Stacia in Progress

That was the problem with English girls - they did what they wanted.But then again, maybe that was one of the things that made Rose so intriguing...and dangerous to me.3.5 stars. I was interested in this story because I'd read a few of my mom's Amish romances in the past, and I've also watched several television documentaries and shows on the Amish. There's something about the way these hardworking, family communities live that fascinates me. I couldn't imagine living in their world, where just about anything and everything could be considered taboo. In all honesty, I relished the thought of watching a relationship develop between the most unlikely of pairs.Overall, I enjoyed the book, although I felt like some of the pining got repetitive to a fault. It wasn't that it was unrealistic or anything...in the context of this story, the wanting and needing didn't feel choking the way it might have in a regular contemporary. I just would have liked to have seen more plot-wise than these two pining over each other. There wasn't much else in the way of the plot department. Having only limited knowledge of the Amish ways, I believed in the feelings on Noah's end as being accurate. He was raised in a world where responsibility and taking on a family would happen at a young age, so he was ready for it in every way. I'm not so sure that I believed Rose was ready, though. Maybe we weren't supposed to believe in Rose's readiness, since it's apparent that this book is setting us up to witness future hardships. In this case, her innocence would probably work to further the conflict.If you haven't ever taken the time to learn much about the Amish culture and religion, this would probably be a good starter book. Many Amish communities still don't use electricity, telephones, or vehicles, as was the case in this particular community. Temptation doesn't fully explore the depth of topics such as Rumspringa and shunnings but a small amount of information is given about these occurances. At the very least, you'll get a slight understanding of how hard it is for anyone who is raised in this lifestyle to leave. With the lack of an education past an 8th grade level and no major experience dealing with the outside world, it's extremely hard to make it outside in the "English" (their words) world. So the children grow up and they stay. The cycle continues. Had this been a standalone book, I would have thought the book was just okay. Now that I know this story will be extended into a series, I'm considerably more excited to find out what happens next, especially because decisions were made at the end of book 1 that will surely turn into some serious complications for this duo in book 2.Rose's observations were amusing. You could tell she was completely clueless to the ways of the Amish."I guess cutting the grass is a lot of work for you?" I said, imagining Noah surrounded by tall green foliage and hacking away at it with an old-fashioned hand sickle."Oh you have no idea. The one kid looks like a member of the Children of the Corn."Noah wanted to take care of his Rose but he also didn't know how to without wanting to clip her wings.Struggling to stay patient with her, I said firmly, "You're not a little kid. In a lot of cultures, you'd already be married with a baby in your arms by now."How could people from two different worlds find a way to make their differences work? Is it even possible?Since this is a series, I'm guessing they're going to give it their best shot. I'll be shadowing along behind these two in order to see exactly how they manage to screw things up. I predict lots of drama and misunderstandings. Stay tuned to see if I'm right...