Joanne12

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a light, sweet read.

Basically what happens is that Rose moves with her two brothers and father to a country house in Ohio, following their mother's death. During the move their Amish neighbors come over to offer their help. It is there that Rose sees Noah. They instantly are attracted to each other and they fall in love. The rest of the book deals with their hidden relationship and them trying to figure out how to be together. They can't be together because Noah is Amish and Rose isn't. She's what the Amish call English. It's a cute book about first love and what they will do to keep it.

The book is written in alternating POV. The POV's are Rose and Noah. I like that the book was written this way because you get to the the romance from both sides. Both characters are madly in love and do know how they can be together. In Rose's pov we get to see the romance from the English side. Her conversations with her brothers and meetings with Noah give us insight on how she thinks the relationship is and should be. Whereas on Noah's side we see the relationship on the Amish side, with all their rules about mingling with the English. Noah has it a lot harder becauae his parents, community and church are very strict about dating and interacting with the opposite sex. I loved reading from Noah's view because we get to see the guy's perspective on love and the relationship. I also liked reading from Noah's POV because we get some insight on the Amish, their way of life and their thinking.

I really liked Rose. She's a regular teenage girl who is dealing with a tough time in her life. She's outgoing, friendly, tough, hilarious, loving, kind and speaks her mind. I love the way she has so many different words for stupid which she calls her brothers a lot. Rose falls for Noah quickly and is happy to be with him. She doesn't really realize what being Amish entails especially in terms of dating which is understandable because she's so young (16). Noah is her first everything and she wants to hold on to him for as long as she can.

I loved Noah. He was cute, funny, old fashioned, loving and kind. Rose couldn't have fallen for a better guy. AS we see through Noah's view, he falls for Rose as soon as they meet as well. He is a little older than her (18) and is much more mature. Rose is Noah's first everything as well. Once he has fallen for Rose, he won't even look at another Amish girl. His world is so different from the English and so strict that you begin to believe that there is no way these two can be together. HE is at the age where he should be "courting" an Amish girl but he tries to put it off while he figures out a way to be with Rose. I was glad to see that their love was not one sided on Rose's part. Noah was as deeply in love with Rose as she was with him. You can't help but not root for them. Plus Noah was adorkable when he talked, using old fashioned phrases and words like "Tither".

As for the romance I was not bothered at all by the love at first sight thing because I went into this book knowing it was a romance and that in romance books characters tend to fall for one another quickly. I liked seeing how the feelings between Noah and Rose started and deepened over the course of the book. Their love was pure, simple and wonderful. OF course they have major obstacles in the way and a lot of bad stuff does happen, its not just roses and creme. Problems arise and of course Noah's parents find out because really how long does anyone think sneaking around can last? They were eventually going to get caught. And the aftermath of getting caught is really what the book is about: How can these two be together when all the odds are against them.

This is a worthwhile book to read and I recommend it to anyone who wants a cute romance book. I can;t wait to read the next book in the series.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews