SERIESLY, THOUGH | APPALACHIAN BLESSINGS SERIES BY SARAH LOUDIN THOMAS

APPALACHIAN BLESSINGS

!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!

APPALACHIAN SERENADE

(ebook exclusive prequel novella)

Delilah Morrissey has always wanted to be a mother, but when she becomes a young widow, that dream now seems farther away than ever. Unable to continue to live alone in Chicago, her only option is to accept her sister's offer to move in with her family back in West Virginia. Will Delilah have the faith to pursue a new dream--even if it means giving up the old? In this charming novella, debut novelist Sarah Loudin Thomas introduces readers to Wise, West Virginia--a small town nestled in an Appalachian valley where the everyday miracles of life and faith play out in stories of healing, hope, and love.

★★★★☆

It's 1945 in West Virginia and Delilah, age 34, has recently become a young widow. She had left town right after her marriage, but now has come back to her roots, living with her sister, brother-in-law, and their teenage daughter, Perla. The sound of childless Delilah's biological clock is near deafening, but she can't imagine she holds much appeal for any man in town at her age. Little does she know, the owner of the merchantile store, Robert (age 50), is most interested in getting to know this pretty and smart woman! But he has secrets of his own that may be deal breakers for Delilah.

This was a sweet, fast read that gave me a real feel for the community. The townspeople are all trying to get by, still trying to recover from recent losses and wounds from WW2, but the spirit of all these folks, their general tendency to shrug off bad days, smile and say "maybe tomorrow" was so heartwarming. Robert and Delilah were nicely written true-to-life, I thought -- especially Robert, the way he's gentle with Delilah but then comedically exasperated with trying to understand her moods or behaviors. I was excited to really get into the series after finishing this prequel!

APP BLESSING #1

It's 1954 and Perla Long's arrival in the sleepy town of Wise, West Virginia, was supposed to go unnoticed. She just wants a quiet, safe place for her and her daughter, Sadie, where the mistakes of her past can stay hidden. But then drought comes to Wise, and Perla is pulled into the turmoil of a town desperately in need of a miracle. Casewell Phillips has resigned himself to life as a bachelor...until he meets Perla. She's everything he's sought in a woman, but he can't get past the sense that she's hiding something. As the drought worsens, Perla's unique gift divides the town in two, bringing both gratitude and condemnation, and placing the pair in the middle of a storm of anger and forgiveness, fear and faith.

★★★★☆
This story fast forwards about 10 yrs from where the novella ended. This one focuses on what happened with Perla, Delilah's teenage niece from Appalachian Serenade. Perla seemed to follow a similar path to Delilah's, as far as leaving town only to find herself coming back years later. In Perla's case, however, Perla is coming back as a young unwed mother of a 5 yr old girl. Perla's now in her twenties, the father of her child a mystery all the town gossips love to marinate on. Perla rekindles a friendship with childhood acquaintance Casewell (a minor character only barely mentioned in Appalachian Serenade). Casewell quickly finds himself falling for Perla, wanting to take care of her and her daughter, Sadie. Perla is definitely interested, but fears her past and the gossip it fuels will kill any chance at a successful relationship ...with anyone. Author Sarah Thomas then works elements of the "Woman At The Well" biblical story into Perla's tale.

The town is going through rough times. There's a severe drought ruining everyone's crops, wiping out back up food supplies for families throughout the community. Some are whispering that the drought is God's way of punishing fornicators, while others argue he's punishing the gossipers obsessing over the fornicators. But Perla has this one quirky thing about her that may help. She can't explain it but whenever she cooks, she never runs out of ingredients. They seem to just replenish themselves! She tries to use this gift to help the townspeople but they cannot let her past go, feeling the food would be tarnished if prepared by a "harlot." Some even label her a witch for her abilities {there were some things in this part of the story that seemed to echo Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter} Casewell is one of the first to step up and call out his neighbors, saying (in so many words) "Excuse me, but y'all call this Christian behavior?! Girl is trying to help you not starve and you're on about what she does on her own time? Noneya business, that's what that is!"

This was my favorite of the series. I liked the light touches of magical realism woven into Perla's story. I also thought this particular story had a personal message about not being so quick to judge someone solely based off of what you hear about their past, because everyone has their own struggles, doing their best to work through them. I liked how the story encourages people to embrace flaws and past mistakes as just part of how those you love were created and how they grew to be the people they are. Also, how it's never too late to forgive or ask for forgiveness. Beautiful story. There's also a good bit of humor in this novel!

APP BLESSING #2

When family tragedy derails Henry Phillips's college studies, he's left unmoored and feeling abandoned. The only things that can tamp down his grief are the family farm, his fiddle, and an unexpected friendship with sweet but unusual preteen Mayfair Hoffman. Unfortunately, Mayfair's older sister, Margaret, despite her spray of freckles and cute, turned-up nose, has a completely different effect. His grandmother's helper, she's always around, ready to push his buttons, and it seems at first that she doesn't care about his troubles. Henry soon realizes, though, that Margaret's facing her own struggles. Mayfair's health and unique gift sit at the heart of those worries. Henry and Margaret soon find themselves relying on each other as potential tragedy collides with growing hope in a warm story of family bonds and the surprising ways healing finds us all. 

★★★☆☆

This book takes us up to the year 1975. Perla & Caswell's son Henry is in college but desperately wants to be a professional fiddle player. A family tragedy sidelines his plans. Instead of the original plan, he finds himself having to come home to help out on the family property. Young neighbors Margaret (who is near Henry's age) and her little sister Mayfair come over to help out Henry's family. In the process of helping out on the property, little Mayfair develops a good friendship with Henry, while Margaret is more reserved. There are things about Henry that she's a little judgmental about at first, but she learns to get to know him rather than put all weight into stories about him. Similar to Perla in Thomas' previous book, Miracle In A Dry Season, Mayfair seems to have a special God-given talent. Perla's was the ability to easily create food for the masses out of just a few ingredients, while Mayfair seems to be a healer. She can put hands on someone or simply be near them and heal all wounds, internal and external. But it comes at a cost. Mayfair herself is battling juvenile diabetes, and every time she tries to heal someone, she seems to fall gravely ill. It is through a particularly bad bout when it's feared that Mayfair may lose her life that Henry and Margaret find themselves bonding with each other through their mutual grief.

While I did like this story, I think it was my least favorite of the series. I didn't connect with this story or its characters as strongly as in the previous novels. There are some themes and morals within this story -- such as learning forgiveness, not jumping to snap judgments or feeding into petty gossip, etc -- that were explored in the previous novel but I was glad to see them reintroduced in a new way here. The one word of caution I might offer to Christian readers is that this book does have some more risque subject matter than the other books in the series. Here, Thomas works in such topics as moonshining, premarital sex, one night stands, unplanned pregnancies into the storylines of certain characters. I was also a little disappointed to see everything SO cleanly wrapped up at the end. It may just be a matter of personal preference, but sometimes I'm a little turned off by everything in a story falling perfectly into place just so.... it just strikes me as unrealistic. I like my life a little rough around the edges :-) Still, as a whole Thomas has put together a heartwarming series set in a lovely country community, with a pace that flows nicely. Bound to appeal to many!

APP BLESSING #3

Now in her eighties, Perla Phillips has carried a secret since she was eighteen years old. When she sees her granddaughter, Ella, struggling for perfection, she decides to share her secret to show that God can use even the biggest mistakes for good. But before she can reveal what happened during that summer sixty years ago, she has a debilitating stroke. Carrying a secret of her own, Ella arrives back in Wise, West Virgina, to help her aunt Sadie care for Perla. Both know the woman wanted to tell them something, but she's now locked in silence. Together they begin looking into the past, but they may learn more than they expected. Will they have the courage to share their hearts? Or will the truth remain buried forever?

★★☆☆☆

So, this series has made quite the time span over these books! Now, with this closing book, we see an elderly Perla witnessing her granddaughter, Ella, experience similar struggles to what Perla herself faced decades earlier. There's something Perla's been keeping close to her chest all these years, an important truth she's finally ready to come clean about, and one that may lead emotionally floundering Ella to a place of peace. Just as Perla is ready to make this happen, she, along with the rest of the family, is sidelined by a sudden stroke. Perla survives, but the family is brought together to help her with her long-term recovery. 

Ella, who has made a living as quilt mural artist, has come to stay with her grandmother as a means to distance herself from an abusive ex. What she doesn't plan on is him following her out to her place of escape. Throughout this novel, we see Ella's ex covertly trying to infiltrate her life again. In the middle of all this drama, Perla suffers a second stroke, stealing her ability to speak. Will she ever regain her voice to get this secret out before it's too late?

There was no sense in trying to find the right person if you hadn't figured out how to be the right person. And Perla suspected Ella still had some figuring out to do.

Appalachian quilt barn

Delilah from the first book makes a reappearance here, now at the age of 90. She gets visits from Sadie and Ella. Sadie was likeable at first but closer to the end of the book it seemed like she was growing increasingly self-centered. 

Delilah smiled, and Ella realized she was wearing red lipstick that looked surprisingly good on a woman her age. "Now, I want to know more about my great-grandniece. Do you have a young man?"

"Um...not really. There was someone for awhile, but he... wasn't a good match." Suddenly she wanted to tell Delilah all about Mark --- his dishonesty, his anger that bordered on violence, the time he'd left bruises on her arm. "I'd thought he was the one, but now I'm afraid...." She couldn't finish the sentence. 

"It's a hard thing to see the dream you've put all your faith in disappear like the morning mist. You might even feel like it's your fault somehow." She squinted at Ella. "You might be afraid to try again."

Ella's mouth dropped open. "I...well, I don't want to get it so horribly wrong ever again."

"My dear, getting things wrong is nothing more than one of the steps on the way to getting them right. All you've done is learn a valuable lesson that many a woman has paid a much dearer price for. You've simply eliminated an inferior candidate. Good for you. Now, if you find one that's not fickle or foolish, you snatch him up. Men are prone to develop an attachment to whatever's in front of them."

I know in a previous review I'd said Until the Harvest (Book 2) was my least favorite in the series, but that was before I'd gotten to this one! On one hand, it was neat to see characters you got to know as young women now elderly and full of wisdom, humor and stories.... but so much about the characters and plot here just wound up being so much less enjoyable than the earlier installments of the series. 

Character-wise: I mentioned falling out of like with Sadie. Then there's Ella --- not the sharpest tool --- who decides to contact her ex, the one she spends the whole story trying to flee from.... calls him up for legal advice! Girl! Then there's all the people around Perla trying to shove her in a home because she can't speak or write quickly enough for their liking?! Did everyone conveniently forget SHE HAD A STROKE!

As far as the writing, it seemed like there were a number of contradictory plot points in this one.... especially around the church sale business. The church theme is much stronger here than in the previous books, but the whole portion of the plot that involves the mountain church is actually pretty good for the drama. It's centered around this rumor that land developers are eyeing the church property for a possible vacation cabin rentals site / sport hunting grounds. A big portion of the overall plot hinges on the "will or won't the church be sold to developers?" tension. That part is good, I just wish more of the characters were more likeable. But it was nice to have one last visit with Perla before the door closed on this community. 

FTC DISCLAIMER: Bethany House Publishing kindly provided me with complimentary copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.