These Healing Hills

"These Healing Hills"

By Ann H. Gabhart

Ann Gabhart's "These Healing Hills" is a story of betrayal, love, healing, and following God's plan. Taking place in 1945 in the Kentuckian Appalachians, it tells the story of nurse, Francine Howard. A city girl who moves to the mountains to escape the pain of her past and start anew by enrolling in the Frontier Nursing's midwife training. She befriends the handsome war veteran, Ben Locke. Each seeks to heal from their fresh experiences and the mountains seem to be the best medicine.

While the plot was enjoyable and the character development was perfect, the pace was just too slow for me. I found myself dragging myself through the chapters hoping for the romance to develop. For a romance novel, it could use a bit more of actual romance. Also, Francine seemed to be a bit of a weak heroine. At times, she seems easily swayed by others instead of having a mind of her own. Aside from standing up to her mother and her ex-fiance, she's just too gullible in other instances.

If you enjoy Appalachian fiction novels, you might like this novel. I discovered it's not my cup of tea. The novel is 345 pages long, so it's a fast read if you don't mind the slow pace of the story.

I received a copy of this book from Revell in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

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