I am most familiar with Joanne Bischof's books that are set in the Appalachians, but this novel was a departure for a different side of the US. Beginning in the early 1900s in California and diving into modern day, this book takes the reader through the ghost towns of gold mining and the heritage of the peoples living in that area. The place is Kenworthy, California. In the late 1890s, a mine was salted with gold and then sold to someone thinking he could get rich. All that could be gotten out of the mine was about $10.00 worth of gold.

Juniper Cohen is living on a farm outside of Kenworthy with her daughter and is waiting for her husband to come home. He had left, ostensibly, to find more work. After being gone for nearly a year, she finds that he wasn't the man she thought he was, and she finds it hard to forgive him. In the meantime, she has befriended the mercantile owner and the local school teacher.

Johnny Sutherland is being divorced by his wife who threatens to file for full custody of their two children unless she gets her way. She already took their home and most of their assets. He doesn't want the divorce, but is pushed into it when he finds that she's pregnant with her lover's child. To agree to her terms is the only way he can have shared custody of the children. In carving out a niche for himself in his new circumstances, he buys a house that was once the home of Juniper Cohen.

Through Johnny's realtor, he connects to a student who is studying the area in hopes to find something of her own family background. Sonoma Del Sol, the student, is a descendent of Juniper's friend, Edie, the mercantile owner, but piecing together all of the history is hard--there are gaps and relics in Johnny's barn may have the clues she needs.

This isn't a book full of action and derring-do, but a quiet meandering through the wilderness of life where there are fields and creeks and forests and mountains for our viewing pleasure. The characters exhibit strength, courage, grief, and love throughout the book and that's what makes them so likable.

The driving force in this book is forgiveness and mercy. All of the characters need it at one time or another, and all of them give it and receive it in unexpected ways. That is what makes this book a five star read. Joanne has done a masterful job in showing how withholding forgiveness holds us back and stunts our spiritual growth; and how giving mercy puts us in a position to receive blessings beyond our wildest dreams.

Thomas Nelson and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

5 stars!

Joanne Bischoff never disappoints with her immersing story telling and beautiful, poetic prose.

1800s gold mine closed down and her husband missing. Juniper strives everyday to provide for herself and her young daughter. Always hoping that her beloved husband will return soon.

100 years into the future a man buys the homestead that belong to John and Juniper. With an excellent weaving back and forth between time periods we come to understand all the characters better and their journey through life and their faith.

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The Gold in These Hills by Joanne Bischof is an excellent dual timeline historical fiction novel that kept me enthralled from beginning to end.

The dual timeline alternates in California between turn of the 20th century in the voice of Juniper Cohen and present day Johnny Sutherland. The common thread interweaving the two stories is the location: a historical home located in what was once a mining town called Kenworthy. Upon buying the old homestead and beginning renovation, Johnny finds letters, journal, and writings of the inhabitants of the Cohen family that once lived there. Here we are able to unspool the complicated, flawed, but yet hopeful lives of these two characters and their associated family/friends.

I loved the slow burn pacing of the novel. The author presents complex, realistic, and likable main characters as well as an excellent cast of secondary characters. Both have significant hardships that they have experienced and are in the throws of trying to make sense of their lives and what their purpose is now and what it will be. I loved the balance between the two stories, the intertwining of the concepts, and the development and progression of each story. I enjoyed the few twists and turns and really enjoyed the endings.

This is a novel about love, loss, faith, perseverance, forgiveness, and hope. I really, really enjoyed it.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Thomas Nelson for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are
completely my own.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.

Two second-chance love stories, hope across the centuries, and the legacy that binds them together.

The Gold In These Hills is two stories in one. Told by Juniper and Johnny
I thought this story was an intense one. But freaking amazing at the same time! I couldn't peel my eyes away from my Kindle that's how great this book was!
So beautifully written and I promise you'll enjoy this book as well!

I was initially excited when I first read the description of The Gold in These Hills. However, the pace is extremely slow and the tone bleak. The story weaves together the history of a single mom back in the time of the gold rush and a present day man attempting to salvage his quickly dissolving marriage and family situation by restoring an old farm house. While some may enjoy this book and take strength from the characters, I found this to be rather depressing and not my cup of tea.

This book pace is very slow, which usually I don't like but it worked so well. I found myself really taking the lessons of patience in the book and apply them to actually reading the book. I loved how well thought out and purposeful the writing is. I also loved how strong the characters are developed and how I felt such a huge connection.

This was a beautiful story about walking through life's tragedies and heartaches, while trusting God to hold you as you slowly put one foot in front of the other again. It was a nice change to have the main character in the present be a man instead of a woman. I love how the author wove the people of Kenworthy's stories, past and present, together into one meaningful message. What a touching read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for access to this arc. Opinions in this review are my own.

I’ve been pretty obsessed with Joanne Bischof since I first read one of her novels and I am always anxiously awaiting each new release. Sadly though, this one was a miss for me and I couldn’t even make it to the end. The writing was still beautiful and had Bischof’s trademark touch but the story was quite honestly boring me and was a bit depressing. The historical gives us a woman who’s basically been abandoned by her husband (who is apparently a criminal) trying to eek out a living in a dying town. Nothing much was happing except for strange interactions with the few people left in town and her young daughter. The contemporary was from the guy’s POV and he’s remolding an old house while dealing with the fact that his wife is shacking up with another man who has now gotten her pregnant and proposed to her and she wants a divorce. But he still wants to be married, which kudos for sticking to your vows dude but I think that ship has sailed. Also they have kids which complicates things. Nothing much was happening in the plot here either, just reno work and reminiscing on what used to be.
I believe they were both supposed to be second chance romances but with the information we were given I wasn’t really rooting for things to work out.
This will probably be another favorite for some people but it just wasn’t for me. I will still be watching for what comes next though!

Hardship, love, loss, beauty from ashes, grit, healing—these are all words I would use to describe this story. Joanne weaves a tale that is both touching and thought-provoking all at once. I learned some Gold Country history while being held captive in a time and place in history that was beautifully represented. Well done. Highly recommended.

THE GOLD IN THESE HILLS by Joanne Bischof

This book tells an interesting story, it jumps around from mainly three different points of view, Juniper (June) [who was a mail-order bride] Cohen, her missing husband John Cohen in the historical part, and Johnny Sutherland, a century later who has purchased their historic home and much of the land that used to be the boomtown of Kenworthy, California. Johnny is going through a painful divorce as he tries to make the cabin into a nurturing home for his children for their visits and runs his remodeling business.

Johnny comes across letters that were written by June to her missing husband John. She stays true to his memory as she raises their 3-year-old daughter Bethany in what is becoming a ghost town.

I like the story that is told, it seems to jump around a lot, though. It is a nice Christian, inspirational novel. Highly recommend.

I am thankful for the complimentary copy of #thegoldinthesehills from #netgalley I was under no obligation to post a review.

Poignant. Introspective. Heartrending. Immersive.

Joanne Bischof takes readers on quite a journey in The Gold in These Hills. She parallels the lives of Juniper Cohen at the turn of the century with modern day Johnny Sutherland. Two very different time periods and yet these characters have much in common as they deal with hardship and life circumstances not of their choosing.

There are many truthful quotes overflowing the pages of this book. I will be pondering them for some time to come. Some of my favorites:

~"We hear news of tragedy in newspapers or on the wind, and rarely does it affect us until it reaches inside our homes."
~"..there is no easy way to harness that hope. To even see it at times. Even so, it is there."
~"I guess the secret to life just might boil down to counting our blessings one moment at a time."

Through it all, the lessons learned through the characters experiences can apply to the life journey readers themselves are traveling. It can change a person's perspective on what we value and what we think of as true blessings. Well done, Joanne Bischof!

I appreciate a copy of The Gold in These Hills, from Thomas Nelson, through Netgalley, being made available for review. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.




~

I wasn’t completely sure what to expect from The Gold in These Hills, but I was thoroughly pleased with this read!

This book is a slow read. It’s reflective and thought-provoking, which is absolutely perfect since the plot has such an emphasis on patience. Juniper and Johnny both find themselves in seasons of waiting, and although both struggle with sitting still, the lessons they learn during these times are valuable to them as well as to readers. I am an incredibly impatient person, so I can always use reminders to slow down and wait on God’s timing, and Bischof does a fantastic job of showing how wonderfully God can work in those slower moments.

Both Johnny and Juniper are well-developed characters, and I enjoyed the stories presented in each timeline. I’m always a fan of dual timelines that connect with each other, and I thought the intertwining of the narratives was done in such a way that each character had their own story that reflected the other’s while still keeping the stories balanced. The two storylines reflect each other in their themes of heartbreak, forgiveness, and friendship, and Bischof has created strong secondary characters that help give the stories heart and hope. Johnny’s children allow him to reflect on what’s truly important in his life, and he is definitely a good father. Juniper’s determined yet kind nature allows her to make the best of her hard situation but also means she’s there for others whenever she can provide a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on. As I said, both main characters are well fleshed-out, and I really enjoyed getting to know both of them and seeing how they grew over the course of the novel.

I also liked learning more about gold mining, carpentry, and the Cahuilla people. I had little to no knowledge on these topics, and I love when a good story also teaches me something! The setting is vividly depicted and creates the perfect backdrop and situation for exploring these topics and for introducing readers to a unique time period and an Indian tribe with which most people will likely be unfamiliar.

The Gold in These Hills is the type of story that provides ample opportunity for self-reflection and just generally makes one think about his or her life and circumstances. Juniper and Johnny’s journeys are hard but rewarding, and their faith, although shaky at times, helps show the importance of waiting on God and allowing Him to work in our lives. Although the slower pace of the plot may not be for everyone, I will definitely be recommending this book.

What a beautiful and touching story. I love Sonoma’s passion for genealogy and feeling a deep connection for her ancestors. I loved the lessons learned about finding joy in life even through heartache. It was fun having two stories in one and thoroughly enjoyed them both.

"Pain. Hope. It seems to spring up from this place. It settles around the land like dew. It's in every creak of the stairs and every knot of the pine walls. It's a cry for home, and in some ways, for renewal. She and I... We've wanted the same things."

Gold in These Hills is another heart rending book from Joanne Bischof, but this one felt more raw than her previous works. Based on the little that I know about the author, this book appears to be the result of her own journey and wrestling through pain. It had all the depth we're used to from her, with perhaps a bit more commentary.

I loved this book for a lot of reasons. The truth was laid wide open - no vagueness, no question if it can be understood another way. TBH, this is rare from this particular publisher these days, and I applaud Bischof for not mincing words where it mattered. As a character-driven novel, there was no villain or side mystery other than the main plots from split time characters, making it my very favorite type of book. It was beautifully written, with poetic prose that reminded me also of Amanda Dykes' works. And I really loved that it didn't follow the typical Christian novel format, so I truly had no idea where the author was going.
At the same time, I felt a little bit miffed that it didn't go how I wanted it to. By that, I mean that the historical character reached a point of reconciliation that I wanted to see more of. She had struggled so hard to get there that when it happened, I wanted to bask in that for awhile and unpack more of the interactions between her and SPOILER CHARACTER, but at that point the story shifts to her friend. It was as if the main character received her own peace so that she could then turn around and give to another. As a reader, I definitely would have preferred to spend more time on the main character's personal life. BUT WE DON'T ALWAYS GET WHAT WE WANT, DO WE? :( which was kind of that character's arc, but I just didn't want it to be mine too. :D
The other thing I wanted more of is that there is a secondary character in the historical thread who performs a mind-blowingly major act of love and forgiveness, which we only see from the outside and I would have loved to hear him speak to his why. We know he is a Christian and can assume that is his why, but it's really not unpacked.
Because of the poetic prose, some of the dialogue felt unnatural (maybe poetic people really speak this way?), but it's not necessarily a strike against the book because the author probably wrote it exactly how she intended.

This is a beautiful book that speaks to real pain with light and truth and gives the reader a happy-enough ending, but mostly hope for their own life. I give it 4.5 stars based on the fact that I wanted to see more of the things I mentioned above. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

THE GOLD IN THESE HILLS by JOANNE BISCHOF is a split time novel that takes place in the early 1900's and the present age. The two sets of characters are linked by their experiences in the area that that was once called Kenworthy after the town;s founder, who built the town after buying a salted mine.
In 1902 Juniper Cohen lives with her little daughter on the old Kenworthy homestead where she ekes out a living as a laundress for the fast disappearing miners, all the time waiting for her husband John to return from wherever he has gone. She never gives up hope that he will come back and writes to him every day with nowhere to send the letters.
When Johnny Sutherland buys the old Cohen homestead, after the breakdown of his marriage, as a place to spend time with his children, these letters, together with a journal written by John Cohen, are, in a sense, brought back to life by him and the beautiful Sonoma Del Sol who is doing research on her Cahuilla ancestry.
I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling things for you.
The stories are beautifully told and and we are drawn in to feeling the characters' emotions as they deal with hardship and loss, drawing strength from the Lord as they hold on to faith and love. We see how the true gold in life is seen in relationships, family and children.
I highly recommend The Gold In These Hills as a thought provoking and inspirational read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

I did not realize this was Christian Fiction when I requested it. This is a genre that I usually do not read. However, I am a huge historical fiction fan, and the novel synopsis and the cover intrigued me into requesting it immediately. I am glad I took a chance on this book. Joanne Bischof's writing is beautifully done, and had me enthralled with the characters from the beginning. The setting was something I really enjoyed, and this was an intense read. I loved the intertwined love stories.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC copy.

First sentence: It’s paramount that my daughter and I survive the coming winter, yet ghost towns are not for the living. Still, this desolate place with its remaining miners and abandoned buildings is home.

The Gold In These Hills is two stories in one--for better or worse. One story--narrated by Juniper Cohen--is set in Kenworthy, California, in 1902/1903. The second story--narrated by Johnny Sutherland--is set in the same location just in modern times. The stories alternate.

Juniper's husband has gone missing--presumed dead by some. Without John by her side, Juniper is struggling to raise their daughter, Bethany. The two live in the outskirts of a ghost town--all but a resilient, stubborn few--have left for greener pastures--so to speak. The promised gold mine with wealth and riches a fabricated lie. She gives it her all, and at night she pours it all out on paper--Dearest John.

Johnny Sutherland has struggles of his own. Partly to work through his struggles, partly because it is awesome, he has just bought a major fixer-upper. The only remaining homestead from the town that was Kenworthy. It has been a museum for ages--decades--but now it is his. It comes with a story waiting to be unpacked and discovered.

I found The Gold In These Hills to be a compelling read. It was an intense read with plenty of feels. I loved, loved, loved, loved Juniper's story. I loved Johnny's story too. (Though I found it a bit more problematic.)

I thought it was beautifully--artistically--written. This was a crafted novel. There was nothing fluffy or insubstantial about it. It was well done. The characters were fleshed out as well; they were oh-so-human. This goes for both story lines. But I personally felt the historical story was the stronger of the two.

If I could change anything about this novel, it would be the tacked-on-romance for the contemporary story. Some readers may not feel it was tacked on. Some may genuinely think the romance was organic and natural to this particular story. But not me. Nope. I felt the whole character and their inferred upcoming romance was just an add on. One that I didn't need. Not every Christian fiction needs to have a romantic element.

I liked the contemporary story best when it was focused on Johnny--his struggles, his family, his hopes, his dreams, his frustrations, his disappointments. I liked it least when it was straining to connect the dots between the two stories and force them together.

That being said, it is one of the most literary books I've read in the Christian fiction genre in quite a while. I have to say the writing was excellent.