Sunday, July 14, 2019

Review, Excerpt, and Giveaway: Married to a Stranger by Laura V. Hilton





About the Book


Book: Married to a Stranger
Author: Laura V. Hilton
Genre: Christian Amish Romance Fiction
Release date: July 2, 2019

He marries her out of need. She marries him to escape. What does love have to do with it?



When her father falsely accuses a stranger of dishonoring her, Bethel Eicher finds herself promised in marriage to a man she’s never met. Not exactly a dream come true, but since she has spent several years caring for her handicapped mother, she’s already considered an old maid at twenty-five—and she longs to escape her lonely life as permanent caregiver.

When newly-called Amish preacher Gideon Kaiser learns he’s been accused of a dishonorable act, he’s horrified. But his wife died in childbirth and his baby needs a mother, so he figures marrying a woman he’s never met could be beneficial. 

How can Bethel and Gideon possibly make their marriage work—especially when the truth behind the accusations is revealed?

Click here to purchase your copy.


My Thoughts:



I was once again pulled into an Amish love story by author Hilton. This time we have a marriage of convenience with some very unusual circumstances. We as a reader watch how everything at first seems hopeless and a bit chaotic till we see all the hidden behind the scenes of the whys. 

Bethel Eicher was a very sweet and a bit timid heroin who rightly should be so. She is 25 years old and every eligible man, even the very old are trying to court her. Even a very creepy one that gave me as a reader chills. However, her father wrongly accuses her of being with child by a man she does not even know and sends her away to marry him.

Gideon Kaiser has been accused by a woman’s father of very wicked deeds and now must do the honorable thing and marry her. He is a man still grieving the death of his beloved wife and understandably abhors this accusation. Due to circumstances out of their hands, Gideon and Bethel do marry and have quite a ways to build up their marriage from such a rocky beginning.

Theirs was a love story of learning to be friends first and opening your heart again to love a second time. Their push and pull between each other at times was heartbreaking to watch and other times quite swoon worthy. This is another lovely Amish story from my favorite Amish author.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.


About the Author


A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, Laura V. Hilton is a professional book reviewer for the Christian market, with more than a thousand reviews published on the Internet. Laura’s first series with Whitaker House, The Amish of Seymour, includes Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts, and Promised to Another. In 2012, A Harvest of Hearts received a Laurel Award, placing first in the Amish Genre Clash. Her second series, The Amish of Webster County, consists of Healing Love, Surrendered Love, and Awakened Love, followed by a stand-alone title, A White Christmas in Webster County. Laura’s last series, The Amish of Jamesport, includes The Snow Globe, The Postcard, and The Birdhouse. Prior to Married to a Stranger, Laura published Firestorm, Love by the Numbers, The Amish Firefighter, and The Amish Wanderer

Previously, Laura published two novels with Treble Heart Books, Hot Chocolate and Shadows of the Past, as well as several devotionals. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Laura earned a business degree from Ozarka Technical College. She and her husband, Steve, have five children and make their home in Arkansas. To learn more about Laura, read her reviews, and find out about her upcoming releases, readers may visit her blog at http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/.   

Read an Excerpt 

He marries her out of need. She marries him to escape. What does love have to do with it?
He’s falsely accused of dishonoring her. She longs to escape her father’s household. Can they make their forced, arranged marriage work?

“Gideon, choose love. Not loss.” Lizzie gave a quiet sigh and then her eyes rolled back in her head.

“It’s a lie.” Bethel straightened. “Whoever he described has never touched me. Nobody has.” 

Either he marry the woman who’d accused him of sexually assaulting her—a woman he had nein recollection of ever meeting, not to mention the fact that he had never touched any woman besides his beloved frau—or his name would be dragged through the mud for a sin he hadn’t committed, a sin for which he’d be forced to kneel and confess. 

It wouldn’t do any gut to ask der Herr for this stranger—what was his name, anyway?—to be nice to her, because it seemed apparent Gott hadn’t heard one word of her endless prayers over the last few days. Either that, or He callously chose to disregard her requests. 

It was probably the only wedding nacht in history during which the groom had hidden in the basement and raged, huddled upon and beneath a pile of blankets for warmth—warmth that never seemed to reach his core—before he cried himself into a fitful sleep. 

At least, with this situation being handled directly between Gideon and both their fathers, with nein preacher or bishop involvement, none of the potentially damaging dirty laundry was hung out to dry.

The condemning stares from Gideon’s family members seemed to bore into Bethel’s back the entire time she prepared their breakfast and then washed the dishes. 

She should’ve packed her bags and run away instead of going through with the wedding. Which was probably what her sister had done, kum to think of it. 

He could see the hurt and bewilderment lingering in her eyes, as if she still didn’t fully realize how she’d gotten here, or why her father had chosen to believe an old widower over his own dochter.

Bethel’s first time changing Elam’s diaper didn’t go as badly as she’d feared. Lying on the changing table in his bedroom, the boppli waved his feet in the air and blew bubbles at her, completely winning her heart. 

Blog Stops

Emily Yager, July 3
EmpowerMoms, July 5
Bigreadersite, July 6
Mary Hake, July 8
Moments, July 11
Pause for Tales,  July 14

Giveaway


 
To celebrate her tour, Laura is giving away a grand prize of a $20 Starbucks Card and a surprise book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.  https://promosimple.com/ps/e594/married-to-a-stranger-celebration-tour-giveaway

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your book with us. I always look forward to finding out about another great read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This book sounds awesome, very intriguing and like a real good page turner! Wow unbelievable how her father is, but that happens real life also, pretty sad. I must add this book to my TBR list. I enjoyed reading this blog, Thank you so very much. :)

    ReplyDelete

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