I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining.

Another captivating novel by Laura Bradford. It is obvious that this author has done extensive research to not only bring these characters to live but to weave a truly engaging story. I'm looking forward to her next book in this genre.

This story took me on an emotional rollercoaster. I found myself wanting to put the book down a time or two when I became overcome with emotions for Emma...the heartache, anger, rejection she was feeling....it was as if I was right there with her..sharing in her pain. This story touched me deeply and the ending....well......it was just plain PERFECT!

In A Daughter's Truth, you feel like you are part of the Lapp family from Laura Bradford's writing. You also feel the pain, loss, deception, and love that the characters go through in each chapter. Laura Bradford's writing is top notch, and I cannot wait for the next book.

“She wasn’t sure what response she’d been expecting… Whatever it was, though, it hadn’t been this weighted silence that hung in the air like an impending storm.”

I was completely captivated by A Daughter’s Truth from the first sentence to the last. The author’s pitch perfect writing voice weaves words, characters, and settings beautifully into a story that hits you in all the feels.

The plot is straightforward enough but the emotions behind it are truly complex, and Bradford presents them all tenderly and with gentle insight. Emma’s story is multi-layered and, since an easy solution doesn’t exist in this case, you will quickly become deeply invested in this character and how her looming decisions will play out on the page. There’s a lot more I want to say about Emma, her history, and her future but I’m trying to be careful not to spoil the story for you.

I will say that the trinkets left on Ruby’s grave every year on Emma’s birthday drew me to this story in the first place (along with the fact that I will read pretty much anything that Laura Bradford writes). The trinkets in and of themselves brought out my inner Nancy Drew, and as this part of the story came into sharper focus, I drank in the explanations for each one right along with Emma.

Speaking of Emma, I just loved her. She is genuinely likable with a steady spirit but a lifetime of insecurities she struggles to overcome. That steady spirit is challenged from nearly every direction in A Daughter’s Truth, though, and your emotions will take the ride along with her. You’ll be cheering her on from the sidelines in the joyous moments, and your heart will break right along with hers as everything she knew is turned upside down. I also loved Miss Lottie and Levi and the support & advice they gave her during the story, staying faithfully by her side and being her rock more than once.

Bottom Line: Make sure you’ve carved out however much time you need to read A Daughter’s Truth in one sitting because you won’t want to put it down once you become immersed in the complexities of Emma’s plight. There is no ‘quick fix’ or ‘pat answer’ to be had here, and I confess that – with about 20 minutes left in the book (per my reading speed) - I became a bit concerned at how the author would tie it all up without becoming trite. I needn’t have worried – the resolution was as layered and healing as the situation itself. The themes of family (the kind we are born into and the kind we make ourselves), forgiveness (of the deepest kind of hurt & betrayal), and belonging (by embracing what makes us who we are at our core) touched my heart more than once and make this a must-read for everyone, even if you’re not a fan of Amish fiction & especially if you are.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

1. 75 stars.
It was an alright read, but some places it felt a bit rushed and some places i got bored pretty fast and i didn't feel any connection to the character at all, we learned secrecy of all these years - but i didn't feel like we got the connection that we shoud have. But hat might just be me, though.

This was a beautifully written story. Lovely. Sometimes the past defines us without our knowledge, before we even are.

#AdaughtersTruth #NetGalley

Wow, Laura has done it again! This book will pull you in until the very last page.

Emma Lapp knows something is different about her. Her mamm (mom) doesn't smile at her like her other siblings, especially on her birthday, which also happens to be the same day her aunt died. Emma soon learns why she's different and must come to terms with how much her life is about to change.

I received an ARC from Kensington Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Laura's book will have you on the edge of your seat and a page turner wrapped into one book. The main characters strong character make the story come alive and how she deals with a secret that was kept from her. Little by little she learns but will she make the right choice. Pick up, borrow or buy the book you will not be disappointed.

A Daughter's Truth will actually surprise you.

I loved "A Daughter's Truth" by Laura Bradford.
Different in a very good way, because Laura could have had the daughter go in one of two direction. The direction Laura chose I wasn't expecting to happen for the ending. It is truly an unexpected ending.

I highly recommend "A Daughter's Truth" to everyone to read.

This was my first or second book I have actually read of Laura Bradford's. I will be looking to reading more books of Laura's in the future.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review in my own words.

I really enjoyed this book. One day your life is normal the next hour whole world has fallen apart and you don't know who and what to believe,especially the family you thought was your family! Surprises come out of no where and she wants answers ! This is not the Amish way and now she is between two different worlds! Was bad enough when she always felt she didn't fit in! Characters are so real,so many emotions and how to make decisions! Received this through net galley. Well written and so many surprises towards the end! It is a must read book,it's hard enough growing up but then to find out has your whole life been a lie?

I loved this book!
Emma truly felt like a misfit in the family. She was also puzzled about the "gifts" that were left at her "aunt's" grave. Then she found out that Ruby wasn't her aunt, she was her mother! Boy was she upset and hurt by the deception. In the end everything worked out for everyone -- especially when Emma fond out her mom wanted her raised Amish.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this manuscript.

A Daughter’s Truth by Laura Bradford is about finding your place in life. Emma Lapp is twenty-two years old today, and she is beginning the day as she has since she was seven years old. She heads to the nearby cemetery to the grave of her deceased aunt, Ruby. Emma’s birthday has been a day of sorrow for her mother and it is not celebrated like that of her siblings since Ruby died on the same day. The one joy Emma derives from her birthday is seeing what trinket has been deposited at Ruby’s gravesite. Every year someone has left an item. This year she finds a beautiful gold locket which sends Emma on a journey into the English world to find answers. Emma is shocked by what she learns, and it changes her entire world. She is not sure where she fits in any longer and Emma seeks guidance from her friends and Miss Lottie.

A Daughter’s Truth is an intriguing new Amish novel by Laura Bradford. Emma Lapp feels that she is treated differently from her siblings and her birthday has always been one of sorrow. On her twenty-second birthday, she discovers a clue that sends her on a search for answers. I thought A Daughter’s Truth was well-written with realistic characters. Emma has always tried to be a people pleaser, but this discovery changes her. I liked how she sets out to find the truth. Emma has a good friend in Mary Fisher who provided a different perspective for Emma. Miss Lottie returns in this story and she provides Emma with a listening ear plus good advice. It is always important to remember that there are two sides to every story. Each individual sees things in a different way as we discover in A Daughter’s Truth. I do wish the book had a quicker pace because I found it a little slow for my tastes. Laura Bradford provides good descriptions to allow readers to visualize the scenes. It was apparent that the author did her research into Amish life, traditions and customs. I could feel the character’s emotions especially Emma’s. It was an emotional time for all involved (I am being vague on purpose. I do not want to spoil the story for you). My favorite phrase from the book is “you should always be you”. A Daughter’s Truth is about the search for the truth, familial relationships and being true to oneself.

A Daughter’s Truth
Laura Bradford
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Emma Lapp tries to be the perfect daughter, to earn the loving embrace of her family and her Amish community in Pennsylvania. Yet she can’t quite win her mother’s smile—or her forgiveness for a transgression Emma can’t quite place . . .

Emma knows she’s the source of her mother’s greatest sorrow, having been born on the same day Mamm lost her beloved sister. The one bright spot has been the odd trinkets anonymously left at her aunt’s grave each year on Emma’s birthday—gifts Emma secretly hides because they upset her parents. But the day she turns 22, a locket bears a surprise that sends her on an unexpected journey . . .

Searching for answers, Emma travels to the English world and finds a kinship as intriguing as it is forbidden. But is this newfound connection enough to leave behind the future she’d expected? The answers are as mysterious, and as devastating, as the truth that divides Emma from the only family, and the only life, she’s ever known . . . (Goodreads)

Review:

Wow, what a great book. I was drawn in from the first page and I could not read this book fast enough. There was heartache, happiness, tension, worry and everything in-between.

The characters are well developed and well rounded. Emma is a strong woman but she has never felt like she fit in anywhere. When she finds out the truth about her beginnings, she knows why. She has a lot of decisions to make, and she will need all of that strength to make them. I thought the secondary characters added a lot to the story and brought friendship and love. I cared about each of the characters and what would happen to them. I think that is the sign of a great author.

This book took me on an emotional roller coaster as I read it. I felt for Emma and wanted things to work out for her. I found myself laughing, worrying, getting mad and letting out the breath I did not even realize I was holding.

The author is very talented in portraying the Amish and I learn a little more about them with every book I read. I am fascinated by the way the Amish and Englisher worlds are so different and the author portrays these differences very well. But there are also areas where the two worlds are more similar and those were explored as well.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted women’s contemporary. This book is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, both sad and happy, both somber and funny. Grab your copy and enjoy.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

A Daughter's Truth has an exceptional storyline where you never want to stop reading and encourage others to read this book. Author Laura Bradford writes each character with a special, unique personality. This book is a book I would highly recommend others to read. It held my attention from beginning to the end. Author Laura Bradford is an excellent writer. I received a copy from NetGalley, but was not required to review it. This review is one hundred percent my opinion.

I just finished A Daughter’s Truth for the second time! It has been a long time a book has made me feel so deeply. It is right up there with The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah as one of my most precious books.

As you read A Daughter’s Truth you can feel every emotion Bradford put into her characters. The angst Emma feels as she learns the truth and explores her father’s world is heartbreaking.

Read with the understanding you won’t be able to put the book down.

I received a complimentary copy from Kensington through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

This is a very different type of Amish story. What if, as an Amish young woman, you discover that all the things you’d believed about your life were a lie? This is the dilemma that Emma faces when she finds out that the man and woman she thought were her parents are actually her aunt and uncle, and that her birth parents were never married. As Emma meets her birth father and family for the first time, she begins to wonder whether she belongs to the Amish world, or if the English world is the new place for her. A good friend encourages her to not make a decision until she’s searched her heart for her true desire for her life’s direction.

There’s quite a bit of emotion in this story, as Emma deals with sadness, anger, and confusion. This is a moving story as you follow Emma’s path to knowing her own heart.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I absolutely loved this book and really could not put it down. I just love Amish books and this one was the best! Emma finds out that her parents are not really her parents but her aunt and uncle. Her mother died giving birth to her and her biological dad was told that Emma also died along with her mother, Emma searches for her biological dad and begins a relationship with a dad and a grandma she never even knew existed. Emma had so many bad feelings toward the woman she called her mother when she realized that her whole life was based on lies. She doesn't even know who she really is or where she belongs. This story is so moving and I enjoyed it so very much.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Laura Bradford introduces us to Emma Lapp, a 22-year-old Amish woman whose whole life gets turned upside down. The oldest of six children, Emma’s birthday has always had a somber tone. Emma was born the same day her Aunt Ruby died. Emma’s mother mourns her sister’s death heavily. Losing a loved one takes a toll and Emma does her best to be sensitive to her mother’s feelings. But the woman’s attitude toward Emma has never been the same as her attitude toward the other children. Emma works so hard but nothing she does can bring a smile to her mother’s face the way the other children do.

Each year Emma’s birthday begins with a trip to the cemetery. Each year when they arrive there is a small gift left by someone on the grave. It makes her mother sad and her father angry. The gift is quickly tossed in the trash. When Emma turns 7 and every year after she wakes early to go to the cemetery by herself to take the gift and hide it away, both to ease her parent’s pain and because the trinkets bring her a little bit of joy. On the morning of her 22nd birthday, she finds a very special gift, a locket with a picture inside that has her questioning everything about her life. Her need to find answers takes her to forbidden places. The answers she finds are surprising and could come with a very high price. Her life could change in profound ways.

Like her story, A Portrait of a Sister, Ms. Bradford takes her readers and her characters on an emotional roller coaster. Emma’s struggle was real and affected so many people. My emotions clearly mirrored Emma’s. While Emma has led a sheltered life and was only educated through the 8th grade, we see a very determined, strong, and smart woman emerge as the story continues. She learns so much and gets some great advice to help her to make some hard decisions.

Again, you can see that the author has researched the ways of the Amish to paint a very rich detailed story for her readers. The story is so well written. The characters are portrayed realistically and the dialogue flows easily. From the hiding place in a tree to a new litter of kittens in the barn, from Emma’s special rock by the pond to the long country road she travels, I could easily picture everything. A bird’s eye view of Emma’s journey is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. There is also a poignant lesson taught by the end of this novel. Something everyone should take to heart.

I loved this story and escaped right into it! The author has a way of making her readers truly care about her characters. I was invested in Emma’s Life from beginning to end. She is also a character I wouldn’t mind visiting again. The author leaves us in a great place but Emma has a lot more life ahead of her.

Like the first one, this story is a story that will stick with me. Also, like the one before, the book receives my Paradise Rating earning a spot on my Best Reads List for this year.

Fans of Amish fiction will love this story. If you are a fan of this author’s Amish Mystery series you really need to cross over and read this book and the one before it.

Emma was born on the day her aunt died and always thought that was why her birthday celebrations were so muted compared to her siblings' celebrations. Then, too, she really felt like she didn't fit in and really didn't resemble the rest of the family. When she was little the family would always visit her aunt's grave on what should have been a happy day for Emma - her birthday. Emma really starts to wonder as someone always leaves gifts by the headstone. A 'treasure hunt' ensues teaching Emma the true meaning of family.