Sunday, October 12, 2014

Book Review: A Love Undone by Cindy Woodsmall

Book Details
Title: A Love Undone
Author: Cindy Woodsmall
2014, Waterbrook Press
ISBN: 9780307730008
Genre:  Christian Fiction

Book Summary
A husband and son abandoned to forge a path alone.
A young woman who sacrificed her dreams.
How will the God of grace and hope help them find their way?


At nineteen years old, Old Order Amish Jolene Keim was on the brink of happily-ever-after when everything changed, stealing the future she expected and burdening her with an unbearable decision. For the next ten years, Jolene throws herself into family life—and then she meets Andy Fisher. The horse trainer and father to a sweet nine year-old challenges her and holds up a mirror to issues Jolene has been unwilling to face.

Andy is cautious about his deepening friendship with Jolene, but he believes she knows the truth about him – that he is a grass widower. As a man whose wife has abandoned him six years past, he is unable to divorce or remarry according to the Amish ways. Andy has wrestled with God concerning his reality, and he had found peace with the solitary future facing him…until he met Jolene.

As Andy and Jolene find themselves confronted by difficult choices, will they trust in God's guidance—or will the allure of their deepening friendship only lead to further temptation?

My Review
I always enjoy these Amish stories by Cindy Woodsmall and this one was no exception. Sometimes I feel that Amish fiction is very much in a box. Authors tend to write the same story over and over, but I usually feel like these are a little different and tackle different issues.

This story is about Jolene Keim and Andy Fisher. We met Andy briefly in the novella Dawn of Christmas. Andy is a “grass widower”, a man whose wife has left him – and the Amish faith – but according to the Amish ways, he is still bound to her in marriage and cannot divorce or marry another. He seems to have been fairly content or resigned to this role of raising his young son along until he meets Jolene.

Jolene gave up her dreams of a family of her own as the oldest of about 5 children and their parents die in a freak accident. She takes on raising her siblings alone…. but when she meets Andy she thinks she might have another chance at love. Andy challenges her to face her fears and become a better person despite the things that have happened to her in her past.

I was a little frustrated with their growing relationship and the fact that Jolene had a hard time accepting Andy’s situation even after she found out the truth about it, but honestly – relationships are complicated and messy.  Overall though, this was a good book. It tackles some of the interesting points in the Amish lifestyle, but makes you feel like the people are realistic.

A very good read for those who love Amish fiction!

Additional Resources


Disclosure: I was provided with a free copy of this book free of charge by Blogging for Books for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.


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