Thursday, March 29, 2012

{The Scent of Cherry Blossoms}


Cindy Woodsmall is a popular writer of Amish fiction. She has written many books about the Amish community, most of them being fiction romance. I have read many of them and loved each one. When I saw that the title of this book was The Scent of Cherry Blossoms I knew I had to read it. Cherry Blossoms are my favorite tree in the whole world. They are so beautiful and smell wonderful. In this latest book, nineteen year old Annie Martin is an Old Order Amish young woman. She is having trouble with her mother and getting along with her family in general. They live in New York (not the city, just the state) and her dad left the family many years before. Her mother has raised all of the children alone and puts a lot of responsibility on Annie so they fight a lot.

When Annie and her mother have a big argument, she is sent to live with her Daadi Moses (her mother's father) in Apple Ridge, Pennsylvania. He is strict man, but a loving man. He is protective of Annie and wants only the best for her since his own daughter does not speak to him kindly. When Annie arrives in Apple Ridge she finds herself working at a diner owned by her Daadi's neighbors. The Zook's are an Old Order Amish family who rely on the support of their Mennonite neighbor to supply them with electricity for their restaurant.

When Aden Zook finds out Annie has returned to their community he is very happy. He is the cook (and son of the family who owns the restaurant). Annie helps Aden work in the diner while his twin brother who is wheelchair bound is out of town. The two young people quickly start to have feelings for each other. They know they cannot take their feelings any farther than a friendship because their lives would be torn apart. Amish people were not to marry (or court) Mennonite people and the same goes for Mennonites. They would be banished from the community and shunned by everyone.

There is a cherry blossom orchard on Daadi Moses' property that connects with the Zook's property and Annie and Aden meet there every night. They never do anything scandalous or bad. They just talk and share their feelings and thoughts. When Moses finds out about their budding romance he immediately threatens the Zook family and tries to put a stop to it. Annie and Aden are at a loss. They love each other deeply but they know the cannot go forward with their feelings because it would tear their families apart. Annie is sent back to New York to live with her mother and Aden is crushed.

I will save the end for you to enjoy when you get a copy for yourself. I will tell you that I LOVED this book. It was so sweet and innocent. I would recommend this book to anyone. There was absolutely nothing bad in it.

"Can Annie and Aden find a place for their love to bloom in the midst of a brewing storm?" -quote from the back of the book.


God Bless,


Kristy

*I was given this book in exchange for my personal review. All opinions expressed here are solely my own.*

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