ABOUT THE BOOK

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 a 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?

Book: Married to a Stranger Author: Laura V. Hilton

Genre: Christian Amish Romance Fiction

Release date: July 2, 2019

BOOK REVIEW

Laura V. Hilton is now on the top of favorite Amish fictions writers. She does a great job of engaging story plots with unexpected twists. "Married to a Stranger" is a sweet story of an arranged marriage.
Bethel is desperate to escape the man her dad wants her to marry. A horrible untruth about her and another man causes her to find herself in a marriage for someone she doesn't know. Gideon, a preacher who lost his wife during childbirth, now has a newborn to raise and a new wife who is destroying his reputation Bethel seems to be really confused on what is going on her wedding day. No one helped stop the sham of the marriage. Even Bethal's father didn't believe her truth. The Bishop spoke with Bethel and Gideon on what they really needed to hear. They learn the best way to get through rough times is forgiving. Gideon who lost his wife and remarried very quickly. Bethel is struggling to forgive her father for not believe her. The story shares a marriage that begins without love, but will that change?

The characters in this book are well thought out and felt like I was reading a biography of Gideon and Bethel's life. Bethel lacks self-confidence and obeys. She struggles with her worth. I felt their emotions while reading each page.

The story is about using faith to help get through tragedies and hardships through forgiveness and loving each other. "Married to a Stranger" is suspenseful at times. to the story as well. The lesson I took from this story is how important it is to trust God. He knows what he is doing and will always be there for us. Don't give up even when there doesn't seem like the light at the end of the tunnel. If we don't learn to forgive ourselves and others misunderstandings can really damage a relationship.

The cover of the book is beautiful which caught my attention. I really enjoy Laura V. Hilton's writing style. This can be a stand-alone book. I would highly recommend reading all of her books, but if not she does a great job of helping new readers not feel so lost in the story. f you haven't read her previous books you will know You don't have to read her previous books in the series. "Married to a Stranger' focuses more on Gideon's story. I had a hard time putting this book down. Usually, the book is told through the side of the woman, but "Married to a Stranger" seemed to lean more towards Gideon.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. This review is my own opinion.

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/.

Her Twitter: @Laura_V_Hilton Click Here

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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.