Today’s book review features
Along a Storied Trail by Ann H. Gabhart.
Book Blurb
Kentucky packhorse librarian Tansy Calhoun doesn’t mind the rough trails and long hours as she serves her Appalachian mountain community during the Great Depression. Yet she longs to find love like the heroines in her books. When a charming writer comes to town, she thinks she might have found it–or is the perfect man actually closer than she thinks?
Perdita Sweet has called these mountains home for so long she’s nearly as rocky as the soil around her small cabin. Long ago she thought she could love, but when the object of her affection up and married someone else, she stopped giving too much of herself away to others.
As is so often the case, it’s easier to see what’s best for others than to see what’s best for oneself, and Perdita knows who Tansy should choose. But why would anyone listen to the romantic advice of an old spinster?
Saddle up for a heartfelt story of love–love of family, love of place, and the love of a lifetime–from bestselling author Ann H. Gabhart.
From Goodreads
Author Information
Ann H. Gabhart grew up on a farm in Kentucky. At the age of ten, she started dreaming of writing stories others would want to read. That dream has come true as she’s published over thirty-five novels. She and her husband have three children married to three beautiful in-law children who have gifted her nine grandchildren. She still lives on a farm not far from where she grew up. She loves playing with her grandkids, walking with her dogs, reading, and, of course, writing. Her Shaker books, set in her fictional Shaker village of Harmony Hill in the 1800’s, are popular with readers. The Outsider was a Christian Fiction Book Award Finalist in 2009. Her Heart of Hollyhill books are Small Town, America books set in the 1960’s. Angel Sister, a Rosey Corner book set during the Great Depression, was a best-seller and was followed up by two more stories about the Merritt sisters. She keeps her stories in Kentucky and has enjoyed going to the Kentucky Appalachian Mountains for some stories including These Healing Hills and Along a Storied Trail. And if you like mysteries, you can try her Hidden Springs Mysteries published under the author name, A.H. Gabhart. Visit Ann’s website http://annhgabhart.com to find out more. There you can sign up for her newsletter where she does giveaways several times a year.
From Goodreads
Danielle’s Review
Along a Storied Trail by Ann H. Gabhart is a story that takes readers to the deep hills of Kentucky. Tansy Calhoun is a pack horse librarian. She takes books from the newly established library in town and carries them from house to house throughout the hills in order for isolated men, women, and children to read them. Tansy and her fellow librarians even create their own books. Picture books, written oral history, recipes, quilt patterns. Like mail carriers, rain, snow, sleet or any other inclement weather won’t stop these librarians from their routes.
Even men who have romance on their minds won’t stop Tansy. There are two men in this story vying for Tansy’s attention, if she’s willing to give it to either of them. One is a local boy she liked before he moved away, the other is an out-of-towner, a writer, who captures her sense of wonder. While other plots weave through the story, the way these two men handle the difficult situations, the way they treat Tansy and those around her, is something she takes in until she makes her final decision.
I love Ann H. Gabhart’s writing. I feel like I’m there in the mountains listening to one of the passed-down stories. It’s not an easy life, especially during the Depression, and the author doesn’t shy away from showing that. But Tansy is strong, as are her family and neighbors.
I highly recommend Along a Storied Trail. It’s a beautiful book and a delightful tale.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC guidelines.
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