New Amish romance/mystery

Rhoda Byler has left her home behind to join the King brothers, particularly Jacob and Samuel,  in helping make their apple orchard a successful combined business and then, after tragedy strikes the orchard, several of them have purchased an abandoned orchard in Maine to restore. Perhaps the move to Maine and a new Amish settlement will help Rhoda make a clean start,  leaving behind her past and moving beyond the guilt she feels over her sister's murder.  But things don't happen exactly as planned.  Rhoda still has the visions she has almost been banned from the Amish community for and hers and Jacob's relationship is threatened by his past. Samuel, on the other hand, has realized he too is beginning to have feelings for Rhoda but continues to maintain a distance out of honor for his brother.  It seems everyone has a secret or hidden past that continues to get in the way.



First of all, let me say that I have never read anything by Cindy Woodsmall  that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed but do you ever feel like you've walked in on the middle of a conversation?  I try to make it my reading "policy" never to read a series unless in order and usually until not all are published as I get impatient waiting for the next book to be released.  I probably should have adhered to my "policy".  Ms. Woodsmall, thankfully, did begin Winnowing Season with a brief summary of book 1, A  Season for Tending but I still felt like I was missing a lot of character development and plot that would have allowed me to grab onto The Winnowing Season a bit quicker than I did. However, as always, Ms. Woodsmall has again written another fabulous Amish story that deviates quite a bit from what I have come to expect from the plethora of Amish novels being written today.  So, pick it up and hurry.  Book 3, For Every Season will be on bookstore shelves this September and these first two will leave you hanging and ready for more!  In a nutshell, you can't go wrong with any of Ms. Woodsmall's books.   To find out more on the author and read first chapters from her novels, check out http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/author-spotlight.php?authorid=72213.

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and was in no way obligated to leave a positive review.