I received a complimentary copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah and was under no obligation to post a review. No compensation was received for sharing this review and all opinions are my own.
Series: The Amish of Summer Grove #1
Published by Crown Publishing Group on September 8th 2015
Source: Waterbrook Multnomah
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Christian, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 352
Suggested Age: 13+: non graphic drug use. Though not graphic, I feel older audiences will enjoy this more.
Ariana’s comfortable Old Order Amish world is about to unravel. Will holding tightly to the cords of family keep them together—or simply tear them apart?
Twenty-year-old Ariana Brenneman loves her family and the Old Ways. She has two aspirations: open a café in historic Summer Grove to help support her family’s ever-expanding brood and to keep any other Amish from being lured into the Englisch life by Quill Schlabach.
Five years ago Quill, along with her dear friend Frieda, ran off together, and Ariana still carries the wounds of that betrayal. When she unexpectedly encounters him, she soon realizes he has plans to help someone else she loves leave the Amish.
Despite how things look, Quill’s goal has always been to protect Ariana from anything that may hurt her, including the reasons he left. After returning to Summer Grove on another matter, he unearths secrets about Ariana and her family that she is unaware of. His love and loyalty to her beckons him to try to win her trust and help her find a way to buy the café—because when she learns the truth that connects her and a stranger named Skylar Nash, Quill knows it may upend her life forever.
Ties That Bind is the first novel in the Amish of Summer Grove series.
Cindy Woodsmall has done it again…put out a book that has stolen my heart. I love the characters in this story! Every single character felt very real and I appreciate that in a story. Honestly, when I finished reading this book, I looked at my daughter (who read it before I did) and asked how on earth we’re going to survive until the next installment comes out!
The character building and details in this tale are so real and complex that I can’t even begin to figure out how it is all going to wrap up. Unlike some books that I’ve read, I honestly can’t even make up my mind who I want to ship the main characters with. Take Ariana for example; Should she leave the Amish and get with Quill? Do I want Quill to come back to the Amish for her? Do I want her to stay with Rudy? I mean, he seems like a pretty good guy and I kind of hate for his feelings to get hurt. At the same time, Quill was her first love and he is definitely still in love with her. What a conundrum!
Now for the secondary characters? I’ve totally made my mind up on those. I’m really rooting for Abram and Cilla. Barbie just seems too self-absorbed for Abram and I love the sincerity that I see in Cilla. Cilla’s body may be weak but she is of great character and shows genuine care and concern for Abram. This book is just fantastic. I cannot wait to read more of the Amish of Summer Grove!
About Cindy Woodsmall
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times and CBA best-selling author who has written nineteen (and counting!) works of fiction and one of nonfiction. She and her dearest Old Order Amish friend, Miriam Flaud, coauthored the nonfiction, Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women. Cindy’s been featured on ABC Nightline and the front page of the Wall Street Journal, and has worked with National Geographic on a documentary concerning Amish life. In June of 2013, the Wall Street Journal listed Cindy as one of the top three Amish fiction writers. – Learn more about Cindy at: http://www.cindywoodsmall.com
This book sounds amazing!! I think the only other series I read by Cindy was the sisters of the quilt (which if I remember correctly you highly recommended;))
And it was an amazing series
I haven’t read her in a while but I’d love to win this book!
This sounds like a great book, I need to add it to my list to read.
When is the second book of Summer Grove coming out?
The new book is called Fraying at the Edge and comes out August 16th. Cindy Woodsmall recently announced it on her blog http://www.cindywoodsmall.com/2016/01/29/a-late-start-to-a-new-beginning/
I am ready for tge 3rd book in this series to come out. Any idea when it will be?
Fraying at the Edge was just released in August of this year. Which was 11 months after the first in the series. Which makes me think book three will be out in the fall of next year.