{ The Amish Baker's Rival by Marie E. Bast - TLC Book Tours }

Mass Market Paperback : 224 pages

Publisher : Love Inspired; Original Edition (December 29, 2020)

This exciting new Amish romance is from Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Amish Baker and The Amish Marriage Bargain.

She’ll do anything to protect her bakery… no matter the cost to her heart.

Small-town, Amish baker Mary Brenneman is devastated when handsome Englischer Noah Miller opens up a bakery right across from hers. Now she must win a local baking contest just to stay in business. But somewhere along the way, Noah and Mary’s kitchen wars are quickly warming into something more…

Still mourning the death of his parents, Mary helps Noah search for the Amish grandparents he has never met. And when a crisis hits Mary’s bakery, Noah volunteers his assistance.

After Mary’s now ex-fiancé broke their engagement so he could go live in the Englisch world, she vows to stay away from men…especially Englisch men. Even though she likes Noah more each day, she keeps her distance.

With her heart packed with distrust, Noah hopes to soften her resolve and convince Mary of their undeniable love. But trouble brews at the baking contest when Mary thinks Noah has stolen her recipe. After the surprising result of the contest, Noah and Mary must face their feelings and decide what road God has set them upon.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Harlequin

.

About Marie E. Bast

MARIE E. BAST is the Publishers Weekly Bestselling Author of The Amish Baker and The Amish Marriage Bargain, and the first place 2015 contemporary winner of the Ignite the Flame Contest for The Perfect Client. She is also a finalist in the 2020 Book Buyers Best Contest for The Amish Baker. Her stories whisper words of hope, healing, and forgiveness through complex characters and twisting plots. Her books are sold all over the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland and Australia. She has published short stories and poetry in book compilations to include Chicken Soup for the Soul. She lives in Illinois with her husband of twenty-nine years. When she’s not writing, she’s walking, golfing, gardening, or spending time with her family. She loves to bake and enjoys her homemade rolls and bread way too much.

Learn more about Marie and her books HERE.

Connect with Marie

Website | Goodreads | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

 

REVIEW: 

 

Well first and foremost, it is an Amish centered story, so what is there not to like about it, right?

 

I have loved anything Amish related, for as long as I can remember.  My family actually jokes with me all the time, that if I was able to, I would become Amish and go off and live their way of life.  They're not wrong lol

 

So we have Amish and baking in one amazing little book, and that just made for the sweetest read, ever.

 

I don't think there is anything about this story that is surprising, if anything, it is pretty predictable, but yet a joy to read.  I read it in one day, not just because it is a short kind of story, but because I enjoyed it so much and when I am enjoying a certain book I tend to zip through it really quickly.

 

Mary is a sweet Amish girl, dealing with a broken heart, trying to move on, and throwing herself fully into her small town bakery.  It's something she loves doing and she has worked very hard to get where she is.

 

When a new face comes into town, in the form of Noah, an Englischer, who so happens to open up his own bakery just across the street.   His arrival stirs up emotions she was not expecting to deal with. 

For one she has an immense dislike for Englischers, since her ex fiancee ditched her for a life away from the Amish, living in that Englisch world so foreign to the Amish way of life.  His betrayal, and her broken heart, have made her determined to stay away from men, to focus on her bakery and do the best she can.

Noah's presence now threatens it all for her, so she must fight to keep what she loves.

Mary figures the only way to get that, is to win a local baking contest.  In her mind, if she wins it, it gives her the upper hand and maybe Noah will take his bakery elsewhere.  The problem is that she finds herself attracted to the handsome young man who is throwing her whole life into disarray.

Noah on the other hand has moved to the small Amish town, with his two sisters, after the death of their parents.  He is in search of his Amish grandparents, and dealing with his own issues.

Before long the two are attracted to each other, fighting those feelings.  

Just as all good Amish stories, it keeps you intrigued, it makes you smile, and it has romance but in a subdued sweet way.  Marie Bast did a fantastic job telling the story of Mary and Noah.

 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Love Inspired for providing me with a review copy.