A Reluctant Bride

By: Kathleen Fuller

More in Amish of Birch Creek Series

THOMAS NELSON / 2015 / PAPERBACK

Number of Pages: 320 Publication Date: September 2015 ISBN-13: 9780718033156 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. My thoughts:  A RELUCTANT BRIDE wasn't what I expected. Sadie hates Sol and Aden but she is forced to marry one or the other and Aden seemed the lesser of two evils. He's a wimp who allows his father and brother to beat him to a pulp and abandons girls who need  a hero.  I didn't think too much of the main characters. Aden was portrayed a weakling and Sadie was angry, hateful and rude, even when Aden went out of his way to be nice. To stand up for her. I never did connect with the characters, but I wanted to. I wanted to like them, I wanted to care.  The story did end much better, with some resolution, and Aden became more of a hero.  Ms. Fuller tackled some tough issues in this book and they were handled well. I give her kudos for tackling the subjects she did. It hurt to read, and was a painful book in many ways.  It was well written though, and I understand why the characters responded the way they did.  3 stars.