A Brighter Dawn by extremely gifted storyteller, Leslie Gould, is book one in her Amish Memories Series. This is a Christian time-slip novel. It is a hefty 432 pages in paperback form and has an endearing cover.

Set in 2014, this is the tale of Ivy Zimmerman, a young Mennonite girl, and her family in Oregon. The historical side is from 1930s and is the story of Clare Simmons. Clare is a relative who visited Germany years ago, and stayed with a family of three sisters.

This tale is filled with poignant scenes, history, family drama, faith, romance, and mystery. It has quite a few surprises, too.

The beginning was slow for me. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book, which is a rarity with me for any offering from author Gould. After a few pages, the author wove her magic and I was hooked. It is evident that much research went into this thought-provoking, amazing novel.

There is so much included in this book. I gleaned a lot of historical information. This is a beautiful story. Characters are believable and the Christian message is uplifting. I highly recommend it. It gets a 4 star rating from me. A copy was provided by Celebrate Lit but these are my own words.

About the Book

Book: A Brighter Dawn

Author: Leslie Gould

Genre: Amish Romance

Release date: March 28, 2023

Ivy Zimmerman is successfully navigating her life as a young Mennonite woman, one generation removed from her parents’ Old Order Amish upbringing. But when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, Ivy’s way of life is upended. As she deals with her grief, her younger sisters’ needs, the relationship with her boyfriend, and her Dawdi and Mammi’s strict rules, Ivy finds solace in both an upcoming trip to Germany for an international Mennonite youth gathering and in her great-great-aunt’s story about Clare Simons, another young woman who visited Germany in the late 1930s.

As Ivy grows suspicious that her parents’ deaths weren’t, in fact, an accident, she gains courage from what she learns of Clare’s time in pre-World War II Germany. With the encouragement and inspiration of the women who have gone before her, Ivy seeks justice for her parents, her sisters, and herself.

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About the Author

Leslie Gould (www.lesliegould.com) is a Christy Award-winning and #1 bestselling author of over 35 novels, including four Lancaster County Amish series. She holds an MFA in creative writing and enjoys studying church history, research trips, and hiking in the Pacific Northwest. She and her husband live in Portland, Oregon, and are the parents of four adult children.

More from Leslie

The historical thread of my dual-time novel A Brighter Dawn is set in Nazi Germany from 1937 to 1939. During that period of time, Germany incorporated Austria, mandatory registration of all Jewish property began, and concentration camps opened. Then came the Night of Broken Glass—the anti-Jewish pogrom in Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland. Soon following was the German occupation of Czechoslovakia before the Nazis invaded Poland in September 1939.

My main character, Clare Simons, is a Mennonite young woman from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who is staying with her uncle and cousins in Frankfurt, Germany. She doesn’t follow current events much and struggles to balance the Nazi propaganda her uncle and oldest cousin believe with the events unfolding around her. Slowly, she begins to see the truth behind the Nazi lies.

One thing that broke up the narrative of the heavy events I researched and wrote about? The food.

When I traveled in Germany with my husband (who had lived there during his Army service years ago), I marveled over the scenery, became engrossed in the history, and definitely enjoyed the food. My background is Swiss, so it wasn’t that the food was unfamiliar. It was just at a level I hadn’t experienced before!

As I researched what Clare would fix for meals, I pored through cookbooks. For added inspiration, hubby and I ate at German restaurants. Jägerschnitzel (seared pork with gravy). Rinderbraten (paprika and caraway spiced beef roasted in red wine gravy). Wienerschnitzel (breaded and fried pork loin with warm potato salad and a vegetable remoulade.)

I noted food in research books, documentaries, and films. The entrees became focal points in the stories, including rabbit stew, a Christmas goose, and Sauerbraten with Spätzle and red cabbage. So did the desserts, including trifle and Black Forest cake.

When I visited Germany with my hubby, one of the things I really loved was stopping in a café for Apfelkuchen (apple cake) and coffee in the afternoon. In one scene in A Brighter Dawn, when Clare and her cousin Lena stop for coffee, they order apple cake too. Then, in another scene, Clare bakes an apple cake for the family of the nearby Jewish grocer who will soon lose their property.

Below is a recipe for a simple and dense German apple cake (which may have originated in Poland and been influenced by a Jewish apple cake recipe).

The food in A Brighter Dawn doesn’t take away from the narrative, but it is a reminder that a nurturing soul, such as my character Clare, can stand against the lies of an evil regime.

German Apple Cake

Ingredients

1 cup salted butter, melted
2 eggs
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ to 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
5 cups apples—peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (to soften apple slices before baking, place in a microwavable dish with a lid and microwave them with a Tablespoon of water for 3–4 minutes)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13 cake pan.
Beat butter and eggs with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla; beat well.
Stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Slowly add flour mixture to egg mixture; mix until combined. The batter will be very thick. Fold in apples and walnuts by hand using a wooden spoon. Spread batter into the prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45–50 minutes. After 30 minutes, put a sheet of foil over the top of the cake to keep it from burning. Cool cake on a wire rack.

Possible Toppings

Before baking:

Crumble: ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup white sugar, ½ cup flour, 4–6 Tablespoons softened butter. Combine ingredients and evenly spread over the top of cake.

Butterscotch: Sprinkle a package of butterscotch chips over the top of the cake.

Almonds: Sprinkle almond slivers over the top of the cake.

After baking:

Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Drizzle with caramel sauce.

Sprinkle with white sparkling sugar.

Top with whipped cream.

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, April 23

Lakesidelivingsite, April 23

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 24

Cover Lover Book Review, April 25

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 25

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 26

Lighthouse Academy Blog, April 27 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Connie’s History Classroom, April 27

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 28

Vicky Sluiter, April 28

She Lives To Read, April 29

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, April 30 (Author Interview)

Christina’s Corner, April 30

Texas Book-aholic, May 1

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 2

Mornings at Character Cafe, May 2

Bigreadersite, May 3

Bliss, Books & Jewels, May 3

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 4

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, May 5

For Him and My Family, May 5

Splashes of Joy, May 6

Pause for Tales, May 6

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Leslie is giving away the grand prize package of a paperback copy of A Brighter Dawn and one $15 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/258b9/a-brighter-dawn-celebration-tour-giveaway

”Anything But Simple” by author Lucinda J. Miller is the account of her life as a Mennonite. It is her memoir and not a novel. The author provides readers with an open and honest view of life inside a Mennonite family.

This is the story of author Lucinda J. Miller (now Kinsinger) and her life as a Mennonite. It is a poignant look at her struggles and joys. Through her openness and words, I began to know this Conservative Mennonite lady. She actually did not seem that different from me in some ways. Both of us have questioned our lives at times, we enjoy writing, and we both love and serve Jesus Christ.

I did learn a lot from this book. It seems like most novels are written about Amish and not Mennonite communities. They are not the same and have many differences.

This is an interesting, well written book. I enjoyed the author’s style of writing. It was welcoming and relatable. At times it felt like chatting with a friend. A surprising thing for me was Lucinda’s friendship with an older, atheist woman. That account was captivating. For me, I found the last chapter, the author’s day, and the FAQ gave a more in-depth look into the everyday life of a Mennonite.

This is a lovely book. I highly recommend it. If you enjoy memoirs, Amish or Mennonite books, or would like to read about a different lifestyle, you will want to get this book. Reading Groups would be able to have much material to discuss in this thought provoking offering. It gets a 5 star rating from me. A copy was provided by Celebrate Lit but these are my honest words.

About the Book

Book: Anything But Simple

Author: Lucinda J. Miller (Last name now Kinsinger)

Genre: Memoir

Release date: July 25, 2017

Plain? Yes. Simple? Well…

If you live in a conservative Mennonite community, edges are sewn shut and questions have answers. So if you’ve got a saucy tongue and a roving curiosity about the world, you’ve got a story to tell.

As a schoolteacher in a small Mennonite school in rural Wisconsin, Lucinda J. Miller wears long dresses and a prayer covering. But she uses a cell phone and posts status updates on Facebook. So why would a young woman with access to all these technologies remain in a sheltered community like the Plain Mennonites? How can someone with an eye for beauty and a sometimes sardonic wit stay within a tradition that values discipline and submission and uniformity?

Anything But Simple is the stirring memoir of a young woman’s rich church tradition, lively family life, and longing for a meaningful future within her Mennonite faith.

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About the Author

Lucinda J Miller Kinsinger has always viewed herself as a shy little Mennonite girl, but refuses to let that stop her from pursuing what she loves—whether that’s writing with honesty and vulnerability or traveling to a remote village in China. In 2019, she married Ivan, the love of her life, and moved from the flat, tree-lined fields of her childhood home in Wisconsin to the rolling hills of Garrett County, Maryland. The couple has a baby daughter, Annalise. Since the publication of Anything but Simple, Lucinda has published a second memoir, Turtle Heart: Unlikely Friends with a Life-Changing Bond. She is columnist for Anabaptist World and blogs at lucindajkinsinger.com.

More from Lucinda

Me, and The People Who Shaped Me

My dad used to say that every person in your life is placed there by God for a reason. Even the ones you don’t like are there to teach you something.

Learn.

If you don’t, God may send someone else to teach you the same lesson you couldn’t learn the first time around.

Anything But Simple is my story, the story of a shy little Mennonite girl growing up to be a writer and asking questions along the way. It is also the story of the many people who enriched my life.

My dad, with his black hair and handsome face and stories from his past.

My mom, with her smooth sweaters and her sure and solid love.

My bishop with his mouth that turned down like a turtle’s.

My creative writing professor who loved words in a way I had never seen in anyone but myself.

Charlene.

Mara.

Deqo.

Jake.

From these people and alongside these people I arose, breathing, questioning, earnest.

Our journey, like the journey of all the squiggly and intricate humans that wander the face of the earth, is anything but simple.