Title: The Song of Sourwood Mountain

Author: Ann H Gabhart


Ch: 41 plus epilogue


Pg: 354

Genre: Christian Historical fiction, Christian Historical romance


Rating: 4 stars


Publisher: Revell


The Song of Sourwood Mountain is the newest Kentucky set book by Ann H Gabhart. I have to say the story reminds me of Christy. In the sense Mira a teacher leaves her life in Louisville to teach in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Gordon Covington is a preacher who’s convinced Mira is the teacher the town needs.


What I love about Ann’s apart from the fact that she always gets Kentucky right is that her settings become another character in the book. The town of Sourwood the perfect name for a mountain town and even fictional fits perfectly in the hills of Eastern Kentucky. That seemed like a world away from Louisville in 1910. Heck even today it still can feel a world away.


And it was actually the secondary characters especially Ada June who stole my heart. While the book focuses on Mira and Gordon’s story. It is the secondary characters who help shape them and their story. Mira and Gordon wouldn’t be who they are without the people of Sourwood.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of a blog tour I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.



I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

I knew I would enjoy The Song of Sourwood Mountain by Ann H. Gabhart (marriage of convenience! Kentucky hollers! the author!) but I didn’t realize I would fall so in love with Mira and Gordon, Ada June and Joseph, Bo the dog, and even Miss Vandercleve (who is a hoot!). From the very first page – with Gordon’s shocking proposal – I cared about these characters and I just kept finding more of them to love as Mira meets the people of Sourwood Mountain.

We are treated to three perspectives throughout this story – Mira’s, Gordon’s and 10-year-old orphan Ada June’s. This combination of voices kept me emotionally involved in the story and contributed to that character love I mentioned above. In some ways, I felt like we got young Joseph’s perspective too because Gabhart gave him such personality (and I would love to see a sequel some day featuring him and Ada June). The author uses these layered characters – along with the proud customs of the Kentucky hills – to explore questions of faith and longings for family, and my heart was moved by the lessons that can be gleaned from this story. Of particular meaning to me in this season of my husband’s unexpected unemployment was the reminder that God doesn’t always answer prayers the way we anticipate… or the way we want … but He is ever in our corner to work for our good & beyond our imaginations.

Bottom Line: In The Song of Sourwood Mountain, Ann H. Gabhart lovingly brings the hills of Appalachian Kentucky to life, fully immersing readers in the cadence of the unique dialect and the complex community dynamics. The characters are vividly drawn with deep emotions and yearned-for dreams, and readers will find themselves hurting for and rejoicing with Mira, Gordon, and Ada June as they fall in love with each other – and as we fall in love with them. I came to really adore this fictional holler and its people, and I am tucking away in my heart several faith reminders from this story. Oh – and I thought the epilogue was perfect! If you love Christy by Catherine Marshall, Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee, or the Blue Ridge Romances series from Pepper Basham, you will love The Song of Sourwood Mountain too!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

"The Song of Sourwood Mountain" by Ann H. Gabhart, beckons us invitingly, with a lilting melody, to a captivating tale, inextricably linking faith, love, and the majestic beauty of the mountains in an awesome tapestry. This heartwarming story grips us poignantly, its soul-inspiring melody echoing through the hidden recesses of our hearts. Ann H. Gabhart has an incredible gift for crafting characters whose lives are intricately woven into the very fabric of the novel. Mira Dean is faced with an unexpected proposal. Gordon Brown is a man solely led by faith, trusting in God's well-ordained plans for His beloved children. This unique story unfolds with genuine tenderness. The large-as-life characters capture our hearts with their fiery courage and brave resilience in the face of adversity, adding an eternal depth and exquisite warmth to the story. Throughout the novel pulsates rhythmically the heart-throbbing theme of trusting in God and His awesome plans for our lives. Each person's life, filled with intermittent interludes of joys and sorrows, unfolds in perfect harmony, creating a glorious symphony of faith, hope and love. The Song of Sourwood Mountain plaintively lingers in our hearts, giving us a deeper appreciation for the heart-moving symphonies of life's precious joys and heart-numbing sorrows. This is a soul-stirring journey through the passionate heart of a novel that beckons readers invitingly. Get your own copy quickly!

Have you ever made a quick decision that could potentially be the best decision ever or disastrous? Mira Dean’s put in this position when an old schoolmate turned preacher offers her a teaching position in Sourwood, in the hollers of Appalachian Kentucky. Gordon Covington not only asks her to leave her home in Louisville and current teaching position, but asks for her hand in marriage. After grieving the loss of her deceased fiancé and parents, Mira never imagined her dream of a husband and family would come true, but, can she accept this rash proposal and travel to an unknown, very different community to become their teacher and a preacher’s wife?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved Mira. At first, she has no intention of accepting Gordon’s proposal, but with a little prodding from the spunky Miss Ophelia and after losing her job & home in one fell swoop, she’s willing to take it to the Lord and give it some thought. I admired her bravery and willingness to follow the Lord’s promptings. Gordon was such an enjoyable character too with his golden retriever personality. He had a crush on Mira when they were in school and still carries that attraction. I loved how he wanted to do everything he could to make her comfortable and take care of her.

I loved the people of Sourwood Mountain and the way the author captured their endearing personalities, customs, and speaking. Though considered a “brought-in flatlander” this tight knit community took Mira and “Preacher Gordon” into their hearts and offered them all they had. I especially loved ten year old Ada June and watching her flourish. There’s a bit of a mystery surrounding what happened to her ma. Ada June doesn’t speak and is a sort of wild child, that is until Mira takes her under her wing.

Along with Mira trying to fit in and learn how to help the people of Sourwood, there’s a beautiful marriage of convenience story that grows from friendship to love. Though Gordon falls first, I loved the way Mira had a positive, go with it attitude and was willing to give her marriage a real chance. They’re all in it together and I enjoyed seeing how they worked together to grow closer to each other while helping the people of Sourwood.

Highly recommend this beautiful, inspiring, gentle, endearing story to historical & Christian romance fans. I received an advanced complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own and voluntarily provided.

This was a wonderful story about Mira stepping out on faith to marry Gordon Covington. It took some pushes that she had not expected. Will this be the life she has dreamed of? Or will she look back with regret?

I loved this story! I loved the characters and look forward to reading more from this author.

In her latest release, The Song of Sourwood Mountain, Ann H. Gabhart delivers a tale of sorrows and joy in the Appalachian backcountry at the beginning of the 20th century. Gordon Covington, missionary to the tiny Kentucky community of Sourwood, has come into the big city to find a schoolteacher. But the Lord’s direction tells him to also make Mira Dean his wife. His proposal to the former schoolmate, turned schoolteacher, strikes her as quite shocking and certainly an offer to be refused. However, God has plans for Mira beyond Louisville. And as I have personally learned, sometimes God shoves you kicking and screaming into the place where He means for you to thrive. This is precisely what happens to Mira as Gabhart delivers us all to the hills and hollers where Preacher Gordon introduces the colorful characters who live there and their varied strengths and weaknesses.

Gabhart uses great detail to immerse the reader into the small mountain community, building characters who leap from the page to tug your heartstrings. More than the tale of Gordon and Mira growing into the relationship designed for them by the Almighty, we get to witness the sorrows and joys of various members of the community who we grow to love in this narrative. The balance of those lows and highs in the lives of its people create the song of Sourwood Mountain, the heartbeat of the hills that captivates until the very last note, leaving a sense of home in the heart of the reader.

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

"The Song of Sourwood Mountain" is the lovely story of a "spinster" school teacher in Kentucky in 1910. She is reasonsibly contented in her present life five years post the loss of her fiance to tuberculosis. Out of the blue, Gordon Covington, a childhood schoolmate, shows up and asks her to marry him and become the new school teacher in a tiny rural town in Eastern Kentucky. At the same time, she loses her job and place to live. The book chronicles her journey to fall in love and find acceptance in this new life.

The book is an enjoyable read. My only complaint with the book is that it is only one book. I think it would have served better as a series to give more time and place to draw out the nuances of the characters. The ending is a tiny bit rushed in order to draw it to a conclusion.

I received an advanced reader copy of the book as part of the Revell Reads blogger team in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Song of Sourwood Mountain is a good illustration of early 1900’s life in Eastern Kentucky. The rural, difficult life’s depicted show of hardship and love. The book shows that God can set upon you a calling and plan. He can make changes nobody saw coming. The book shows great examples of God’s grace and love in good times and hard times. Biblical teaching and verses are shared throughout. The book shows us that family can be blood related or not and we are called to love.

I’m picky when it comes to depictions of Appalachian people in novels, but Ann Gabhart never lets me down. The Song of Sourwood Mountain is yet another winner. She describes the beauty of the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and the genuine affection people from the hills have for one another in a way that only illuminates, never condescends.

In this story, Louisville school teacher Mira is alone in the world when all of the threads that hold her life together begin to unravel. In short succession, she loses her rental room and her job. Just as quickly, a visit from an old school friend provides her with a chance at a new adventure in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky as a school teacher and a preacher’s wife. At first, Mira’s sensibilities are shaken, and she can’t see how this will work. However, through some persistent persuasion, her eyes are opened, and she begins to see that it may be the only way to achieve her dreams of teaching and becoming a wife and mother.

Mira arrives at Sourwood Mountain to a quirky cast of neighbors who quickly win readers’ hearts—none more so than the unloved, unwanted orphan Ada June. Mira opens her heart and home to God’s calling and finds herself changed forever.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I’ve had some books by Gabhart on my TBR list for awhile, so I’m thankful I had the opportunity to read this advanced copy.
Mira Dean has been offered a teaching position by an old friend who is now a preacher in the mountain town of Sourwood. She’s shocked that a marriage proposal is also part of the deal, but when all her other options fall through, she ends up accepting both of Gordon’s proposals.
Watching Mira adjust to mountain life, and embrace all of the people, was a real treat.
I loved all of the characters, and that they had real life problems and worries and joys. Ada June was probably my favorite character, and Gabhart did an excellent job narrating the thoughts of a 10 year old girl.
Definitely recommend this book & look forward to read more by this author.

This was a pretty good book which will keep you interested from the very beginning. You have Mira, a school teacher and you have Gordon, a minister. When he asks her to move out to Sourwood Mountain to teach, and then within the next breath, he asks her to marry him, what will she do? At least she already knew Gordon, having gone to school with him as kids, but that is nothing in comparison to this. To answer the question of what Mira will do with this double proposal and more, you will need to read the book.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review.

The Song From Sourwood Mountain became available May 7, 2024.

The Song of Sourwood Mountain by Ann H. Gabhart is yet another wonderful story by an author who is on my favorites list. The story of Mira and Gordon, two unlikely people who find hope and happiness on the mission field in rural Kentucky in the early nineteen hundreds. Schoolteacher Mira is content in her life as an old maid and teacher. When Gordon comes to her church and asks her to marry him and move to the mountains with him to teach young children and their families to read, she is shocked. She is quick to say no, but a set of circumstances send her on her way to him anyhow. What ensues is a beautiful story of love and hope and faith and trust. Very well written. Very emotional. And quite lovely. I could've kept on reading! Thanks NetGalley.

Loved reading the awesome and inspirational story. When Preacher Gordon asks Mira to come to teach in Sourwood and become his wife, Mira is shocked and declines his offer, but when God closes doors, she loses her teaching job and a place to live, Mira realizes God wants her to say yes to Gordon's proposal. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read romance story of two people finding love in the rural town of Sourwood.

I absolutely loved this story. Set in the early 1900s, partially in Louisville, Kentucky, and largely in the Appalachian community of Sourwood, Kentucky, the story is filled with memorable, believable characters that readers will, for the most part, come to love and respect. Of course, there are a few more cantankerous ones to keep the story lively. Readers will share in the characters' joys and sorrows, and may come to see how the two can coincide in their own lives. They may also come to see that they, like some of the people of Sourwood, have more love to give and more backbone to support themselves than they ever realized. As with her other books set in Appalachia, Gabhart shows and understanding of, and a high regard for, the people there, honoring their ways and avoiding caricatures. The colloquial language she incorporates enhances the tale.

I give The Song of Sourwood Mountain five stars and am very grateful to have received a complimentary copy from Revell via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Song of Sourwood Mountain
by Ann H. Gabhart
Pub Date: May 7, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGAlley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
From the pen of bestselling author Ann H. Gabhart comes a heartwarming story of the unexpected blessings that can come when we dare to follow the Lord's leading.
What a great story to become immersed in, and once I was I never wanted to leave.

Ann Gabhart is a master story teller, and this one sure didn't disappoint.

This is a faith based fictional read, and I loved how even though we don't want to do something, God has other plans, and oh how rich our lives become because of him.

“The Lord can speak in sundry ways.”

This sweet story follows a schoolteacher as she learns to trust the Lord and finds her bluebird of happiness in an unexpected place. It is a quaint, homey tale, with touching simplicity and heart.

It is lovely to read how God ties Mira, Gordon, and Ada June together with strands of gentle romance and loving family, amidst the ruggedly beautiful Appalachian setting. Every inhabitant of the mountains had such distinctive character, it was impossible not to be charmed by the place. I could almost envision picking wildflowers there myself.

It isn't terribly often that I find novels so saturated in reminders of God’s love. Nary a paragraph went by without some reassurance of His faithfulness or testament to the goodness of His plans.

If you like stories with heartfelt faith and clean marriage of convenience, this one might be for you 🪺🤍

Gordon and Mira meet at the end of church service and the young Pastor suddenly propose to her feeling in his heart that she is the
one who could teach the Children of Sourwood and built a family with him.
Surprised by the proposal she refuses but a set of unfortunate events forces her to accept his request... She lost her job, her apartment,
she has no choice but to follow the road God put in front of her. God works in mysterious ways he closed all the doors and pushed her to
surrender her will to his and leave for Sourwood where she meets Ada June a young girl in need of a mother and a new community.
It's a good historical fiction,I preferred the first part of the book about the way God worked in Mira's life. I also like the cover, it’s beautiful.

The Song of Sourwood Mountain
by Ann H. Gabhart
Pub DateMay 07 2024
Revell
Christian| Historical Fiction| Romance


Revell and Netgalley have provided me with a copy of The Song of Sourwood Mountain for review:



In 1910, Mira Dean's dreams of being a wife and mother are dashed to pieces. Mira resigns herself to being a spinster schoolteacher after her fiancé died from tuberculosis--until Gordon Covington arrives.


 
Gordon is no longer the boy she knew from school, he is now a preacher full of surprises. First, he invites Mira to teach at his mission school in Sourwood, eastern Kentucky. The second thing he does is ask her to marry him. In a nutshell. Suddenly, all the doors that seemed closed began to open just a crack.




Mira steps out in faith into a life she never imagined, in a place with its own challenges, to serve a people who will end up becoming the family she always wanted.


I give The Song of Sourwood Mountain five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Loved this sweet book! I enjoyed how the Lord worked through the characters, through unexpected paths and people. I loved the variety of perspectives throughout the story to gain deeper insight of each character’s thoughts and feelings.

What would you do if someone you barely knew asked you to marry them? Mira Dean was speechless when Gordon Covington asked her to marry him after church!

Gordon asked her the question after he spoke about his church and school in Sourwood, Kentucky. The school needed a teacher and Gordon wanted a wife.

Mira was a teacher but she didn't feel led to teach at a mountain school, but then her world fell apart - she lost her job, and her apartment shortly after speaking with Gordon!

What will she do - Sourwood Mountain needs a teacher, Mira will be entering a whole new world with no electricity, roads, plumbing or stores - but she would gain friends, a husband and adventure!