RACHEL'S DECEPTION
Temptation #4
by Karen Ann Hopkins
Publication Date: May 8, 2015
Pages: 324
Source: Kismet Book Touring
from Goodreads
Growing up Amish is difficult…but leaving it behind is even harder.
Noah was Amish...Rose wasn't. Being together should have been impossible. But somehow they found a way to make it work. They are finally a family, but their happily-ever-after is still a long off. Will Rose and her friends be able to force real change in the community?
Karen Ann Hopkins returns with a gripping new book in the YA Temptation series. The powerful family saga continues with Rachel's Deception, as events spiral out of control in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview. And Rachel Miller has her own secrets to hide. Noah’s younger sister has been living a double life. That is, until Justin Cameron, Rose's little brother, catches her in the act. Rachel is not the obedient Amish girl that her sister was, and her rebelliousness takes her to a very dangerous world. A world that only her true friends can help her escape from.
As Rachel questions all she has been taught about love, family, and commitment, Rose discovers what it really means to be shunned. And an evil shadow looms on the horizon, threatening not only Rose, but everyone she holds dear.
Noah was Amish...Rose wasn't. Being together should have been impossible. But somehow they found a way to make it work. They are finally a family, but their happily-ever-after is still a long off. Will Rose and her friends be able to force real change in the community?
Karen Ann Hopkins returns with a gripping new book in the YA Temptation series. The powerful family saga continues with Rachel's Deception, as events spiral out of control in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview. And Rachel Miller has her own secrets to hide. Noah’s younger sister has been living a double life. That is, until Justin Cameron, Rose's little brother, catches her in the act. Rachel is not the obedient Amish girl that her sister was, and her rebelliousness takes her to a very dangerous world. A world that only her true friends can help her escape from.
As Rachel questions all she has been taught about love, family, and commitment, Rose discovers what it really means to be shunned. And an evil shadow looms on the horizon, threatening not only Rose, but everyone she holds dear.
My Thoughts
I'm so happy to have the opportunity to revisit the characters of the Temptation series and the community of Meadowview. Although I was satisfied with the final book, Forever, of the then trilogy, I was saddened to be leaving the characters behind. So I was thrilled when I learned that the series would continue and this time the main focus was on Noah's younger sister, Rachel.
Like the other books in the series, Rachel's Deception is told from alternating perspectives: Rachel Rose, and Rose's younger brother, Justin. Since the book is titled Rachel's Deception, I was surprised by how much of the story was told from Rose's perspective. There may have been equal parts, but I wanted more from Rachel's point of view. She had a lot of thoughts and conflicts that she was dealing with (or not dealing with) and I would have liked to know more of her inner turmoil. (I know that's terrible that I wanted to read more about her pain.) But I did enjoy Rose's storyline and the interactions with her friends in the Amish community and it's connection to the kind of future that Rachel would likely end up having.
What I found most interesting about Rachel was how she was an introvert living in among the Amish where so much of her every day life is about community and interaction. It's no wonder that she is having a difficult time when she is content with singular activities and solitary living. Her community expects and even demands everything except that way of life. So it was interesting when a friendship develops with Justin who is similar to her in many ways and understanding how different they are because he can be the introvert that he is without fear of punishment, obligation, or guilt.
I enjoyed the many characters in the book. I loved the married, motherly Rose. She is just as bossy and as opinionated as ever, but there is a maturity to her too. There is Justin - the younger brother who seems wiser beyond his years, and Micah - the sweet Amish boy who formerly courted Rachel's sister, Sarah. And then there's Sam - Rose's impulsive, overprotective older brother. He really caught my attention in this book with his interactions with Rose and Noah and his relationship with Summer. I would LOVE to read a Sam and Summer book.
I am continuously impressed with the characters and stories Karen Ann Hopkins gives her readers and Rachel's Deception is no exception. Each story is a page turner and while they are very satisfying, I'm always left wanting more. (I'm greedy like that.) The people of Meadowview went through a lot in Rachel's Deception and I hope that their saga will continue with more books in this series.
What I found most interesting about Rachel was how she was an introvert living in among the Amish where so much of her every day life is about community and interaction. It's no wonder that she is having a difficult time when she is content with singular activities and solitary living. Her community expects and even demands everything except that way of life. So it was interesting when a friendship develops with Justin who is similar to her in many ways and understanding how different they are because he can be the introvert that he is without fear of punishment, obligation, or guilt.
I enjoyed the many characters in the book. I loved the married, motherly Rose. She is just as bossy and as opinionated as ever, but there is a maturity to her too. There is Justin - the younger brother who seems wiser beyond his years, and Micah - the sweet Amish boy who formerly courted Rachel's sister, Sarah. And then there's Sam - Rose's impulsive, overprotective older brother. He really caught my attention in this book with his interactions with Rose and Noah and his relationship with Summer. I would LOVE to read a Sam and Summer book.
I am continuously impressed with the characters and stories Karen Ann Hopkins gives her readers and Rachel's Deception is no exception. Each story is a page turner and while they are very satisfying, I'm always left wanting more. (I'm greedy like that.) The people of Meadowview went through a lot in Rachel's Deception and I hope that their saga will continue with more books in this series.
Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Kismet Book Touring in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. I have also purchased a finished copy for my personal library. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Karen is offering up a fantastic prize pack, with one lucky winner receiving the following:
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- A complete set of her books (Temptation, Belonging, Forever, Rachel’s Deception, Lamb to the Slaughter, Whispers from the Dead and Embers!)
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Find Karen Ann Hopkins Online
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- Temptation (Book 1) on Goodreads |Get a Copy Amazon | B&N | Indiebound
- Belonging (Book 2) on Goodreads |Get a Copy Amazon | B&N | Indiebound
- Forever (Book 3) on Goodreads |Get a Copy Amazon | B&N | Indiebound
Karen Ann Hopkins resides in northern Kentucky with her family on a farm that boasts a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats. Karen's main job is home schooling the kids, but she finds time to give riding lessons, coach a youth equestrian drill team, and of course, write. She was inspired to create her first book, Temptation, by the Amish community she lived in. The experiential knowledge she gained through her interactions with her neighbors drove her to create the story of the star-crossed lovers, Rose and Noah.
Karen grew up about a mile from Lake Ontario in Upstate New York. She was bitten by the horse bug at the age of five, and after diligently taking riding lessons for several years, was rewarded with her first horse when she turned eleven. The feisty horse's name was Lady, a Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred cross, who became Karen's steadfast companion. Through the years, the constant force in her life was horses. Eventually, she found her place as a riding instructor herself. Before accepting her fate in the barnyard, she worked a short stint as a paralegal, traveled abroad, and guided tourists on horseback riding tours in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
Karen is currently working on her Amish mystery series, Serenity's Plain Secrets, along with the YA paranormal/fantasy series, The Wings of War. Karen is also excited to announce the Temptation series has been optioned for TV by Pilgrim Studios and is available on Audible. More books in the Temptation series are in the works.
Links to the Temptation Series
