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A Forbidden Rumspringa (2014)

by Keira Andrews

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1018267,214 (4.12)None
When two young Amish men find love, will they risk losing everything? In a world where every detail of life-down to the width of a hat brim-is dictated by God and the all-powerful rules of the community, two men dare to imagine a different way. At eighteen, Isaac Byler knows little outside the strict Amish settlement of Zebulon, Minnesota, where there is no rumspringa for exploration beyond the boundaries of their insular world. Isaac knows he'll have to officially join the church and find a wife before too long, but he yearns for something else-something he can't name. Dark tragedy has left carpenter David Lantz alone to support his mother and sisters, and he can't put off joining the church any longer. But when he takes on Isaac as an apprentice, their attraction grows amid the sweat and sawdust. David shares his sinful secrets, and he and Isaac struggle to reconcile their shocking desires with their commitment to faith, family, and community. Now that they've found each other, are they willing to lose it all? Contains mature themes.… (more)
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Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
I enjoyed this story more than I thought I would - I don't like religion-heavy themes in romance because it's hard to get it right and not sound condescending or preachy, so I approach every one of them with caution, if at all. This book did well, I think - it felt very non judgemental and respectful of everyone involved. We have a 17 year old Isaac who's POV we're in, who is Amish and will soon be old enough to join the church and take a wife, and who is not really sure that that is what he wants, but doesn't really know what he does want and goes along with it. And we have David, also Amish, who seems a little more self-aware and whose joining the church is a bit overdue already. The story begins when Isaac becomes David's carpentry apprentice. I really enjoyed their story but it's far from concluded in this book. I'm looking forward to the next two installments in the series. ( )
  NannyOgg13 | Nov 22, 2022 |
I was given A Forbidden Rumspringa from the author through the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Don’t Buy My Love program for an honest review. This story is told in third person through the eyes of eighteen year old, Isaac Byler, a young Amish man.



Before I start my review I have to say I loved this story. It made me feel and that’s what I like when I read. I was also able to identify with the characters, which is another important aspect for me in a book. It’s also one of those stories that even after I’ve finished reading it, I still can’t get it out of my head.

A Forbidden Rumspringa is the story of Isaac Byler, 18 and Daniel Lantz, 22. It’s about their discovery about themselves, each other and what they really want out of life. Do they want to blindly follow the Ordnung, or do they want to leave Zebulon and head out into the world. We don’t know until the very last pages what each character decides and it’s a nail-biter. In a way, the story is a happy for now. I can’t tell you more because there is another book coming out in 2015 with Isaac and Daniel and I can’t wait. Supposedly it’s told through Daniel’s pov.

Many readers have already posted wonderful reviews of this story so I’ll try to keep mine brief. First I have to start with the community of Zebulon which reminded me of so many other organized religions. I need to mention that I don’t have good feelings about organized religions. I find they manipulate, shame, guilt-trip, bully and shun people into behaving the way they want people to behave. They are also highly judgmental. It takes a strong person to stand up to their religion. What we have in this story is Zebulon a faction of Amish that split off from a group in Red Hills because of a terrible accident that happened. They decided in order to protect their children they would move and shun even more of the English ways. In so doing they had a strangle hold on their people. The young could only work, obey their parents, pray, obey the community. They weren’t allowed to ask questions or go to school beyond the eighth grade. Absolute obedience was required. It reminded me of people turning into Stepford wives. Not just the women, but the men too. The Elders make a rule and that’s it. It doesn’t have to be logical, don’t question and just follow the rule. This is the first area that made me feel in this story, and that was anger. Like I mentioned I don’t like organized religion and I had a difficult time getting through the beginning of the book, because I would often be seething. But once the romance picked up between Isaac and Daniel then the religion became less of a factor for me. It became a backdrop where I could see how hard Isaac and Daniel struggled with their guilt and duty about leaving, but knowing if they wished to love each other freely they couldn’t stay.

Isaac Byler is eighteen, but a very naïve eighteen which is too be expected since he is kept in the dark about everything including human relationships. He’s supposed to pick a wife soon which he has no desire to do. The one person he’s attracted to is Daniel but he isn’t sure Daniel feels the same until one night when Daniel takes him on a ‘date.’ From that point on they can’t keep their hands off each other. And oh my, was the sex hot! I think that Isaac was the more brave of the two even though I don’t think he questioned the Amish life as much as Daniel. Isaac has had dreams for many years of leaving Zebulon and he loves to watch the freight trains that pass by and wonder where they’re going.

David like I mentioned, has more responsibility towards his family. His mother was a widow and he needed to support his younger sisters. Essentially he was trapped. Events play out near the end of the story that force David’s hand whether to leave or stay. It was a very tense moment. David also believes he needs to atone for his brother’s mistake that lead to many of them moving to Zebulon. I felt very sorry for David.

There were some side characters I enjoyed. One is June, the ‘English’ neighbor near the Lantz’s home. I kept wondering if maybe she may have once been Amish herself. I wouldn’t mind reading more about her. The other person I’d like to read more about is, Ephraim, Isaac’s brother. He displayed a strong desire to leave the community within the year, but he was more inclined to go back to Red Hills rather than out into the world. They still had family and friends back in Red Hills so Ephraim would be welcomed back.

A Forbidden Rumspringa is well written and I wasn’t bored in the least. I was immediately able to identify with Isaac and David and to feel their feelings and the sex was very hot. The story had just the right amount of tension and flowed well together with just enough description. The one glaring error I found in my epub version was a formatting error at the end of a chapter. The last half of a line was cut off on a page, a long blank section remained for the page then the sentence ended on the following page.

I want to mention that this book has some great quotes in it, too many to list, but I may go back and hunt them down later.

I highly recommend A Forbidden Rumspringa to everyone and give this book 5 Stars. I can’t wait for the sequel, 2015 is too far away.





( )
  Penumbra1 | Oct 11, 2022 |
This began 5-stars. I know little about Amish ways and I found it interesting and well-researched. I liked the characters. And forbidden romance between men, totally my thing.

The amount of steamy sex quickly became overkill and repetitive (hole and balls-tightening in every scene). By 50% I was skipping pages then gave up.
  Tonwand | Jul 13, 2021 |
Ok...My favorite part of this book? That the end had a statement that there will be more Isaac and David in a future book!! This was such a great story! I was a little hesitant because of the Amish storyline and not wanting a story that was just "I hate being Amish and I want to leave". This book did not have that at all. Yes, there was questioning. Yes, there was doubt. Yes, there was wanting to leave. Yes, there was "rule" breaking. But there was also faith, and struggle between not wanting to fail God and family, and belief in a lot of the Amish ideals. This was very well written and had great depth. I am really looking forward to reading more about the journey of these two guys. There is so much for them to learn and it is exciting to watch them go through it all.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
( )
1 vote ktomp17 | Mar 21, 2021 |
This is the first in a romance trilogy called the "Gay Amish Romance" series and the cover shows two guys with dubious haircuts and/or hat choices embracing. You know exactly what this is going to contain from the get-go and Keira Andrews delivers. I'm not sure that I entirely bought the zero-to-sixty nature of Isaac and David's relationship, and there's one set of references to, uh, equine anatomy that I could have done without. But a quick, escapist read. ( )
  siriaeve | Oct 6, 2020 |
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added by gsc55 | editNautical Star Books (Jan 26, 2015)
 
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To Anne-Marie, Becky and Rachel for the amazing beta work and enthusiasm for this book. Isaac and David thank you, and so do I. Also to the ex-Amish who so generously shared their stories and answered my many questions.
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"David Lantz? Isaac realized he was catching flies, and snapped his jaw shut.
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When two young Amish men find love, will they risk losing everything? In a world where every detail of life-down to the width of a hat brim-is dictated by God and the all-powerful rules of the community, two men dare to imagine a different way. At eighteen, Isaac Byler knows little outside the strict Amish settlement of Zebulon, Minnesota, where there is no rumspringa for exploration beyond the boundaries of their insular world. Isaac knows he'll have to officially join the church and find a wife before too long, but he yearns for something else-something he can't name. Dark tragedy has left carpenter David Lantz alone to support his mother and sisters, and he can't put off joining the church any longer. But when he takes on Isaac as an apprentice, their attraction grows amid the sweat and sawdust. David shares his sinful secrets, and he and Isaac struggle to reconcile their shocking desires with their commitment to faith, family, and community. Now that they've found each other, are they willing to lose it all? Contains mature themes.

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