kay Johnson

In this tender Amish romance, an Amish man who is returning 
to his community and faith is drawn to a young woman who is still reeling from past wounds.

When Luke Bowman returns to the Amish faith after years of being away from home, he does so with absolute conviction. Those feelings are shaken when he meets Julia Durant, a non-Amish woman who works at his family's furniture-making business. Despite his instincts, Luke is drawn to Julia, and although Julia is still recovering from a brutal assault when she was a college student, she is drawn to Luke as well.

As Luke and Julia grow closer, and their fragile friendship grows stronger, Luke wants to be with Julia, but the reason he came home--his faith--is now the thing keeping them apart. Luke and Julia will have to decide whether their relationship can survive this divide, and whether the home Luke has made in the Amish faith is one that's fit for two.

Amazon


About The Author

Janice Kay Johnson is the author of over a hundred books for children and adults. Her first four published romance novels were coauthored with her mother, also a writer who has since published mysteries and children's books on her own. These were "sweet" romance novels, the author hastens to add; she isn't sure they'd have felt comfortable coauthoring passionate love scenes!

Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.

She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!

Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!

Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon. 

Website


My Review

What an awesome book, I was drawn in and the author didn't let me go. There are several stories surrounding the main plot, just like real life.
A horrible attack was terrifying and controlling her life, Julia Durant, moves closer to her brother, and takes a new job working for an Amish furniture making business.
We also meet Luke a man who walked one path, away from his faith, and is now back and staying on the straight and narrow. Yes, he is attracted to this struggling woman, but he cannot jeopardize what he has worked so hard to return to.
This story has a bit of everything, and it felt so real to me. I could see Julia struggling to belong, wanting a real relationship with God, and friends. She was searching for a deeper faith, and dealing with her trauma.
Luke is also struggling with a lie he told, and they mount up, but we get to see why, and I had to agree with him. There is a solution, but you need to keep turning those pages for answers.
I am really looking forward to the next book in this series, a new author for me, but one I will now follow!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Berkley Books, and was not required to give a positive review.