Along a Storied Trail by Ann H. Gabhart

Along a Storied Trail
by Ann H. Gabhart

ISBN-13: 9780800737214
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: June 1st 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Kentucky packhorse librarian Tansy Calhoun doesn't mind the rough trails and long hours as she serves her Appalachian mountain community during the Great Depression. Yet she longs to find love like the heroines in her books. When a charming writer comes to town, she thinks she might have found it--or is the perfect man actually closer than she thinks?

Perdita Sweet has called these mountains home for so long she's nearly as rocky as the soil around her small cabin. Long ago she thought she could love, but when the object of her affection up and married someone else, she stopped giving too much of herself away to others.

As is so often the case, it's easier to see what's best for others than to see what's best for oneself, and Perdita knows who Tansy should choose. But why would anyone listen to the romantic advice of an old spinster?


My Review:
Along a Storied Trail is a Christian romance set in 1937 in the Appalachian mountains in Kentucky. The story followed Tansy, Caleb, and Perdita as they dealt with hardships. Perdita never married after the man she loved ended up marrying someone else. Now she's older and having trouble supporting herself as winter approaches. She prays to God for some help and maybe some family (as she only has distant kin left to help her), and God answers in a clear but unexpected way. Perdita figures she ought to be grateful and continues to wonder and grow as she sees how God provides for her above and beyond what she asked for (and in very unexpected ways). She's quite a character, and I wondered if she was based off of a real person.

Tansy loves sharing books through her job as a packhorse librarian and hopes for a romantic hero to come into her life. When a dashing city man comes to gather local stories, she's asked to show him around. He flirts with her...is he the one? But she's not comfortable around him like she is with a dependable neighbor man--who shares her interests, cares for others, and finally confesses that he's long wanted to marry her.

All of the characters seemed like real, complex people, and I cared about what happened to them. Historical and setting details were woven into the story and brought the story vividly alive in my imagination. There were several romances, and Tansy learned what to value in a life partner. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this enjoyable tale.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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