Review & GIVEAWAY!
Herb of Grace

A Healing Grace Novel

by Adina Senft

 Poetic!

Description

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit.” —I Cor. 12:7–9, KJV

Amish widow Sarah Yoder has been struggling to raise her two teenaged sons and provide a home where family and members of her Old Order Amish church can find fellowship and friendship. Though she is close to her in-laws, lately it feels like her relationship with her boys is splintering. Her stepson Simon wants to move out west to find work. And her youngest, Caleb, is spending far too much time over at the tumbledown home of a man who left the church long ago. Henry Byler only returned recently to Willow Creek when he inherited the family farm—under protest—and now seems caught in a struggle between the faith of his childhood and the world he’s come to know.

Ruth Lehman, the local Dokterfraa, believes Sarah should use her gift for growing plants to become an herbal healer, too. Sarah is reluctant, however, uncertain if caring for others will take her away from her family—the place where she believes God wants her. But when she feels called to help members of her community, she soon discovers that the heart can be scarred as deeply as the body. As she compiles her herbs, she waits for God to do his healing work in a man who rues a harsh decision, in a lonely prodigal who has lost everything, and maybe even in a herbalist-in-training who firmly believes she will never love again.

Herb of Grace

• Excerpt

Purchase at the following locations:

http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
http://www.christianbook.com/
http://www.deepershopping.com/


Biography

Adina Senft grew up in a plain house church, where she was often asked by outsiders if she was Amish (the answer was no), she made her own clothes, and she perfected the art of the French braid. She holds an M.F.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania, where she teaches as adjunct faculty.

Writing as Shelley Bates, she was the winner of RWA’s RITA Award for Best Inspirational Novel in 2005, a finalist for that award in 2006, and, writing as Shelley Adina, was a Christy Award finalist in 2009. Three of her books have shortlisted for the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Carol Award for book of the year. Of her fiction, publisher and industry blogger W. Terry Whalin has said, “Readers will be lost in the vivid world that [she] paints with incredible detail and masterful storytelling.”

A transplanted Canadian, Adina returns there annually to have her accent calibrated. Between books, she enjoys traveling with her husband, playing the piano and Celtic harp, and spoiling her flock of rescued chickens. These days, she makes period costumes and only puts up her hair for historical events and fun.

http://adinasenft.com/
https://www.facebook.com/shelley.adina?fref=ts



My Review ~

"Herb of Grace" is penned with poetic license. Descriptive, pictorial and expressive, this Amish novel by Adina Senft is a favorite. The characters throughout this novel show strength, sensitivity and commitment through their personalities and actions. Family, faith and devotion are very strong features in this beautifully composed story of an Amish woman, her dreams and relationships, and a former Amish man who has returned to his family's roots. Challenges ensue in the lives of the characters whose stories lie within the pages of this book, and the underlying echoes of faith, conscience and strong convictions are portrayed with substance and integrity.  

Contained in "Herb of Grace" are beautiful expressions so poetic that I found myself marking places throughout the book to reread just for the beauty of the description. Example: "She tipped her head back to watch the new leaves combing the last trailing skeins of mist the way a woman might run her fingers through her hair." I will be rereading this book, not only for its strength in plot and character, but for the poetic beauty contained within. I highly recommend "Herb of Grace!"

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Hachette Book Group in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.

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