In These Hills by Tamera Alexander

In These Hills
by Tamera Alexander

ISBN-13: 9781496475626
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Released: September 8, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
1905. Josephine Dunham is running for her life. After a women’s suffrage rally in Atlanta turns deadly, she buys a one-way ticket on the first train out and lands in rural Tennessee. There, Dodge Coburn—a rough-edged stranger with undeniable appeal—begrudgingly offers her a ride to Lynchburg, a speck of a town where Josephine hopes to disappear.

Battered and desperate, Josephine has little to say when Dodge delivers her to Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House. Hoping to work in exchange for room and board, she soon discovers the only job matching her skills is at Jack Daniel’s Distillery, an irony not lost on a suffragist committed to prohibition.

Dodge is skeptical of Josephine’s claim that she’s on the run from an abusive husband. But between running Jack Daniel’s cattle farm and raising his young niece, he has little time or inclination to press her. When Josephine’s convictions and compassion draw him in, Dodge begins to consider marriage, while Josephine must face a world far more complicated than the principles she’s held to.

As Jack Daniel’s Distillery gains national recognition, Josephine’s secrets resurface. In a place where whiskey making takes time but justice is too often hurried, Dodge and Josephine must decide what—and who—they’re willing to risk everything for.


My Review:
In These Hills is a romance set in 1905 in Tennessee. Josephine's parents and twin brother worked to help others, but her brother was murdered and her parents died soon after, leaving her alone in the world. She's found purpose in the women's suffrage movement only to be attacked in an alley by the mayor's son who wants to teach her a lesson. She hits him then can't find his pulse. She certainly won't get justice even if it was self-defense. With unexpected help, she manages to get to a town remote enough that she hopes no one will hear the news about her. She believes that alcohol is responsible for men abusing women, so she's not sure how to handle the kindness of whiskey-maker Jack Daniel, who offers her a job as his office manager. Dodge keeps an eye on her, not fully trusting her, but he has a cattle crisis to deal with along with raising his dead sister's daughter.

Josephine came to snap judgments about practically everyone she met, and she kept assuming the worst about Dodge despite the way he helped her. Josephine did grow as she got to know people and learned that some issues aren't as clear-cut as she thought. If you like 'justice wins out despite all odds' endings, this isn't one of those stories.

The characters were interesting, acted realistically, and I cared about what happened to them. The historical details were woven into the story and brought the setting to life in my imagination. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting novel.


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.