Becoming Bea by Leslie Gould

Becoming Bea is the 4th novel in The Courtships of Lancaster County series by Leslie Gould. Beatrice Zook has been rivals with Ben Rupp since the grade school spelling bees they competed in year after year.  Ben seems to know just what to say to put Bea on the defense. Only once did Bea start to think they could have a courtship but then Ben broke her heart. When her mom, sister and brother-in-law talk of selling the family farm and moving to Montana, Bea feels pressured to go, but can't shake the feeling that Lancaster County is where she is meant to live. Unexpectedly a family in the community has newborn triplets to take care of, and hire Bea as a temporary helper.  Not knowing anything about babies, Bea at first feels clumsy and scared in her new responsibilities. Yet as time passes, Bea develops a confidence in herself and her duties.  When Ben returns home and their paths cross again, Bea must search for God's will in her life and discover if there is a place for Ben in her heart. This is a first time reading a Leslie Gould novel and I found it hard to get involved in the story.  Maybe it was because I had not read the first novels in the series, but even so there were too many characters at the beginning and I didn't have enough background story of them to get a true idea of who they were. The story moved slowly for me; I tried to read some daily and each time after about 2 chapters I was falling asleep. I had to make myself finish the book.  Normally I enjoy reading about the Amish and I can't wait to see how a novel ends but this was not the case this time.  I honestly cannot recommend this book to my friends.  Thanks Bethany House Publishers for providing me a free copy to review.