
Welcome to the Blog Tour for When They Met Again by Leslie Gould, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book

Title: When They Met Again Series: Letters from Lancaster County Author: Leslie Gould Publisher: Bethany House Release Date: March 17, 2026 Genre: Fiction / Romance / Amish / ContemporaryA gently humorous just friends romance from Leslie Gould, threaded with heart-deep characters and the timeless traditions of simple Amish life. It’s love at first sight for Adam Slaybaugh, yet while Joanna Grebel finds him attractive and is intrigued when he declares his interest, she’s less certain of the potential for a romantic future together. Instead, she proposes they be “just friends,” but Adam’s not willing to settle for anything less than a romantic relationship. In response, he leaves Lancaster County for Florida, and soon after, Joanna begins courting Jacob Byer–someone she deems a much more suitable match. When Adam returns to Lancaster County years later to pursue a career in his grandparents’ successful home renovation business, he finds Joanna suffering from a broken heart. Misunderstandings and matchmaking schemes begin a tender journey of healing and romance–but is Adam’s love enough to finally win Joanna over? For readers of Beverly Lewis, Wanda E. Brunstetter, and Shelley Shepard Gray, a sweet Amish romance with matchmaking grandmas and themes of enemies to lovers, he falls first, and love at first sight versus “just friends.”PURCHASE LINKS:Goodreads | Baker Publishing Group | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop | BookBub
More in This Series


EXCERPT
The moment the ladybug landed on her arm, Joanna Grebel decided she wouldn’t go to her cousin’s
wedding after all. She’d been cutting flowers for the bride, but now she couldn’t seem to move. Why
had she thought going away for a night was a good idea?
The sound of a vehicle approached, and she turned toward it. A van slowed as it came up the
driveway, and the passenger window lowered as Ike Slaybaugh called out, “Joanna! Get your
grandparents. We have a long drive ahead of us.” His silver beard blew in the wind.
As the van stopped, the side door swung open and a dark-h aired boy—young man,
rather—jumped down. It was Adam Slaybaugh, Ike’s grandson. He wore a blue shirt, black pants,
and no hat. His wavy hair was too long. He was new to the community, but her friend Mandy already
had a crush on him.
Mammi Lu stepped onto the back porch carrying a basket of food. “Joanna, grab your bag.”
Adam started toward the house, asking Mammi Lu if he could help.
“Denki. The bags are in the kitchen.” Mammi nodded toward the door, where Dawdi Marcus
struggled to come through the screen door with his bag and Mammi’s.
Joanna brushed the ladybug against the columbine. Then she added the flowers— dianthus, lupine,
and baptisia— to the ones in the bucket and carried it and the clippers out the gate and to the back
porch. Dawdi Marcus hadn’t made it through the door yet, but it wouldn’t do for her to take one of
the bags. Instead Adam hurried past her, brushing his hand against Joanna’s arm as he did.
“Sorry.” He grinned as he sped by.
She rubbed her arm. He took both bags from her grandfather.
Mammi Lu waited at the bottom of the steps as the men continued on to the van. Again, she said,
“Grab your bag.”
Joanna loved her grandparents’ place with its garden, red barn, and two-s tory house with a
wraparound back porch.
She told her grandmother, “I’m not leaving.” “Why do you want to stay?” Joanna
shrugged.
“I don’t think you should.”
“Why?” Joanna was nineteen. And more than trustworthy.
“Your father wouldn’t approve.”
“He’s in Maine.”
Mammi’s eyes shone. “Emily is expecting you.”
“She won’t notice if I’m not there.” They hadn’t seen each other for several years.
Mammi’s expression softened. “Joanna.” Her voice was just above a whisper. “I can’t let you stay
here alone. Please grab your bag.”
Joanna shifted her gaze toward the van. Ike and Becky Slaybaugh stood beside it. They and Adam
and Dawdi all waited in a semicircle, watching her. She turned her attention to Mammi Lu, locking
eyes with her. “I can ask Mandy to spend the night.”
Mammi shook her head. “Both stoves are cold, I promise. Dawdi and I each checked. And I know
you did too—several times.”
Joanna’s face warmed. Was she that obvious?
“We do our best to make sure our home is safe,” Mammi Lu said, “but then we have to trust the
Lord.”
Joanna took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then handed the bucket of flowers to her
grandmother. “I’ll get my bag.”
She sat in the back of the van, ignoring the chatter and laughter of the others as they left Strasburg
Township. Too anxious to read the book she’d brought, she stared at Becky’s snow-white bun right
in front of her. It was so white—as pure as her bleached Kapp— that it looked as if she used a rinse
on her hair, but Joanna knew that couldn’t be true.
When they stopped for a picnic dinner at a park a couple of hours later, Adam sat across from
Joanna and said, “So how are you related to Noah?”
“Noah?”
Adam smiled. “The groom.”
“Oh.” Joanna frowned. “I’m not. Emily is my cousin.”
“First?”
“Second.” She paused. “Maybe third. They left Lancaster County a few years ago.”
Joanna wanted to retrieve her Buch from her bag and read, but Adam kept talking. There was
something endearing about his chatter, in an annoying sort of way. “I’ve known
Noah since we were kids, when I moved to Spartansburg.” Joanna forced a smile.
Adam asked, “Do you live close to your grandparents?”
Joanna answered, “I live with them.”
He leaned closer. “I’m living with my grandparents too, as of two weeks ago.”
Joanna already knew that. Becky and Ike lived a half mile away. Mammi and Becky had been best
friends since they were girls.
Soon they were back on the road, and Joanna fell asleep. Three hours later they arrived in
Spartansburg, near both the Ohio and New York borders. The Englisch middle- aged driver, whose
name was Nick, dropped Joanna and her grandparents off at a relative’s farm first.
“See you tomorrow,” Adam called out from the van.
Mammi turned toward Joanna as they walked to the front door. “He’s such a nice young man,
don’t you think?”
Joanna forced a smile. “He and Mandy are interested in each each other.”
Mammi narrowed her eyes. “Really?”
About the Author

Leslie Gould is a Christy Award-winning and #1 bestselling author of more than fifty novels, including multiple Amish fiction series. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and an MFA in creative writing. She enjoys church history, research trips, and hiking in the Pacific Northwest. She and her husband live in Portland, Oregon, and have four adult children and two grandchildren. Learn more at LeslieGould.com.
Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a $25 B&N gift card plus a copy of The Shop Down the Lane and When They Met Again!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight March 16, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 23, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
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