There are some books you genuinely truly enjoy reading and An Amish Bride was that for this reviewer. Second in the Joyful River series, the story is sprinkled with bits of humor. Most of us were raised with quotes like Birds of a feather flock together. And this story is no different. They just weren’t the ones I heard growing up but were packed with wisdom.
A good book needs good characters that the author develops in such a way that the reader has time to know them. And scenes that are descriptive so we see in our mind’s eye what is happening as we read. Rosalind Lauer, the author, delivers both.
Miriam Lapp is the first person you meet in this story. Mother of Sam Lapp, her oldest child and our leading man, and Essie, his younger sister, who is getting married that day. You will like these characters.
Sam loves his life on the family’s dairy farm. It is his calling. He loves his family and is secretly in love with Sadie Beiler who is Essie’s best friend. Sam is, put simply, a nice guy and a kind considerate man.
Sadie has made the Lapp home her second home. There, she can be herself and does not feel like she is never quite being what her parents expect her to be. There she does not encounter a father who has been drinking. There she feels the love and understanding of a family. And she sees Sam as a brother and a good friend.
Sadie has also been courting Mark Miller. Mark is charismatic, good looking and works with his father as an auctioneer. However, you will see before Sadie does that Mark has two sides to him. And that other side is far from what a caring man should be. Or a beau supposedly in love.
Another great character is Isaac who is Sam’s best friend. Isaac is “on the fence”. He feels called by God to help people medically. And he is attending classes but is more than just aware of the pull between two worlds. He will have to decide soon. I hope to find Isaac as a lead character in a future book in the series.
You will like these people. Well, not Mark, of course. Oh, you may not agree with the premise that marriage seems to be so important in the Amish community. But for the people in this story, it is a key element of their lives.
This is a lovely read that kept pulling me back to my Kindle. There are wonderful sub-plots that just make the book better. Trust me, you will want to read this one.
A thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Kensington Books, for the opportunity to read and review an ARC (advanced reader’s copy) of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.
Rating: 5 stars
Cover: Perfect. Once you read the story, you will know why.
Expected publish date: 22 Feb 2022
#AnAmishBride #NetGalley #RosalindLauer
Note: 11/13/2022 – A update to a plugin has removed the entire block containing the description.
