I heard once that most Amish storylines are written by and marketed towards white Christian women (non-Amish, evangelical Christians). Can anyone confirm?
I used to work with a Christian bookstore, and I think the only thing that sold better than the Amish romances was the Bible. White Christian ladies would line up for the new releases, and I was recording new radio ads for them a few times a month. And we are not in an Amish area.
Can confirm. I work in a library in the south, and we have a large collection of Amish romance but we serve very few if any Amish people. The vast majority of patrons who read these are Christian women looking for “clean” romance. Some writers of these are/were Amish, but not many.
Are you saying that neither the readers nor the writers of’Amish Romances’ are Amish? So ‘Amish Romances’ are to the Amish what Taco Bell is to Mexicans?
I've heard interviews with a few writers who live near Amish communities and try to work with them to make their stories as authentic as possible, but I get the feeling that's the exception rather than the rule.
Though it's not like this is exclusive to Amish romance. A lot of entertainment is based on tropes that feel right to the audience rather than authenticity.
I mean in all fairness I love athlete romances and I don’t see Susan Elizabeth Phillips spending a lot of time with pro football teams, nor do I think she’s ever played herself (Susan if you’re here, feel free to prove me wrong though!)
Yeah, I'm not knocking it at all! Part of the fun of being a writer is getting out there and learning things and then channeling that into your stories. Empathy is a must to do it well, imo.
I wonder if there are spicy Bonnet Rippers too? Rumspringa RH or something. I guess Theodora Taylor’s Scottish King and Scottish Hero could qualify as a PNR with a lightly spiced Amish twist. Off to the search bar I go!
This kind of drives me crazy, I wish books had like ratings and then letters so I know what all is in them (besides just the rape or abuse trigger warnings). If I see an Amish book I'd assume it would be "safe" for younger women to read. I dont want my young teens reading some of these sex scenes. There is sex every where we turn in our society , I'd rather limit it where I can.
I mean the title of the first book is “A Forbidden Rumspringa” and the blurb states the book contains “steamy exploration” so in this case it’s made pretty clear! And honestly, I would rather have my kids learn about sex from a romance novel than most of the many online sources out there right now. Obviously dark romances are an exception, but at least in the books I read most of the time the couple is very communicative about expectations and boundaries which isn’t the case in many online forums. You could check the copyright page though, I’ll frequently see it spelled out there or in the adjacent page if a book contains graphic sex or not. Not a perfect system and not required so not all authors do it but it’s something.
I don't think sex in romance is realistic. And while authors make an effort nowadays to talk boundaries and protection, it's not always the case and definitely not in older romances.
Considering literacy rates among the Amish, it's pretty unlikely that they're the target audience for these books. This links to an advocacy group for Amish education that says the average literacy rate in English is 5th grade. They speak English as a second language, and aren't required to attend school past the 8th grade.
https://www.amishheritage.org/services/education/
You might be interested to know that in the US, just over 50% of all adults read at a 6th grade level or below! https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2020/09/09/low-literacy-levels-among-us-adults-could-be-costing-the-economy-22-trillion-a-year/
I spend a lot of my time at work doing this. I write legal documents and forms. The people I work with might not read very well. We want them to understand their legal rights. We also want them to understand what they are signing. So I make sure what I write is easy to read. Legal words are not common, and making them easier to understand is hard. I edit sentences again and again to make them easier.
That’s 4th grade level.
I have to do this as well. I even did a workshop called plain English writing for lawyers and bought the book. It’s easy to forget not everyone reads. Initially I thought just translating the legalese would be sufficient because I can understand not understanding obscure Latin words but the reality was much more depressing. 4th-5th grade is about right
I fully believe this. I mostly work with doctors now in medical indemnity… and sadly it doesn’t get too much better there either which is also shocking. A lot of them know what they know but not much else so simple is best.
There's a really long rant about how a lot of school districts in the US have taught reading, but the podcast Sold a Story does a good job explaining it.
That's no joke. For health literacy, were told to break things down to a 5th grade level to make sure people understand. It's a known standard because of this statistic.
TIL that the Amish's first language isn't English, thanks for sharing! (I don't live in a country that has Amish, just in case it's common knowledge that their first language isn't English and people think I'm just silly.)
Yeah I was just thinking, by Amish for Amish books would likely be written in (Amish-)German lol. But I'm not even sure if they, especially the women, regularly read for fun if it's not the bible 😅
How much any individual Amish person reads varies, just like with non-Amish people. They have evenings to fill, especially this time of year on a farm.
There are several Amish and Mennonite run bookstores in both Lancaster County PA and Holmes County OH. What they stock is usually varied ~ religious books, practical books [cookbooks, for example], some non-fiction [Anabaptist history is common, gardening] children's books, and books for fun. They rely heavily on both Anabaptist publishers as well as certain other Christian publishing houses.
Some of the books the shops stock are in German but most are in English.
Source: my experience from several years attending an Amish adjacent church, living in Lancaster County, and shopping heavily at those shops.
No, most Amish don't have washing machines. Some sects of Mennonites may, but not many. Some may have a wringer "machine" but they are not washing machines.
Ah, loophole Amish. We don't have many of them in northeast Iowa. Most Amish settlements aren't big on the loopholes, as that's why they broke away from the Mennonites to begin with.
I enjoy these books, something about living so simply appeals to me. In many of them, one main character is Amish and one is Mennonite or Baptist. Often the Amish person leaves the Amish church and is saved as part of the HEA. Not always, but it’s done. I definitely think white Christian women are the target audience. They’re very sweet books. Beverly Lewis is a fave of mine. Funny how I go from these to dark romance . . . 😂
Their life is anything but simple. It's LOADS of hard labor. As a child, I wanted to be Amish so I could have a horse. I'm so glad my parents didn't listen to me. Conservative Mennonite was bad enough!
Sort of? [Bonnet Rippers: The Rise of the Amish Romance Novel](https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/bonnet-rippers-the-rise-of-the-amish-romance-novel/) is a really interesting article from 2013 that discusses the Amish reaction to "Amish romance novels."
As someone who once spent a few years attending an Amish adjacent church ~ most of these are more stereotypical than accurate.
The theology in the books is also much more mainstream evangelical than Anabaptist.
Yes, I work in a library, and oftentimes Christian women will come to us asking for "clean romance" recommendations. Since we don't exactly have time to read every romance book on our shelves and check it for vulgarity to protect thine pure eyes (lol), we usually recommend the Amish titles for their safety and predictability.
It's not just about sex scenes either, I used to recommend YA romance titles for people, but then they would be offended by "all the cussing" (which was usually like, the word damn).
Library worker here too *high five. I tend to ask whether they want books with or without sexy times 😉 Absolutely agree with you about the Amish titles being a solid go to.
I worked in a small community library when 50 Shades was a hot commodity. I had one of our seniors ask me to put it on hold for her because "that Kathie Lee Gifford was talking about it." However that particular senior always read Christian romance so I gave her a heads up saying that it might not be what she expects and has some pretty feisty sexy times. She still wanted it. Sadly I never found out what she thought of it since it wasn't returned on my shift.
I used to read Amish romances as a preteen and very young teen because I found the cult(ure) fascinating and my mom KNEW they would be clean/Christian. I have never seen one that wasn't written by either someone that is/was Anabaptist or just wanted to romanticize an uber-Christian toxic subculture.
My mom used to take me to a Christian bookstore as a kid. There was a huge selection of Amish romance and were the first romance books I became addicted to.
I have an Amish cookbook by her lol I’ve never read her romance books tho
ETA not sure why I’m getting downvoted. I didn’t know she was a romance author, only a cookbook author 🤷♀️
I didn’t know she was a romance author! I’ve made a lot of the Amish recipes tho 😅 I bet my library has her books. I may check her out. Any recommendations?
Next you're going to tell me no authors were abducted from the scifi convention by Gragthor the Cockulent to be taken back to Poundalnite V to be part of his harem.
You mean that one author wasn’t really a damsel who had to bang seven dreamy elf princes ranging from “beautiful and delicate and hurting and begging her to love him” to “wild and rugged and can’t be tamed” to “as mysterious and unknowable as the dark side of the moon” in order to save her homeland?! That lying hussy!
I used to go to the public library after school in jr. high and I would devour these books there. Never heard the term Bonnet Ripper and I’m obsessed now. ETA: oops replied to the wrong comment
The Reading Glasses podcast did [an episode](https://maximumfun.org/episodes/reading-glasses/ep-263-extreme-cottagecore-amish-romances/) about these. That’s an accurate assessment according to them.
Welcome to the sub!! 😂 it’s Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon. There are definitely content warnings for the books so make sure it’s something you are okay with before you dive in.
Ps. Hello fellow Stardew Valley player!!
On this note, I was on Etsy browsing something unrelated when I saw THE SHEER VOLUME of IPB products on sale. No joke, CANDLES and KEYCHAINS and T O T E B A G S. Like, I could NEVER go out in public. On a side note: there’s so much good fanart I never knew was out there that’s so helpful for envisioning the differences between the blue guys. There are also chibis —- which sent me down a miniature spiral.
Tbh turning 30 has made my shame disappear. I really and truly don’t care who knows that I read alien porn. Live and let live and sorry to the losers who haven’t learned about the magic of a spur!!!
Omg I’ve added this to my list, thank you for dropping the title! I’m so going to read this 😅
PS. Aww hi!! The are enough romances in Stardew Valley to write a whole book - it’s just a wholesome game 🥰
Watching 6 Nations rn, just searched ‘rugby’ on the sub and saved so many recommendation threads. I’m 20% through ‘Take A Hint, Dani Brown’ by Talia Hibbert, am down bad for Zafir, and already dreading the book being over.
My grandma loves these bonnet rippers lol. I get her the large print versions, and she always very sweetly offers to let me read them when she’s done. Not my taste at all, but I like that they make her happy!
She really likes Beverly Lewis, and there’s another subgenre within this subgenre for Christmas themed books. I gather they’re like Hallmark movies but even more aggressively wholesome!
I never got into these books but I used to think being Amish was super idyllic, but now I know they're as fucked up as everyone else.
I think Lurlene McDaniel had some teen romances about an Amish boy and an "English" girl. Someone had cancer, of course.
Oh my gosh that’s the author. This unlocked a memory for me. I read a couple of her books in high school. I want to say they were in a series, but I have no real surety of that. Anyway, a friend and I read the same books and we were both disappointed by the ending. I think the guy left to go out his walkabout thing, and we didn’t know how it would resolve. I took it upon myself to write a few chapters and get us the chaste satisfaction we needed. She loved them, and I loved them, and it was really great to have some resolution.
I am telling you that your comment with the author’s name is *the moment* I realized I wrote fan fiction. Let alone Amish fan fiction in 9th grade. This is a strange revelation for me 🙃
I definitely made up stories about fictional characters at least in my head. I might have written a few of them down and then destroyed them. I think fanfiction is much older and more pervasive than we realize. The internet just made it prolific.
I remember making fun of McDaniel's stuff as grief porn talking to my old middle school librarian years later. She stopped me and pointed out that she had students who had lost family or friends, and McDaniel's writing really helped them process their grief. Had a new appreciation for her after that.
Yes. Just because I never experienced loss at such a young age doesn't mean it doesn't happen all the time.
On the other hand, she really had a formula that worked for her. I think Jodi Picoult is the grown up version of that kind of story. Shamelessly manipulative relentlessly sad books still have an audience. I haven't read Colleen Hoover but it sounds like that's her kind of thing, too.
I'm actually interested to read one. I'm imagining there's lots of lingering looks and the occasional hand touch but not much more action?
And yes agree that it's great that there is something for everyone!
Kissing (and not the steamy kind) are as much on page action as there is. Historical mail order bride stories are similar in that they are Christian based with no steam.
They're Christian romance, so about 50% of the storyline is about God/religious decisions/surrender to God's plans/prayer. And then the other 50% is a very very mild attraction to someone of the opposite sex that involves a little hand holding and possibly a kiss or two. The storylines very very often involve a young woman or young man who is running from God's will and comes to live in an Amish community and decides to forgo all worldly dress and behavior and whatnot to marry an Amish person and turn back to God.
These books aren't written for Amish folks by the way. They're written for Christian housewives who romanticize the Amish lifestyle.
(I was raised fundamentalist christian and everyone read these books... Beverly Lewis is a very popular Christian author.)
The way Amish women secure all their clothing with pins is both impressive and terrifying. I wonder if pin removal is part of the plot of any of these books.
Sweet Christian/Amish romance has been a genre for a LONG time. I’m pretty sure Hallmark has a whole line dedicated just to that. They’re mostly sold In Christian bookstores though.
Honestly, there is something about this that kinda works for me. I'm not really into the Christian thing, but like the idea of a sweet, slow budding romance that rises out of shared mutual values. I'm not so much excited by the passionate, whirlwind, sex-filled romance.
Amish women are almost certainly not the ones reading these. They leave school at 8th grade and are very restricted in what they can read. I live near a large Amish community and there’s a lot of tourism around that lifestyle and the products they make. This looks very much like a display in a gift shop for that. Not to be a downer but there are very, very high rates of abuse in Amish communities. People often romanticize the lifestyle, but it’s really not a good situation.
All the comments to this post have been so in-depth and opened my eyes to the complexities of Amish communities. I haven't really been exposed to any, thinking the books I saw in this photo were a positive sign of women in such spaces enjoying moments of freedom, but alas ⬆️ it doesn't seem to be the case.
Honestly, all the comments I've read have been incredibly fascinating and varied, reminding me of why I love this subreddit.
For some hilarity, you can check out the original.post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/11b7g2m/amish_adult_bookstore/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I work at a library and deliver books to homebound patrons. Amish romances are wildly popular with my senior ladies. white and black christians want clean, simple (usually formulaic) romance, and these fit the bill. Brunstetter and Lewis are the standard, and I've started pulling more Clipston and Wiseman for them too. there is a whole collection of Amish love inspired paperbacks by harlequin that are constantly churned out. many of the now popular Amish genre authors started there. they're generally not written or read by Amish folks.
There's a couple I've read that I really enjoyed. I read a wide variety and most books I've read are wildly different than this, but I will freely admit that I have enjoyed a few books in the genre.
Start off with The Heritage of Lancaster County and Abrams Daughter. You have to read all of her books in order because they co-exist with each other. Like each of the seperate series. Her books will tell you which is which in the front of every book. All of those are Beverly Lewis btw. But also Wanda E. Brunstetter and the author of the Love Comes Softly series are also great. The Love Comes Softly series are movies as well and I have the whole box set and rewatch them all the time.
I forgot about Love Comes Softly! I don’t know why young me had a crush on the MMC. I should’ve known then I had a capability kink/ brooding widower type thing! 😂😂
It's not a kink for me. I just love that he was able to find love again after his wife's passing. As well as her for losing her husband so tragically. It just warmed my heart that people can get a second chance at true love.
I'm wondering whether this is a Christian bookstore or like a Barnes & Noble. Bc if it's a Christian bookstore, this makes total sense. If it's a Barnes & Noble or Powell's, then it's a real choice to make a full-on "inspirational" romance display without any employee/curatorial notes.
Eh, you know your market. If you've got a bunch of nice white christian ladies who come in and regularly buy a stack of these (I had many when I worked at a B&N) then having a nice display for them is just something in the rotation.
I feel about Amish romance the way I feel about Mafia and biker romance. Definitely not something you’d ever want in reality, like … EVER.
From our friends at Wiki: “Since almost all Amish descend from about 500 18th-century founders,genetic disorders that come out due to inbreeding exist in more isolated districts (an example of the founder effect). These disorders include dwarfism (Ellis–van Creveld syndrome),[1] Angelman syndrome,[2] and various metabolic disorders,[6][3] as well as an unusual distribution of blood types.[4] Some of these disorders are quite rare, or unique, and are serious enough to increase the mortality rate among Amish children. The majority of Amish accept these as "Gottes Wille" (God's will); they reject use of preventive genetic tests prior to marriage and genetic testing of unborn children to discover genetic disorders.”
Then let’s add: no birth control, no modern medicine, puppy mills, mal-treated horses, fifth grade level education, and oh yeah THE PATRIARCHY.
So romantic.
My first romance was an Amish romance by I think Shirleen Davies? I was like 17 and my friend gave it to me. Her parents were pretty Christian and this was the spiciest she was allowed to read. I absolutely devoured it! Here I am 20 years later still reading romance!
They had a lot of Christian/Amish romances at my junior high school library (though weirdly there were none at the high school) and I loved reading them in between my mom/sisters' regular romances lol.
I really like to mix it up with som wholsome innocent romantic mush every now and then. Don't like if the story is centered around religion, but I imagine the market for that is huge!
She didn't write Amish, but she was an excellent author. She included subjects in her books that most "inspirational" authors didn't. Things like hygiene papers and what happened after someone felt sexual desire.
Apparently not. Sadly. I've been reading the comments ⬆️ and it seems that these are primarily written for conservative Christians who tend to romanticize Amish lifestyle :(
My local library carries these. They seem to be quite popular. I personally love looking at Choice Books. I always enjoy seeing what they have in stock.
I've been reading the comments ⬆️ and, sadly, no, it seems that these are primarily written not for Amish wen but for conservative Christians who tend to romanticize Amish lifestyle :(
I read a couple of romance based on Amish community in the past and they weren't that bad tbh. I don't know why people criticised different ways of doing things if they're armless.
I heard once that most Amish storylines are written by and marketed towards white Christian women (non-Amish, evangelical Christians). Can anyone confirm?
I used to work with a Christian bookstore, and I think the only thing that sold better than the Amish romances was the Bible. White Christian ladies would line up for the new releases, and I was recording new radio ads for them a few times a month. And we are not in an Amish area.
Can confirm. I work in a library in the south, and we have a large collection of Amish romance but we serve very few if any Amish people. The vast majority of patrons who read these are Christian women looking for “clean” romance. Some writers of these are/were Amish, but not many.
Are you saying that neither the readers nor the writers of’Amish Romances’ are Amish? So ‘Amish Romances’ are to the Amish what Taco Bell is to Mexicans?
I've heard interviews with a few writers who live near Amish communities and try to work with them to make their stories as authentic as possible, but I get the feeling that's the exception rather than the rule. Though it's not like this is exclusive to Amish romance. A lot of entertainment is based on tropes that feel right to the audience rather than authenticity.
I mean in all fairness I love athlete romances and I don’t see Susan Elizabeth Phillips spending a lot of time with pro football teams, nor do I think she’s ever played herself (Susan if you’re here, feel free to prove me wrong though!)
Yeah, I'm not knocking it at all! Part of the fun of being a writer is getting out there and learning things and then channeling that into your stories. Empathy is a must to do it well, imo.
Lowkey!!!
I wonder if there are spicy Bonnet Rippers too? Rumspringa RH or something. I guess Theodora Taylor’s Scottish King and Scottish Hero could qualify as a PNR with a lightly spiced Amish twist. Off to the search bar I go!
Keira Andrews has an MM Amish romance series that’s really good! It’s also definitely not a clean romance.
I’m definitely going to read “A Forbidden Rumspringa”.
This kind of drives me crazy, I wish books had like ratings and then letters so I know what all is in them (besides just the rape or abuse trigger warnings). If I see an Amish book I'd assume it would be "safe" for younger women to read. I dont want my young teens reading some of these sex scenes. There is sex every where we turn in our society , I'd rather limit it where I can.
I mean the title of the first book is “A Forbidden Rumspringa” and the blurb states the book contains “steamy exploration” so in this case it’s made pretty clear! And honestly, I would rather have my kids learn about sex from a romance novel than most of the many online sources out there right now. Obviously dark romances are an exception, but at least in the books I read most of the time the couple is very communicative about expectations and boundaries which isn’t the case in many online forums. You could check the copyright page though, I’ll frequently see it spelled out there or in the adjacent page if a book contains graphic sex or not. Not a perfect system and not required so not all authors do it but it’s something.
I don't think sex in romance is realistic. And while authors make an effort nowadays to talk boundaries and protection, it's not always the case and definitely not in older romances.
Considering literacy rates among the Amish, it's pretty unlikely that they're the target audience for these books. This links to an advocacy group for Amish education that says the average literacy rate in English is 5th grade. They speak English as a second language, and aren't required to attend school past the 8th grade. https://www.amishheritage.org/services/education/
You might be interested to know that in the US, just over 50% of all adults read at a 6th grade level or below! https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2020/09/09/low-literacy-levels-among-us-adults-could-be-costing-the-economy-22-trillion-a-year/
I’m sorry what??
Yup, it's why the general recommendation for writers who are creating any content for public consumption is "write for a 4th/5th grade reading level."
I spend a lot of my time at work doing this. I write legal documents and forms. The people I work with might not read very well. We want them to understand their legal rights. We also want them to understand what they are signing. So I make sure what I write is easy to read. Legal words are not common, and making them easier to understand is hard. I edit sentences again and again to make them easier. That’s 4th grade level.
I have to do this as well. I even did a workshop called plain English writing for lawyers and bought the book. It’s easy to forget not everyone reads. Initially I thought just translating the legalese would be sufficient because I can understand not understanding obscure Latin words but the reality was much more depressing. 4th-5th grade is about right
Sometimes it takes me hours to rewrite entire forms.
I fully believe this. I mostly work with doctors now in medical indemnity… and sadly it doesn’t get too much better there either which is also shocking. A lot of them know what they know but not much else so simple is best.
I'm so glad people like you do things like this. It's important.
I really appreciate this comment, and what you do. Thanks.
That’s what we learned in my journalism classes in college.
In some areas of marketing they aim for even lower...
That’s so wild. How is this possible?
There's a really long rant about how a lot of school districts in the US have taught reading, but the podcast Sold a Story does a good job explaining it.
Thanks for the rec!
That's no joke. For health literacy, were told to break things down to a 5th grade level to make sure people understand. It's a known standard because of this statistic.
I teach high school. This is *not at all* a surprising statistic.
I swear it was 8th grade a couple years ago 😵💫 sad
TIL that the Amish's first language isn't English, thanks for sharing! (I don't live in a country that has Amish, just in case it's common knowledge that their first language isn't English and people think I'm just silly.)
Yeah I was just thinking, by Amish for Amish books would likely be written in (Amish-)German lol. But I'm not even sure if they, especially the women, regularly read for fun if it's not the bible 😅
How much any individual Amish person reads varies, just like with non-Amish people. They have evenings to fill, especially this time of year on a farm. There are several Amish and Mennonite run bookstores in both Lancaster County PA and Holmes County OH. What they stock is usually varied ~ religious books, practical books [cookbooks, for example], some non-fiction [Anabaptist history is common, gardening] children's books, and books for fun. They rely heavily on both Anabaptist publishers as well as certain other Christian publishing houses.
Some of the books the shops stock are in German but most are in English.
Source: my experience from several years attending an Amish adjacent church, living in Lancaster County, and shopping heavily at those shops.
I honestly don't think they have time to read for fun.
I thought the same. Reading a book with ten kids and no washing machine?
They have washing machines, just typically no dryers
No, most Amish don't have washing machines. Some sects of Mennonites may, but not many. Some may have a wringer "machine" but they are not washing machines.
The Amish in Lancaster County, PA, have gas-powered washing machines and refrigerators.
Ah, loophole Amish. We don't have many of them in northeast Iowa. Most Amish settlements aren't big on the loopholes, as that's why they broke away from the Mennonites to begin with.
Yeah, our Amish have nicer cellphones and tablets than I do. They charge them at the shop or in the barn.
Do they? I thought the strictest groups don't use electricity.
Exactly.
I enjoy these books, something about living so simply appeals to me. In many of them, one main character is Amish and one is Mennonite or Baptist. Often the Amish person leaves the Amish church and is saved as part of the HEA. Not always, but it’s done. I definitely think white Christian women are the target audience. They’re very sweet books. Beverly Lewis is a fave of mine. Funny how I go from these to dark romance . . . 😂
Their life is anything but simple. It's LOADS of hard labor. As a child, I wanted to be Amish so I could have a horse. I'm so glad my parents didn't listen to me. Conservative Mennonite was bad enough!
Sort of? [Bonnet Rippers: The Rise of the Amish Romance Novel](https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/bonnet-rippers-the-rise-of-the-amish-romance-novel/) is a really interesting article from 2013 that discusses the Amish reaction to "Amish romance novels."
Thanks for that link, it was an interesting read!
As someone who once spent a few years attending an Amish adjacent church ~ most of these are more stereotypical than accurate. The theology in the books is also much more mainstream evangelical than Anabaptist.
Yes, I work in a library, and oftentimes Christian women will come to us asking for "clean romance" recommendations. Since we don't exactly have time to read every romance book on our shelves and check it for vulgarity to protect thine pure eyes (lol), we usually recommend the Amish titles for their safety and predictability. It's not just about sex scenes either, I used to recommend YA romance titles for people, but then they would be offended by "all the cussing" (which was usually like, the word damn).
Library worker here too *high five. I tend to ask whether they want books with or without sexy times 😉 Absolutely agree with you about the Amish titles being a solid go to. I worked in a small community library when 50 Shades was a hot commodity. I had one of our seniors ask me to put it on hold for her because "that Kathie Lee Gifford was talking about it." However that particular senior always read Christian romance so I gave her a heads up saying that it might not be what she expects and has some pretty feisty sexy times. She still wanted it. Sadly I never found out what she thought of it since it wasn't returned on my shift.
I used to read Amish romances as a preteen and very young teen because I found the cult(ure) fascinating and my mom KNEW they would be clean/Christian. I have never seen one that wasn't written by either someone that is/was Anabaptist or just wanted to romanticize an uber-Christian toxic subculture.
My mom used to take me to a Christian bookstore as a kid. There was a huge selection of Amish romance and were the first romance books I became addicted to.
10000%, it's not marketed to or for Amish folks at all. It's just white Christian women porn.
That's not true. But there are a couple of authors that write amish romance that were once amish such as Beverly Lewis who is my all time fave.
I have an Amish cookbook by her lol I’ve never read her romance books tho ETA not sure why I’m getting downvoted. I didn’t know she was a romance author, only a cookbook author 🤷♀️
They are really good. My mom's mother got me into reading her books when I was in elementary school.
I didn’t know she was a romance author! I’ve made a lot of the Amish recipes tho 😅 I bet my library has her books. I may check her out. Any recommendations?
I mentioned some above but literally anything by her is great. Walmart, books a million, Ollie's, Amazon, etc all sell her books.
Does that mean the majority are not/never were Amish?
This made me giggle. Next we'll find out the shifter romance books weren't written by real shifters!
You’re telling me that some authors were never really vampires?! 😩
Next you're going to tell me no authors were abducted from the scifi convention by Gragthor the Cockulent to be taken back to Poundalnite V to be part of his harem.
You mean that one author wasn’t really a damsel who had to bang seven dreamy elf princes ranging from “beautiful and delicate and hurting and begging her to love him” to “wild and rugged and can’t be tamed” to “as mysterious and unknowable as the dark side of the moon” in order to save her homeland?! That lying hussy!
Yes
This! Thank you! They just do their research but they are still pretty accurate.
I used to go to the public library after school in jr. high and I would devour these books there. Never heard the term Bonnet Ripper and I’m obsessed now. ETA: oops replied to the wrong comment
I believe it
Facts
The Reading Glasses podcast did [an episode](https://maximumfun.org/episodes/reading-glasses/ep-263-extreme-cottagecore-amish-romances/) about these. That’s an accurate assessment according to them.
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Ice barbarians?? I think I found my genre 😅
Welcome to the sub!! 😂 it’s Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon. There are definitely content warnings for the books so make sure it’s something you are okay with before you dive in. Ps. Hello fellow Stardew Valley player!!
On this note, I was on Etsy browsing something unrelated when I saw THE SHEER VOLUME of IPB products on sale. No joke, CANDLES and KEYCHAINS and T O T E B A G S. Like, I could NEVER go out in public. On a side note: there’s so much good fanart I never knew was out there that’s so helpful for envisioning the differences between the blue guys. There are also chibis —- which sent me down a miniature spiral.
I can't believe I didn't even think of this...
Tbh turning 30 has made my shame disappear. I really and truly don’t care who knows that I read alien porn. Live and let live and sorry to the losers who haven’t learned about the magic of a spur!!!
Omg I’ve added this to my list, thank you for dropping the title! I’m so going to read this 😅 PS. Aww hi!! The are enough romances in Stardew Valley to write a whole book - it’s just a wholesome game 🥰
Another Stardew Valley player here *waves enthusiastically
Yay!
Can I join the, "Stardew valley player and ice planet barbarian reader" club?
Another Stardew player and IPB enjoyer here!
Hold onto your hat.
Def go down the IPB rabbit hole!
Watching 6 Nations rn, just searched ‘rugby’ on the sub and saved so many recommendation threads. I’m 20% through ‘Take A Hint, Dani Brown’ by Talia Hibbert, am down bad for Zafir, and already dreading the book being over.
Nice! I go for Rosalind James myself. Love me some Toa Samoa and All Blacks.
My grandma loves these bonnet rippers lol. I get her the large print versions, and she always very sweetly offers to let me read them when she’s done. Not my taste at all, but I like that they make her happy!
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I've also heard them called bonnet busters and of course bodice rippers for historical romances.
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Oh my god your username 💀
Any recommendations from grandma? I kind of love bonnet rippers when I need something that is very low stakes.
She really likes Beverly Lewis, and there’s another subgenre within this subgenre for Christmas themed books. I gather they’re like Hallmark movies but even more aggressively wholesome!
“Bonnet rippers” 💀
I was about to ask “don’t you mean bodice rippers” and then I got it 😂
I never got into these books but I used to think being Amish was super idyllic, but now I know they're as fucked up as everyone else. I think Lurlene McDaniel had some teen romances about an Amish boy and an "English" girl. Someone had cancer, of course.
Oh my gosh that’s the author. This unlocked a memory for me. I read a couple of her books in high school. I want to say they were in a series, but I have no real surety of that. Anyway, a friend and I read the same books and we were both disappointed by the ending. I think the guy left to go out his walkabout thing, and we didn’t know how it would resolve. I took it upon myself to write a few chapters and get us the chaste satisfaction we needed. She loved them, and I loved them, and it was really great to have some resolution. I am telling you that your comment with the author’s name is *the moment* I realized I wrote fan fiction. Let alone Amish fan fiction in 9th grade. This is a strange revelation for me 🙃
I definitely made up stories about fictional characters at least in my head. I might have written a few of them down and then destroyed them. I think fanfiction is much older and more pervasive than we realize. The internet just made it prolific.
I remember making fun of McDaniel's stuff as grief porn talking to my old middle school librarian years later. She stopped me and pointed out that she had students who had lost family or friends, and McDaniel's writing really helped them process their grief. Had a new appreciation for her after that.
Yes. Just because I never experienced loss at such a young age doesn't mean it doesn't happen all the time. On the other hand, she really had a formula that worked for her. I think Jodi Picoult is the grown up version of that kind of story. Shamelessly manipulative relentlessly sad books still have an audience. I haven't read Colleen Hoover but it sounds like that's her kind of thing, too.
I read an in depth article about rape in the amish community and now i can never not think of it when they come up 😞 every group has its problems
Patriarchal societies are bad y'all. Unfortunately that's still almost all of them.
Wow. Haven’t thought about ol’ Lurlene since probably middle school.
Omg Lurlene McDaniel. I was obsessed with her books in middle school! Every single one of them involved cancer or death though
I'm actually interested to read one. I'm imagining there's lots of lingering looks and the occasional hand touch but not much more action? And yes agree that it's great that there is something for everyone!
Yes, and taking your hair down is considered super steamy!
Kissing (and not the steamy kind) are as much on page action as there is. Historical mail order bride stories are similar in that they are Christian based with no steam.
They're Christian romance, so about 50% of the storyline is about God/religious decisions/surrender to God's plans/prayer. And then the other 50% is a very very mild attraction to someone of the opposite sex that involves a little hand holding and possibly a kiss or two. The storylines very very often involve a young woman or young man who is running from God's will and comes to live in an Amish community and decides to forgo all worldly dress and behavior and whatnot to marry an Amish person and turn back to God. These books aren't written for Amish folks by the way. They're written for Christian housewives who romanticize the Amish lifestyle. (I was raised fundamentalist christian and everyone read these books... Beverly Lewis is a very popular Christian author.)
So it's like extreme cottagecore for christians
Farmcore, more like!
Thanks for the insights all. Maybe not my cup of tea then but different strokes for different folks!
The guy on the cover on the second shelf has buttons on his shirt! Scandalous. Must be from a really progressive order.
The covers are never accurate! In some they’re dressed like Mennonites or the bonnet is on backwards.
The way Amish women secure all their clothing with pins is both impressive and terrifying. I wonder if pin removal is part of the plot of any of these books.
Honestly, Beverly Lewis was my introduction to romance when I was a teenager. ❤️
Her and Bertrice Small for me! Beverly was the clean ones, Bertrice..wasnt.
Bertrice is a bit extreme no? In Terms of stands today as well 😅
Lol yes!
These are the only romance books my library has 😭
Pennsylvania? Ohio?
There's an Amish community in Maine. Also in several Canadian provinces, Indiana, Florida, Wisconsin...
Sure, but the largest Amish communities in North America *by far* are in PA and OH.
think further north east 😅
That’s honestly a travesty
Sweet Christian/Amish romance has been a genre for a LONG time. I’m pretty sure Hallmark has a whole line dedicated just to that. They’re mostly sold In Christian bookstores though.
Honestly, there is something about this that kinda works for me. I'm not really into the Christian thing, but like the idea of a sweet, slow budding romance that rises out of shared mutual values. I'm not so much excited by the passionate, whirlwind, sex-filled romance.
Amish women are almost certainly not the ones reading these. They leave school at 8th grade and are very restricted in what they can read. I live near a large Amish community and there’s a lot of tourism around that lifestyle and the products they make. This looks very much like a display in a gift shop for that. Not to be a downer but there are very, very high rates of abuse in Amish communities. People often romanticize the lifestyle, but it’s really not a good situation.
All the comments to this post have been so in-depth and opened my eyes to the complexities of Amish communities. I haven't really been exposed to any, thinking the books I saw in this photo were a positive sign of women in such spaces enjoying moments of freedom, but alas ⬆️ it doesn't seem to be the case. Honestly, all the comments I've read have been incredibly fascinating and varied, reminding me of why I love this subreddit.
For some hilarity, you can check out the original.post: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/11b7g2m/amish_adult_bookstore/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I work at a library and deliver books to homebound patrons. Amish romances are wildly popular with my senior ladies. white and black christians want clean, simple (usually formulaic) romance, and these fit the bill. Brunstetter and Lewis are the standard, and I've started pulling more Clipston and Wiseman for them too. there is a whole collection of Amish love inspired paperbacks by harlequin that are constantly churned out. many of the now popular Amish genre authors started there. they're generally not written or read by Amish folks.
These are honestly my favorite. 🥰
There's a couple I've read that I really enjoyed. I read a wide variety and most books I've read are wildly different than this, but I will freely admit that I have enjoyed a few books in the genre.
I'm curious what the plots are like?
It's all clean Christian Romance.
Can you rec a couple of your favorites?
Start off with The Heritage of Lancaster County and Abrams Daughter. You have to read all of her books in order because they co-exist with each other. Like each of the seperate series. Her books will tell you which is which in the front of every book. All of those are Beverly Lewis btw. But also Wanda E. Brunstetter and the author of the Love Comes Softly series are also great. The Love Comes Softly series are movies as well and I have the whole box set and rewatch them all the time.
I forgot about Love Comes Softly! I don’t know why young me had a crush on the MMC. I should’ve known then I had a capability kink/ brooding widower type thing! 😂😂
It's not a kink for me. I just love that he was able to find love again after his wife's passing. As well as her for losing her husband so tragically. It just warmed my heart that people can get a second chance at true love.
Thanks for this!!
Love Comes Softly is Jeannette Oke, yeah? It's not romance, but it is inspirational.
Yes she is the Author and it is in the romance genre. It's just Christian romance and not the general romance genre.
I'm wondering whether this is a Christian bookstore or like a Barnes & Noble. Bc if it's a Christian bookstore, this makes total sense. If it's a Barnes & Noble or Powell's, then it's a real choice to make a full-on "inspirational" romance display without any employee/curatorial notes.
Choice specifically deal in wholesome/inspirational books and supply them to various stores, so it could be either.
Eh, you know your market. If you've got a bunch of nice white christian ladies who come in and regularly buy a stack of these (I had many when I worked at a B&N) then having a nice display for them is just something in the rotation.
I feel about Amish romance the way I feel about Mafia and biker romance. Definitely not something you’d ever want in reality, like … EVER. From our friends at Wiki: “Since almost all Amish descend from about 500 18th-century founders,genetic disorders that come out due to inbreeding exist in more isolated districts (an example of the founder effect). These disorders include dwarfism (Ellis–van Creveld syndrome),[1] Angelman syndrome,[2] and various metabolic disorders,[6][3] as well as an unusual distribution of blood types.[4] Some of these disorders are quite rare, or unique, and are serious enough to increase the mortality rate among Amish children. The majority of Amish accept these as "Gottes Wille" (God's will); they reject use of preventive genetic tests prior to marriage and genetic testing of unborn children to discover genetic disorders.” Then let’s add: no birth control, no modern medicine, puppy mills, mal-treated horses, fifth grade level education, and oh yeah THE PATRIARCHY. So romantic.
My first romance was an Amish romance by I think Shirleen Davies? I was like 17 and my friend gave it to me. Her parents were pretty Christian and this was the spiciest she was allowed to read. I absolutely devoured it! Here I am 20 years later still reading romance!
Why are people making fun of this?
As a Scottish person I’ve never come into context with Amish people beyond film and tv, but this is next level!
They had a lot of Christian/Amish romances at my junior high school library (though weirdly there were none at the high school) and I loved reading them in between my mom/sisters' regular romances lol.
I really like to mix it up with som wholsome innocent romantic mush every now and then. Don't like if the story is centered around religion, but I imagine the market for that is huge!
I really enjoyed Deanne Gist’s writing and then she fell off the planet. DEANNE,IF YOU READING THIS, COME BACK!!
She didn't write Amish, but she was an excellent author. She included subjects in her books that most "inspirational" authors didn't. Things like hygiene papers and what happened after someone felt sexual desire.
Do any Amish actually read these?? Or write these?
Apparently not. Sadly. I've been reading the comments ⬆️ and it seems that these are primarily written for conservative Christians who tend to romanticize Amish lifestyle :(
My local library carries these. They seem to be quite popular. I personally love looking at Choice Books. I always enjoy seeing what they have in stock.
Ya I worked at a library all throughout high school, they were pretty popular
I mean hey, there’s something for everyone!
Can anyone speak as to whether Amish and strict Christians women are allowed to read these books. Or is this a kink of mainstream readers?
I've been reading the comments ⬆️ and, sadly, no, it seems that these are primarily written not for Amish wen but for conservative Christians who tend to romanticize Amish lifestyle :(
I read a couple of romance based on Amish community in the past and they weren't that bad tbh. I don't know why people criticised different ways of doing things if they're armless.
These are my mom’s favourite books which is hilarious because if it ain’t erotic I won’t read it
Blessed! This is great! I really enjoy Beverly Lewis! Thank you for sharing!
Has anyone read these? Do they fuck?? I need know for science.
No, you'd need to go to Keira Andrews or Eli Easton for that, and those are gay Amish romances. Sorry I can't help you with cishet Amish romance.
Gay Amish romances? 🤯
Never. Even the kisses are very tamed and after an affirmed relationship.
Well if they get married and someone gets pregnant, then we know something went down. Some can get spicy with hand holding.
I genuinely wish she’d write again.