Book Review: The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis

Amelia Devries is a violinist. She has worked nearly her entire life to be a world-renowned violinist. However, once her goal is within reach, she realizes that she does not have the same goals she had as a child.  

Michael  Hostetler has long been in his “running around” years. Too long for his parents’ tastes. While he loves the ancient faith of his family, he also feels penned in by their traditional ways.

In a twist of fate, Michael and Amelia’s fates intertwine in a way only God could have planned

I liked:

• The cover. It was definitely beautiful. 
• The description. I adored the vivid colors, textures, and emotions Beverly Lewis so accurately described.
• The plot.  It was very interesting to see what Michael and Amelia had in common. The plot was definitely anti-climatic, but most Amish books are.  
• The violin. You could almost hear it playing as you read.

I disliked:

• The lack of suspense. It was pretty slow, although not too slow.
• The sickness. It talked about her father being sick, and to put it plainly, it was depressing. I do not see why you would WANT to read a book, invest your time in it, and spend a lot of the time reading about someone dying.  I understand when the plot needs sickness, (I do not like books that need sickness in the plot, but it makes sense why authors write sickness into the plot.) however, I this book really didn’t need it. I was written in nearly every chapter, and it really did not have to be. Her dad dies at the end, and it is miserable AND unnecessary.

Overall, while this book isn’t the worst book I have read, it was definitely not the best. I personally will probably never read it again. I rarely ever read books more than twice, so it has to be a REALLY good book to read more than once. I would recommend this to musicians, because they will appreciate the beautiful use of musical description.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review by Bethany House Publishers.