A Season for Tending Amish Vines and Orchards Series Review by Cindy Woodsmall

A Season for Tending by Cindy Woodsmall (Chapter 1 Excerpt)

Author’s website: http://www.cindywoodsmall.com/

more info: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?work=208962

When Rhoda was seven years old her father gave her and her older sisters a blueberry bush and a herb plant. Her sisters had other thing to do, but Rhoda (Rhodes) loved and tended hers with care, so her father gave her a new bush, herb or gardening tool for her birthday and Christmas each year. 

Rhoda has an unusual gift what you might call a, "sixth sense," “foresight”, or “gift of healing.”  She has feeling about situations and people that something bad is about to happen and Rhoda can describe the event in ways that unnerve both the Amish and Englisch in the community. Her gift causes a lot of grief to her and her family. 

Her healing comes from the knowledge of her herbs and prayer. She also raises berries and has a successful business canning the produce of her garden. The others in her community are freighted of her gifts and she is forced to tear down her herb garden.

The King family own an organic apple orchard in another Amish community. Samuel King meets Rhoda in an awkward way. He can’t deny the fact that he is fascinated with her unorthodox skills in the garden. When the Apple orchards needs help to save this year’s harvest  Samuel thinks of Rhoda and her gift in the garden.

Unlike most Amish novels the main characters don’t have any romantic feelings for one another. It would be more of a mutual respect that could combine both of their business in something spectacular. 

My thoughts:

Cindy Woodsmall has written many fantastic Amish novels. This novel is a great read overall I enjoyed it a lot. I have to say that I had trouble with Rhoda’s gift of sight. I think the story would have been better without it. I don’t think it benefited the story. 

The story was a little slow at first building the characters and the plot. The book did get more interesting as you got into it. The characters are likable and have a lot of character. They like to joke and play around and just enjoy life. Catherine drove me crazy and I was glad she didn't take up to much space in the story.

 Maybe I am like some of the community in the book and I am bias against Rhoda’s gifts. I believe in healing and other supernatural things when it comes to my God but this book just didn’t do it for me in that area. You will have to decide for yourself. As far as the other books in the series we will have to see which direction the author takes it.

Disclaimer: I provided a copy of this book from Blogging for Books- Waterbrook for free in order to write this review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and were not subject to editing from the publisher.