A Cowboy at Heart by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith

A Cowboy at Heart is the third in the Amish of Apple Grove series, also known as Amish-meets-Wild West adventures. The first book, The Heart's Frontier, is about how a group of cowboys meet the Switzer family (Amish). One of the Switzer girls marries a cowboy. In the second installment, A Plain and Simple Heart, another Switzer daughter seeks out a cowboy she had a crush on as a girl. A trip to jail and other humorous happenings land her in love with the sheriff.

From the back cover: 1886—Jesse Montgomery is beginning to feel restless. Though he’s grateful to his friends Colin and Emma for helping him get on his feet again after a few bad choices and some hard living, surely the Lord doesn’t want him to stay in Apple Grove forever. Doesn’t the Almighty have plans for this reformed rowdy cowboy to build a life of his own?

When an unscrupulous cattle baron tries to steal Amish land, Jesse intervenes and is wounded. Lovely Katie Miller, the young healer in the district, attends to him while trying to guard her heart. This sweet Amish widow cannot risk falling in love with an Englisch cowboy, charming though he may be. And yet—she believes God has a life for her too that is more than what she can presently see. Could there be a future with Jesse only He could bring about?

My review: This third installment is the best, I think. Without giving away the story, I will just say that none of the Amish characters chooses to leave the sect. In most Amish fiction, at least one of the characters doubts his or her faith, and often they ultimately leave the Amish life. This story is as much about the cowboy's search for faith as it is about the Amish. There's drama, humor, and danger---all the elements of an entertaining story. In addition, you get an education about Amish attitudes about achieving peace without violence.

I highly recommend A Cowboy at Heart. You can start with this story and work backwards to the others without losing any of the value of the story. Summaries for all three books in this series are on Virginia Smith's site here. I reviewed A Plain and Simple Heart here.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Harvest House with the expectation that I write a review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”