Scan barcode
A review by b_tellefsen_rescuesandreads
The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert
3.0
Rating: 3.5/5
Set among the apple trees of Wisconsin, we follow Sanna Lund who, along with her father, run an apple orchard in beautiful Door County. Sanna is a very blunt and routine person, who has found safety in the trees of her orchard, as well as in her barn where she spend hours everyday fermenting the perfect ciders. For as long as she can remember, it has just been her and her father running things, after her mother abandoned them and her brother decided the orchard life wasn't for him.
Unfortunately for her, she finds her quiet and routine life interrupted one summer by the arrival of Isaac and his son Sebastian. Isaac has taken Sebastian from his California hometown to escape a tragedy that has recently occurred, and after travelling across the country for several weeks, is now hoping to find solace and quality time with his son on the orchard.
As time passes, Sanna finds herself warming to them, forming a friendship with little Sebastian and unable to resist her growing attraction to Isaac. Isaac too is unable to control his feelings for her. But life becomes complicated when an outsider wants to buy their orchard, Sanna's brother wants them to sell, and their finances may just cause them to fold. Will they be able to save the orchard? And should Sanna and Isaac act on their feelings knowing he will have to leave?
Though I enjoyed this read, and found it short and sweet, this book just barely fell on the right side of "meh" for me, which is why it became a 3.5 instead of a three-star rating.
Things I loved:
1.) The setting. Not only was this a unique and interesting setting, where we as readers come to learn more than we probably did before about running an apple orchard and fermenting cider, but it was extremely atmospheric. I felt very absorbed into the orchard as Sanna herself, and almost longed for a similar place I could call my own.
2.) The characters.....for the most part. On their own, I didn't feel that there was anything truly remarkable about the characters. And in such a short book, there was little in the way of character development. But their dynamic together was what truly made them memorable. I loved the way Isaac looked after his son, or the way Sebastian gew on Sanna. I always love a book that has a memorable frienship or familiy.
Things that made this "meh."
1.) The plot was also very formulic and unremarkable. It is one of those stories where you know exactly what you are getting when you begin, which is not a bad thing at all. But it is a factor that contributes to its forgetfullnes.
2.) The story also relied heavily on some common tropes that we see often in contemporary fiction. Again, not a bad thing, but forgetful.
3.) Just my personal preference, I didn't feel enough angst between Sanna and Isaac. They were attracted to each other from day one, both secretly harboring a desire to get to know the others, and though nothing truly happens for weeks, it was a very anticlimactic type of romance. I did not really care whether they ended up together or not, which is not exactly what you are going for with a romantic novel.
Though this wasn't a favorite, it did warm my heart enough to make me intrigued to pick up more of Reichert's work and see how I feel about it.
Set among the apple trees of Wisconsin, we follow Sanna Lund who, along with her father, run an apple orchard in beautiful Door County. Sanna is a very blunt and routine person, who has found safety in the trees of her orchard, as well as in her barn where she spend hours everyday fermenting the perfect ciders. For as long as she can remember, it has just been her and her father running things, after her mother abandoned them and her brother decided the orchard life wasn't for him.
Unfortunately for her, she finds her quiet and routine life interrupted one summer by the arrival of Isaac and his son Sebastian. Isaac has taken Sebastian from his California hometown to escape a tragedy that has recently occurred, and after travelling across the country for several weeks, is now hoping to find solace and quality time with his son on the orchard.
As time passes, Sanna finds herself warming to them, forming a friendship with little Sebastian and unable to resist her growing attraction to Isaac. Isaac too is unable to control his feelings for her. But life becomes complicated when an outsider wants to buy their orchard, Sanna's brother wants them to sell, and their finances may just cause them to fold. Will they be able to save the orchard? And should Sanna and Isaac act on their feelings knowing he will have to leave?
Though I enjoyed this read, and found it short and sweet, this book just barely fell on the right side of "meh" for me, which is why it became a 3.5 instead of a three-star rating.
Things I loved:
1.) The setting. Not only was this a unique and interesting setting, where we as readers come to learn more than we probably did before about running an apple orchard and fermenting cider, but it was extremely atmospheric. I felt very absorbed into the orchard as Sanna herself, and almost longed for a similar place I could call my own.
2.) The characters.....for the most part. On their own, I didn't feel that there was anything truly remarkable about the characters. And in such a short book, there was little in the way of character development. But their dynamic together was what truly made them memorable. I loved the way Isaac looked after his son, or the way Sebastian gew on Sanna. I always love a book that has a memorable frienship or familiy.
Things that made this "meh."
1.) The plot was also very formulic and unremarkable. It is one of those stories where you know exactly what you are getting when you begin, which is not a bad thing at all. But it is a factor that contributes to its forgetfullnes.
2.) The story also relied heavily on some common tropes that we see often in contemporary fiction. Again, not a bad thing, but forgetful.
3.) Just my personal preference, I didn't feel enough angst between Sanna and Isaac. They were attracted to each other from day one, both secretly harboring a desire to get to know the others, and though nothing truly happens for weeks, it was a very anticlimactic type of romance. I did not really care whether they ended up together or not, which is not exactly what you are going for with a romantic novel.
Though this wasn't a favorite, it did warm my heart enough to make me intrigued to pick up more of Reichert's work and see how I feel about it.