Hello Everyone :)
I pray today finds you all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.
One of my all time favorite genres is Amish fiction, and I've honestly been reading titles within this genre since I was a child. Two of my first forays into adult Christian fiction were Janette Oke's wonderful books, and the amazing Amish fiction titles by Beverly Lewis.
Ever since, I've loved discovering new to me Amish fiction authors, and there's been so many amazing ones that I've fallen in love with their books over the years.
A couple of years ago, I read my first title by Sarah Price and I was instantly hooked.
Her stories were sweet, original, and had me never wanting to have to put them down.
Since I've always been a sucker for stories that make use of the "famous person falling for the regular person" trope, I was excited when I discovered that she had an Amish fiction series that employs this.
Unfortunately, I didn't love the first book in the series, and you can check out that review using the link below:
However, since I'd loved everything else I'd read by her, I decided to give this series one more try.
Keep on reading below to find out what I ended up thinking about it.
Plain Change by Sarah Price:
Source: Library
Publisher: Waterfall Press
Publication Date: February 28th, 2013
Genre: Christian Fiction/Amish Fiction/Contemporary Romance
Series: Plain Fame
Synopsis:
Amanda Beiler could never have imagined the course her life would take when she happened to meet Alejandro Diaz. After catching the eye of the Cuban superstar, she hesitantly decides to leave her small Amish community in order to save it from the relentless attention of the paparazzi. Away from her close-knit family and the familiar rituals of her faith for the first time, Amanda goes on tour with the famous singer, and as she begins to see the world under Alejandro’s care, she starts to appreciate life beyond the boundaries of home. Meanwhile, Alejandro is changing, too, and remembering what it feels like to be with someone who wants him despite—not because of—his celebrity.
As their connection grows stronger and their differences shrink, Amanda will have to make a difficult choice: Return to her old life among the Plain, or stay in the limelight with the man she loves?
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
Sarah Price has become one of my favorite Amish fiction authors over the last couple of years, and yet, I did not end up loving Plain Fame when I picked it up awhile back. However, since I had enjoyed everything else I'd read by her, I decided to give this series one more try. Unfortunately, this book was nothing like I was either expecting or hoping for, and the rest of this series will be a hard stop for me.
I'd probably say that Plain Change is one of the most repetitive stories I've ever personally read before, and I got bored rather quickly of the characters constantly doing the same things over and over again. The majority of this book basically consists of Amanda and Alejandro traveling to concerts, doing interviews, partying, and then repeating the cycle all over again. It got old pretty fast, and I was tempted to dnf it by about the halfway point.
I had a feeling I wasn't going to enjoy the setting as much in this one, as the first one at least had the majority of it taking place at Amanda's family farm. Unfortunately, this one is entirely about the sleaziness of "Hollywood", and definitely didn't end up going where I hoped the author would take it. I wanted to see it being about Amanda being a positive influence on Viper, and standing for her convictions. Instead, it was basically about a worldly, womanizing performer taking advantage of a sheltered Amish girl, and never taking her no to truly mean no despite how many times she says so.
I don't think this would have ended up being the book for me regardless, but my biggest complaint of all was that I have no idea how this is remotely marketed as Christian fiction. The amount of sensuality and lustfulness within these pages was horrifying, and I can't begin to understand how these two characters can possibly claim that God is first in their lives when they lived the lifestyles they do.
Viper consistently pushes Amanda into uncomfortable situations, revealing outfits that she doesn't want to wear, and then continually flirts and goes after the many women constantly falling at his feet. I can't begin to understand the attraction she had for him in the first place when he honestly is kind of a toxic character, and he needed extreme help with the way he seemed to think he had the right to treat her however he wanted.
It's probably the most superficial inclusion of faith I've ever personally seen in a Christian fiction novel, and for me personally, this will be my last time picking up one of the books in this series.
I continue to enjoy many of Sarah Price's other novels, but this one is disheartening, and not at all what I was expecting. It's beyond disappointing too, as it was such an original story idea within the Amish fiction genre.
Final Rating: 1/5.
I hate rating books that low, but this one just had no saving grace for me personally.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
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