I just loved this book. It was written non-linear in time and person, but very well done. This dealt with being black in the early and mid-1900s. The characters were very well developed. The story kept my interest and had nice twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing.
The story is Christian, but not at all in a preachy way. In fact, you really don't know it's Christian until the end. It is a clean, well-written book.
Editing is very important to me and this is very well done.
This is Ashley Clark's first book.
I highly recommend this book and give it a strong 4 out of 5-star rating.
First, I received an ARC e-book to read and review through Netgalley and Bethany House Publishing in exchange for my honest review. Thank you.
I have read several books by Beverly Lewis and have enjoyed them all. This book is no exception but, that said, it is not my favorite. The story was pretty easy to follow. It mostly kept my interest but I did find some of it less compelling than the rest. I did have one problem, for me, about the book. It was that the main character was encouraged to lean on her feelings when making a major decision. Since this is a Christian book, I had a hard time with that when the Bible clearly states that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. We are also told in the Bible to lean not unto our own understanding but to trust in the Lord. That aside, it was a good, clean book.
The editing needs to be refined. There were a few, not many errors mostly with punctuation or the order of the words in a sentence. There were about 2 places that I had to re-read the sentence a couple of times to understand What was being said.
Overall, I give this a 3 out of 5 rating. I would recommend this to a friend.
Book 8 in the True Colors series—Fiction Based on Strange-But True History
In Carroll County, a corn shucking is the social event of the season, until a mischievous kiss leads to one of the biggest tragedies in Virginia history. Ava Burcham isn’t your typical Blue Ridge Mountain girl. She has a bad habit of courtin’ trouble, and her curiosity has opened a rift in the middle of a feud between politicians and would-be outlaws, the Allen family. Ava’s tenacious desire to find a story worth reporting may land her and her best friend, Jeremiah Sutphin, into more trouble than either of them planned. The end result? The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912.
Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor. She’s a native of the Blue Ridge Mountains where her family have lived for generations. She’s the mom of five kids, speech-pathologist to about fifty more, lover of chocolate, jazz, and Jesus, and proud AlleyCat over at the award winning Writer’s Alley blog. Her debut historical romance novel, The Thorn Bearer, released in April 2015, and the second in February 2016. Her first contemporary romance debuted in April 2016.
More from Pepper
Feuds, Moonshine, and Family Loyalties by Pepper Basham
My upcoming release for Barbour’s True Colors series is really close to my heart…and pretty close to my house.
The Red Ribbon, my first foray into a historical suspense novel, takes place in the county where I grew up. Carroll County, Virginia, is a county on the border of Virginia and North Carolina, not too far from Mt. Airy (Mayberry). Nestled in the foothills and mountains of the Blue Ridge, it is a part of the Appalachian Mountains, and with that comes similar histories as other backwoods Appalachian communities: feuds, moonshine, and family loyalties.
One thing I love most about my Appalachian upbringing is the intense closeness of family – and when I say ‘family’ I mean, of course, my mom, dad, and brother, but also my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents…the whole “gang”, as my granny used to say.
The closeness of family, and the protection of the family name, is a big deal in Appalachia. There’s a lot of pride in the way your ‘name’ is thought of throughout the community, so when someone insults your name, there’s a good chance the repercussions aren’t going to be pleasant. Especially back in the early 1900s, when The Red Ribbon takes place. In fact, insulting someone by “stealing a kiss” is one of the events that leads to The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre/Tragedy.
A long-time feud between the Allen family and the “Courthouse Clan” came to a head inside the Hillsville Courthouse in March 1912 and this event resulted in the largest shootout within a courthouse in Virginia history. The story followed with a nationwide manhunt and made national news until the sinking of the Titanic the following month.
Growing up in Carroll County, I knew a few things about this story. Rumors and whispers, really. Most folks didn’t talk about it because it still caused a stir among those who were descendants (because another thing about Appalachia is that families tend to stay on or around family land for generations). People still took “sides”. So, when I decided to write this book, I knew I was stepping into precarious territory. Not that anyone would start up a shootout nowadays because of a book, but because people still have some deep feelings about how their ancestors are portrayed in history, and since many of my family members still live in Carroll County, I wanted to tread carefully into the events of “The Allen Tragedy”.
What I discovered was a story that still held a whole lot of mystery even one hundred years later. Bullet holes still mark the courthouse steps from that fateful day, rumors still circulate about who was to blame, and no one knows who fired the first gunshot that began the tragic shooting.
I’m not a “scary” book writer or reader, but I love a good adventure, so this book takes the reader on an adventure into Appalachia to my neck of the woods, and follows the journey of Ava Burcham and Jeremiah Sutphin as they live among the illegal moonshiners, dirty cops, and mountain gunslingers of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Have you ever read a book set in Appalachia? If so, what was the title and what did you learn about the Appalachian culture? Have you ever visited the Blue Ridge Mountains?
Let’s chat mountain people, mountain ways, and mountain books
My Thoughts: I have not read anything by Pepper Basham but I enjoyed this book and her writing style.It is the 8th book in the True Colors series. It is based on a true story but fictionalized. The history behind this book is a courthouse massacre.
The main characters are quite well defined and believable. Ava is a spunky, young adult that was orphaned. Jeremiah is her childhood friend. The story revolves mostly around them. They are brought to life in this book and it's like reading about a friend of your friend. The story flowed well and kept my interest throughout. It was not boring at all and it was a book that was hard to put down at times. This is a Christian book in a very good way. It is not preachy but shows how you can depend on God. It also shows that you can have growth in your Christian life. The editing was very well done.
I received a copy of this book through Barbour Publishing and Celebrate Lit in exchange for my honest review. I would recommend this book to my friends. I give it a 4 out of 5-star rating.
The characters were mostly well developed. The story flowed quite well, though it wasn't just through the eyes of Willa, the main character. Spread throughout the book were the prayers and encouragement of some of the character's faith in God.
The editing was quite well done. I didn't notice any punctuation or spelling errors nor did I notice misused words. Sometimes I did feel like the story rambled a little, but not to distraction by any means.
The one negative I have is that I feel the story ended too soon. If I say more, I'll give away the ending but I would have liked to have seen the story continue a little longer.
Overall I give this a 4 out of 5 star rating. I debated between 4 or 5 stars but the ending made me choose 4 stars. Yes, I would recommend this book. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. A positive review was not required and I am freely giving this review.
This is the third book in the Amish of Weaver's Creek series. It is a good stand-alone book, but I read the first in the series and recommend doing that.
The main characters in this book are Elizabeth and Aaron. Both are very well developed and believable. The minor characters are also well done and the sub-stories going on make for an interesting, if not mostly predictable read. I did feel that at least one aspect of the story wasn't completely resolved but it was not a major issue.
This is a good, clean book. It is a Christian fiction book genre.
I received a copy of this book from Revell, the publisher, in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. My review is freely given and fully my own opinion.
I give this book a 3 out of 5-star review and I would recommend it to my friends.
This is the second book in the Jerusalem Road series by Angela Hunt. I have enjoyed every book she has written and this is no exception BUT, I was a bit disappointed in this one. It was a very slow start for me and I almost gave up. I'm glad I didn't as it turned out to be a good book. It was written from the viewpoint of Jesus' 2 sisters. The narrative switched back and forth between them but not in equal shares.
The book, of course, is a Christian book and the main theme was forgiveness. The shepherd's wife is one of the sisters and the book is mostly from her view. The rest of the family is involved, but only as supporting characters.
The plot didn't seem to be as important and the theme and I guess that was one of the things I didn't care for.
Overall, I did enjoy the book once I got past the first chapter or so. It is not my favorite, but I did enjoy it. I think anyone that enjoys Biblical fiction will enjoy this book also. I give it a 3 out of 5 star rating.
I requested to read and review this book through Revell Reads. I am thankful to be chosen and this review is totally my own opinion and freely given.
I have read one other book by Irene Hannon in a very genre. So much so, that I thought it was a new author. This book is just as good as the other book and I am happy to have read it. This book is a suspense/mystery genre and is very well written. The characters are all believable and the story flows well. I was hooked from the very beginning. There are a lot of twists and turns and it keeps you guessing as to "who done it".
The only editing errors I really noticed was the misuse of the word I instead of me. Otherwise, the editing was very well done. This is important to me as a poorly edited book can ruin a very good story.
I give this a 4 out of 5 star rating and would recommend this book to my friends.
