Judith's brother Samuel has an accident under a bridge and when Judith arrives, a strange man is helping him. She shares her conviction, but looses the support of her family and close friends. The angel visits Judith and shares information that may guide her down the path of faith, should she so choose.

I liked that this book explored a topic that may even be controversial among "Englischer" Christians--seeing and receiving visits from angels. Judith, the heroine of the story does just that.
And there is also the healing of her little brother, Samuel. I thought it would happen, but almost was resigned to his staying paralyzed as Judith did. This is one of the few Amish fiction books that I've read that didn't take place in Lancaster County, PA, but it didn't really matter. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. ( )

There is a lot happening in this book! Judith has been in love with Levi for years, but her father refused to allow her to court until she turned 19. Now that day has arrived, but Martha, her 17-year-old sister, has eyes for Levi, too and during the family's barn rising, she begins to flirt with Levi, who enjoys the attention and flirts with Martha. Meanwhile, Levi's cousin, Andrew, who lost his fiancée a couple of years earlier, discovers that he is attracted to Judith. At the barn raising, Andrew gives Judith's young brother, Samuel, a nail and tells him that he will help him hammer the nail later. During the blessing over their meal, Judith sees Samuel on the barn roof and runs to the barn. Her calling to Samuel caused him to fall and as she runs around the barn, she finds an Englischer holding her little brother. The Englisher tells her that Samuel will be fine, then walks into the orchard, disappearing in a mist that only Judith can see. Apparently, Judith is also the only one to see the mysterious Englischer. When she tells everyone that she saw an angel, only Andrew believes her. Judith must repent and admit she made up the story about the angel or risk sent away and denied church membership. ( )

I’m a junkie for Amish fiction—let’s just get that out there. So when the opportunity came up to read The Promise of an Angel, I was excited to read a new perspective on the Amish. At first I was a little surprised with the addition of the angel Tobias, especially when Judith began having real conversations with him. Amish beliefs are so strict that it was hard for me to imagine how talking to an angel was going to fit in with those beliefs. After getting more and more into the book, I realized Tobias represented Judith’s deep faithfulness in God. Why couldn’t the “elders” in the community see that?

Family and community is the most important concept in the Amish lifestyle. So when Judith’s stories of the angel began to spread, the community banded together against Judith—just because the elders said they should. It surprised me the community would do that when she was only expressing her belief that God was speaking to her.

Another surprise to me was the relationship between Judith’s sister, Martha, and Judith’s beau, Levi. I guess there are many sects of Amish but normally these teenage relationships are pretty hush-hush. Through the entire book, the boy-girl interactions were completely public. In addition, the way Martha was visibly treating Judith was a little startling to me—the envy, rudeness, and disrespect is so out of the ordinary for the Amish.

Overall, The Promise of an Angel was a good summer read (I had the e-book version)—a story of faith, acceptance, and love with a couple twists and turns. I’m not sure if I’m going to read the next book in the series—guess we’ll have to wait & see what Ms Reid comes up with! I give The Promise of an Angel a 3 out of 5 stars.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." ( )

This book touched me. It was a fantastic book of how sometimes God makes his faithful wait till he's ready to show his miracle. I read it feeling like I was Judith. She had been through a tragedy relying on God and no matter how many people thought she was looney she stood by her story. By the end of the book I was actually in tears {I rarely get that emotionally attached to a book}, but this story grabbed me in from the start. I loved Judith's character, her innocence, her strength, her faith a...This book touched me. It was a fantastic book of how sometimes God makes his faithful wait till he's ready to show his miracle. I read it feeling like I was Judith. She had been through a tragedy relying on God and no matter how many people thought she was looney she stood by her story. By the end of the book I was actually in tears {I rarely get that emotionally attached to a book}, but this story grabbed me in from the start. I loved Judith's character, her innocence, her strength, her faith and determination. By the end I could only hope that I get her kind of faith someday. Brilliant story. Amazing book. I will definitely recommend to everyone and read it again. ( )