The Forgiving Jar (The Prayer Jars Book Two) by Wanda E. Brunstetter

About the book:

What would happen if you found out someone has been impersonating you?   Sara Murray had never met her mother’s parents and was surprised to learn after her death that they were Amish living in Pennsylvania. When she is finally able to make the trip to meet them, she is shocked to learn someone else has been living with them and pretending to be Sara. Sara can’t understand how quickly her grandparents are willing to forgive the imposter.
 
Secrets and deceit seem to follow Sara, and she is so tired of it. Though soon she meets Brad Fuller who is visiting her grandparents for during Christmas. She likes him a lot, but even he seems to pull away from her, not being totally honest.
 
Struggling, Sara finds an old canning jar hidden in the barn that is full of encouraging prayers. Can Sara find a way to forgive the past and move on to building new relationships?

This is Book 2 in the brand-new series, The Prayer Jars, from New York Times bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter.
Book 1 -- The Hope Jar (August 2018)
Book 3 -- The Healing Jar (August 2019)

My thoughts:

I am really enjoying The Prayer Jars series.  In the second book the author focuses on the relationship between Sara and Michelle and how they each see themselves fitting into the lives of Willis and Mary Ruth.  Sara is bound to be suspicious of Michelle's motives since she pretended to be Sara in the first book.  Factor in jealousy and distrust which is understandable while lending a realism to the storyline.

Let's face, it both girls had valid reasons to feel the way they did given their life experiences.  Michelle has had a pretty bad upbringing and Sara found out that her mother was Amish after her mother's death.  I'm pretty sure my emotions would be all over the place, just as Sara's were. Especially when I saw the person who had pretended to be me, living in my grandparents home.

I didn't care too much for Michelle in the first book but she has matured and grown into a person who is worthy of being forgiven for her past actions.  While being accepted in the community she has had time to think about how she wants to live her life and what she needs to do for a brighter future and the people she wants to be part of her future.  It took me awhile to warm up to Sara but once I started to understand her feelings I sympathized with her and understood her character better.  I was rooting for her to find her own happiness and have the life she wanted.

I was happy to catch up with Ezekiel and Brad because they have been two of my favorites since I met them in the first book.  Brad has definite ideas about the qualities he wants in a wife which is as it should be and I like that he isn't the type to settle for less.  Ezekiel has matured and made important life decisions that made me even more fond of him.

Overall this story of love, faith, family and forgiveness is one of my favorites penned by Ms. Brunstetter. I love how she brings her characters to life for her readers and leaves you wanting more which is why I cannot wait to read the third book in the series to find out what she will share with us next. 

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and was under no obligation to write a review.  All opinions are my own.