A Forbidden Rumspringa (Gay Amish Romance Book 1)

A Forbidden Rumspringa is a beautiful story of love, family and faith. It was not preachy, it did not paint the Amish in a bad light and it pulled me right into the strict, insular community where David and Isaac live.I loved the portrayal of both men, old enough to remember what it was like in their former community, which was slightly less restrictive about dealing with the English (non-Amish) and allowed the young a rumspringa to explore life outside the community before they decided to join the church. David has suffered the loss of his brother and father and is doing everything he can to support his mother and sisters, while Isaac is dealing with the memories of a brother and family left behind in the old settlement. David is in training to join the church, at which time he will be expected to take a wife and settle down and Isaac, having just turned 18, is also feeling the pressure to do the same, but cannot imagine his future working out that way. As Isaac begins his apprenticeship as a carpenter with David, his doubts are only confirmed when his feelings for David are reciprocated. The love the men have is challenged by the knowledge that it is a sin to love each other and it will inevitably end when they are caught or they join the church. While Isaac is beginning to strongly question his place in the community, David's need to stay for his family seems an insurmountable obstacle.This was my first Keira Andrews book. I thought both the writing and storytelling were fantastic, really allowing me to visualize the setting and feel for the characters. I don't want to give any story away, but getting toward the end of the book I still didn't know what to expect and it really kept me on the edge of my seat. While not exactly a cliff hanger, more a HFN, there is definitely another part of the story to be told and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment (somewhere around February 2015 I'm told).

This book was great. The star-crossed romance the two men shared was well explained and yet romantic. Romantic yes, but the book also had several short comings. While the relationship was told to be mutual and deep, it seemed to lack set up and establishing details. It seemed like they went from strangers, awkward around each other, to a full couple and going all the way. While it wasn't an instantaneous occurrence, it was probably even a third of the way into the book, but it even still it did not give us much on the men's personalities. Even with the book being Isaac centric, we only see the surface of them both. They like carpentry. They have families. They are gay in a super strict heteronormative society, they both question their place in their society and their church's beliefs. Individually, however, the reader is left to imagine for him or herself. Isaac repeatedly recalls that he and David had shared conversations, but it seems the reader is never privy to them. Isaac goes to work and then they hit the showers or have lunch. As individuals they seem to only be differentiated by one having mostly brothers and the other sisters.As for all other characters, they are basically nonexistent. They are certainly around, never giving the couple time alone, yet they seem like only cardboard cutouts. The reader is introduced to many characters, the main characters have siblings. David has only a mother, but Isaac has both of his parents. Isaac even has a best friend. We find out one brother is disaffected, one sister has a crush and is a good cook, and all parents are godly. Of them all, only Isaac's best friend has some depth and even that is still limited.The dynamics of their relationship also seem as if they could be copied from an f/m relationship. Isaac is the timid younger partner. He is unsure of their relationship being unrequited or not and afraid to make any moves. He's shorter and has very little body hair. David, meanwhile, is older, more confident and experienced. David is more worldly and bold. He is taller and assertive he is able to navigate dealings with the English and is said, repeatedly, to smell like ultra manly sawdust. Of course then, their first time could easily be misread for a straight first time with the bashful bottom on his back gingerly tended to and always told that they can stop at any time.There are also things that seem to reoccur throughout the story that start to get tedious after a while. In his more panicked moments, two things kept happening to Isaac, or others. One was Isaac's constant desire to wake up and find himself with his snoring brother. The other and by far most annoying is all the use of "swallow." I'm not sure if this particular nervous tic was supposed to be subtle referencing to what the men share or if simply the only nervous habit Zebulon allows its citizens, but rest assured if any character is nervous they won't be tapping or nail biting, they will be swallowing sometimes hard, sometimes not. It is not particular to any character, they all do it. Though in passing, a few other tics might be mentioned it is not as annoying as the "swallows" which are repeated over and over.Similar repetition appears with Isaac's knowledge/interactions with the English. It seems one moment he's in awe of the English technologies consumed wanting to know more and more, and the next he is using the bushes over a toilet. He embraces one technology for entertainment and then rebuffs one that would make something far easier for him. A notable example is his knowing how to use one technology and then being literally being dumbfounded by a zipper.Lastly, there was all the Amish information. It felt like the author wanted to show she did her homework. If you have decided to read a book on the Amish some of the information that is provided should be known to you and the author doesn't need to just hand it to the reader on a silver platter. This information is not simply put in narration, it oozes into dialogue. In the dialogue it feels completely out of place. I have never sat around and felt the need to talk to someone in the same community as me and talk about our beliefs and why we believe them. The fact that one character will say something to the effect of "you know how we believe in X, and this because of Y and Z? Well…" It takes what might be an interesting conversation and just sucks the life out of it. While I live next to Amish and can appreciate the great amount of work the author put into it, it is a great vision into this Amish community, the break to inform the reader is a drag on the story.Overall, this was a great romance, but the story itself has weaknesses. I would recommend this book. It was really good; it just felt like it needed to be slightly different, somehow. I might just get the next book if it goes on sale just as I waited for this great book to dip in price. This would be a great book for the romantic and the Amish enthusiast alike.