A Season for Tending Review

There’s something about Amish fiction that intrigues me. I love learning about a culture that is so different from my own, and the Amish way of life is fascinating. In the book A Season for Tending Cindy Woodsmall lives up to her name as an Amish fiction writer.

“For Every Season” Book Review

Disclosure: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am falling more and more in love with Amish fiction books! I love that the characters live such different lives from what I am familiar with, yet they are so easy to relate to, especially in the books written by Cindy Woodsmall.

For Every Season is the third book in the Amish Vines and Orchards series and it continues  with the story of Rhoda Byler, who is trying to learn to work in an apple orchard with the King brothers, while establishing a new Amish community in Maine. The romance, the emotion, the drama, all combine to make this book one I couldn’t put down until I was done. (You can read the first chapter here.)

I had read the first book, A Season for Tending, and loved it. It wasn’t until I got the book For Every Season that I knew there had been a second book already published. There are some series that you might get away with skipping a book or two without being utterly lost, but I don’t think this is one of those series. I made sure to read the second book, The Winnowing Season, before even opening this book and I’m glad I did.

I appreciated how this book taught me more about Amish culture and beliefs, while allowing the characters to grow and develop in ways I hadn’t thought possible in the traditional Amish sense. I really enjoyed the development that all the characters went through in this book and can’t wait to read the fourth book which comes out in 2014 (Though I will say it drives me nuts how the endings are so abrupt and unresolved!)!

"The Angel of Forest Hill" review

The story line in Cindy Woodsmall's Christmas romance book was so unique and intriguing that I couldn't put this book down. I finished it within two days and loved every bit of it. While this book is fiction, I felt as though I was getting a glimpse into the less-perfect aspects of Old-Order Amish life. In this book, a bereaved Amish widower asks a complete stranger to marry him so that she could live in his home and help care for his three young children. Over time their relationship evolves from that of a "business" proposition to friendship and beyond. 

Even though Amish fiction is my favorite genre right now, the one complaint I have about it is that it's hard to keep track of names, places, etc because many Amish names are the same or very similar. I tend to get story lines mixed up and it takes me a while to get fully into an Amish fiction book because I'm just trying to keep up and keep track of what's happening. "The Angel of Forest Hill" was not the case!


"The Angel of Forest Hill" is a well-written, clean story of love, healing and family. Anyone who has read Cindy Woodsmall before will love this new book, and it is perfect for the Christmas season.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

To learn more about this book, visit Waterbrook.

Ties That Bind book review

Disclosure: I was provided a copy of this book for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I love reading Amish fiction! I love the escape from my regular life into the world of the Amish, and I love to read more about their culture. The book Ties That Bind was no exception. I truly enjoyed reading about the Brenneman family, and appreciated that this book looked at the story from the many different perspectives of various family members.

I felt that this book was a little different from a lot of Amish fiction because the author, Cindy Woodsmall, wrote about some of the failings of the Amish culture, and how members of their communities deal with those problems. It made me reflect as the reader how my family/community relate, and the issues we might have. I also felt that I could relate to the main character Ariana in her struggle to stay true to her Amish upbringing, but to try to bridge her world with the Englisch.

I do hate it when a book leaves the reader hanging, and this book did that to me! I was so mad at the end because everything was so unresolved. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out so I can find out what happens to the characters.

All in all, I loved this book. It was well written and kept me engaged from the beginning. I can't wait to read the rest of the story!

Fraying at the Edge Book Review

In case you can't tell, Amish books are one of my favorite genres. I love that they are clean, uplifting and I feel like I learn a lot about a culture that is otherwise foreign to me. Of all of the "Amish fiction" authors, I think Cindy Woodsmall is my favorite, and she did not disappoint with her new book "Fraying at the Edge".

“Christmas in Apple Ridge” Review

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for this review from Blogging for Books. All opinions expressed are my own.

You all know by now that I am a fan of Amish fiction, and Cindy Woodsmall is one of my favorite authors for this genre. Christmas in Apple Ridge is a collection of three novellas: The Sound of Sleigh Bells, The Christmas Singing and (new!) The Dawn of Christmas. When my book arrived, I was a little overwhelmed at how thick this book is and thought I would get bored by the end.

“The Harvest of Grace” Book Review

Sylvia Fisher is one of the many daughters of an Amish farmer and despite her great skill in caring for the farm, she has little respect or status in her father’s eyes. After being betrayed by the man she loved, she leaves home to work on another farm. There, she meets Aaron who has gone through struggles of his own to overcome alcoholism. Though they have opposite goals on the farm, their problems seem to draw them together. Sylvia meets friends and learns to trust and love for the first time in her life in this simple, heartwarming book.

Seasons of Tomorrow Book Review

Disclosure: I received this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Seasons of Tomorrow is the fourth and final book in the Amish Vines and Orchard Series by Cindy Woodsmall. The story of Rhoda, Samuel and their loved ones/friends continues as they work to build their orchard in Maine.

Books in a series drive me a little crazy because I forget so much of what happens in one book before the next one comes out. I found myself getting frustrated while reading Seasons of Tomorrow by Cindy Woodsmall because I spent so much of the book trying to figure out what she was referring to when bringing up events from past books. I think the author could have provided a bit more detail when referencing events from previous books in the series because I felt very lost at times. But then, I can be a bit forgetful.

Other than the lack of detail, I did enjoy the book quite a bit. I loved seeing the development of old and new relationships throughout the book, and felt the ending was a wonderful way to wrap up the series. I read the last page and felt a sense of closure, as opposed to previous books in the series where I was left hanging.

Overall, I thought this was a great read. It is well-written and has an enjoyable story line. I love that Woodsmall's books are clean and wholesome, while entertaining.