A Reluctant Bride

by Kathleen Fuller Narrated by Lauren Berst

Overview

She never wanted to marry. He hopes to make amends for past wrongs. Can love find a way to heal both of their hearts?

Sadie Schrock swore she would never marry. All of her other Amish friends could court and marry-she was content to manage the family business and eventually take it over when her parents are ready to retire. But all of that changes when a reckless driver kills both of her parents and seriously injures her younger sister. With mounting hospital bills adding to the pile of debt her parents left behind, Sadie is left with no choice: she must marry. And not just any man-the man who saw her at her weakest and walked away.

Aden knows what his brother did to Sadie years ago was inexcusable. And every day since that incident, Aden has lived with the guilt for not intervening sooner. When he is faced with the chance to protect Sadie once again, he can't let her down-even if it means living with the scorn of the woman he loves for the rest of his life.

Working alongside Aden at the store, Sadie realizes he isn't the same boy who once betrayed her. Just when Sadie starts to let her guard down and perhaps develop feelings for her new husband, dangerous secrets are revealed. Now everything Sadie has worked so hard to protect is threatened, and she must find a way to save her family-and herself.

Editorial Reviews

Booklist Starred Review

Frightening, shocking, and redemptive, Fuller's inspirational tale portrays complex characters facing real world problems and finding love where they least expected or wanted it to be.

From the Publisher

"Frightening, shocking, and redemptive, Fuller's inspirational tale portrays complex characters facing real world problems and finding love where they least expected or wanted it to be." ---Booklist Starred Review

RT Book Reviews

Sadie and Aden’s love is both sweet and hard-won, and Aden’s patience is touching as he wrestles not only with Sadie’s dilemma, but his own abusive past. Birch Creek is weighed down by the Troyer family’s dark secrets, and readers will be interested to see how secondary characters’ lives unfold as the series continues.' -4-star review

Booklist

'Fuller writes unapologetically about the darker side of Amish community life…Aden and Sadie’s life in an unwanted arranged marriage is explored with such gentleness that the reader feels the delicacy of the looks and words passed between them…readers will wait breathlessly for the emotional fulfillment of the story. Frightening, shocking, and redemptive, Fuller’s inspirational tale portrays complex characters facing real world problems and finding love where they least expected or wanted it to be.” --- starred review

Library Journal

09/01/2015
After Sadie Schrock's parents are killed in a tragic buggy accident, her determination never to marry is derailed when Bishop Troyer demands that she marry his son or forfeit her parents' lands and the store they worked so hard to build. Deciding upon marriage as the lesser of two evils, Sadie and Aden work to keep the business afloat in spite of the tremendous debt left by her parents. Laboring side by side they develop feelings for each other that are quickly doused when Sol, Aden's unscrupulous brother, reappears on the scene. VERDICT This promising series debut from Fuller ("Middlefield Family" series) is edgier than most Amish novels, dealing with difficult and dark issues and featuring well-drawn characters who are tougher than the usual gentle souls found in this genre. Recommended for Amish fiction fans who might like a different flavor.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178764930
Publisher:	Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date:	01/10/2023
Series:	An Amish of Birch Creek Novel , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged

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