Cindy Woodsmall wins again with Ties that Bind. Her Amish fiction is lovely and always has a twist usually not associated with the Amish.

Two women are giving birth at an Amish birthing center.....one Amish and one Englisch. One woman embroiders tiny baby feet on a receiving blanket as she waits. Her daughter is wrapped in that blanket at birth. Each woman gives birth to a daughter, and one of the women also delivers a son. Suddenly, a fire breaks out. Everyone is rescued, but the birthing center burns to the ground.

Fast forward twenty years. Suddenly, the identity of the two girls born twenty years ago is questioned. The identity of the girls has always been based on the embroidered blanket. Is it possible that, during the excitement of the fire, the blankets fell off the girls and each girl was rewrapped in the wrong blanket?

I read this book in one sitting. I would highly recommend Ties that Bind to readers trying Amish fiction for the first time, as well as to readers devoted to the genre.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free digital copy of this title to review from Net Galley.

#TiesThatBind#NetGalley

Great book and story. One can relate to the characters and have empathy for them. This story is a little different than what I am used to with Amish fiction. But I absolutely loved it and I feel that the three books would make a great book club selection.

Ties that Bind is book #1 in the series. It's typical of a Cindy Woodsmall book - it's an enjoyable and sweet Amish novel that readers will enjoy. I will say there were a lot of characters to keep track of in this one!

Ariana and her twin brother, Abram were born at a birthing center where there was a fire. Another woman, Brandi Nash who was an Englisher, gave birth to a little girl that night. Everyone was able escape from the birthing center.

Flash forward 20 years and Ariana is being courted by Rudy Hershberger and she's planning to open a café in Summer Grove. Ariana and her brother have been saving their money to put down 20% for the building and Ariana is working for Berta Schlabach. Berta is in the hospital so Ariana takes care of her animals, where she sees Quill Schlabach. Quill had left the Amish community unexpectedly five years ago and since then, he has helped other Amish leave the community. Ariana becomes concerned when she learns that it is someone from her family wants to leave the Amish ways.

Brandi Nash's daughter, Skylar lives with her mother in Bellflower Creek, Pennsylvania and is going to college.
Unfortunately because of her love for music and acting, she gets involved with drugs. Ariana's other brother, Mark is working on stage for the college when he sees Skylar and notices that she looks just like their sister, Salome. Lovina Brenneman is worried that the girls might have been switched in the escape from the fire at the birthing center. Lovina and her husband, Isaac ask Quill to help to find out the truth.

There's so much more going on in this story... you'll just have to grab a copy to learn more. I enjoyed the book and it was definitely a very fast read, as I was flipping pages just to get to the next part of the story! I can't wait to read book #2 in the series!

TIES THAT BIND is the first book in Ms. Woodsmalls newest series, The Amish of Summer Grove. This is a series that is all tied together, so readers will need to read them in order – TIES THAT BIND, Fraying at the Edge, and Gathering the Threads. The good news is that you won’t have to wait long to read Gathering the Threads as it is newly released.

TIES THAT BIND starts slow, and at first I was confused what the fire had to do with anything, but it all ties together. Ariana is a very sweet Amish girl who loves her family with everything she has in her. She loved Quill but he hurt her deeply when he left with Ari’s best friend, and now she doesn’t trust him—especially when she discovers that he is the reason why Amish disappear in the still of the night. And when she learns that one of her family is planning on leaving she is desperate to find out who and stop them!

Quill is a dear and I love his level head, his ability to think on his feet and his caring nature. Even though he loves Ariana deeply his biggest desire is to keep her from getting hurt and he’s happy for her when she finds love with another.

When the upset comes, everyone is stunned and hurt and I am anxious to read Fraying at the Edge to find out what happens next! I’m sure it’s going to be a page turner. Stay tuned, as I will be reading that book soon.

Don’t miss TIES THAT BIND. A spell-binding book that kept me engaged and left me anxious for more. I was provided a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own.