Isaiah’s Life as The Preacher’s Son has been devastated. He has always looked up to his father and has dreams of following in his footsteps. That is until his father betrayed his friends, family and community through fraud. With his father now in prison for his crimes, Isaiah must find a way to earn back the trust and respect he once enjoyed. That is not a simple or easy task because his father’s deeds were far reaching and the elders have officially shunned his father. Many of the young people in the Amish community where Isaiah resides have literally lost their faith and have gone English as a result, including his sister Lovina and his best friend Micah. Isaiah is determined to remain in the Amish community and find his place given the new circumstances. However, one thing keeps adding difficulty to his efforts. He finds he is falling in love with Micah’s former fiancé. 

If you enjoy reading Amish romance novels, you will love this one. The plot is more complex than most Amish romances and yet it is very believable.  The characters are portrayed in a very realistic manner and they have a depth that really adds to the story. I particularly enjoyed the way the author was able to show Isaiah’s integrity. The manner in which he clings to his faith and his beliefs despite the trials he is facing is admirable. 

There are a few life lessons that resonate in this story. The first is that our choices can have far reaching effects. The choices that Abe Yoder (Isaiah’s father) made impacted not only him, his children and those he defrauded, but the entire community. It had such a profound effect on his daughter Lovina that she leaves everything she loves in search of a new life. The young people who believed and respected Abe are shaken to their core and some leave their faith behind as a result. This leads to the next life lesson: we are all flawed. No matter how good a person may try to be, as humans, we always fall short. People will always disappoint us. As such, we have to be forgiving and love people in spite of their flaws. The third lesson I took from this story is that honesty is always best. There may be times we are tempted to be dishonest in order to make things easier on ourselves or on others. For the short term, it may appear that the lies were justified. However, in the long term, lies are never worth the cost. 

While THE PREACHER'S SON does have a few adult situations, it is otherwise a clean and wholesome read. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading Amish romance novels or for those who just enjoy good, clean romances. 

Book Summary