A Love Undone - A Book Review

When it comes to Amish fiction Cindy Woodsmall is definitely one of my favorite authors.  She has a way of writing about the Amish community that brings it to life and makes the characters seem real and relate-able.   In her most recent novel, A Love Undone, she tells a beautiful story of shattered dreams and God's unfailing grace.  The main male character is Andy Fischer.  If you are familiar with Cindy Woodsmall's books that name may ring a bell.  We were first introduced to Andy in The Dawn of Christmas, we only seen a few glimpses of his character then as he was a minor character.  Since Andy did not have a main story line in The Dawn of Christmas you don't need to read it before you read A Love Undone, however, it is a great story that I think you will love, so you may want to pick up both of these great novels.

More about the book:

In A Love Undone Jolene is a young 19 year old girl who is on the brink of having all her dreams come true.  She is getting ready to marry Van in just 10 days and then she will follow her dreams of painting and selling her work.   In a blink of an eye her world comes crashing down around her.  When her mom and dad are killed in an accident, Jolene is overcome with grief but knows she must step up to the responsibility of taking care of her siblings so they are not separated.  Ten years have now passed and Jolene is comfortable with the role of who she is.  Most of her siblings have started a life of their own except for Hope and Ray who are the youngest.  Ray was struck  by lightening when he was a young child and has many problems as a result.

Andy Fischer is a "grass widower" (a man whose wife has left him) with a young son named Tobias.  He trains horses for a living and when Andy and Jolene come together to train some horses from the Humane Society sparks instantly fly.  When Jolene realizes that they cannot be together because of his marital status her heart is broken.  They fight their feelings and remain separated from each other, but despite their best efforts their feelings for each other remain and the rumors begin to circulate.

A few thoughts:

I really enjoyed the story of Ray.  Reading about his struggle with his emotions and anxieties and watching him come to age was really enjoyable.

Andy and Jolene's story was very unique and I was a little concerned about how the author was going to write this story and keep it "safe" since it was dealing with a married man.  As to not give too much away I will only say that I was very pleased with how the story was concluded.  Both Jolene and Andy are such admirable characters that want to please God and the elders of the church, even if it means sacrificing their own happiness.  It is also a great story of God's healing.  Sometimes life happens and it is not at all what we expected, but God can heal our hearts and help us to come out victorious!

If you want to learn more about the author and her other books you can check out her website at www.cindywoodsmall.com

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.