Ties That Bind - The Amish of Summer Grove 1 - by Cindy Woodsmall

This was a wonderful, fascinating story! Twenty-year-old Ariana Brenneman loves to bake and wants to open a cafe to help her large family have a little more breathing room financially. She and her twin brother have been saving for years toward that goal. She's just started dating a man she could get serious about and her life starts to feel like it's all coming together. Suddenly, she runs into Quill, the man she loved as a teenager who had left the Amish community behind along with her good friend. It's been five long years and she finds out that he's been helping people leave the Amish and someone in her family is next.

Quill had his reasons for leaving, ones he still can't share with Ariana. He wants to protect her, though, and soon is asked by her parents to dig into the circumstances surrounding her birth. He wants Ariana to trust him again, but knows that when the truth comes out, he may lose it forever. As he digs for the truth, he also tries to help Ariana figure out a way to earn the rest of the money so she can close on the cafe. He knows she'll need that victory to deal with the truth that's coming to light about her connection to a girl named Skylar Nash.

There were a couple unique aspects that really made this book stand out. Most Amish books don't deal with the negative aspects of Amish life so to show a man who not only has left the Amish, but is also helping others leave was interesting. The situation with Ariana and Skylar was fascinating, too, but I won't reveal what that was about! I really liked Ariana and her twin, especially the situation with his unrequited love for a certain girl. Both Ariana and Quill had a strong faith. I liked the interesting conversations they would have. Quill was really an upstanding guy who put other people ahead of himself. There were some cute romantic moments. I'm excited to see where the series goes! There were so many fascinating situations to be resolved. Cindy Woodsmall is one of my favorite authors of Amish fiction. I highly recommend it!

I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review.        

This whole series is now available!  Book three was just released on Tuesday and they're all wonderful.  My reviews of the other two books were also posted on my blog this week.