Gathering the Threads

"His Mamm called her the Thread Gatherer. Mann believed life was like an heirloom quilt that life ripped at the seams, and gatherers were rare. But Ariana took the frayed pieces and worked with them until the quilt could fulfill its purpose once again. Quill had seen her do it. At least once she had done it for him, when he was eighteen and his Daed died of a heart attack."

Gathering the Threads by Cindy Woodsmall is the third book in the Amish of Summer Grove series, and for this reader, I hope there is more. The best part of this novel that I really had to share is that at the beginning the author took the time to walk the reader through the previous novels to get them caught up to where this one begins. It is a rare jewel to find this in a series novel, but one I hope more authors will follow suit with.Ties That Bind and Fraying at the Edge are the first two in this series and should be read before picking this one up as it conveys so much more than a simple summary of the first two novels.

Ariana Brenneman is far from the Amish girl that her community remembers anymore, especially her boyfriend Rudy. Even her parents are struggling to figure out just how to get back the Amish girl they have raised, but not the daughter by birth. It was through an accident at birth that Ariana and Skylar Nash were switched and both grew up being raised by parents that were not theirs until they recently discovered the grave error. Since spending months with her English family, Ariana has been exposed to things she never knew before living among the Amish and never once questioning the ways they lived and believed, until now. Being forced by the ministers, her parents and boyfriend, they believe such correction is necessary to help Ariana return to her former life. She can't.

The only people that seem to understand her confusion is her best friend Quill Schlabach, also a former Amish man, Skylar, and her brother by being raised Amish Abram. They understand her confusion about trying to fit back into a society just because that is how you were raised but now are longer the same being exposed to reading the Bible for herself and understanding how the ministers in her community were manipulating things to work for themselves and not the community. It draws a line in the sand between the Amish upbringing she loved, and the new knowledge of what God has provided. Her parents are now faced with the prospect of being shunned if they can't control her defiant daughter, and her boyfriend Rudy isn't so sure he can wait for a girl that may no longer be who she was. This will be a true test of loyalty, love and faith for everyone if they hope to find a lasting peace among them all.

I received Gathering the Threads by Cindy Woodsmall compliments of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers. In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. I really love how this book took into consideration all the things going on for Ariana, being challenged in her faith and standing up for what she believes God wants for her in her life, even if it means losing everything she ever knew. She knows she can never go back to that person, because that person no longer exists. Armed with a sense of love and faith, she tries to convince her family and friends of the life she has now embraced and that it might just mean walking away from everything she had ever known even if it separates her from her Amish family. I only hope that there might be more in this series as there are so many other relationships I would love to see expanded on at the conclusion of this one. This has been one of my favorite series by Cindy Woodsmall and well worth 5 out of 5 stars.

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Gathering the Threads by Cindy Woodsmall

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