I've never read an Amish romance before, so when I saw this story, I thought it would be nice. I know Amish have their own language and when using English, they sound Danish. I love accents, but I'm gonna tell you now, reading it is ​another story, especially the way it's used in this book.
This is in no way an insult to anyone, especially Kathleen Fuller, the author, but I didn't see the use for the Amish colloquialism. There were sentences where they said mann instead of man, geh instead of go and several others. I love the way the Amish sound but there was no need to throw a word in periodically. It was extraneous.

Other than that, I loved the book cover. It's beautiful and looks exactly as I pictured. Granted, I've been in Amish country before. I have no complaints there.

As for the story, it's about a young lady, strong willed and intelligent, who wants nothing to do with men. She was accosted when she was younger and from then on, kept to herself.

It's not until she's placed in a bind and needs to get married that she has to settle on a husband. Sadly, it's the brother of the man who'd attacked her years ago. She'd kept away from him as a friend, seeing him as a coward, but then she has to accept him as her husband!

This story is written well, other than the throw-in expressions. I enjoyed the story. It deals with issues like alcoholism, sexual abuse, mental and physical abuse and biblical chauvinism. Sadly, the death of Sadie's parents placed her in a position to marry a person who'd left her to an awful fate years ago.

The book raises emotions and is an excellent read for anyone who loves this genre. I'm on to the next book. http://tinyurl.com/pc59ldk ( )

I have to say I'm not usually a fan of romance and at first I thought this might be the typical romance: girl doesn't like guy, girl grows to like guy then love and happily ever after. I was so WRONG. Kathleen Fuller has an exceptional story here. The Reluctant Bride encompasses disenchantment, abuse, broken people, hope, love and strong faith.

Sadie Schrock and Aden Troyer were thrown into marriage by a tragedy and the Bishop (Aden's father) of their Amish community. Sadie doesn't trust Aden because of an incident in their past.

The Bishop has his reasons for wanting them to marry. He has ruled his 2 sons' lives with abuse and negativity and plans to rule Aiden and Sadie's marriage the same way. Bishop Troyer has an agenda of his own and he does not tolerate disobedience.

Kathleen Fuller has developed awesome characters and the story draws the reader into their lives. I felt this was an remarkable read and I highly recommend it.

I received this book free from the publisher for review purposes. If you want to learn more about Kathleen Fuller at http://kathleenfuller.com/home ( )

I highly recommend this powerful and captivating story by Kathleen Fuller. She never fails to present a well-written book with great character development and fresh ideas and themes.
Amish fiction is typically filled with faith, great cooking, and strong family values. However, you will find the author has dug deeper into the subject matters of today’s world to show that no one, not even the Amish, is exempt from Satan’s pull when we allow him to creep into our hearts and lives. Although it is a work of fiction, this book serves as a strong reminder of the reality of the pain endured by many who are victims of; mental and physical abuse, deceitfulness, misrepresentation by church leadership, alcoholism, and hidden secrets.
As difficult as those subjects are, I admire how Ms Fuller handles them with sensitivity, grace, and skill. You will find them coupled with kindness, forgiveness, trust, grace, and second chances, bringing to life the goodness of God even in the worst of circumstances.
Thank you to the publisher, Thomas-Nelson, for the opportunity to review this work of Christian fiction. ( )

“The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.”

This was a very difficult book for me to read. It deals with all sort of abuse -mental as well a physical abuse, a nearly forced marriage and lies on too of lies, theft etc.

The characters are pretty much unlikable no matter what sort of horrors they have encountered in their lives. I expect something a little different than this sort of horror when I read an Amish novel. Granted, the Amish have just as much horror in their lives as the non-Amish do - but I expected to have been engaged and riveted in this book, not horrified; wanting to hit these people.

This book really has no conclusion except for Sadie and Aden finally consummating their marriage. Therefore you will have to buy the following books to find out what happens with the bigger plot line. ( )

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. ( )