The Scent of Cherry Blossoms - Cindy Woodsmall

The Scent of Cherry Blossoms
Coming February 21, 2012!

Annie Martin loves the Plain ways of her Old Order Mennonite people, like those revered by her beloved grandfather. Retreating from a contentious relationship with her mother, Annie goes to live with her Daadi Moses in Apple Ridge.

But as spring moves into Pennsylvania and Annie spends time amongst the cherry trees with the handsome Aden Zook, she wishes she could forget how deeply the lines between the Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonite are drawn.

Can Annie and Aden find a place for their love to bloom in the midst of the brewing storm? To read more, go here>>

MY REVIEW

 Both Aden and Annie are very strong characters - strong i n their convictions, strong in their beliefs, loyal to their families and church. Both come from heartaches and trials. Aden from a family where both the father and two sons are physically handicapped, and Annie from a dysfunctional family. Cindy does a great job of bringing these into the story without condemnation, but with true heartfelt emotions and you ache with the characters as they struggle and rejoice with them as they overcome.

The scent of cherry blossoms has a very important position in the novella, and is a perfect title to draw the reader in. The whole novel is full of sensory details - obviously the smell, but also the vivid scenes in this Amish/Mennonite community.

i was wondering how Cindy would resolve this dilemma of bringing the two faiths together. I belong to what might be called a conservative Mennonite sect, and know how extremely hard it is for the older members to accept true friendship with those not of our faith, and yet, how little really separates us. For us, intermarriage is also not sanctioned by the church, and I love how Cindy delicately handles this fact.

This is a great novella, and am eager to recommend it to my friends. Cindy consistently brings us super reading material.

This book was sent to me free of monetary charge from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers through their Blogging For Books program in exchange for an honest review, which i have done. The opinions stated in this article are my own.