Reviews

The Saints of Swallow Hill by Donna Everhart

jansbookcorner's review

3.0

I'm struggling with a review on this book. There was a lot I liked about it. Ms Everhart has a great way with prose. Her descriptions of scenes puts the reader right there. The downside for me is that I never had a true connection to the characters plus I found the romance part to be predictable. Overall a good story worth the read.

floridababe51's review

5.0

Excellent story of the depression era in the South. Great characters that really put you into the story.

bookish_withsky's review

3.0

Let me say this: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was nervous that it would be disgusting and very racist at first. Don’t get me wrong - it is. But not in the way where it seems as if the author is as well. She wrote the behavior of some people that was accurate for the time and called out the horrible behavior. It was fun, it was heart wrenching how people were treated, and it was interesting. The characters felt a little one dimensional and the pacing was maybe a little off. I can definitely say one character deserved so much more than she got. But I still enjoyed it and am interested in reading more from this author.

mtzbookworm64's review

5.0

Alternating chapters tell the lives of Rae Lynn Cobb and Delwood Reese - who will eventually both end up at Swallow Hill - a turpentine camp in Georgia.

A young Rae Lynn is married to an older man, Warren, and lives in North Carolina where they run a very small turpentine operation. Warren rescues her from an orphanage and takes her as his wife and makes her work along him. An unfortunate accident leaves Rae Lynn to choice but to run away and hide a secret from the only place she could call home.

Delwood is also on the run from his mistakes at a farm he worked at. He chased everything in a skirt and was caught with the bosses wife.

Can the two leave their demons behind and make it at Swallow Hill? Or will Swallow Hill be the end for both of them?

saguilar429's review

4.0

Good story my only qualm was how long it took to get to the meat 

cpriley401's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

saraht_99's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book was written in a way that made my southern soul warm. I learned a lot about turpentining and the depression era in the South. Rae Lynn and Cornelia were some of the strongest women characters I’ve ever read about and their friendship was so genuine and special. Kinda just highlighted how men are the worst and try to gain control over women and men alike to get a leg up in society, which I also appreciated. I just love Donna’s style of writing and am excited to check out her other titles! The only reason it was a five star is because the ending felt a little rushed. I could have easily read 50-100 more pages about Rae Lynn and Del’s new life!

ricochet_books's review

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ampkbe's review

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

mjyoung's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25