I love fall and apple picking is one of my favorite things to do in the fall. I was excited that an apple orchard was a component of Kim Vogel Sawyer's last book, When Hope Blossoms. Amy Knackstedt and her 3 children move to Kansas to start over. Amy hopes that Kansas will be just what her family needs as they try to move on from the death of her husband. They settle into their farmhouse - which needs a lot of work - and begin their new life there. Their closest neighbor is a man named Tim Roper who owns an apple orchard. Tim doesn't seem to be the friendliest neighbor, partly because Amy and her family are Mennonite - and Tim walked away from the Mennonite faith years ago. Throughout the book, Mr. Roper begins to soften and forges unlikely friendships with the children and with Amy as well.
During the course of this book, both Amy and Tim are forced to confront difficult situations from the past. These memories are preventing both of them from being able to move on with their lives.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book. I felt all of them were very believeable and I liked all of them, too. The children - Adri, Parker, and Bekah - were an interesting part of the storyline. These characters all have burdens to bear and the book does a good job of addressing sensitive family issues and dynamics. I thought this was a great book and would highly recommend it.
I did receive a free copy of this book to review through the Bethany House Book Reviewers program. All opinions are my own.
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