Monday, July 11, 2016

Fraying at the Edge By Cindy Woodsmall



Family, community, faith, and love.These “quilt blocks” sewn together made Ariana’s beautiful life.
When they are pulled to pieces,
will anything familiar remain?

The Old Order Amish life Ariana Brenneman loved vanished virtually overnight with the discovery that she was switched at birth twenty years ago. Now she’s immersed in the Englischer world, getting to know her mother and under the authority of her biological father, an atheist intellectual with resolute plans to expand Ariana’s worldview. Only Quill Schlabach, a childhood friend living Englisch, can help steady Ariana’s tilting ground between the two worlds, but can she trust him after so many betrayals?
 
At the same time, Skylar Nash is forced to choose rehab or spend several months with her true relatives, the large Brenneman family and their seemingly backward life—no electricity, no technology, no fun. What the young woman can’t leave behind is her addiction to illegal prescription drugs and deep emptiness from the belief that she doesn’t belong in either family.
 
New ties are binding Ariana and Skylar to the lives they were meant to have. Can they find the wisdom and strength they’ll need to follow God’s threads into unexpected futures?

Pick up your copy here...





Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times, CBA, ECPA, and USA Today best-selling author who has written seventeen (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 has been featured on ABC Nightline and on 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 the one of the top three most popular authors of Amish fiction.

She's won Fiction Book of the Year, Reviewer's Choice Awards, Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest, as well as one of Crossings' Best Books of the Year. She's been a finalist for the prestigious Christy, Rita, and Carol Awards, Christian Book of the Year, and Christian Retailers Choice Awards.

Her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families enrich her novels with authenticity. Though she didn't realize it at the time, seeds were sown years ago that began preparing Cindy to write these books. At the age of ten, while living in the dairy country of Maryland, she became best friends with Luann, a Plain Mennonite girl. Luann, like all the females in her family, wore the prayer Kapp and cape dresses. Her parents didn't allow television or radios, and many other modern conveniences were frowned upon. During the numerous times Luann came to Cindy's house to spend the night, her rules came with her and the two were careful to obey them--afraid that if they didn't, the adults would end their friendship. Although the rules were much easier to keep when they spent the night at Luann's because her family didn't own any of the forbidden items, both sets of parents were uncomfortable with the relationship and a small infraction of any kind would have been enough reason for the parents to end the relationship. While navigating around the adults' disapproval and the obstacles in each other's lifestyle, the two girls bonded in true friendship that lasted into their teen years, until Cindy's family moved to another region of the US.

As an adult, Cindy became friends with a wonderful Old Order Amish family who opened their home to her. Although the two women, Miriam and Cindy, live seven hundred miles apart geographically, and a century apart by customs, when they come together they never lack for commonality, laughter, and dreams of what only God can accomplish through His children. Over the years Cindy has continued to make wonderful friendships with those inside the Amish and Mennonite communities--from the most conservative ones to the most liberal.

Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in their now empty nest.

If you'd like more information or to contact her, you can go to her website: http://www.cindywoodsmall.com or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authorcindywoodsmall 

I am a fan of Cindy's so this is not going to be a surprise to most of you. I really liked book two in the Amish of Summer Grove series.
It takes right off from book one and gives you all the great details of Ariana and Skylar the babies that were switched at birth in book one.
You are going to love the story and the characters so much so that you will feel like you are watching a movie while reading this book.
I can't wait for book three. This is not your typical Amish book this a unique story. You will enjoy it.
I gave this book 4 stars and I recommend this series.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher for my honest review.

14 comments:

  1. Sounds like a really good one.

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  2. This sounds really good. I can't wait to read it. Thanks

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  3. I have been waiting on this one I loved book one Ties that Bind. thanks Mary

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    1. Emma, you are the WINNER! I will get your book right out to you.

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  4. I love her books. Blessings, Susan Fryman

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  5. This has been on my list it comes out in a month and I don't know if I can wait that long.

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  6. I love an Amish book and I love Cindy's books, Sounds like a winner to me.

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  7. Oh yeah My wife has been waiting for Cindy to come out with book two.

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  8. Here I come Amazon. I had to pre order it. But hey i will be reading it next month. Thanks Mary for telling us about this one.

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  9. oh Boy Oh boy right up my alley. thank you for sharing.

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  10. Im and library bound tomorrow.

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  11. Like like like sounds really good ,Blessings,DanaGirl

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  12. I would love to read this one. Thank you, Mary.

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  13. Can't wait to read this one! I am one of her biggest fans and also a fan of Amish fiction. Thanks Mary!

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