Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
The Refuge by Ann H. Gabhart begins in October of 1849 in Harmony Hill, Kentucky. Darcie and Walter Goodwin joined the Shaker community to evade cholera which is sweeping through the area. The Shakers have been fortunate not to have been affected by the horrible disease. It was supposed to be a temporary stay for them since they are unable to live as husband and wife. Unfortunately, Walter dies when a steamboat explodes. Since Darcie has no other alternatives, she stays with the Shakers even though she does not embrace their beliefs. Darcie is pregnant which unnerves the Shakers since they find marriage to be sinful and believe it creates disharmony. Darcie makes friends with the other ladies in her room and they form a close bond. Darcie prays for a solution to her dilemma because she knows that her baby will not be allowed to stay with her once it is weaned.
Flynn Keller lives his headstrong daughter, Leatrice on his father-in-law’s (Silas Cox) farm. Both men lost their wives in recent years, leaving them to raise Leatrice. They are worried about Leatrice who seems to rush headlong into danger just like her mother. Silas suggests Flynn join the Shakers for a time to provide structure for Leatrice, but Flynn knows he will not be able to keep his daughter with him at Harmony Hill. Flynn encounters Darcie while working with a horse for the Shakers. He is captivated by the beautiful woman and Leatrice takes to Darcie right away. But then Silas makes an impulsive decision that endangers them all. What does God have in store for Darcie, Flynn, Silas and Leatrice?
The Refuge is a well-written novel that proceeds at a gentle pace. I could tell that Ann H. Gabhart has done her research into the Shakers. It was interesting to learn about the Shaker community and their beliefs. I was surprised to learn that the correct name for them is Believers in the Second Coming of Christ. It is outsiders who labeled them Shakers. It is not a religion that would suit every individual especially since men and women are kept separate and not allowed to raise their own children. They did have a strong work ethic and thriving villages. The characters were developed and realistic. I liked that there are characters who have differing viewpoints (those that embrace the Shakers and those that do not) and a variety of ages. I liked the friendships that developed between Darcie and her roommates. Faith is woven into the story making an integral part of The Refuge. The Shakers might have a different ideas, but they believe in God like all Christians. Leatrice was a delight. She was a precocious little girl who lit up the story along with the two babies. The Refuge is not a straightforward romance which I appreciated. There is intrigue, friendships, kittens, childhood drama, faith, a depressed horse, and love. The ending is sweet and heartwarming. There is one phrase from The Refuge I wanted to share. It is “take each day as it comes with the blessings and trials it brings, for the Lord only promises us this day”. The Refuge provides an insightful look into the Shakers and those who sought refuge with them.
Flynn Keller lives his headstrong daughter, Leatrice on his father-in-law’s (Silas Cox) farm. Both men lost their wives in recent years, leaving them to raise Leatrice. They are worried about Leatrice who seems to rush headlong into danger just like her mother. Silas suggests Flynn join the Shakers for a time to provide structure for Leatrice, but Flynn knows he will not be able to keep his daughter with him at Harmony Hill. Flynn encounters Darcie while working with a horse for the Shakers. He is captivated by the beautiful woman and Leatrice takes to Darcie right away. But then Silas makes an impulsive decision that endangers them all. What does God have in store for Darcie, Flynn, Silas and Leatrice?
The Refuge is a well-written novel that proceeds at a gentle pace. I could tell that Ann H. Gabhart has done her research into the Shakers. It was interesting to learn about the Shaker community and their beliefs. I was surprised to learn that the correct name for them is Believers in the Second Coming of Christ. It is outsiders who labeled them Shakers. It is not a religion that would suit every individual especially since men and women are kept separate and not allowed to raise their own children. They did have a strong work ethic and thriving villages. The characters were developed and realistic. I liked that there are characters who have differing viewpoints (those that embrace the Shakers and those that do not) and a variety of ages. I liked the friendships that developed between Darcie and her roommates. Faith is woven into the story making an integral part of The Refuge. The Shakers might have a different ideas, but they believe in God like all Christians. Leatrice was a delight. She was a precocious little girl who lit up the story along with the two babies. The Refuge is not a straightforward romance which I appreciated. There is intrigue, friendships, kittens, childhood drama, faith, a depressed horse, and love. The ending is sweet and heartwarming. There is one phrase from The Refuge I wanted to share. It is “take each day as it comes with the blessings and trials it brings, for the Lord only promises us this day”. The Refuge provides an insightful look into the Shakers and those who sought refuge with them.
I have read several books by this author. One of the things I like about this author and her books is the Amish lifestyle that some of the books are focused around. Thus the reason that I wanted to read this book.
Darcie was fine. In fact, she is probably the one I enjoyed the most. The location is also another good aspect about this book. Yet, everything else did not impress me. The other characters as well as the storyline. I struggled right away to find my footing with this book. It moved slowly and it was made only worse by the fact that I was not connecting with the other characters.
My reading style with this book was more of a skimming method. While, I was not such a fan of this book, I would read another one by this author.
Darcie was fine. In fact, she is probably the one I enjoyed the most. The location is also another good aspect about this book. Yet, everything else did not impress me. The other characters as well as the storyline. I struggled right away to find my footing with this book. It moved slowly and it was made only worse by the fact that I was not connecting with the other characters.
My reading style with this book was more of a skimming method. While, I was not such a fan of this book, I would read another one by this author.
Odd . . . Odd . . . Odd . . . Weird! Which may be why it's taken me soooooooooooo long to finish.
***UPDATED WITH REAL REVIEW***
My Review:
Genre: Bologna.
My Rating: 1 star.
My Recommendation: None.
My Favorite Character/s: Me. I’m my favorite character because I stuck with it and finished this book.
My Verse for Me is Job 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. (King James Version.) (Yes, I erred in requesting this book.)
My Thoughts: I really only have the ability to do my thoughts right now because I’m in shock at the oddness of this book and the Shaker cult, (I researched it, in 2017 there were only 2 Shakers left in America, no wonder since it’s illegal for ‘religions’ to adopt and the Shakers are against the whole marriage thing of course since not everyone follows ‘the one path’ to live right there are plenty of people to convert to Shakerisam. *insert eyeroll and heavy heavy dose of sarcasm*) anyway, since this book is the oddest in history I really have no idea what to say other than; I don’t recommend this book.
And let’s not forget the whole woman poisoning her husband and getting away with it.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review and am truly happy to provide it — all the thoughts are my own.
***UPDATED WITH REAL REVIEW***
My Review:
Genre: Bologna.
My Rating: 1 star.
My Recommendation: None.
My Favorite Character/s: Me. I’m my favorite character because I stuck with it and finished this book.
My Verse for Me is Job 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. (King James Version.) (Yes, I erred in requesting this book.)
My Thoughts: I really only have the ability to do my thoughts right now because I’m in shock at the oddness of this book and the Shaker cult, (I researched it, in 2017 there were only 2 Shakers left in America, no wonder since it’s illegal for ‘religions’ to adopt and the Shakers are against the whole marriage thing of course since not everyone follows ‘the one path’ to live right there are plenty of people to convert to Shakerisam. *insert eyeroll and heavy heavy dose of sarcasm*) anyway, since this book is the oddest in history I really have no idea what to say other than; I don’t recommend this book.
And let’s not forget the whole woman poisoning her husband and getting away with it.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review and am truly happy to provide it — all the thoughts are my own.
An interesting book on an interesting topic, any fan of historical fiction should give this book a go!
This is the first book I've ever read on Shakers and Ann H. Gabhart did a really wonderful job incorporating them into this book. She introduced you to a whole other culture and idea of living, but not in a way that was rushed or confusing. She also did a great job in balancing what the Shakers believe with what we know is true in the Bible.
I really loved the characters in this book, and how all of them grew throughout the book. Something special about this book was not just watching the main characters develop, but seeing all the characters in the book grow and change. I smiled as I read all their stories, and I was happily turning pages wanting to know what happened to them.
Although I understand that this book is "technically" part of a series or something, it stands alone. The author has other Shaker books that share a similar setting, but other than that I don't see any cross over.
4 out of 5 stars, I look forwarding to reading more by this author!
This is the first book I've ever read on Shakers and Ann H. Gabhart did a really wonderful job incorporating them into this book. She introduced you to a whole other culture and idea of living, but not in a way that was rushed or confusing. She also did a great job in balancing what the Shakers believe with what we know is true in the Bible.
I really loved the characters in this book, and how all of them grew throughout the book. Something special about this book was not just watching the main characters develop, but seeing all the characters in the book grow and change. I smiled as I read all their stories, and I was happily turning pages wanting to know what happened to them.
Although I understand that this book is "technically" part of a series or something, it stands alone. The author has other Shaker books that share a similar setting, but other than that I don't see any cross over.
4 out of 5 stars, I look forwarding to reading more by this author!
First Reviewed here: http://belovedgraceful-carissasbookshelf.blogspot.com/2019/05/review-of-refuge.html
Title: The Refuge
Author: Ann H Gabhart
Chapters: 35 plus epilogue
Pages: 400
Genre: Christian Historical fiction
Rating: 4 stars
The Refuge by Ann H. Gabhart is not my first by her, but it is my first Shaker book that I’ve read. Darcie and her husband end up at Harmony Hill the fictional Shaker village in Kentucky to ride out a Cholera epidemic when he’s killed in an accident. Leaving Darcie widowed and pregnant something that the Shaker’s don’t really know how to deal with. When she meets widower Flynn Keller and his daughter.
I’m not going to lie I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I don’t read Amish fiction and for some reason that’s how I was viewing fiction books about the Shakers the same way. I was surprised but in a good way. Ann gave her characters in this book the same depth that she gives all her characters.
Even though Harmony Hill is a fictional Shaker village it was easy to picture how it was set up because I’ve been to both Shaker villages in Kentucky. And I have a feeling that Ann based Harmony Hill on the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in central Kentucky. Ann brings life to her historical novels as well as the Kentucky setting, all of her books I’ve read have been set in Kentucky and I love that.
My favorite character in the book wasn’t Darcie or Flynn instead it was Flynn’s young daughter whose headstrong nature reminded me a bit of myself at that age. To me she makes the whole book.
The Refuge is a book about leaving to trust God and his timing not our timing. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian historical fiction. As well as readers who like to read fictional stories based on real historic places.
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.
Title: The Refuge
Author: Ann H Gabhart
Chapters: 35 plus epilogue
Pages: 400
Genre: Christian Historical fiction
Rating: 4 stars
The Refuge by Ann H. Gabhart is not my first by her, but it is my first Shaker book that I’ve read. Darcie and her husband end up at Harmony Hill the fictional Shaker village in Kentucky to ride out a Cholera epidemic when he’s killed in an accident. Leaving Darcie widowed and pregnant something that the Shaker’s don’t really know how to deal with. When she meets widower Flynn Keller and his daughter.
I’m not going to lie I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I don’t read Amish fiction and for some reason that’s how I was viewing fiction books about the Shakers the same way. I was surprised but in a good way. Ann gave her characters in this book the same depth that she gives all her characters.
Even though Harmony Hill is a fictional Shaker village it was easy to picture how it was set up because I’ve been to both Shaker villages in Kentucky. And I have a feeling that Ann based Harmony Hill on the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in central Kentucky. Ann brings life to her historical novels as well as the Kentucky setting, all of her books I’ve read have been set in Kentucky and I love that.
My favorite character in the book wasn’t Darcie or Flynn instead it was Flynn’s young daughter whose headstrong nature reminded me a bit of myself at that age. To me she makes the whole book.
The Refuge is a book about leaving to trust God and his timing not our timing. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian historical fiction. As well as readers who like to read fictional stories based on real historic places.
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.
Ann Gabhart goes back to the Shaker communities in her newest novel, The Refuge. And I’m here for it! I’ve reread The Outsider (the first about Shakers) so many times so I couldn’t wait to get into this book!
Ann’s writing has matured quite a bit as has the subject! The plot follows both Darcie, a pregnant widower Shaker woman and Flynn, a widowed horse tamer that lived near the Shaker village, and Flynn’s cute wild daughter, Leatrice. I went in expecting a romantic plot because of this, but let me be clear: this is very much not a romance book. It’s a book about family and friendship. About love in its many forms. I can’t tell more without spoiling but it’s sooo worth it!
At times the pace felt a bit slow, probably because Darcie kept thinking about how she had to leave the Shakers but didn’t know how. And yes, I felt a bit trapped with her, but there were also many blessings. She has 3 sisters who each have their own reason to be in the village, and who give her amazing support. The faults of the Shaker cult were also pointed out, and it shows us we’re all very human and that earth is very much not heaven as they would like to be. The historical details were very mind baffling to read about and the personal tragedies it created all too real.
I liked Flynn’s POV a bit less than Darcie’s, though the cute Leatrice made up a lot with all her insights and questions. I have no experience with children but I think she was written very well. But the antagonist was a bit too much a villain where all the other characters were really human. The ending suprised me though so that was good! However I’m not very happy with how the little bit of romance was handled, it felt a bit rushed.
All in all, it felt good coming back to the Shakers and this story was very entertaining yet thoughtful, so I adored it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an e-arc!
Ann’s writing has matured quite a bit as has the subject! The plot follows both Darcie, a pregnant widower Shaker woman and Flynn, a widowed horse tamer that lived near the Shaker village, and Flynn’s cute wild daughter, Leatrice. I went in expecting a romantic plot because of this, but let me be clear: this is very much not a romance book. It’s a book about family and friendship. About love in its many forms. I can’t tell more without spoiling but it’s sooo worth it!
At times the pace felt a bit slow, probably because Darcie kept thinking about how she had to leave the Shakers but didn’t know how. And yes, I felt a bit trapped with her, but there were also many blessings. She has 3 sisters who each have their own reason to be in the village, and who give her amazing support. The faults of the Shaker cult were also pointed out, and it shows us we’re all very human and that earth is very much not heaven as they would like to be. The historical details were very mind baffling to read about and the personal tragedies it created all too real.
I liked Flynn’s POV a bit less than Darcie’s, though the cute Leatrice made up a lot with all her insights and questions. I have no experience with children but I think she was written very well. But the antagonist was a bit too much a villain where all the other characters were really human. The ending suprised me though so that was good! However I’m not very happy with how the little bit of romance was handled, it felt a bit rushed.
All in all, it felt good coming back to the Shakers and this story was very entertaining yet thoughtful, so I adored it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an e-arc!
Title: The Refuge
Author: Ann H. Gabhart
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Publisher: Revell Publishing
Publication date: April 30, 2019
Page #: 400
Star rating: 4 out of 5.
Back Cover Copy:
“When Darcie and Walter Goodwin hear of a new cholera epidemic sweeping the area, they join the Shakers whose villages seem immune to the disease. It's meant to be a temporary stay, but Walter is killed in a riverboat accident. With no family and no money, Darcie has little choice but to stay with the Shakers. To complicate matters, she is expecting a baby conceived before she and her husband came to the Shaker village. Marital relationships are considered sinful in this celibate community, putting Darcie in a unique--and lonely--position. Can the arrival of widower Flynn Keller and his headstrong daughter offer Darcie the hope of happiness . . . and family?
Ann H. Gabhart returns to the enigmatic world of the Shakers in this emotional exploration of the power of love and the bond of family”
My Review:
In The Refuge you are introduced to two characters, Darcie and Flynn. Darcie came to the Shaker Village with her husband Walter to find a safe haven from the Cholera epidemic. When Darcie finds herself pregnant and alone, she’s faced with an uncertain future.
Widower Flynn longs for stability for he and his daughter. Is it possible that these two could find love in a celebite community? I really enjoyed the book, and thought that Ms. Gabhart did a wonderful job in giving the reader a small history lesson about the beliefs of the Shakers and how their community works. The story is intertwined with the history of the Shakers, so you learn something as you find out more about the characters pitfalls and triumphs. I recommend the book, and really enjoyed all the little unexpected surprises in the story.
I received this book from Revell Books for their online book tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Author: Ann H. Gabhart
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Publisher: Revell Publishing
Publication date: April 30, 2019
Page #: 400
Star rating: 4 out of 5.
Back Cover Copy:
“When Darcie and Walter Goodwin hear of a new cholera epidemic sweeping the area, they join the Shakers whose villages seem immune to the disease. It's meant to be a temporary stay, but Walter is killed in a riverboat accident. With no family and no money, Darcie has little choice but to stay with the Shakers. To complicate matters, she is expecting a baby conceived before she and her husband came to the Shaker village. Marital relationships are considered sinful in this celibate community, putting Darcie in a unique--and lonely--position. Can the arrival of widower Flynn Keller and his headstrong daughter offer Darcie the hope of happiness . . . and family?
Ann H. Gabhart returns to the enigmatic world of the Shakers in this emotional exploration of the power of love and the bond of family”
My Review:
In The Refuge you are introduced to two characters, Darcie and Flynn. Darcie came to the Shaker Village with her husband Walter to find a safe haven from the Cholera epidemic. When Darcie finds herself pregnant and alone, she’s faced with an uncertain future.
Widower Flynn longs for stability for he and his daughter. Is it possible that these two could find love in a celebite community? I really enjoyed the book, and thought that Ms. Gabhart did a wonderful job in giving the reader a small history lesson about the beliefs of the Shakers and how their community works. The story is intertwined with the history of the Shakers, so you learn something as you find out more about the characters pitfalls and triumphs. I recommend the book, and really enjoyed all the little unexpected surprises in the story.
I received this book from Revell Books for their online book tour. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.