The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall - a book review

This book is more of a novella than a full novel, and while it is not technically a sequel to the Christmas Singing, it does reacquaint us with some of the characters from that novella.  Cindy Woodsmall does a fantastic job of portraying the Amish community with insight and sensitivity.  Many people think that the Amish are governed by a strict set of rules with no consideration for feelings.  While that is true to a certain extent Woodsmall shows us that they experience many of the same feelings, hurts, sadness, disappointments and heartaches that the rest of us face. 

This book is about an Old Order Mennonite girl, Annie and an Old Order Amish boy, Aden, who fall in love. While both sects are friendly with each other and share certain beliefs and practices, there are strict rules about not intermarrying.   If they decide to pursue their love, one must sacrifice not only their faith, but risk being shunned.

They secretly meet in Annie’s grandfathers cherry orchard.  The cherry orchard plays an important part in this story with a history of its own.

As is common with novellas, there isn’t as much time to deeply develop plots and characters like there would be in a full sized novel and it seemed like the ending was very abrupt. It does, however, leave us with a hint of another ‘sister’ novella with Aden’s brother, Roman, as a central character.
Cindy Woodsmall is one of my favorite Christian authors and I can't wait for the next peek into the lives of the people of Apple Ridge and Zook'z diner.

The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall (Chapter 1 Excerpt)

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books and WaterBrook Press  through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”