I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The time period was an interesting setting to me, and I also liked the area where the story took place. I thought a lot of the story was predictable and some things were implausible. But it was a quick read with a happy ending.

4 stars

This books reads like a William Faulkner novel, both in terms of the setting (Depression Era in the rural US South), and in terms of tone & content. It’s really well written, and it was difficult for me to read. Despite the mostly tragic & violent happenings, it actually has a positive ending for most of the protagonists.

(But do check the content warnings before reading; there is significant violence & bigotry in this story)

[What I liked:]

•Dell is a great protagonist. His introduction is quite unique & interesting. He’s not a perfect person (he seduces a bunch of married women early on), but he respects other people as human beings with dignity (regardless of race or gender), & stands up against violence & bullying. I enjoyed seeing from his perspective in the story.

•Rae Lynn is also a great MC. She is smart, compassionate, hard working, & determined to survive. She goes through some awful things but hangs onto her identity & empowers others.

•I appreciated the inclusion of queer themes & characters. The experiences of the queer character are subtly & tenderly portrayed, but there is a lot of nasty bigotry as well. It was actually really interesting (& disturbing) to see how intertwined the sexism, transphobia, & homophobia were in this story.

•The writing is so well done. The prose & dialogue, yes; but I was especially impressed with the way the story is constructed. All the subtle hints of menace & impending disaster slowly build up towards the doom you’re dreading as you read. Honestly, I think it’s this aspect of the book that reminds me of Faulkner the most. The tragedy that befalls Rae Lynn’s husband reminds me of As I Lay Dying. Rae Lynn, a woman alone in a predatory world of violent men, reminds me of Light In August, etc.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•It’s not a flaw in the book or a criticism of it, but whew were there a lot of traumatic events in this story!

CW: racism, sexism, homophobia/transphobia, infidelity, murder, torture, sexual assault, domestic violence, death from injury

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I am a huge fan of the author's writing and attempted to read this book in both audio and digital form, but it felt too long to me. I was not as invested and was unable to work my way through to the end.
For fans of historical fiction based in the southern USA post civil war, this will be a good book to pick up. i am not as interested in the topic and therefore, it did not appeal to me.
I think the author's writing style is still evocative and would definitely pick up another book by her if I am better equipped to appreciate the content!
The narrator did a fabulous job of bringing the people to life, It just was not the book for me.

North Carolina storyteller Donna Everhart returns to the south in an emotional story set in the depression-era South. THE SAINTS OF SWALLOW HILL explores the turpentine industry and the people employed in the work camps in the forest.

The story revolves around Rae Lynn Cobb and Delwood ‘Del’ Reese, employed by the Swallow Hill work camp in Georgia. Swallow Hill was filled with dangers from an environmental perspective and within its labor camp practices.

Rae Lynn, recently widowed under tragic circumstances, once ran a small-scale turpentine farm with her late husband. She is on the run to escape her previous life and ends up at the Swallow Hill camp. Disguised as a man “Ray Cobb,” she seeks employment and is put to work with the rest of the men.

From alternating narratives of Rae Lynn and Del’s, we learn the backstories and working conditions that are cruel and involve racism and misogyny. I enjoyed Rae Lynn and Cornelia, both strong and brave women. A fitting title.

Like her other books I have read, a beautifully written story of resilience and survival.

Heartbreaking yet insightful and informative, I always enjoy Donna's storytelling as she honors the Southern states and their rich history that often goes unnoticed. Her characters always come alive on the page, and you are assured to learn something along the way.

Well-researched I had no clue about this part of history that she brings to light and enjoyed her author's note which I found interesting regarding the naval stores. As well as Zora Neale Hurston who spent time in Florida documenting what it was like to work in a labor camp. As an NC native, I did not know the state was at one time the top producer of naval stores in the world.

An ideal pick for book clubs with an extensive Reading Group Guide included.

Thank you to #Kensington and #NetGalley for an ARC and ALC #TantorAudio narrated by Amy Melissa Bentley for an engaging performance.

Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 25, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars
Jan 2022 Must-Read Books

This was a wonderful story. I loved it from the very start. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator's voice. She really brought the book to life. I truly became that engrossed in the story I was upset when it ended. I just loved how cultural the book was, its a fantastic insight into how life used to be like. I actually felt like I was in the story myself living as they did. I really connected with the main character and easily became emotionally involved with her story. I find these stories even more wonderful as I don't live in the US but I just love learning about Americans history and cultures. This book gave me a real insight into what is was like during the great depression. I really recommend this book to all those who love to be immersed in the history and culture of the dep South. Also for those like me who really love a diverse range of historical history fiction books. I will definitely be looking for more books by this wonderful author. 

So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for creating this stunning page turning, edge of your seat novel.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-saints-of-swallow-hill-by-donna-everhart-tantor-audio-4-stars either under my name or ladyreading365 or lady Reading365 or ladyc reading

Historical fiction gets me every time. I found this friendship story to be one of the best so far this year. Just beautiful!

I found this book to be problematic and tone-deaf. The protagonist has a pretty weak character to begin with and unfortunately, she never really finds her legs. Fans of historical fiction during slave times will like it, but the lack of character development and the dialogue did not seem natural.

I spent about 10 years in NC when I was younger and this book sure brought me back. I really enjoyed the accent of the narrator and didn't find it "too much" as I've seen other people say. In fact, I even sped it up to 1.75 and it was still very easy to listen to. I found the "he said" then "he said" then "she said" constantly to be very distracting on audio. I also had a physical copy and it wasn't as prevalent when reading (because you can skim over that), but on audio its hard to miss. I wish the author didn't use "said" so many times.

The story itself was a bit slow, but historical fiction isn't my typical genre so I think that reflection was more on me than the book. I just never felt like I had to quickly pick it up again to find out what happened. Overall I enjoyed it, but nothing spectacular.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio copy of The Saints Of Swallow Hill by Donna Everhart. This is a tragically beautiful story for lovers of literary fiction. Highly recommend!!

The Saints of Swallow Hill is an historical fiction story about a time and events I did not know about. I had no idea about the history of making turpentine and how the companies that owned the turpentine companies treated their employees like indentured servants or slaves. Life in the south and the Appalachians was difficult in the best of times, but during the depression it was worse. This is the story of Rae Lynn, who was raised in an orphanage. When she ages out, she meets kind, Warren who she marries. They live a good life, until he falls off the roof and severely injures himself. He tries to kill himself, but ends up surviving a gut shot, so he asks Rae Lynn to finish the job. She does as he asks only for his best friend to walk in. He tries to blackmail Rae Lynn into having a physical relationship with him so she takes off. Disguising herself as a man, Ray, she takes a job in a turpentine camp, known as Swallow Hill. Things do not go well and she is outed as a female. There she meets Cornelia Riddle, wife of the commissary owner, Otis. Otis is a cruel man who takes out his frustrations on his wife. One of the woods riders, Crow, is also a mean, cruel man who has Ray/Rae in his sights and wants to make an example of her. If it wasn't for kind and understanding Delwood Reese, things might have turned out different. Rae, Del and Nellie form a friendship and take off from Swallow Hill, hoping to get away and start a new life. Will they make it? What will the escape mean to their future?

This was a sad, melancholy story about wonderful characters and a time I constantly try to learn more about. Donna Everhart's writing makes this story one that I couldn't put down and that I had to find out what was going to happen to our three main characters. The way these companies kept the workers beholden to them was disgraceful. Running down workers who had enough and left was similar to how escaped slaves were treated. This was a dangerous job with environmental threats, lack of water and proper nutrition, overwork and punishments from the woods rider if you didn't reach quota. There is a bit of a romance between Rae and Del, but that is minor and is at the end of the story. Although heartbreaking at times, there is honesty in the telling and hope at the end. If you enjoy historical fiction with all its warts, then this well written story is one for you. I did a read/listen with the audiobook narrated by Amy Melissa Bentley. She does a great job with the voices, especially the southern accents and cadence. A narrator I enjoyed.

I could not get into this book. It was so harsh and depressing, I gave it a few chapters to see if I could fall in love with the characters but in the end I had to put it down. The writing is great and I enjoyed the narrator of this audio version, it just wasn’t something I wanted to read right now.

Rating: 4.25/5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of The Saints of Swallow Hill. This book is a great historical fiction novel that takes the reader to the turpentine camps and pine forests of the American South during the Great Depression (of which I had no prior knowledge) and it was well researched by the author. The story delves into a world that is vividly brought to life with the author's descriptive language and compelling characters. I felt as if I had been transported back to this time in North Carolina and that I was part of the story as I interacted with the characters.

I was a big fan of this book. I wasn't sure when I requested to read it if I would love it but it turned out to be a very good read. I will be recommending this to my book club!

Thank you NetGalley. I liked the concept for this story and I also enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing. The narrator for this audiobook ruined it for me though - I would read a physical copy..

Thank you so much to Tantor Audio for my ALC! This book was such a beautiful, heartbreaking story filled with so much heartache. I absolutely loved it. To see what Rae Lynn went through and how she faced adversity, that most of us couldn’t even imagine. It was so encouraging. The narrator did a wonderful job with portraying the feelings of this book. Definitely recommend for fans of Four Winds!

This book opens with scenes of a man having sex with other men's wives. Yes multiple. I could not keep reading. Starting that way very much guarantees I'm not going to enjoy or appreciate the rest of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. This is my first book by Donna Everhart, but it won’t be my last. The Saints of Swallow Hill was an atmospheric, enlightening historical fiction about the southeast during the Depression. One of the major crops in the state was turpentine - laborers hacked into pine tree trunks to draw out the sticky sap and hauled the resin to refineries to be distilled into turpentine. This is the reason that North Carolina is often referred to as the Tar Heel State. I loved the characters of Dell and Rae Lynn, their perseverance and steadfast will to survive during desperate times.

It’s the Great Depression and if you know anything about it you’ll know it was hard to find work. Harsh environment and harsh people work camps. And many people found their way into them and they were barely surviving.
This had likable characters and ones I hated. I will definitely check out more novels by this author.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and loved Amy Melissa Bentley narrating this. She made it really enjoyable and believable. It’s 12 hours and 13 minutes long.
This in my opinion is a great book club book and had all the makings of a buddy or beach read.
Thanks Tantor Audio via NetGalley.

I love historical fiction that I can learn from. I thank Donna Everhart for her deep research into the turpentine industry and the pine forests of the South. I really knew nothing about them until now. She has written a great story based on this industry that also made me think about how damaging it has been to our environment… in more ways than one. I’m glad she included passages on the proper retrieval methods and restoration of the forest for generations to come. I received the audio version from #netgalley. Thank you! I have already recommended this to several friends.

I love historical fiction, so I was attracted to this book right away. I learned a lot including why North Carolina is called the Tar Heel State and about turpentining. I had never heard of this before and ended up researching a bit to enhance my reading experience. As with most books that take place in the South in the early 1900's, I found much of the book difficult to read. The treatment of both blacks and woman was awful and caused me both anger and pain. Everhart created some great characters in this novel. I loved the back-and-forth narration from Del to Raye Lyn. It allowed the reader to get to know each character individually, and to not only understand what brought them to Swallow Hill in the first place, but why they felt and behaved the way they did. The novel follows them over an extended period so that by the end you almost feel like you really know them. I enjoyed the history lesson, the characters and how everything wrapped up at the end. I had some concerns that the end would be rushed, but it ended up being just right.

After a near death experience Del Reese ends up at a turpentine camp in Georgia called Swallow Hill. After meeting a nasty with a horrible man, they call "Crow", Del begins to think maybe this is a bad idea but it is only day one and he is already in debt to the camp. Shortly thereafter, a strange fellow named Ray Cobb shows up. What no one realizes is that Ray Cobb is a woman by the name of Rae Lynn Cobb, who is hiding a deadly secret. Turpentining is hard work and Rae Lynn cannot seem to keep up with the men in camp. Del knows something is not quite right with Ray Cobb but cannot figure out what it is. As the hot summer days wear on, the increased hostility and racism make the camp life unbearable. Ray Lynn ends up having her own near-death experience and can no longer hide her gender. Soon the two along with a friend escape the camp for greener pastures. But can Rae Lynn ever escape her past and learn to trust again?