Amish Romance Novels Put A Boner In Your Bonnet

In “bonnet books,” as Amish romances are called, the author’s idea of a sexual climax is typically a few (sinful!) kisses spread throughout 300 pages. Sounds hawt, huh? But Amish romances, such as ones by Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, and Cindy Woodsmall, are selling by the millions. Says Barnes & Nobel book buyer, Jane Love, “It’s almost like you put a person with a bonnet or an Amish field in the background and it automatically starts to sell well!” [WSJ]

Yet “bonnet books” surely have more readers than just God-fearing folks who churn their own butter. (I’ve seen the books on the Borders’ shelves shopped by my fellow Connecticut suburbanites and, trust me, those people are pretty depraved.) I guess temptation, forbidden love and scandal—whether with vampires, NASCAR drivers, or the Amish—appeal to everybody!

After the jump, a few sexy, saucy bits from Amish romance novels that’ll have your bonnet all tied up.

I did an Amazon.com search through some Amish romance novels for words like “sex,” “kiss,” and “passion,” and pulled out the hottest tidbits I could find:

“She hadn’t been able to open her heart to him, because any sharing felt like tossing words at a windmill. And, early on, giving her despair for losing Samuel, she’d felt it best for Judah to be kept in the dark about her deep love for her first beau…and his for her. But being so detached from her own husband over the years had caused permanent harm to their marriage.”

—from The Secret, by Beverly Lewis

“She hated to admit that a part of her was glad he hadn’t come back right away. She wasn’t sure how she was going to face him after kissing Tobias. But it was only one teeny, tiny kiss, and that’s all it would ever be. Never mind that it was a kiss she still relived in her mind, nearly every night in her dreams.

“Luke struggled with the desire to kiss Marth, but a van came by just then, so he pulled away. The last thing he needed was for someone they knew to see them hugging or kissing. That kind of news would probably get back to Roman, and then both he and Martha would be in trouble.

Whew! Somebody get me a glass of ice water. I need to cool down.