These Healing Hills by Ann B. Gebhart - a book review and blog tour

First of all, I need to preface this book review with an explanation.  This was supposed to be posted a week earlier but we've had an interesting time here the last couple of weeks and it just didn't get done.  First of all, our newest grandchild decided to make her appearance a few days early and then I got slammed with the cold of all colds!  I haven't even met our newest baby yet and she only loves a couple of streets away.  So....that's my excuse.

And now for the review.

These Healing Hills by Ann B. Gabhart

To call this book a Christian romance is stretching the term.  This is decidedly a Christian story.  But the romance aspect is very underplayed.  The history of the main “character” takes a front seat to any romance there might be.   The main character, in my humble opinion, is the Frontier Nursing Service.  This book is a really interesting telling of how they formed, who they were and what they did.  The author does a great job of covering that.

The story is set in the Appalachian Mountains at the end of World War 2.  The author does a really good job of painting a picture of what the living conditions were, the superstitions, and the speech patterns and phrases.

The main female character, Francine, is a city girl who has been jilted and enlists in the service to not only fulfill her desire to help others but also to not be home when her former fiancé returns from the war with his new girlfriend.

The main male character, Ben, is a mountain boy, who  has been injured in the war.  Actually, his young brother, Woody, meets Francine first and we see a sweet platonic friendship develop.  Ben and Francine do not actually meet until chapter 11.

While the author hints at a romance between Francine and Ben, she takes a long time to develop it.

This was not my favorite book to read.  It was very wordy. I found myself wanting to skip paragraphs to move it along. 

This is what the publisher’s website says:

“Francine Howard has her life all mapped out--until the man she loves announces his plans to bring home an English bride from war-torn Europe in 1945. Devastated, Francine seeks a fresh start in the Appalachian Mountains, training to be a nurse midwife for the Frontier Nursing Service.

Deeply affected by the horrors he witnessed at war, Ben Locke has never thought further ahead than making it home to Kentucky. His future shrouded in as much mist as his beloved mountains, he's at a loss when it comes to envisioning what's next for his life.

When Francine's and Ben's paths intersect, it's immediately clear that they are from different worlds and value different things. But love has a way of healing old wounds . . . and revealing tantalizing new possibilities.”

You can read an excerpt HERE

The author includes a reader’s note about the Frontier Nursing Service at the end of the book that was very interesting.  Read more about the author HERE

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Books and Baker Publishing Group through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”