jazzyjan94's review against another edition
5.0
This review appears on my blog: https://confessionsofabookwormweb.wordpress.com/2020/01/10/book-review-plain-paradise-daughters-of-the-promise-4-by-beth-wiseman/
***SPOILER ALERT, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK OR IF YOU DON’T MIND SPOILERS***
After taking a short break from The Daughters of the Promise series to read some other books that were screaming at me to finally read them, I jumped back into this series and ended up reading the last three books one after the other, starting with Plain Paradise. Plain Paradise was another great installment in this series, and the more of Beth Wiseman’s works I read, the more she becomes one of my new favorite authors!
Plain Paradise follows seventeen-year-old Linda Raber, who is a typical young Amish woman who is in the middle of her running around period, and is also dating the bishop’s grandson. However, life as she knows it is turned upside down when she finds out she is adopted and that her birth mother longs to have a relationship with her daughter. This not only has an impact on Linda’s life, but on the lives her family that raised her and love her as if she was their own flesh and blood. Throughout the book, Linda reconnects with her birth mother, Josephine, while Josephine also struggles with the fact that she only has a few months to live and her faith. Meanwhile, there are many things that Linda experiences that she had not experienced before.
Even though there is a sweet romance in this book, it is definitely not the main focus of this book, unlike the other installments in the series. Rather, the main focus is on Linda learning more about her birth mother, and Josephine in turn learning more about having faith in the Lord even during hard times. It focuses on how a family deals with an adopted child being reconnected with her birth mother, and the implications that that can bring, especially since to them Linda is their daughter in every way but blood. There are some other subjects that are covered in this book that I thought was really well done, such as death, impending death, and even sex.
One scene that I really liked in this book was one in which Josie and Linda go to a movie, which turns out to be very steamy (Linda picked it out), and leads to a discussion about sex. It is a pretty clean discussion, but through Linda there are questions asked that I’m sure several young woman have before they get married and have sex for the first time. I thought it was very brave of the author to include this conversation, and also very important because often times in books it isn’t discussed or it is done so in a rushed and not very helpful way. I personally appreciated that this was discussed (not in detail) and in some ways I feel like more Christian authors should be willing to discuss a topic such as sex in their works. Beth Wiseman definitely shows how this can be done in a tasteful way.
Unfortunately for readers of this series, there was a beloved character that we finally have to say goodbye too, dear old Jonas, who had been fighting cancer for years. However, he was a lively character in the first three books that many readers grow to love, but unfortunately the cancer finally catches up to him and he loses the fight. Even though it was sad to see him die, it was also beautiful to see what an impact he had had on the Amish community, especially Linda.
Overall, this was a great book, I loved getting to know all the characters and appreciated the topics that the author tackles in this book. It should also be noted that this serves as an introduction Beth Wiseman’s Land of Canaan series, which also looks like a great series and I am looking forward to checking it out soon! 4/5 Stars.
***SPOILER ALERT, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK OR IF YOU DON’T MIND SPOILERS***
After taking a short break from The Daughters of the Promise series to read some other books that were screaming at me to finally read them, I jumped back into this series and ended up reading the last three books one after the other, starting with Plain Paradise. Plain Paradise was another great installment in this series, and the more of Beth Wiseman’s works I read, the more she becomes one of my new favorite authors!
Plain Paradise follows seventeen-year-old Linda Raber, who is a typical young Amish woman who is in the middle of her running around period, and is also dating the bishop’s grandson. However, life as she knows it is turned upside down when she finds out she is adopted and that her birth mother longs to have a relationship with her daughter. This not only has an impact on Linda’s life, but on the lives her family that raised her and love her as if she was their own flesh and blood. Throughout the book, Linda reconnects with her birth mother, Josephine, while Josephine also struggles with the fact that she only has a few months to live and her faith. Meanwhile, there are many things that Linda experiences that she had not experienced before.
Even though there is a sweet romance in this book, it is definitely not the main focus of this book, unlike the other installments in the series. Rather, the main focus is on Linda learning more about her birth mother, and Josephine in turn learning more about having faith in the Lord even during hard times. It focuses on how a family deals with an adopted child being reconnected with her birth mother, and the implications that that can bring, especially since to them Linda is their daughter in every way but blood. There are some other subjects that are covered in this book that I thought was really well done, such as death, impending death, and even sex.
One scene that I really liked in this book was one in which Josie and Linda go to a movie, which turns out to be very steamy (Linda picked it out), and leads to a discussion about sex. It is a pretty clean discussion, but through Linda there are questions asked that I’m sure several young woman have before they get married and have sex for the first time. I thought it was very brave of the author to include this conversation, and also very important because often times in books it isn’t discussed or it is done so in a rushed and not very helpful way. I personally appreciated that this was discussed (not in detail) and in some ways I feel like more Christian authors should be willing to discuss a topic such as sex in their works. Beth Wiseman definitely shows how this can be done in a tasteful way.
Unfortunately for readers of this series, there was a beloved character that we finally have to say goodbye too, dear old Jonas, who had been fighting cancer for years. However, he was a lively character in the first three books that many readers grow to love, but unfortunately the cancer finally catches up to him and he loses the fight. Even though it was sad to see him die, it was also beautiful to see what an impact he had had on the Amish community, especially Linda.
Overall, this was a great book, I loved getting to know all the characters and appreciated the topics that the author tackles in this book. It should also be noted that this serves as an introduction Beth Wiseman’s Land of Canaan series, which also looks like a great series and I am looking forward to checking it out soon! 4/5 Stars.
reneesuz's review against another edition
4.0
Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman is one of the Daughters of the Promise novels; earlier this year I read and reviewed Plain Pursuit. Although characters from earlier books do appear in Plain Paradise, it is not essential to have read them since they are not a true series; each book can be enjoyed for its own storyline and characters.
Plain Paradise is the story of Linda, now 17 years old, who was adopted as a newborn by an Amish couple. Mary Ellen and Abe have raised her as their eldest child, never telling her about the adoption. Now Josie, Linda's birth mother, is dying and moves to the area to get to know the daughter she gave up so many years ago. Mary Ellen and Abe tell their daughter the truth of her birth and adoption and support her desire to get to know her birth mother.
Plain Paradise is a story of family, relationships, death, dying, faith, hope and love. It's the story of Linda and her adoptive family, Linda and her birth mom, Josie's relationship with her husband, Linda's relationship with Stephen and so much more. Beth Wiseman is one of my favorite authors of Amish fiction and continues to keep me intrigued with her stories.
Plain Paradise is the story of Linda, now 17 years old, who was adopted as a newborn by an Amish couple. Mary Ellen and Abe have raised her as their eldest child, never telling her about the adoption. Now Josie, Linda's birth mother, is dying and moves to the area to get to know the daughter she gave up so many years ago. Mary Ellen and Abe tell their daughter the truth of her birth and adoption and support her desire to get to know her birth mother.
Plain Paradise is a story of family, relationships, death, dying, faith, hope and love. It's the story of Linda and her adoptive family, Linda and her birth mom, Josie's relationship with her husband, Linda's relationship with Stephen and so much more. Beth Wiseman is one of my favorite authors of Amish fiction and continues to keep me intrigued with her stories.
westcoastchelle's review against another edition
4.0
This one was far less focused on romance and more on the community of the Amish. I loved it even more for that reason. There was a thread of peace through the whole novel that I really enjoyed.
pixieauthoress's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised to find that this was probably my least favourite of Beth Wiseman's novels so far, but still an excellent story! I think this is attributed to how young Linda is, as it made her a bit more difficult to relate to. Sometimes she could be quite immature, which didn't settle well with the fact she was constantly thinking about getting married to Stephen, and made me wonder whether she was really old enough to be a wife and mother. I loved reading about Josie and Mary Ellen reconciling their differences, even if this was only a small part of the novel. A lot of the novel focused on Josie's spiritual journey, and readers of my reviews will know that conversion plots aren't exactly a favourite of mine, but Josie's was interesting to read. I loved that Beth displayed how powerful prayer and healing can be, topics which can sometimes be a bit taboo among certain Christian circles. God still heals, even in the twenty-first century, and even among the Amish! So although I didn't always relate to Linda due to her youth, I did thoroughly enjoy this novel and will be looking out for the opportunity to read the final book in the series. 8/10
booksforchristiangirls's review against another edition
1.0
This is a mini ‘Books For Christian Girls’ review. It is not a full content review and will not receive one. These mini-reviews are years old and just for clarity on the rating the book received on Goodreads.
1/25/2014-
No comments.
Main Content-
*Minor cussing (heck).
*Linda was born out of wedlock *Sexual Content* Joise was forced to have sex with her math teacher; Joise explains intercourse and lovemaking to Linda after they see a couple in an R-rated movie (no details, but Linda asks if it hurts and that she's not doing that ever).
1/25/2014-
No comments.
Main Content-
*Minor cussing (heck).
*Linda was born out of wedlock *Sexual Content*
More...