Donna Everhart is a new author to me and I am delighted to have discovered her from a Netgalley manuscript of The Saints of Swallow Hill. This is a very fine, well done, heart felt book.

The two main characters, Rae Lynn and Del, end up at a brutal turpentine camp in Georgia during the Great Depression. Both come there after each has been involved in dangerous situations and they are in a sense "on the run." A cruel overseer, Crow, run his crew at the camp as if they are prisoners or slaves--and in many ways they are. Rae is posing as a man, and she catches the cruel overseer's eyes because she doesn't meet her daily quota. Del, who has been quickly promoted to an overseer too, runs his crew with kindness and respect, and he is protective of Rae, whom he believes to be a teen boy. But Crow sets out to destroy Rae Lynn (then known as Ray), and his repeated attempts to seriously harm her form a good deal of the tension and suspense in the story.

From this basic premise, author Everhart spins a compelling and complicated love story. This is not a classic romance, but is more of a historical novel in which the author captures the feel and danger and sadness of a place and time with authenticity. Her use of idiom is excellent (I'm from the Deep South and so can speak to this). The story has an edge-of-your-quality to it and is well paced. The characters are the main thing, and how they find themselves finally to love. Yet, as dominant as Del and Rae Lynn are, another character, Cornelia, almost steals the show from them. She is the abused wife of the man who runs the company store, and her friendship with Rae Lynn is a strong part of the story.

All in all, a wonderful novel.

Note: once I can post on Amazon, I will review there too, and will do a longer review for Southern Literary Review. Thank you for letting me read this netgalley manuscript.

I loved this book and especially the main character, Rae Lynn Cobb. She reminded me of my mother and my mother's accounts of the depression!
This woman has true grit, heart, and a constitution that is no match for anyone!
I found myself right there in the depression,....when things were so hard; and people were just trying to make a living and survive from day to day!. It is however an emotional read yet with heart-warming and beautiful characters with clear details in a historical fiction.
I enjoyed reading this outstanding book and loved every minute of it!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

What drew me to this book was the unique setting, a turpentine camp during the Great Depression. My knowledge of turpentine refining was nil, and this book does give you an overview.

The book is told in two perspectives. Rae Lynn’s narration begins in North Carolina which earned its nickname, the Tar Heel State, because tar, pitch and turpentine produced by longleaf pine trees stuck to your shoes. Rae Lynn and her husband, Warren, are the proprietors of a small turpentine farm which barely sustains them. Warren’s propensity to cut corners when it comes to safety means a shortage of workers, and Rae Lynn helps run the farm. Unfortunately, Warren is also impatient, and his two faults ultimately lead to his demise. Fearing she will be held responsible for Warren’s death, Rae Lynn flees North Carolina.

The second perspective is Del’s, a womanizer who has a near-death experience and undergoes a profound change. Rae Lynn and Del meet at Swallow Hill turpentine camp. The camp is a true company camp, paying in scrip, not money. Workers who don’t meet their quota are whipped, and sometimes placed in an isolation box. And the lack of money means you can never leave.

What I liked about the book is that it gave me a glimpse into a facet of life I never knew about. What I didn’t like about the book is that instead of focusing on a turpentine camp during the Great Depression and really exploring that subject, the book wanders into sexuality (Del and every woman he meets, which gets tiring), homosexuality and domestic abuse, as well as racial discrimination, segregation, prejudice and injustice. And everything gets all neatly tied up in the last chapter of the book. The writing is simplistic, using the vernacular of the time and place, and the characters were insubstantial.

As for the title, it's mystifying as I never did figure out who would have been a saint.

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Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with a free e-arc of The Saints of Swallow Hill by Donna Everhart in exchange for an honest review. This historical fiction novel will be on my mind and in my heart for a long time.

Everhart crafted such vivid descriptions that I felt like I was there with the characters, enduring their hardships with them. Her ability to ground me in the story really helped me to connect with the characters, even the ones I couldn’t relate much to at all.

I loved Delwood’s character development- I didn’t like or care about his character at all in the beginning, but he ended up becoming someone I both rooted for and admired. I loved Rae’s character from the very beginning- and I also loved watching her find the strength and courage that she didn’t know she already had within her. In fact, all of the female characters were strong and only grew stronger under adversity. Everhart even had me invested in the minor characters, to the point where I was wondering what happened to many of them after they were no longer in the story.

Everhart also highlights many of the adversities I had never considered- from the bigger things, like being forcibly indebted to your company... to the smaller things, like having to stuff your own mattress. I already knew that life today is so much easier and automatic than it was back then, but experiencing life then through Everhart’s writing brings it to a whole new level. She truly makes you feel the fears and struggles that comes with fighting to simply survive.

This would make a great book club choice, because there is so much to discuss- social injustices like racism, sexism, and unfair labor practices, as well as history, character development, relationships, ethics/ morality, bravery, etc. Everhart even gets you started by providing discussion questions at the end of the book. Beware that on top of those difficult subjects, the book does include domestic abuse and violence.

The Saints of Swallow Hill gets a 4 out of 5 ⭐️ from me.

To avoid the persecution after the death of her husband, Rae Lynn Cobb disguises as a man and starts to work as turpentiner in a isolated camp Swallow Hill Georgia.

Time is hard in 1930s depression and even harder for a woman who pretends to be a man. The labourers are punished and treated very badly, but kindness and gratitude prevail and the story is full of friendship and hope.

The narrative is captivating and emphasizes social issues and injustice.

Recommended for anyone interested in learning more about different American life and time.

Set in the Great Depression, this novel is mainly about social issues and romance. While the plot is not extremely fresh, this book's most interesting feature was the Southern accent to me. I can imagine just how much work the author has put into it! I give it three stars, because I would like to see more story lines and more characters developed, such as the workers at Swallow Hill. It would have added more to the feel of that difficult time in history.

I enjoy reading anything that gives me an opportunity to learn something new about places and/or an era in history while I’m absorbed in a good story. Set in 1930s depression era turpentine camps in the south, this well researched story transports the reader into a difficult time in southern history as it is told through the two main characters Rae Lynn Cobb and Del Reese. Rae Lynn and her husband run a small turpentine operation in North Carolina. After the tragic death of her husband and the threatening advances of her neighbor, Rae Lynn disguises herself as a man, takes the little savings she has and runs from the only home she has known. Rae Lynn becomes Ray Cobb and lands a job at a turpentine camp. Del is a womanizer not caring who he has sex with believing that all women are enamored with him. Del finds himself in the unfortunate situation of having slept with the wrong man’s wife. The angry husband attempts to take his life in an unsuccessful work related “accident”. Del leaves his life behind and gets a job at the same turpentine camp as Ray Cobb (aka Rae Lynn Cobb). There are many tragic events throughout including the inhumane punishment and treatment of camp workers by the camp bosses. The use of a payment vs debt system keeps camp workers in financial debt with no way out. The Saints of Swallow Hill immerses you into a time and place of a long gone era. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about a different time in American life.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I've never read a book having to do with turpentine work camps in the depression era so this was very interesting to me. The story is about two separate characters who come together; Del, a white worker among black men and Rae Lynn, an orphan who marries but is left on her own. I enjoyed this book and would read more by this author in the future.

Having read The Education of Dixie Dupree by Donna Everhart I was excited to read another of her books about the South. The Saints of Swallow Hill is a historical fiction story that takes place during the Great Depression in Georgia, and the Carolinas where people were living day by day, doing what they could to survive. Tent camps were plentiful. In the South, producing turpentine from the pine trees was a cash crop, but it was hard and demeaning work. Racial division was quite prevalent.
Del, well skilled in turpentining and a charmer, doesn’t need much but an honest wage. He comes to work in the turpentine camp running from his past and is willing to work among the Blacks. Rae Lynn Cobb, a woman now disguised as a young man named Ray, scared but bravely comes to the camp, as she has fled after the awful death of her husband and from a neighbor’s indecent advancements. Cornelia is the brow beaten wife of Otis, a domineering man who ill treats his wife. He is a great friend of Crow and tender of the store. Del is also a compassionate man who looks out for the young boy Ray and Cornelia and earns the ire of his line boss,Crow, and Otis. Each harbors a secret from their past. Eventually this leads to strong tensions that will culminate in an intense scene before there is a resolution. No spoilers though.

Both Del, Rae Lynn, and Cornelia are looking for redemption, and a second chance to find a sense of belonging. Although at times it was hard to read about the trials that these characters experience, there is hope. This is a story that will stay with you long after the last page. The characters are well developed that you will root for to have them find happiness. I liked how the author gave their back stories before they came together told through the varying characters' voices. I enjoyed reading about the history of turpentining as well as the perspective of the Great Depression in the Deep South. If you enjoyed Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds, you would enjoy this book as well.

Many thanks to #netgalley #donnaeverhart #thesaintsofswallowhill for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book is an emotional rollercoaster, it makes you feel so many things. You easily get transported to the depression era south and emotionally invested in the characters. I found a lot of this book to really historically fascinating and insightful where I learned new things. The plot and characters are amazing!

Set during the 1930’s depression, this is the story of two wandering souls who find redemption in a backbreaking turpentine camp, and learn they are stronger than they think.

Rae Lynn Cobb flees the home she’s known and loved after the horrific death of her husband, and subsequent indecent proposal from a neighbor. Scared and afraid of reprisal, she cuts off her hair and hides as a young man named Ray in a Southern Carolina turpentine camp. The work is hard, the pay negligible, but it’s the harassment from a line boss that finally ruins Ray’s secret.

Delwood Reese faced his comeuppance in the middle of a corn shute, and now he is at Swallow Hill to bury himself in work and forget the past. Del’s curiosity is tweaked by the arrival of a new guy, Ray, who seems too young and inexperienced for the tough camp life. He tries to watch over the kid but his easy-going attitude and affinity for the Blacks he works with brings the ire of a mean line boss and lands him in hot water.

As the hot southern sun heats up the land, tensions rise and it culminates in an explosive scene where secrets are revealed and new paths forged.

This is an engrossing read. At first I wasn’t sure I liked womanizing Del, but he quickly won me over with his kindness and loyalty. Rae Lynn is guilt-ridden over her husband’s unnecessary death and much of the story is on her recovery from the ordeal. She is incredibly brave to take on a man’s job in the turpentine camp with its long hours and tough work, but her inner strength shines under the continual abuse from a cruel man.

A symbolic story of good over evil, this is a recommended read!

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

Took me a little bit to get into this one, but I enjoyed reading.
I will be looking for other books by this author in the future.
This is not something I would normally pick up to read based on the description, but it caught my interest and I am so glad I requested. It was an excellent read.
I recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy which I was given at no cost in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book partly because it was completely new subject matter for me and partly because it had quite a bit of drama. It was set in the depression era and took place mostly in the turpentine camps. Hard work, long days, poor pay, owing money to the company store, heat, racial inequality and corporal punishment are all addressed in this book, as well as love, caring and kindness. I gave it 3 stars because it wrapped up a little too neatly in the end. One of the big pluses was the reading guide which would make it excellent as a book club choice.

a story that’s beautifully, almost lyrically, written…and depressing as hell. they weren’t kidding when they drew comparisons between this book and ‘the four winds’, but that’s not to say that this book is a wash-rinse-repeat of the kristin hannah classic. ‘the saints of swallow hill’ easily stands on its own with its authentic, engaging, and unique storyline and characters.

I loved this book. A four star read for me. Good pacing. A lot of character growth in Del, Rae Lynn, and Cornelia. The first half of the book was a bit intense.

The novel was well researched (I liked learning about the turpentine process) and for the most part well written. It was sometimes hard to follow who was speaking and the author used the term ‘said’ excessively.

Thank you Net Galley and Kensington Books for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TheSaintsofSwallowHill

I loved this book and especially the main character, Rae Lynn Cobb.
This woman has true grit, heart, and a constitution that is no match for anyone!
I found myself in the depression, in the deep south; when things were so hard; and people were just trying to make a living and survive from day to day.
Rae Lynn and her husband are running a tiny turpentine farm when tragedy takes place and Rae Lynn suddenly finds herself a widow.
Now what?
Her journey starts again, and she will do all she has to survive!
This is an excellent novel that will have you reading quickly to get to the end!

Set in the deep South during the Great Depression - Rae Lynn and Dell find work and meet in a turpentine camp, where cruelty and poverty make workers' lives difficult.
Vivid historical novel, good characters and some heartbreak, also provides some insights on how turpentine is produced.

The Saints of Swallow Hill
by Donna Everhart
What a wonderfully written book and subject. I was glued to this, every spare minute was spent on this book. It touched on many things you feel. I was sad, but what a glorious end as well.

The writing is good. It’s just that I lost interest in the story as it’s almost all based in a turpentine camp. It was also very hard to read in some parts due to the abuse. Also, did the book have to start that way? I don’t like heroes who would behave that way!

I’m glad I read it though because I learned a few things about turpentine. Fiction with some facts are the best!

he Saints of Swallow Hill by D. Everhart, published by Kensington Books, is a beautiful stand-alone.
Set in the deep south of the US in time of great depression it's an emotional read, complex, heart-warming, creativ with beautiful characters and details, a historical fiction.
I greatly enjoyed reading this outstanding book, loved every minute of it.