Book and Review: The Roll of the Drums By: Jan Drexler

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ruby Weaver's curly red hair isn't the only thing that sets her apart from her Amish community in 1863. Twenty-eight and single, Ruby doesn't believe a woman needs to be married in order to be happy. Her ailing friend Lovinia Fischer, however, has other ideas and wants Ruby to promise to marry her husband after she dies. Never imagining she'd have to fulfill that vow, Ruby agrees. And she's not the only one. Lovinia has extracted a similar promise from her husband, Gideon.

With both Ruby and Gideon reluctant to keep their promises, a compromise must be reached. Ruby will spend her days with Gideon's family--helping to raise the children and keep the house--but her nights will be spent at her sister's neighboring house. But this arrangement raises eyebrows in their conservative Amish community, and it soon becomes clear that Ruby must make a decision--marry Gideon or turn her back on her friend, the children she's grown to love . . . and their father.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jan Drexler's husband of more than thirty-five years often says she's never happier than when she's in the kitchen cooking for someone, and he's right. With her Amish and Mennonite ancestry and mid-American roots, Jan has always enjoyed cooking from scratch and sharing the subsequent goodies with friends and family.

Jan and her family have lived all through the mid-west, from Indiana to Texas to Kentucky to South Dakota, with a few others in between. Born in Michigan, Jan still proudly carries her pocket map of Michigan on the end of her arm, like all true Michiganders, and will gladly give you a tour of her home state. But her current love is the Black Hills of South Dakota, where she can be found hiking the Hills at all times of the year and regularly visiting the "boys" at Mt. Rushmore.

Jan brings a unique understanding of the Amish culture to her writing, with ancestors who were among the first Amish immigrants to Pennsylvania. She has written several books for Love Inspired Historical as well as "The Journey to Pleasant Prairie" series from Revell.

MY THOUGHTS

I am a huge fan of this author. I am also a huge fan of this book. I love how the author has blended the experiences that the Amish experienced during the Civil War era. This is book 12 in the Amish of the Weaver's Creek series. I have not read the first one, and did not have any proble m in falling along. Gideon has seen what the terrible war has done. On top of that, his wife is on her death bed. She makes him promise to marry her friend Ruby, who already loves and cares for the kids as their own. Can they make it work? What will happen while the war rages on. 

I received a copy of this book through the Revel Reads blogger program, all thoughts are my own.