When an unthinkable loss sends Tara Abbott’s life spiraling out of control, she journeys from North Carolina to Georgia’s St. Simons Island. Although confused and scared, she hopes to find answers about her past – her life before the years of foster care and raising her two half-brothers as a young adult. Will she find steady ground on the island, surrounded by an eccentric-but-kindhearted group of older women called The Glynn Girls and a determined firefighter? Or will the truth splinter what’s left of her identity into pieces?
Cindy Woodsmall is the “New York Times” and CBA best-selling author of eighteen works of fiction. She’s been featured in national media outlets such as ABC’s “Nightline” and the “Wall Street Journal”. Cindy has won numerous awards and has been finalist for the prestigious Christy, Rita, and Carol Awards. Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in Flowery Branch, GA.
Erin Woodsmall is a writer, musician, wife, and mom of three. She has edited, brainstormed, and researched books with Cindy for almost a decade. She is very excited about their first coauthored book.
Find out more about Cindy and Erin at http://www.cindywoodsmall.com.
My Impressions:
Some reviews seem to write themselves — a quick summary of likes and dislikes, with a nod to setting and characters and faith elements. Others, not so much. This is one of those times when the words I pen just don’t seem to do the book justice. As The Tide Comes In is the second collaborative novel from best-selling author Cindy Woodsmall and her daughter-in-law, Erin Woodsmall. Cindy Woodsmall is known for her unique take on the Amish. She is a big favorite of my book club and the only author of Amish fiction we read as a group. But this novel is a big departure from her writing roots. I don’t know how the partnership between these two authors is set up since the writing is seamless, but it sure does work! This book is part Southern women’s lit, part romance, part mystery, but definitely wholly great! I highly recommend As The Tide Comes In.
Tara Abbott has faced a lot of struggles in her life. From abandonment as a very young child, to a life spent in the foster care system, to being the sole caretaker of younger half-brothers, Tara has had to dig deep within herself to carry on. In the blink of an eye everything changes, and Tara is left lost and confused and far away from all she knows about herself and God. I am amazed at how well the authors portrayed Tara’s character. They got everything right. Emotional, spiritual, and physical responses are masterfully depicted. Other characters could have become stereotypes, but were also well-drawn and given a convincing complexity. The setting of the novel is St. Simon’s Island, a place I have visited a few times. As The Tide Comes In brought back vivid memories of this wonderful place in the Golden Isles. There are a lot of hard things in this book. So hard, I wasn’t sure I would be able to get through it. But even in the blackest of events the authors shared glimmers of hope and joy. There are also a lot of things to talk about, but perhaps the thing that touched me the most was the idea of living a life as a vessel of love. What a wonderful way to describe the relationship between God and His people and our joint roles in reaching a hurting world.
Should you read As The Time Comes In? Oh YES!! I also think you should read it with a friend or group of friends. Trust me. You are going to want to discuss this book.
Highly Recommended.
Audience: adults.
To purchase, click HERE.
(Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Arson wasn’t the only fire that ignited between them.
Cindy Woodsmall is the “New York Times” and CBA best-selling author of eighteen works of fiction. She’s been featured in national media outlets such as ABC’s “Nightline” and the “Wall Street Journal”. Cindy has won numerous awards and has been finalist for the prestigious Christy, Rita, and Carol Awards. Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in Flowery Branch, GA.
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times, CBA, ECPA, and USA Today best-selling author who has written seventeen (and counting!) works of fiction and one of nonfiction.
Erin Woodsmall is a writer, musician, wife, and mom of three. She has edited, brainstormed, and researched books with Cindy for almost a decade. She is very excited about their first coauthored book.
Despite being raised in a traditional Old Order Amish family, seventeen-year-old Hannah Lapp desires to break with custom, forgo baptism into the faith, and marry outside the cloistered community. She’s been in love with Mennonite Paul Waddell for three years, and before returning to college for his senior year, Paul asks Hannah to be his wife. Hannah accepts, aware that her marriage will change her relationship with her family forever.
Raised among the Amish of Indiana, 18-year-old Marianna Sommer plans to get baptized into the church, marry Aaron Zook, and set up life in the only community she has ever known. But when her older brother chooses the world’s path following his rumschpringe, and a younger sibling begins showing interest in Englisch ways, Marianna’s parents move the family to Montana.
On a hot day in 1737 in Rotterdam, Anna König reluctantly sets foot on the Charming Nancy, a merchant ship that will carry her and her fellow Amish believers across the Atlantic to start a new life. As the only one in her community who can speak English, she feels compelled to go. But Anna is determined to complete this journey and return home–assuming she survives. She’s heard horrific tales of ocean crossings and worse ones of what lay ahead in the New World. But fearfulness is something Anna has never known. 
After months away in the Englisch world, Ariana Brenneman is overjoyed to be in the Old Order Amish home where she was raised. Yet her excitement is mixed with an unexpected apprehension as she reconciles all she’s learned from her biological parents with the uncompromising teachings of her Plain community. Although her childhood friend, ex-Amish Quill Schlabach, hopes to help her navigate her new role amongst her people, Ariana’s Daed doesn’t understand why his sweet daughter is suddenly questioning his authority. What will happen if she sows seeds of unrest and rebellion in the entire family? 
Wealth and etiquette can hide a lot of things in the South, as the esteemed Harlan family of sleepy Bay Spring, Alabama, knows. But behind the gentle facade of white pillared porches and acres of cultivated pecan orchards, family secrets smolder.
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