Grace’s Forgiveness by Molly Jebber is the second book in Keepsake Pocket Quilt series. The novel is set in Berlin, Ohio in 1900. Grace Blauch was born with a red birthmark on her left cheek. Grace is a midwife and also runs Grace and Sarah’s Dry Good’s Shop with her best friend, Sarah Helmuth. Grace does not believe she will ever get married until she Mark King comes to town. Mark is new to the area (just bought a small farm) and is opening a store next to Grace and Sarah (wood furniture and toys). Slowly Mark wins Grace’s trust and love. But then Mark’s (shunned) brother, Abel King comes to town. It is hard to put the feelings for family ahead of the Ordung. When Grace’s father finds out that Mark broke the Ordung, he removes his blessing from their wedding. Will Grace and Mark ever be able to get married? Grace and Mark’s road to happiness will not be easy, but it will be full of love and life lessons.

Grace’s Forgiveness is such a sweet book. It has a good moral and talks about love, faith, family, and community (and quilting). Grace’s Forgiveness is well-written and easy to read. I liked the characters and the setting (Berlin, Ohio). This is the second book I have read by Molly Jebber and I look forward to reading more of her novels. It is a simple story, but I liked the message contained within it. What you do in Mark’s situation? Could you ignore a family member in need (who arrives at your door)? I give Grace’s Forgiveness 4 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of Grace’s Forgiveness from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Grace is a "young" Amish girl, who practices midwifing and is part owner in an Amish goods shop in Berlin, Ohio. She has never found a man who is willing to look any further than the ugly birthmark on her face, or get to know her as a person. She fears she will spend her life in spinster, delivering everyone else's boppli, but never having her own. Her best friend has left the Amish and is now married to a doctor and practicing nursing. To make it even more difficult, she has been shunned and Grace must never speak of her.

Mark,a new-to-town, single Amish fellow has just purchased the store next to hers. He is the only man who has noticed her beyond the mark on her face. He and Grace hit it off wonderfully, they have have so much in common including their loved ones who have been shunned. But he also has a secret that could come back to haunt him and ruin their relationship forever.

After reading Molly Jebber's Christmas novella, I was so excited to get to read this book. I enjoyed the story line and the mystery involving an unknown person who was wandering around the town hiding in barns, and stealing things. I also enjoyed Mark and Grace's romance, although it seemed a bit rushed and pushy to me. Maybe that is how the Amish do relationships. Everyone was kind of pushing them together as soon as they met. I liked how Molly incorporated the aspect of faith, trusting God when things were not turning out quite like planned, and the importance of forgiveness, as well as, not jumping to conclusions on a matter. As always, the legalism of the Amish religion kind of gets to me, and I don't necessarily agree with their version of Christianity. But I do admire them for living a "separate" life from the world, as well as, their simple lifestyle.

There were a few things in the book that seem a little out of sync to me and the prose did not flow well. In many places it seemed cut and dry. It did spur me however to look up information concerning Amish marriages, wagon trains, and Amish funerals. So this book even turned out to be educational for me. I also felt like the cover did not accurately portray the character. Grace has a birthmark on her left cheek, but the girl on the cover did not.I do not know if that was supposed to be representative of her for sure.

Overall, in-spite of the flow I enjoyed the plot and the mysterious twist; as a seamstress, I enjoyed the quilts mentioned. The idea of a Keepsake Pocket Quilt was quite interesting and exciting. It would be fun to make one myself. My grandfather dealt in woodwork and often made little things such as described in the book, including a cedar chest for me when I was growing up. That brought back good memories.

This book is part of a series and is book two. I have not read book one, but that did not affect the characters in book two. I do believe Molly has another book in the series coming the beginning of next year.

I received this book from Celebrate Lit and the author in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )

This has been one of my favorite books of 2016. I could not put this book down. It was so wonderful when Grace and Mark both meet. They were kindred spirits from the beginning. Mark did not mind the birthmark on her face. Most people could not get passed it. Grace had a friend leave the Amish after joining the church and so had Mark. Both had a hard time shunning their friend or family member. Can Grace's father understand how Grace and Mark feel about this and let them get married? This is a great book that makes you laugh, cry and think. I received this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion. ( )

Grace is a lovely girl, but is very self conscious of the birthmark on her face. She knows people stare at it , but she tries to not let it bother her. She is a midwife and also works at a store that sells quilts. Grace longs for a husband and family , but thinks her birthmark keeps suitors away.

Mark has just moved to the town and opens a furniture shop next door to Grace's. He is very kind and they seem to really hit it off. He does notice her birthmark, but it doesn't bother him. He sees past that and looks at the beautiful young woman with a graceful and humble attitude . How many of us can look past imperfections ? Are we guilty of judging others because they may look or act differently.

The story is very well written with Amish traditions and makes you feel like you are there in the town with the characters. When Grace is asked to deliver a baby, the details are so precise I felt like I was there with Grace watching a miracle happen. The story flows very smoothly and shows how forgiveness is something we should do everyday. I loved the description of the pocket quilt. It is a lovely quilt that has a place to put a letter in . What a wonderful gift that would be to have a gorgeous quilt and a handwritten letter.

Mark has a secret that could get him shunned from the community. He has come to love Grace and respect her parents. What will happen when his secret is revealed? Can the community forgive him or will he have to move away? The story is beautifully written with wonderful characters. The author has written a story that is compelling and heartfelt. I would encourage everyone to grab a copy of this book and read a story that is emotional, faith filled and shows how forgiveness can touch lives.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit and the author for an honest review. ( )

Grace’s Forgiveness brings home what people that are different have dealt with all of their lives. For Grace it was being born with a mark on her face, and we meet with people who won’t even look at her, never mind letting her wait on them in her store.
The setting for this book is Berlin Ohio, and living in a conservative Amish community. This is a very strict way of life, and it appeared that you could be shunned for something we would find very innocent, but the setting is 1900, and things were very different.
From the minute we meet Mark King, we find a connection sparking between Grace and Mark, and he doesn’t seem to even notice her birthmark. Can these two overcome the actions of others, and it surprised me what can cause you to be shunned.
I enjoyed the kindness of this community, and how they all come together and help one another. We are even with Ruth, when as a midwife; she helps deliver a few babies.
There is some danger in this community and it has landed at Mark’s doorstep, and we hope that all will survive in the end.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Zebra, and was not required to give a positive review. ( )