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.

The Wounded Heart - Adina Seft

Product Description

A widow with two small children, Elizabeth is struggling to make ends meet. She is running her late husband's business, but it's not what she was raised to do, which is run a home. When she gets an offer for the business from Eli Walker, she's only too relieved to consider it--especially when it looks like Eli's interest might include more than just the shop. But when she begins to experience strange physical symptoms and is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it's difficult not to question God's will. Because how fair would it be to allow a man to marry her when she may not be able to be a wife to him for long?

The Wounded Heart , by Adina Senft

Tells the story of Amelia, a young Amish woman, widowed too young, with two young boys. She owns and runs the pallet shop her late husband had, while trying to be the woman expected of her by her neighbours, friends and relatives.

Anita Senft did an awesome job of making me as a reader feel sympathy for the young Amish woman. And made me look at myself to see if i would have been able to submit myself to others as Amelia learnt to do in her circumstances.

It did not take a lot of reading for me to like the characters, and I cried when Amelia got her multiple sclerosis diagnoses. The story flowed well, the characters were exceptional, and the word scenes brought the story to life. She uses third person view point, and it is easy to follow. Amelia and her friends will live on in my thoughts.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in her Amish Quilts series and am sure that anyone who enjoys Amish and romance novels will want to try this one. I will be looking for the next novel in the series.

I received this ebook free from Netgalley for the purpose of review only. I was not required to write a positive review, only an honest one. These opinions are my own.

The Christmas Singing by Cindy Woodsmall

After Gideon coldly broke her heart, can the warmth of the season revive Mattie’s hopes? 
Mattie thought her childhood sweetheart adored her until he abruptly ended their engagement on Christmas Eve.
 
Three years later, will learning the truth behind his rejection restore her Christmas joy – or open the door to even deeper heartbreak?
 
Spend Christmas with the Amish in this story of love, romance, heartache, and restoration.

My Review

What a delightful story author Cindy Woodsmall brings to us this Christmas season - right from the heart of Amish country, from an Amish community in Ohio to one in Pennsylvania. I believe it is because the Amish have intentionally removed themselves from many of the things we use, that they are able to cultivate the closeness of community that we all wish for. 

Although this is a novella, Cindy very aptly deals with all the issues you might find in a full length novel, and the characters are all well developed. Issues like betrayal, heartache, loss, and restorationone are some of the most promanent in this novel. Since this is a Christmas novella, the story is short and fast, but sweet and easy to relate to. Mattie is sincere, but easily distracted, Gideon feels he can control life. How often don't we tend to fall into the same things?

The story is told both from Mattie's view point as well as from Gideon's. This might be confusing, except the author has done a very good job keeping this clear in the reader's mind.

I read this in one afternoon, and would recommend it to any of my friends. Even if you don't particularly enjoy Amish romance, I believe that you would enjoy this short glimpse into the life of Mattie and Gideon.

I received this book from WaterbrookMultnomah Publishers through their Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to make a positive review, and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.