An Uncommon Grace: A Novel

I loved this book.I have been reading a bit of Amish fiction lately, and I was slightly put off by the circa ten dollar price tag of this book. If I paid ten dollars for all the books I read, I'd be very broke, very quickly. As it turns out, I'm not sure I got value for money because I read this book in one night - in fact, I stayed up until 3am to finish it! (Just to make sure I've got my money's worth, I've already re-read it numerous times!)I thought this would be just another Amish romance - you know the kind: a little bit soppy, some flowery language, cultural references that may be way off mark, but underpinned by a sweet story. Boy was I wrong.This book, in my opinion, borders on light literature (with definite Christian undertones). It was a really interesting look into the life of a young woman who has returned from a warzone to care for her family - her grandmother and sister. As the book begins, she has only been back in the US for a short period of time. As the book progresses, we follow on her journey as she gets to re-know her grandmother and sister after a number of years of absence. We also follow her on her journey as she comes to know her young Amish neighbour, and follows them as their relationship develops.The author has done a fantastic job at crafting the story around Grace and Levi as they develop feelings for each other. Their feelings are based on mutual respect for each other's talents, and then their love grows slowly as they get to know each other through their heartfelt conversations and the mutual appreciation for the way each of them helps the other's families. There are only two requisite cheesy 'romance novel' moments in the book, and as the 'cheese' factor goes, they were really light on.Ms Miller kept the story very balanced, she was very controlled in her ability to create an evocative and emotional story without resorting to cheap tactics. And while Levi and Grace have their troubles, there is none of the unrealistic, heartwrenching ANGST that seems to be the only way in many other novels in this (and other romance) sub-genres. The characters were real, not cheap, shallow manifestations of the best/worst of human emotions that some books resort to.Finally I think the book was amazingly well researched, and the way she wrote about the Swartzentruber Amish and their interactions with the outside world were fascinating.On a technical level, there were no typos, the story flowed well, the author has a great voice and gives just the right amount of insight into the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Spacing and margins are fine, so it was easy to read on my Kindle.Definitely five stars - and I've already reread it numerous times!

While I try to keep up with and read the works of Amish fiction authors, Serena Miller was a new one for me. I never know what to expect from an author that's new to me, so imagine my surprise when I began reading the Author's Note at the beginning of the book and was immediately hooked. When I moved on to the Prologue, that just sealed the deal. An Uncommon Grace is a blend of faith, romance, mystery, and humor, and the author has done an amazing job of blending them. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat one minute and busting out laughing the next. I got teary eyed in some parts and was blessed and encouraged in my faith by other parts.One thing that captured me was that the story includes characters from the Swartzentruber Amish. It is clear that the author did her homework on the Swartzentrubers, which I'm sure was no easy feat. An Uncommon Grace is the first book I've read which has quite a few characters from the Swartzentruber Amish. The author includes some of their beliefs and practices in the story, but she does it in a way that doesn't distract the reader or make the story tedious.An Uncommon Grace is a great read, which I highly recommend. You definitely will not be disappointed.

If it looks like you'd can tell by the cover anything about the main characters, you'd be wrong... We'll except that there appears to be something Amish. You'd think that was the female lead (Grace) on the cover. It's not... So all the way through the book I kept expecting Grace to start adopting Amish ways, because the cover looks like that.. Yup, you guessed it...I was wrong.We'll, in spite of the cover, this was a very good book. Loved the integrity in the characters to maintain their individual identities and beliefs. Loved the feelings they approached carefully but could never express (which added the much loved conflict and frustration)...Loved the way they handled crises and problems, and I especially loved the huge argument between Grace and Levi. Frustration mounted until they both exploded at each other with verbal sparring I needed to read again, it was so good.I agree with other reviewers, this book was hard to put down. With every chapter I wanted to see what happened next and how they handled it. Good read, highly recommend.

This is one of those best of both worlds books. It's part Amish and part Englisch. This story line was good,but not great. It, at times, did not hold my interest. The romance aspect of the book was sweet, but lacked chemistry. The chemistry was there, and peeked through one time, but left rather quickly.I did learn a lot about Amish life style while reading this book, as well as the difficulties they face each day. I felt the struggle Levi endured in making a rather difficult, life changing, decision.The ending was a sweet, happily- ever-after type ending, but it felt a little rushed, or sudden. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Hidden Mercies, to learn more about Levi, Grace, Elizabeth, and Claire.

Loved this book, purchased several months ago and just got around to reading it. Wonderful story. I had never heard of this Order of Amish people. To not allow the triangle reflectors on the buggies was really dangerous, and I do not believe that a loving God as ours would want us to put ourselves in unnecessary danger. Loved Levi commitment to his family and his Amish Order even through their were things he did not like about it. And the love that grew between him and Grace. I love reading the Amish stories, they are so relaxing and amazing to me how a group of people live such a plain and happy life devoted to God and one another.

Saw the movie and had to read this book. What a treat, love the characters and the story line.Bought a second for lend as didn-t want to rick lose it...

Having seen the hallmark movie of this book I wasn’t sure what I was going to be reading...would it be the same as the movie? Would there be major differences? I enjoyed the little differences between the book and movie. It makes it a whole new story almost. I don’t read a lot of books as I don’t have the patience or the reading skills for my age but I actually enjoyed this one.

I loved this book