The Bishop's Daughter was a remarkably well-developed, well written book about the Amish way of life, and their devotion to being separate from the world. The plot was about Sadie Hochstetler, a faithful Amish widow, raising her son in her parent's home. Her daet is the bishop of their community, and the author emphasized that their position makes appearances all the more important, in order not to be a stumbling block to other Amish households. (which is quite biblical!) I liked their stedfastness and concern for others, and how that shaped almost all of their decisions.Elijah Fisher left Bishop Hochstetler's Amish community, rebelled, and persuaded Sadie's brother to leave with him. What follows in the book is a description of how both young men adjusted to life outside of their Amish way of life, and decisions made pertaining to English vs. Amish customs and lifestyles.
The characters were all interesting, I enjoyed the book, and reading about them was thought-provoking at times. The storyline was so intelligently written, that I actually read the book to the end, which I don't always do. One thing I thought was unnecessary, and it didn't add to the book at all, was the use of a vulgar word, twice. It was not crucial to the development of or insight into Elijah's personality.
I also hope in future stories, that more talk about Jesus is included.
Other than that, I'm a fan of Patricia John's books, and intend to remain so.

Romans 10:8-13; John 3:16-21 ( )

In this wonderful and incredibly sensitive story, Sadie Hochstetler is a widow. Sadie is also the daughter of the Bishop so much is required of her. As the mother of a young son, she works hard at teaching him to do his very best to please God. Sadie recognizes that in so doing, she may never find true happiness - she certainly never had it in her marriage, but at least she will be doing what is right.

Elijah Fisher was the boy she loved when she was a teenager. Her father highly disapproved at the time. At seventeen, Elijah left the Amish community for the Englisher world. He was gone for nine years, but now his father's business is suffering and he pleads with Elijah to help him. This puts a burden on both Sadie and Elijah. Their feelings are very strong with one another, but with Elijah no longer being Amish, and Sadie being a widow, there is no future for them.

Sadie's father is ill, and has hired Elijah to help care for his farm. This brings Sadie and Elijah around one another as they care for chores. One reason this is especially difficult for Sadie is that her brother Absolom left with Elijah all those years ago, and never returned to his family or his faith. So, Elijah becomes the tie between Sadie and her brother.

I am a woman of faith, albeit a different one, and I was very moved by the dynamics in this story. This was multi-layered as it not only dealt with the loss of faith Elijah experienced, and how the families were affected by such. The story also helped readers to see what Sadie went through during her marriage. She did all she could to be a good wife at the time, and must eventually come to terms with how this affected her and what the future could be like for her and her son. Then there is Absolom's girlfriend, Sharon, and what she was experiencing. Lastly, the way the families in the Amish faith are affected when members leave. This part of the story was handled in a responsible manner and made the story that much better.

This is the second book I have read by Patricia Johns and I truly enjoy her writing. I look forward to reading much more by this wonderful writer.

Many thanks to Zebra and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )

The Bishop’s Daughter shows readers various aspects of an Amish community. Sadie Hochstetler was married the much older Mervin for just a year when he passed away. He did not know she was pregnant at the time and he failed to provide for her in his will. She is now living at home with her rigid father trying to raise her son following the rules of their community. Sadie is being pressured to marry, but it is the last thing she wants after the experiences of her first marriage. She has never forgotten her first love, Elijah Fisher and how he left her with her brother. Elijah left after being told by Bishop Graber that he was not good enough for Sadie. While he does not like life in the English world, he is happy to be away from the rigid rules of the Amish community. With Bishop Graber unwell, Sadie steps up to handle his chores. Elijah and Sadie are put in daily contact with each other when he begins working on their dairy farm. The old spark is still there between them but is it enough to base a life on. I thought the story was nicely written, but the pace was a little slow. The story addresses various topics about Amish life. We get to see how hard it can be to follow the rules and how a Bishop can bend the rules to suit his purposes. I know I would chafe under the restrictions and the lack of individuality. I could not believe that Sadie could not even write to her brother unless her father approved. Appearances are very important in their community and gossip can ruin a woman’s reputation. We see the differences between the younger Rosmanda with her view of love and the more mature Sadie. I did feel that the first half of the book kept addressing the same issues (felt like the plot was going around in a circle). I could not wait for the story to move forward. My favorite sentence from The Bishop’s Daughter was “love . . . it could be the sweetest of experiences and the most painful.” I liked that the author provided an epilogue and I am curious to find out what will happen with Absolom. ( )

The author has placed this story in an Amish community in Indiana, and we are dealing with a few members who have jumped the fence, or gone into the world.
We are also with a young woman who has returned to her family after her husband has passed away, she had married a much older man.
When one of the fence jumpers comes home, with the stipulation that he is going to leave again, sparks begin to fly again between these two individuals, and we know that nothing can come of it.
Our young woman is the daughter of the bishop, and he is a stern and strict person, and he is the main reason his son has also left.
There are lots of surprises that I never saw coming her, and it makes for a great page-turning read. One you don’t want to miss, and I could almost see another book coming here!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington Books, and was not required to give a positive review. ( )

The main theme of “The Bishop’s Daughter” by Patricia Johns appears to be “conflict.” There are several different threads to this story, and each of them deals with some type of conflict. The widow Sadie attempts to come to terms with her past marriage failures, as well as her undeniable attraction to her former sweetheart Elijah, who now works on her family’s farm. Elijah must make a decision about returning to the freedoms of the English world, or remaining in the Amish community to assist his struggling parents. Sadie’s father and mother try to reconcile themselves to the loss of their adult son Absolom to the English world. Absolom must make decisions about the care of his two children. Sadie’s young sister Rosamanda struggles with a romantic attachment to an older Amish boy.

All in all, this novel presented quite a dramatic and serious tone, as opposed to some of the other more lighthearted Amish novels I have read. This was not a negative thing, but underscored that all families have problems that cannot be quickly solved. The conflicts are wrapped up in the end, but the author leaves the door open to further developments with the Graber family.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. ( )