The Scent of Cherry Blossoms - Cindy Woodsmall

Annie Martin is an Old Order Mennonite and loves the Plain ways. She has a great relationship with her grandfather and wishes the one with her mother was a lot stronger. After a hard days work, Annie ends up arguing with her mother yet again to which she is asked every politely that she live with her Daadi Moses in Apple Ridge.

As Annie leaves New York to live in Pennsylvania, she reacquaints her friendship with the Zook family especially the handsome Aden Zook an Old Order Amish. As she spends more time with him, at the diner and among the cherry blossom trees, she realizes that she's falling in love with him. Can their love bridge the path between the two faiths?

A novella that is filled to the brim with genuine happiness, fear, cowardice, hope and essentially love. The characters Woodsmall has created are full of life and so real. In between reading about Annie and Aden's search to be together, you meet the rest of the family and get a glimpse of how they feel about the union. The reader will meet Roman, Aden's twin brother disabled from an accident who is filled with such bitterness and self-pity that he doesn't realize the right girl is right in front of him.

The story may come across as a tad twee or even mushy, but it's a romance - what else would you want? It's a shame that it is only 190 odd pages as it's a great story and I would have liked to have read a little more on the lives of the Zook and Martin clans.  A recommended read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook and Multnomah Publishing Group. I am not required to give a positive review and the opinions expressed are my own.