Anna loves the grandfather who raised her, but his strict adherence to the Ordnung is scaring away any boy who might be interested in her — except newcomer Jacob.
Under normal circumstances Anna Byler would have her choice of any of the young men in her Amish community. But because of the strict rules enforced by her grandfather, the bishop, the available suitors are afraid to court her. Then … her. Then handsome Jacob Hostetler moves to Paradise and decides Anna is worth the challenge.
Anna sees that the bishop’s legalism is dividing the community and even risking the lives of its members — but her grandfather doesn’t. When she is forced to deception in order to pursue her dream of marriage and family with Jacob, Anna feels her own faith slipping. If only she could get her grandmother to help her stand up to the bishop. But Mammi is keeping secrets of her own.
Anna wants to honor her grandparents, the two most important people in her life, but her heart is divided by the rules that guide their little Amish community and the growing love she has for Jacob. How can she be true to both?
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I have enjoyed the “Daughters of the Promise” series so much, and will miss these characters! I have rejoiced with some of them, teared up with some – and have become frustated with a couple of them – all illustrating great character development! I appreciate how Wiseman places Amish characters in situations that we all face, such as caring for a loved one who has changed and is difficult after suffering a stroke, such as Lucy does in this one. Lucy is no angel; she has made mistakes, but she is now trying to make amends with her life. She is rebuilding her life after her child’s father dies, and she needs a good female friendship, with “give and take” caring; however, she knows that her new friendship with a recent resident may be short-lived when others in the community inevitably reveal her secret. She does not believe that the family she hurt will ever forgive her.How can they,whenshe is unable to forgive herself? Lucy will receive no help from the non-approachable Bishop, who is so ultra-legalistic that his own wife has to keep secrets from him, just to stay healthy. He will not allow her to visit her doctor of choice for her diabetes, because of the doctor’s past shunning. The bishop is not swayed by the fact that the doctor has been devoting his practice to serving the Amish instead of accumulating a lot of patients and money at another practice! His granddaughter, Anna, also suffers repercussions from his overprotective strictness, too – when he refuses to be reasonable or to show any grace at all to the man she wants to court – whom the Bishop is blaming for something out of the young man’s control, a family medical emergency. Will Anna and her sweet grandmother convince her daedi (Grandfather) / the Bishop to allow her to date the fine young man she loves, or will the elderly man’s heart soften? Will the Bishop relax his restrictions? Will Lucy ever be forgiven and learn to show grace to herself? Read this wonderful book to find out that and much more. I do recommend reading them chronologically if possble; however, these books can also be read and enjoyed as stand-alones, in any order! However and whenever you decide to read them, just read them! You will be glad that you did. Side note: If anyone from Hallmark ever reads these reviews, I think you would do well to consider doing a movie series on the “Daughters of the Promise!”
Great read!! Wonderful author!!
I enjoy reading any Amish literature. For me they are inspirational, comforting. It is a joy to read a book that is not steamy, violent, antagonistic.
Definitely worth the read. Good story line with great characters. It felt very real to me. The characters were very believable. Beth Wiseman is one of my favorites.
Beth Wiseman is one of those authors who almost always touches my emotions. She has brought me to tears, had me laugh and even had my husband ask what I was crying or laughing about. Not something I do often when reading. Beth Wiseman is one of my top 5 favorite authors. Anyone that touches my emotions the way she does, or even has me praying about something she shows in her book, then that’s an automatic 5 star rating in my book. God has shown me answers to something I was praying about through her books – more than once. Highly recommend anything by Beth Wiseman.