A Season for Tending

GIVEAWAY!

WOODSMALL, CINDY
A SEASON FOR TENDING

In a community where conformity flourishes, seeds of Rhoda’s odd behavior were planted long ago. Can she cultivate her relationships with the same care and tenderness that she gives her beloved garden?

Old Order Amish Rhoda Byler’s unusual gift and her remarkable abilities to grow herbs and berries have caused many to think her odd. As rumors mount that Rhoda’s “gift” is a detriment to the community, she chooses isolation, spending her time in her fruit garden and on her thriving canning business.

Miles away in Harvest Mills, Samuel King struggles to keep his family’s apple orchard profitable. As the eldest son, Samuel farms with his brothers, the irrepressible Jacob and brash Eli, while his longtime girlfriend Catherine remains hopeful that Samuel will marry her when he feels financially stable.

Meanwhile, Samuel’s younger sister Leah is testing all the boundaries during her rumschpringe, and finds herself far from home in Rhoda’s garden after a night of partying gone badly. But Leah’s poor choices serve as a bridge between Rhoda and the King family when a tragic mistake in the orchard leaves Samuel searching for solutions.

Rhoda’s expertise in canning could be the answer, but she struggles with guilt over the tragic death of her sister and doesn’t trust herself outside her garden walls. As the lines between business, love, and family begin to blur, can Rhoda finally open up to a new life? And what effect will this odd, amazing woman have on the entire King family?

 

My Review:

 

Totally unique among Amish fiction, A Season for Tending makes for a captivating read. Woodsmall works her magic with character and setting steeped in originality with breathtaking results. But it's also accompanied by her trademark angst so reader beware about letting these characters into your hearts. Of course, if you read the first few pages you'll be hooked and my warning will fall on deaf ears. :-)

 

Rhoda's unusual gift gives a fascinating twist to the story and is one of the reasons I found A Season for Tending such a refreshing read. What a gift for an Amish woman to have! And oh, the prejudice that abounds from both Englisch and Amish because of it. Rhoda finds herself on the outside looking in...until the King family all but take over her life. Clashing wills and sparring tongues kept me turning pages -- not to mention the sporadic bursts of humour. Just loved the way Woodsmall told this tale except...

 

Readers be warned: This first book in the Amish Vines and Orchards series doesn't so much end as lull to a pause with plenty of threads left to explore and a tangled romance to clear up. Fans of Woodsmall will know that this type of continuing series is her style. I both love it and am frustrated by it at the same time. This one has made me anxious and I'm not sure whether I will have the courage to read the second book as soon as it comes out. (The Winnowing Season, April 2013) My reader's heart is much too tender to leave bleeding for months until the concluding book hits the market. I might develop reader anemia and languish before Woodsmall wraps everything up. :-)

 

Giveaway Opportunity:

 

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of A Season for Tending, please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday October 7 2012. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!