For Every Season: Amish Vines and Orchards Book 3 by Cindy Woodsmall ~ Review

Amish family riding in a traditional Amish buggy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For Every Season: Amish Vines and Orchards Book 3 by Cindy Woodsmall

I have already reviewed books 1 and 2 of the Amish Vines and Orchards series. Their reviews can be read here and here.

This is book three of the Amish Vines and Orchards series. Book four is scheduled to be released in April, 2014. While this book could possibly be enjoyed when read alone, it best read as a continuation of the first two books in the series.

In the second book, a love triangle develops between Samuel King, his brother Jacob King, and Rhoda Byler. It isn’t obvious at first until the end of the second book which leaves the readers with a cliff hanger instead of a resolution. Book three focuses on Jacob’s character, answering some of the mysteries implied in the previous book. His past is so complicated, however, that it continues to intrude on his relationship with Rhoda until dynamics in the three is forced to evolve. The characters experience confusion, indecision, painful angst, loyalty issues, frustrations and more as the story rolls out. The author skillfully keeps her readers on tender-hooks trying to discover what the future holds for the three until the very last chapters.

In the meantime another relationship, between Leah King and Landon Olsen, develops by leaps and bounds. In book one, Leah is a rebellious teenager determined to break every Amish rule possible. However we see some change of heart in book two when she moves to Maine with her brothers, Rhoda, Rhoda’s brother Steven and his family, and Rhoda’s loyal assistant of many years, Landon to help establish the new Maine branch of the King Orchard business. I enjoyed watching Leah grow in maturity in this book as she continues to struggle with her identity and whether to remain Amish or leave the order some time in the future. It is hard to foresee how she will decide, so I am looking forward to the next book in the series. The reader can’t help but hope she makes a wise decision.

There’s an intriguing mix of character development and surprising twists and turns that kept me reading this story in suspenseful anticipation. The author clearly knows how to portray real flesh-and-blood people and relationships that makes it easy to become attached to them. The events in the final chapters of this book had me in tears, hoping for a positive turn of events at the last moment. The final scenes are not your usual happily ever after ending, and left me strongly yearning to read the next book soon. But there is still enough resolution to be able to feel optimistic for the future.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from Blogging for Books, a service of Waterbrook Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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