Title: Her New Story by Laura Bradford
Publisher: Kensington Books
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
From USA Today bestselling author Laura Bradford comes a poignant, uplifting novel about an investigative reporter who will do anything to nail a story—until her world comes crashing down—landing her on assignment in Pennsylvania’s Amish country, where she’s forced to re-think her priorities, and her life.
Tess Baker thought she had the perfect everything—until her best friend, and (now ex) husband, betrayed her, leaving her with nothing, except her career as an investigative reporter. In her work for a leading magazine, Tess can lose herself in whatever story she’s chasing. So she’s devastated when her next assignment is far from the exciting location or action-packed quest she anticipated.
Thanks to a recent misstep, Tess is handed a bus ticket to Pennsylvania—to Amish country. The story? Write about living in the past in a modern-day world. Determined to prove herself by coming up with something juicier than a run-of-the-mill human-interest piece, Tess makes her way through this strange place, digging for dirt . . .
Yet no matter where she turns, scandal eludes her. Instead, Tess encounters kindness and grace, even striking up unexpected friendships with women who bear a wisdom and capacity for forgiveness she can’t imagine. It’s only when she meets eighty-something Miss Lottie, beloved by the community even after decades away, that Tess realizes she may have hit upon the story she was looking for. But can she betray the people who have opened their arms—and their hearts—for the sake of a scoop?
Review:
Her New Story by Laura Bradford is an engaging novel of healing, friendship and love.
After going through a terrible betrayal by people she trusted most, Tess Baker is broken-hearted and understandably bitter. She is an investigative reporter for In Depth magazine and she is looking forward to the yearly assignment meeting. Unfortunately, Tess’s personal drama has spilled over into her career and instead of a plum assignment, she is going to Amish country in Pennsylvania. Tess is upset but if she wants to keep her job, she will have to spend one month working with her host family, Naomi and Isaiah King. Adjusting to Plain life is not easy but she does enjoy spending time with Naomi and her friend and mentor Max “Murph” Murphy is just a text or phone call away. Cynical about love and unable to trust anyone, will Tess find a story that will salvage her career?
Tess is very resentful about her assignment but she is polite to everyone she meets. She is quite cynical and she always looks for hidden meaning within the Amish community. Tess is very stubborn as she searches for an explosive, juicy secret that will be the focus of her article. Murph is her sounding board but he is not always in favor of the angle she is going for.
Tess eventually sets her sights on Miss Lottie, who is an elderly lady that everyone raves about. She dispenses helpful advice whenever someone needs a new perspective on the whatever is troubling them. Of course, Tess does not believe that Miss Lottie is as altruistic as the women she meets believes. Convinced she knows what Miss Lottie is hiding, Tess begins looking for her “smoking gun”. With the help of local Jack Cloverton, Tess discovers more than she expects as unearths the truth about Miss Lottie. She also learns valuable life lessons that might just alter her need to protect herself against further heartache.
Her New Story is a thought-provoking journey of self-discovery. Tess is so determined to guard her heart that she is a little difficult to like. She has strong opinions and she is not easily moved from these beliefs. The Amish community and the women she meets are absolutely delightful (especially Rueben!). The setting is quite tranquil with a slower pace of life than Tess is used to. But she quickly adapts and slowly comes to enjoy the peace and quiet. Tess undergoes quite the transformation during her assignment but will she take the lessons she learns when she returns home? With unexpected revelations, Laura Bradford brings this poignant, captivating novel to an uplifting conclusion.
