Book Review: The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall

The Scent of Cherry Blossoms: A Romance from the Heart of Amish Country by Cindy Woodsmall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the book:
Annie Martin loves the Plain ways of her Old Order Mennonite people, like those revered by her beloved grandfather. Retreating from a contentious relationship with her mother, Annie goes to live with her Daadi Moses in Apple Ridge.

But as spring moves into Pennsylvania and Annie spends time amongst the cherry trees with the handsome Aden Zook, she wishes she could forget how deeply the lines between the Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonite are drawn.

Can Annie and Aden find a place for their love to bloom in the midst of the brewing storm?

My review:

This book is a sister story to The Christmas Singing by the same author which involves Mattie and Gideon.

I enjoyed the story, the blossoming romance and the innocence of Annie and Aden's love. The story line while not strong, was interesting and did keep my attention. In fact, I read the book in two days!

I've always had a fascination with the Amish but I was not aware of the Old Order Mennonites. It was interesting to learn the different cultures and to see how they could clash on some fronts like dating, but mesh on others like work partnerships. The author did a very good job of describing these differences and attitudes.

Overall I thought this was a pleasing read and I enjoyed it. You can check out the first chapter of the book here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/75790909/The-Scent-of-Cherry-Blossoms-by-Cindy-Woodsmall-Chapter-1-Excerpt

About Cindy Woodsmall:
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times best-selling author whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. She is the author of six novels, two novellas and Plain Wisdom, a work of non-fiction co-authored with her dearest Old Order Amish friend. Cindy lives in Georgia with her family.

This book was provided to me by Waterbrook Multnomah as part of the Blogging for Books program. All opinions expressed are my own.

Love and Blessings!

Margaret

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Book Review: Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the book:
In 1837, Lisbeth Wainwright is born to the white mistress of a sprawling Virginia plantation. Seconds later, she is delivered into the arms of her black wet nurse, Mattie. For a field hand like Mattie, her transfer to the big house is supposed to be considered an honor—except that the move tears Mattie away from her beloved grandfather and her infant son, Samuel. But Mattie is a slave, with no say in the matter, and so she devotes herself to her master’s daughter, though she longs to be raising her own child. Growing up under Mattie’s tender care, little Lisbeth adopts the woman’s deep-seated faith in God, her love of music and black-eyed peas, and the tradition of hunting for yellow crocuses in the early days of spring.

As the years pass, Lisbeth is drawn slowly back into her white parents’ world and begins to learn the ins and outs of life for a high-born young lady. Still she retains her connection to Mattie, befriending Samuel and drifting comfortably between the two worlds. She accepts her parents’ assertion that their slaves depend upon them for guidance and protection, yet that notion becomes more and more difficult to believe as she gains awareness of the inequality of life in the big house versus the slave quarters. When, on the threshold of her society wedding to debonair Edward Cunningham, Lisbeth bears witness to a shockingly brutal act, the final vestiges of her naiveté crumble around her. Just twenty-one years old, she is forced to choose between what is socially acceptable and what is right, a decision that will change her life forever.

This compelling historical novel chronicles young Lisbeth Wainwright’s coming-of-age during one of the most difficult chapters of American history. Lisbeth’s powerful bond with Mattie makes her loss of innocence in the face of society’s ugly secrets all the more heartbreaking, and yet it is the courage she learns from her stand in mother that enables Lisbeth to blaze a new path for herself. Yellow Crocus offers moving proof of how the greatest social change often blooms forth from small personal acts of love.

My review:

Included the whole book description here because it pretty much captures what I would say regarding the book.

My first impression was that this was going to be another I love my slave mammy more than my white mother. And it was that a little bit. But it was a lot more too. Following Lisbeth through her life and her thought processes was interesting. She was extremely naive and I guess innocent as to what was going on around her on the slave plantation.  Her family "believed" the slaves needed them to survive. As she matured and realized that things were not exactly as they seemed, she developed an attitude of blindness. Fortunately for her, she reached the point where she realized the terrible legacy of slavery and made some difficult choices.

By the end of the book I had gained a certain respect for Lisbeth and Mattie. I enjoyed the book very much.

This is a book from my personal collection.

Love and Blessings!

Margaret

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Book Review: Stand By Me by Neta Jackson

Stand By Me by Neta Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the book:
Kathryn Davies is a bright young woman form a prominent Phoenix family. But after making a leap of faith at a Christian music fest, dropping out of med school, and moving to inner city Chicago, her family all but disowns her.

When Kat discovers SouledOut Community Church, she longs to become a part of the multicultural church family. But her tendency to immediately say whatever she's thinking steps on the toes of nearly everyone she meets-especially Avis Douglass.

Avis has a strong faith, is the principal of one of Chicago's highest performing elementary schools, and is a founding member of SouledOut. But the country's economic downturn has thrown both her and her husband's jobs in question. And Avis hasn't heard from her youngest daughter in months-an estrangement that gnaws at her every day. Where is God in this?

Kat's flamboyant zeal for living a "radical" Christian life is a stark contrast to Avis's more reserved faith. But in God's timing, the two women discover they need each other in ways neither of them expected.

My review:
I wasn't sure what to think about this book at first. It takes place in Chicago at a diverse church called Souled Out Community Church. Avis is leading worship and four white college students are coming in. What is book is not is a sappy romance where everything is smooth sailing. What this book is, is a realistic picture of relationships including the one we as Christians have with Jesus. This is a truly Christian fiction book where the author was not afraid to proclaim the gospel or share bits of scripture throughout. I loved that she had the characters worshipping, praying, and ministering. A lot of times the author is so concerned about appealing to the crossover audiences, they forget to include Jesus.

As far as the characters, it was interesting to see the relationship between Avis and Kat develop. I feel like most of the story was about them even though the author did an excellent job of developing the other characters, especially Peter, Nick and Rochelle. Judging people is something that I think we all do. That type of attitude almost cost Avis her daughter and Kat a valuable friendship. It wasn't until they took a deeper look that they realized they needed each other.

What I took away the most is that having a relationship with Jesus is not just one thing. It's not just praying or worshiping or meeting for Bible Study. It's about living the life the Jesus lived. I think by the end of this book, each of the characters learned a lot more about their relationship with Jesus and some important ways to build on it. So did I.

I will look forward to future books in this series.

This book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze program. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Love and Blessings!

Margaret

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Book Review: The Whipping Club by Deborah Henry

The Whipping Club by Deborah Henry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From the book:

Deborah Henry's new historical novel, THE WHIPPING CLUB (T.S Poetry Press, March 2012, available in print and e-book formats) is a literary page-turner and a tale of redemption, set against the backdrop of violence and deeply entrenched prejudice in 1960s Ireland as told through the heartrending experience of one inter-faith family. In it, an Irish Catholic woman, Marian, in love with a Jewish journalist hides the birth of her out-of-wedlock child to save her future marriage. The child she has relinquished does not end up with an American family as promised. Instead, he is committed to a notorious Catholic orphanage where there is little hope for his survival.

Tormented by feelings of remorse and guilt that have plagued her throughout her marriage to the boy's father, the woman must confront the truth and reveal her long-buried secret. While putting her marriage and family at risk, she determines to save her son and in so doing correct the terrible wrongs of her own past and challenge a system that chronically serves up children to abusive clergy.

My review:

This was a very interesting read for me, something that was completely outside of my comfort zone.

I felt that the author did a very good job of developing her characters from the good Catholic mother Marian, the Jewish father Ben, sister Johanna and Adrian, the child that was given away. It was easy to relate to their personalities and behaviors. The story begins with Marian being rejected by Ben's mother and deciding to enter a "convent" to deal with the baby she felt was unwanted. As the story goes on, it's revealed that Ben knows more than he let on. Johanna, the "kept" child, begins to sense that there's something going on and gets involved when she overhears some conversations. Adrian has no clue that he has a family and it comes a surprise when they come to visit. Unfortunately this is not a happily ever after story and there are quite a few horrible scenarios spelled out.

I thought the book was a bit long. It took 40 chapters (although some were really short) to get to the point of the title. I think the story could have been told in much less words. I related to the characters and enjoyed the development of the personalities. I did think this was something that could and probably did happen during the time period related to the book. Overall, I thought the book was well done and the story was told in an engaging manner.

I received the galley of this book from the publisher on NetGalley, for the purpose of review. Opinions expressed are my own.

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