A Reluctant Bride

There were some surprises in this book and most of them I found to be jaw dropping.
I don't perceive the Amish to be perfect people with perfect lives and I realize that there always both good and bad people in this world.
I however, did not expect the Bishop in the community to be so devious!
I liked Sadie and in my opinion she was a relatable character.
The story at times moved a bit too slowly for me, but overall it was pretty interesting.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

A Reluctant Bride by Kathleen Fuller is the first book in her An Amish of Birch Creek series. Sadie Schrock is sixteen years old (in the very beginning) living in Birch Creek. It was her turn to go get ice for their family store. On her way home she encounters Sol Troyer. He is always pushing himself at Sadie and she keeps rebuffing him. Sol drags Sadie into the cornfield and insists upon a kiss (and then he will let her go). Aden, Sol’s brother, tries to intercede, but he is unsuccessful (and then he leaves Sadie). Sol gets very fresh so Sadie knees him where he is most vulnerable. Sadie runs home (and tells no one).

Six years later Sadie is devoted to working in her parent’s store, Schrock Grocery and Tools. Her mother keeps trying to get her to find a man and get married. Her two sisters, Abigail and Joanna want to go to the singing that evening, but their mother will not let them go unless Sadie goes with them. Sadie eventually agrees to go and then wishes she had not when she finds out it is being held at Bishop Troyer’s (Sol and Aden’s father). Sadie cannot stand being there for very long especially when Sol shows up. Soon, though, the unthinkable happens. Sadie’s parents and Joanna are in a buggy accident (a car hit them). Her parents are both gone and Joanna is severely hurt. Joanna will need weeks of rehabilitation (Abigail will stay with a relative near the rehab center to help Joanna). When Sadie goes over the finances for the store, she finds out that they do not have much money. She will need help from the community fund to pay the hospital bills (which is what it is for). When Sadie goes to ask Bishop Troyer, the bishop refuses to give her the money (sounds suspicious). Bishop Troyer sees this as a golden opportunity (he is up to something). He tells Sadie that she has to marry his son, Sol. Thankfully, Aden intervenes (you will have to read the book to find out how). They are married within days.

Aden and Sadie are going to have to find a way to live together. Sadie will have to forgive Aden for what happened six years previously. Can these two find a way to overcome the past and move forward to their future? Then they find out why the bishop wanted them to marry (I do not want to spoil it for you). Then there is the issue of Sol. Why does Sol drink? There is a lot going on in A Reluctant Bride, but it all ties together. I give A Reluctant Bride 4 out of 5 stars. For me this was a hard book to read because of the bullying (brought up bad memories). It is a nicely written book and I like the ending. One thing I am noticing lately in many Christian and Amish fiction books is the problem of lack of communication. People keep storming off or stewing about an issue instead of talking about it (or praying about it).

I received a complimentary copy of A Reluctant Bride from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.

I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review and here it is. Kathleen Fuller has done it again--written yet another Amish novel that was simply impossible to put down, and I think this is her best one yet.

At age 16, Sadie Schrock is carrying bags of ice to her family's store when she is waylaid by a drunken Solomon Troyer, the bishop's eldest son, who drags her into a cornfield and accosts her. His younger brother, Aden, shows up but does nothing to help her and leaves. Luckily, she manages to knee him and get away, but she never tells a soul about it, fearing that no one will believe her. Flash forward 6 years. Sadie is still terrified of Sol, and still angry at Aden. She avoids all social occasions except for church. When tragedy strikes, killing her parents and seriously injuring her sister, it leaves Sadie, the eldest daughter, to deal with the aftermath alone.

Adding to her trauma, when she realizes that her father was deeply in debt, and that the hospital and rehab bills for her sister are piling up, she forces herself to ask Bishop Troyer for financial aid. He's a harsh, greedy man, and refuses to loan her money. He has a different solution, he wants Sadie to marry Sol--her worst nightmare. Aden comes to her rescue, offering to marry her instead, lying to his father and saying they'd been secretly courting, and Sadie is forced to accept what she considers the lesser of two evils.

What follows is a gripping tale that deals with tough issues, some of which are rarely seen in this genre--domestic abuse, alcoholism, greed, subterfuge, forgiveness, kindness, honesty and faith, and Ms. Fuller tackles them with great skill, sensitivity and grace. This new series is off to a great start.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It is somewhat different than the Amish ficiton books I have read in the past (and I have read a lot) in that the bishop was not a Godly man. He was controlling, angry, deceitful and violent. The story leads one to believe this stemmed from his own childhood and his father. He forces Aden (his son) and Sadie to marry after Sadie tragically lost her parents in an accident. Aden had suffered abuse at the hands of his father and older brother, Sol. TI loved watching Aden and Sadie's relationship unfold. Also, Sol coming to repentance. his book is about forgiveness and abuse by church leaders. This is the first book in a series and I cannot wait for the others!

It has been a long time since an Amish based book has raised such raw emotion in me. But The Reluctant Bride has done the trick. Bishop Troyer has succeeded in making my blood boil!

This first book in Kathleen Fuller's newest series isn't your average Amish novel. She chooses a more edgy path for her characters and delves into abuse including physical, mental and spiritual. While she allows the dark side of a tight knit community to be revealed this isn't just a novel filled with tragedy, far from it.

It is also a story of healing, hope, and the beginning of a lifelong love. I enjoyed following along while Sadie and Aden navigated the treacherous path set before them. The strength of character that developed in each of them was inspiring and their developing love for each other was moving.

We expect to be able to trust and rely on our spiritual leaders but sometimes those leaders shouldn't be trusted. This book reminds us that we are all fallible and God should be the only One that we ultimately rely on.

If you enjoy a story with depth that will surely evoke strong emotions then I encourage you to pick this novel up. Because of the subject matter I think it would make a particularly good choice for a featured read for your book club. To get the ball rolling there are discussion questions at the back of the book.

I received a copy of this book to facilitate my review.

Things are not always as we perceive and at first look the Amish Community of Birch Creek, looks and acts just like most others. As we delve into the character’s lives here, one family is not like most of the others, and this family is at the forefront of all of the families. This is the Bishops family, and there are a lot of deep dark secrets here.
Beginning with just about the first page we see that one of the Bishops sons is a drunkard. He attacks of one his own, Sadie Schrock, and life then throws funny punches at her by placing him in her life forever.
I was shocked at some of the revelations that happened in this story, and yet they happen in all cultures, and unfortunately they seem to repeat themselves. We can only hope that it stops at this generation and does not move forward.
It is a compelling page-turner, and yes you will shed tears, and hope for the best. Will life turn around for Sadie and her sisters?
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas Nelson, and was not required to give a positive review