Plain Proposal by Beth Wiseman

Plain Proposal by Beth Wiseman is the 5^th and last book in her Daughters of the Promise series, and what a great finish!  Miriam Raber has her eyes on Saul Fisher, but Saul has somewhat of a “bad boy” reputation and is rumored to be planning to leave the community without being baptized into the church.  Just as Miriam and Saul begin to make connection, Miriam’s Englisch cousin Shelby is sent by her parents to spend the summer with the Rabers, and Miriam is not sure whether Shelby will be the sister she never had or an obstacle in her relationship with Saul.  As the summer progresses, all the characters involved learn lessons about each other, about themselves, and about God’s direction.

Beth does a great job (as always) in developing characters with real joys and struggles.  This story takes many twists and turns, and you can’t be sure how everything will be resolved until the very end.  You will find characters crossing over between this series and Beth’s Land of Canaan books – and there seems to be a teaser into the next installment of that series.

An important message comes out more than once in what it means to be a Daughter of the Promise: “You can take your faith anywhere with you.”  Although the main characters come from different backgrounds, have different dreams, and take different paths in the end, that message helps to see them through, in Amish or Englisch settings.

I would definitely recommend this book (and series) to anyone who enjoys Amish fiction or any good story about the love of God and family.

(I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)