When I discovered (as I was reading) what was going to take place in this book, Mattie being investigated by Child Protective Services, I thought I was going to suffer great emotions. Fortunately, I didn't! You see, I've been there, over a decade ago.

It was a hard book to put down, once I began reading. I read breathlessly, eager to find out how everything turned out.

Read. Enjoy. ( )

Right from the beginning I could tell this was going to be a bit different type of Amish story. Mattie is a widow raising her two small children as best she can. Her character is almost innocent like. She has deep love for her children and her faith. When her son becomes sick , she takes him to the doctor and that is when her nightmare begins.

She is seen by another doctor instead of the doctor that always looks after her children when they are ill. The doctor is not very friendly and seems almost abrupt at times. I didn't care for her at all. It seems like she had her mind made up within minutes that the boy was being abused. The boy is admitted to the hospital with severe injuries . Almost immediately CPS is called in and Mattie begins to get scared. She knows she hasn't done anything wrong. Her emotions were so deep, I could feel her heart breaking. The story is well written and I found myself not being able to put the book down. Will she lose both her children to the system?

Mattie will meet a man called Boaz Lambright who has been assigned to investigate Mattie and her children. Can Bo get Mattie to trust him? Why can Bo understand Pennsylvania Dutch so well? Is there a secret in his past that could explain why he feels comfortable around the Amish? I loved his character so much. The author wrote him with such compassion and not giving up. He is determined to find out the truth and believes Mattie is innocent. Will Nathan, Mattie's son survive ? Where did the bruises come from on his little body? Mattie is a devoted mom and her unconditional love for them is well written in the story. I at times wanted to sit by her and gently hold her hand and reassure her that God has this under control.

The story is riveting and her neighbors join together to try to help Mattie get her children back. Bo is drawn to Mattie and even though his job is in jeopardy , he believe she needs his help. I loved the author showing Bo and God talking. That was such an intimate time and I loved how she wrote it with pureness and grace. This is one story that will stay with you long after the last page is written. The story captures trust, unconditional love, forgiveness , and faith in a beautiful inspiring story. I highly recommend this book to fans of Amish books and anyone looking for a book that shows that God is always there in our darkest moment holding our hand. This book has shown me not to ever give up. He is always there and He will guide you in the right direction. He is our justifier and makes miracles happen everyday. Never cease praying for a miracle.

I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild for an honest review. ( )

Title: A Dream of Miracles (An Amish Wonders Novel #3)
Author: Ruth Reid
Pages: 352
Year: 2016
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
My rating is 5 stars.
Mattie is a young widowed woman with two young children to raise without her husband who died of an illness. Now Mattie is having a rough time even with all the help the community is offering along with working on her herb and honey business. When her oldest son, who is three, gets severely sick the case baffles the doctors so much their original diagnosis calls in CPS workers. In a short amount of time, Mattie loses her kids to the system and she is arrested.
While that is happening, Bo, the case worker, is trying to help her through the hoops and closing out the case because a more viable diagnosis comes to the doctor’s attention. Just as she starts to get her life back to normal literally her whole world collapses again and this time it is a grave matter.
What comes to light about Bo’s past, I cannot share because it would spoil the enjoyment for readers to know. All I can say is WOW! The strength of Mattie’s character is under the microscope of strangers, and her faith is wobbly as is her health. Bo is not the enemy she thinks he is at first. In fact, he becomes more entangled with Mattie’s life including their hearts.
Ruth Reid writes novels that are clean, suspense filled and realistic in what some of the Amish like Englishers have to deal with in the world. The author makes them seem like real people and doesn’t elevate them to unrealistic status nor do her stories make their life seem better than someone else’s. I appreciate that quality in Amish books as sometimes the Amish or Mennonite people are lifted up to be looked upon as almost godlike status instead of the flesh and blood that they are.
I hope you read all three novels in the series: A Miracle of Hope, A Woodland Miracle and finally A Dream of Miracles. Each will grab your attention from start to finish along with tugging on your heart strngs!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” ( )

A Dream of Miracles by Ruth Reid is the third book in The Amish Wonders series (but you do not need to read the previous books to enjoy this one). Mattie Diener's son, Nathan is ill. He has been plagued by illness since his birth. She takes him to the doctor, but the regular doctor (Dr. Roswell) is on vacation. Dr. Wellington is filling in, but she knows nothing about the Amish (like how long it takes in a buggy to get to the hospital). Nathan has blisters in his mouth and the doctor suspects foul play. She has Mattie take him to the hospital and calls Child Protective Services (since it took her three hours to get to the hospital). Bo Lampbright is the caseworker assigned to the Diener case. Bo is attracted to Mattie from the moment they meet. The hospital, though, does not seem to understand the Amish (their culture). This is just the beginning of trouble for Mattie. Mattie does not understand how the system works (with the police and Child Protective Services) and is overwhelmed. It is hard enough that her husband passed away eighteen months ago and Mattie has two young children. Things go from bad to worse. Bo believes in Mattie and will do anything he can to help her (including risking his career). Join us in A Dream of Miracles to see how Mattie handles her crisis of faith and the system!

A Dream of Miracles is well-written (and easy to read), but I had a hard time liking the main character, Mattie. It is hard to believe in this day and age that anyone her age (she is twenty-eight) can be that ignorant (of the government and its processes, life in general). Ignorance is not bliss especially in this case. I just found the book upsetting (about Mattie, the system, and the secrets) instead of enjoyable. A Dream of Miracles does show how people will put their own agenda ahead of the welfare of others as well as how ignorant people can be of other cultures and their beliefs. I give A Dream of Miracles 3.75 out of 5 stars. I look forward to the next book by Ruth Reid.

I received a complimentary copy of A Dream of Miracles from NetGalley and BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest evaluation of the book. ( )

Mattie Diener is a mother of two young children and a recent widow, when her three year old is taken to the doctor and her worse nightmare begins.
When CPS is called in because of suspected abuse, she meets Boaz Lambright, an investigator. He understands right away that an Amish woman speaks Pennsylvania Dutch to her children and they don’t learn English until they go to school. He does not think there is any abuse, but politics, greed, and unprofessional work get in the way.
Unfortunately, things keep happening, and your heart is going to ache for Mattie, there has to be a way to help her. Things continue to go from bad to worse, but somehow Mattie and Bo are drawn together in a different sort of way.
As Mattie finds herself attracted to Bo, we know that it can never be as she lives her faith and he is of the world, but how can God put these two together and not get Mattie shunned?
A different type of Amish story, and one that can touch close to home with some, a book that once you start on the first page, you keep turning!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas Nelson, and was not required to give a positive review. ( )