The Bridge of Peace

I have read a book by Cindy Woodsmall before and while I enjoyed it, I didn't find it exceptional - The Bridge of Peace was exceptional. I was immediately drawn into the character's lives, feeling their own pains and sufferings as if they were there with them. The story was well written and very easy to slide into, though part of a series, and while it took me a few chapters to get in mind who each of the characters were, once I had that figured out I fell in love with each of them.

Grey was probably my favorite character. Yeah, you may think I am just saying that because he's the hero(who doesn't like the hero?), but I personally really loved his character and personality. He reminded me of a very close friend of mine. He was caring and show more considerate, but at the same time he had a very funny sense of humor. The way he interacted with Lena during some of the scenes had me laughing out loud - they were hilarious together! His carefree attitude and longing to fix the broken relationship between him and his wife made me love him from the get go. And not only all that, but his name is cool and has been added to my favorites list. ;-)

Lena was also a very likeable character. Like Grey, I instantly fell in love with her playfulness and sense of humor. Lena was a lot like me - a prankster. ;-) I couldn't help but laugh at some of the things she did to her friends and family...it was very funny! I loved the amount of realisticness( I don't think that's a word but oh well) that was displayed in Lena's character by her feeling somehow marred by the birthmark on her cheek. The lessons Lena learns throughout the book were great examples and really made me stop and reflect on my own life.

Jonathan, Deborah, Cara, and Ephraim were all also excellent characters in the book. I loved each of them and their personalities. Lori and Ivan were also cute and I loved having them added to the story.

This book was actually very clean. I only have a few things to point out, the first being that it is made known that Grey and his wife haven't been together for two years and have been sleeping in different rooms. This is a very minor, minor thing but I wanted to point it out. Also Grey sees a woman in her pj's with her hair down. While that isn't a big deal for modern Englishers, it's a big deal for the Amish, where men aren't allowed to see a woman's hair down until matrimony and the women wear long dresses that cover all of their skin. It mentions that he sees some flesh on her shoulder, and then a few sentences later mentions desire filling him. Other than that all I have to point out are kisses that take place between several different couples in the book.

All in all, this was an excellent book that I highly recommend for Amish fiction lovers. The Bridge of Peace was a great read and I will not soon forget it. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Woodsmall's work. show less

Woodsall writes stories that are not all goodness and light. Stories where not everyone lives happily ever after. In this second book of the Ada's House series, Woodsall continues the saga of Cara, Levi, Ada, and the rest of the Dry Lake and Hopes Crossing characters. This time one of the characters is a sociopath young Amishman who has it in for Teacher Lena. There is also Grey and his wife, Elsie, who live in a 'wanting' marriage. Sleeping in seperate bedrooms, Elsie is determined to have no more children with Grey.

Some of the characters are dark and sad. Cara is still fighting the Old Order Amish Ordnung and trying to bring her Englischer ways into the community. While the book is not boring, it didn't leave me with the 'happy all show more over' feeling I get from other inspirational books. show less

I enjoyed this book a lot and getting to know the characters of Dry Creek and Hope's Crossing a bit better. Cindy Woodsmall writes characters that are real and not stereotypical Amish, except maybe the school board. I hope the author continues to put out more Amish fiction after this series. I also enjoyed her nonfiction book, "Plain Wisdom."

The Bridge of Peace is the sequel to Hope of Refuge, with the conclusion of the Ada’s House series due out in the fall of 2011. In this book Cara and Ephraim’s courting is continued, where Cara tries to learn the Old Ways in order to be Ephraim’s wife. New to the series characters is Lena, who is an Amish woman who has been in the world and has chosen to come back to the community to be a teacher. We also meet Deborah and Ada who are struggling to have a successful business and finds lots of interesting ways to market and expand their wares. There is a lot of character development, which allows you to become close with the characters. I liked that they helped the reader to understand some of the Amish ways and that Amish or not, show more people have disputes, problems, and family and marital issues. I found it interesting to learn how they as a community help each other, solve problems through elders, and manage to stay a community within the world, yet outside of it. I found this novel to be informative, heartbreaking, suspenseful & charming. I would encourage any adult to read this delightful novel. show less

I was only going to read a few pages and go to bed. I ended up reading the whole book. It just drew me in and before I knew it I was done. It is book two in a series. I didn't read the first book and I think it would have been better reading them in order. But it stands alone very well. I'm going to reading more of Cindy Woodsmall in the future. I really enjoyed The Bridge of Peace.

THE BRIDGE OF PEACE by Cindy Woodstock is an interesting and amazing inspirational Amish fiction set in present day Amish country. It it the second in "THE ADA HOUSE SERIES",Book One, "Hope of Refuge",but can be read as a stand alone.It is well written with depth and details.It is about an Amish young women,Lena,,who is a teacher and has a birthmark on her cheek. She has endured ridicule,humiliation,and talk behind her back.She only wants a family of her own her,to teach school,find love and happiness.Grey,her long time friend,has problems of his own with his marriage,a son who has a handicap,a wife who has gone cold in their marriage
and dealing with how to bring his marriage to what it used to be. While Lena is dealing with show more rambunctious children,and a school board she has defiled their word.She believes her students should be able to learn. Then a tragic accident happens,leaving a wife dead,a husband and a student full of guilt,the school board furious with Lena,someone is not only trying to discredit Lena but is also planning to get rid of her.While Lena and Grey are finding their way ,they find they are not only facing deception,but Lena is facing danger,she isn't even aware of,and they are fighting their own feelings. They will have to build a bridge of peace to survive.This story is of love,faith,deception,redemption forgiveness, and the power of second chances. This is a fast paced story of the Amish faith and their power of moving forward.If you enjoy Amish,romance,faith,a little mystery you will enjoy this one.A great read. This book was received for the purpose of review from the publisher and details can be found at WaterBrook Press,Multnomah and My Book Addiction Reviews. show less

REally enjoyed this book. I fyou enjoy a simple Amish love story, you will LOVE this book