Thee I Love by Annette Blair

The cover of this book is very misleading. When you look at it, you think bodice ripper. That is so not the case. Thee I Love IS a romance, but set in the Amish society.

Jakob was banished years ago from his Amish community, but is now back because he has a set of twins that he wants to raise Amish. When he left, the woman that he loved was about to marry his brother Simon.

He and his children are welcomed back into the community, and before long, Jakob and Rachel are trying very hard to stay one away from one another. Jakob soon sees what has been happening to Rachel since he left. His brother Simon has abused her mentally and physically and it breaks his heart and angers him. He interferes, and Simon spirals onto a path of destruction.

Jakob and Rachel renew their love and know afterward that God will punish them for their sin. Simon seems to be changing back into the wonderful man he used to be, so Rachel must try to be a good wife to him. Jakob knows this is the way, so he begins looking for a wife to help him to raise his children.

Events spiral out of control into a shocking conclusion. Annette Blair does a wonderful job building her characters into people with real emotions and problems. She builds the Amish world so wonderful, you know she has done her homework. The plot is solid and kept me turning the pages quickly to see how it developed into something wonderful. High stars for this "bodice ripper" of a romance.