Along a Storied Trail #ourgoodlifebooklist

 I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book Synopsis:

(from Amazon.com)

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.

My take:

I have been reading a bunch of books about the pack librarians and I have loved them all. This is well-written and kept my interest all through the book.  Even though it is based on events in history, this is an old-fashioned love story, sweet and charming through and through. You will enjoy the reference to "sparking!" There aren't many books that give you a true, raw look at the depression-era life and the daily struggles of the mountain people.  You get a healthy dose of the folklore and language of the Appalachian people. It was refreshing to see how people took care of one another and called each other by family names, like "aunt" as a form of endearment.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ann Gabhart's book. I plan to read more of her work and suggest it to my various book clubs. 

About the Author

Ann H. Gabhart caught the writing bug at the age of ten and has been writing ever since. An award winning author, she's published many books for both adults and young adults. Her books cover several genres from historical to small town family stories to cozy mysteries (mysteries published with author name A.H. Gabhart). Her ideas are sparked by events in Kentucky history and by experiences in her own family. Her first Shaker novel, The Outsider, was a finalist for the ECPA Christian Fiction Book of the Year. Love Comes Home won the Selah Book of the Year award, and These Healing Hills was the Faith, Hope & Love Readers' Choice Women's Fiction Book of the Year.

Ann lives on a Kentucky farm not far from where she was born. She and her husband have three children and nine grandchildren. Ann enjoys hiking on her farm with her grandkids and her dogs, Frankie and Marley. See more about her books at www.annhgabhart.com or join the conversation on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/anngabhart.

If you liked this review, you can purchase the book at this link.  I will make a small commission!