What a delightful fall comfort read! Charming characters, cozy details, and a setting I visited once long ago and really enjoyed getting to experience again on the page. I'm glad I opted to revisit Reichert's backlist with this 2017 release.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

How long has this book been sitting on my Kindle ready to be read? Too LONG.

I like the sounds of Amy E. Reichert’s books mostly- and I LOVED The Coincidence of Coconut Cake. I was a bit lukewarm about Love, Luck & Lemon Pie though- which is sometimes why I’m hesitant to dive immediately into Amy’s books.

But in a quest to shape up my Netgalley ratio, I have been spending more time with my Kindle lately and found this book and decided to give it a try!

Did I like like it? You be the judge!



What I liked:

The cover. So luscious. It makes me want to go apple picking!

Sanna. She could be a bit prickly at times- but the deep connection she has for the land made her an interesting person- even though (truth be told) I would probably have sold it and lived like a queen on the beach. But hey- you do you, right?

The romance was sweet and cute- def not rushed ( I hate rushed romances!)

Bottom line: This was a cute and fast read. It’s not as good (imo) as The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, but I enjoyed spending a couple of days with Amy’s characters.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

Great cast of characters and a delicious Wisconsin setting perfect for a Wisconsin book club pick. Readers will find a lot to engage with without being overwhelmed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

Sanna Lund is a craft cider maker. I'd say brewer but you don't brew a good cider, you ferment it. Anyway, she makes unique and good hard ciders. She gets the apples straight from the family orchard that has been in business since the mid 1800's. The orchard these days is run by Sanna and her father. That's it, just the two of them.

Isaac and his son, Bass, are on a summer road trip. Bass thinks its for fun, Isaac knows its for hiding the truth of Bass' mom from him. After three weeks in various cities the Banks Boys land in Wisconsin and stumble across an opportunity to live on an orchard for a few months and earn some money while doing it. It feels like a gift to Isaac who isn't sure how to tell his son that he no longer has a mother.

As the summer progresses and the apples grow so does the relationship between the Banks Boys and the Lund family. And in the midst of the growing there are strange things happening around the orchard that put their already perilous financial situation in real danger. Sanna is desperate for her hard ciders to start making a real contribution and impact to the orchard and their futures.

Amy Reichert writes predictable stories. Boy and girl meet - one or both of them have baggage - they immediately fall for each other - conflict arises - conflict is resolved in a happily ever after. It's a formula that can have a million different settings and a thousand different conflicts to resolve and let love conquer. That's not a criticism of Reichert, it's just a fact about her stories. Why do we keep reading books like these? Because real life has many of the same elements and what real life doesn't have - specifically the love conquers all happily ever after endings every single time - we want and we want to believe it could happen. These stories will continue to be written and read because we all want to believe real life could happen that way.

This was much more of a slow burn than I expected, given the upbeat quirkiness of some of her previous books, and I struggled to invest myself in the characters. Still sweet however!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this early copy!

I went into this romance not expecting much and ended up loving it! It is by far my favorite novel by Reichert and I would recommend it if you want a quick and well-done read.

Though I liked the book, I made the decision at the time I finished not to review it on my site. Maybe in the future I will include it in a book list post or another article.

LOL you may wet your pants funny. I absolutely loved this book It was like visiting an old friend. It is light, clever and fun. It had a lot of layers, there was a little mystery, romance, heartbreak, healing. I felt like I was right beside the characters in their orchard. I know I could be friends with these people. Thank you for giving me a few hours of laughter, tears and pure entertainment!

Heartfelt, sweet, and simply delightful. Pour yourself a cup of cider and let this story reach your soul and capture your heart. A genuine story told beautifully be Amy E. Reichert.

I love a romance. I am a sucker for a romance where one of the parts of the couple has a young child. This book pulled me in and comforted me like a warm hug. After finishing I immediately looked into other books Amy Reichert has written.

Very good read. Her books area always super enjoyable and this is one of the best

So glad I gave Richert another try after the disaster of her last book (sorry, but I hated it!). After falling in her love with her first book, I really wanted her to redeem herself with this one...and boy did she ever! If I had any complaints I just wish it was a bit longer and had some more details with a few minor characters. I am really hoping one comes back and has her own book soon.


Sometimes reading a book is just what you need to reset your spirit and get your head in the right place. This is that book. Having attempted and abandoned 2 books previous to this one...and having read several in a row that were just so-so...well this is exactly what I needed to clear out all the clutter in my head.

As in her first book I couldn't wait to finish this one had problems putting it down once I started...Another book I finished in less than 24 hours...that hardly EVER happens in my life anymore and now I have found an author that has inspired me to do it TWICE!

Can't wait to read what she comes up with next...

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Loved this one. Great story and characters!!! Can't wait to read more of this author in the future.

An enjoyable read. Love the characters, the images and the "simplicity" of this novel. Truly an enjoyable escape.

This book reminded me more of Reichert's first book (The Coincidence of Coconut Cake). Unlike her second book (Luck, Love & Lemon Pie), this book had that same connection with food, or drink?, that her first book did. After reading the coconut cake book, I really wanted to eat that coconut cake. I didn't get that feeling about the lemon pie. However, the descriptions of cider making in this book made me want to go out and buy some craft cider! I also really liked Sanna and how strong and vulnerable she was. As someone who grew up in New England surrounded by apple orchards, apples have always been a big part of my life. Apple picking and drinking apple cider are staples for me, so the love affair with the apple orchard really resonated with me. If you like good fiction and good food lit, I highly recommend this book.

While I really enjoyed the writing style, character development and overall plot of this book, it took me forever to read. I even stopped and read several books in between starting and finishing this book, and I'm not sure why.

I think this would be a cute bookclub read or a fun gift for fellow cider fans!

I received a complimentary copy of the book to review from the publisher and NetGalley.

Review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

While slow in parts and not always easy to connect with emotionally, The Simplicity of Cider was very charming. I loved the idyllic setting and learning about apple growing/cider making. I also enjoyed Sanna's growth as a character and the way that Isaac and Bass fell in love with Door County too. There's a hint of magical realism- Sanna can see cider flavors as colors in her mind- that I found interesting and not intrusive. It was well done. The usual amount of drama that's present in contemporary fiction dealing with families, but it wasn't too over the top. It was an enjoyable book overall, I'd definitely recommend it to fans of adult fiction.

What an engaging, character driven story! I felt like I stepped right into Idun's Orchard. I liked that the story was told from several viewpoints, and the character development was wonderful. Just a drop of potential magic added additional depth.

A very enjoyable, sweet read. I really liked the character of Sanna, even in her unlikable moments. I love the setting of the orchard and everything that came with it.

I do wish that the Thad storyline would not have ended so abruptly.... I have unanswered questions!

Overall, I really liked this book and I look forward to reading more by Amy Reichert.