For Every Season

By: Cindy Woodsmall

Narrated by: Stina Nielsen

Working hard to develop a new Amish community outside of Unity, Maine, Rhoda Byler is fully committed to rehabilitating an orchard with business partner Samuel King. But an impulsive decision has created an unexpected strain in her relationship with her beau, Samuel’s brother, Jacob, threatening plans for the orchard.

Amidst mounting tension in matters of the heart and business, Rhoda finds that this fledging settlement feels like the home she has always longed for, and she begins to embrace the God-given, heightened intuition that has always felt like a burden to her. She longs for Jacob to fully be free of his past, so they can work towards the future together. But as Rhoda uses her gift to unpack an old secret with her Englisch neighbors, it is not her beau but an unlikely ally that cheers her on.

With the orchard on shaky ground and Jacob’s plans in question, Rhoda is determined to see things through to harvest. But can she trust her insight to direct her path in matters of the heart?

©2013 Cindy Woodsmall (P)2013 Recorded Books

the saga continues

This is the third book in this series set in Maine with two Amish families trying to resuscitate an abandoned apple orchard. The author states it was originally intended to be a trilogy but she needs one more book, #4, to bring the series to closure. I'm not sure what you call a four book series? At the core of this series it's about two brothers that love the same woman and she loves them both, just in different ways. Ms. Woodsmall's strength as a writer is her character development and her insight into human nature and relationships. She uses these talents to bring the characters and the story to life. I really enjoy her books. I'll anxiously await book #4 next year.

A good plot that drags

Cindy Woodsmall has good story lines, but her writing sometimes drags. This book dragged on anon with a lot of filler. I also dislike the way she misrepresents gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as words of wisdom and knowledge. We are not taught that those come through dead people, and the leading by a dead person is against scripture.

The narrator is good, but not great. The best narrators use appropriate accents and a depth of emotion that matches the manuscript.

Honest & Wholesome

I love these characters and the grace they exhibit to each other...even when they disagree!

Thank you

Wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed the book as well as the others in this series. Keep up the good writing.

On and on!

The story was great. The narration was great. However, this story could have easily been told in two books vs three. The climax came and went in less than 15 minutes (audio version).

Couldn't stop listening so very, very good!!!!!!

This book had everything you want in a good book. So many characters and stories within the story. Kept me guessing till the very end how it was going to come out. Fantastic!!!!

I liked it but...

What did you like best about For Every Season? What did you like least?

I'm a big fan of Cindy Woodsmall's books, but this series really drags. The three book series could really have been trimmed down to two books. There was so much dialogue that never went anywhere.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I think it dragged out too long. The series and this book could have ended much quicker.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I think Stina is very talented, and I don't know who produced the book, but the reading was very slow, so if you can put it up to 1.5 speed, that would work out better. Also, I listen using earbuds and there were several areas where I heard background noise. As an audio book producer myself, I guess I could be hyper picky, but I would never turn in audio to an author or publisher with the noise I heard in the background. Most people might not catch it, but I heard it clearly.

Did For Every Season inspire you to do anything?

Not really. I enjoy Ms. Woodsmall's books, but this wasn't her best.