My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge : Laurel's Dream

GIVEAWAY

BASHAM, PEPPER
MY HEART BELONGS IN THE BLUE RIDGE : LAUREL'S DREAM

A British missionary meets a chilly welcome in a remote Appalachian community

Laurel McAdams is well acquainted with trouble, but her dreams keep her hopeful that life can improve on her mountain in the Blue Ridge. Still, trouble does come in the form of an outsider.

Having failed his British father again, Jonathan Taylor joins his uncle's missionary endeavors as a teacher in a two-room shcoolhouse. Laurel feels compelled to protect the tenderhearted teacher from the harsh realities of Appalachian life, even while his stories of life outside the mountains pull at Laurel's imagination.

Faced with parents angry over his teaching methods, Laurel's father's drunken rages, and bad news from England, will Jonathan leave and never return, or will he stay and let love bloom?

Journey into North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains of 1918 where a young woman's dreams are held captive by rugged landscape and long-held traditions.

My Review:

"Dream, girl, but trust God to take better care of your dreams than you ever could." (p 139)

Sometimes you come across a book that defies description and this is one of them. I've been grappling with words that won't come because I don't think anything I say can do justice to the depth and breadth and overall bookiliciouness of My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge : Laurel's Dream.

I wish I had Laurel's 'lyrical phrasing' to help me. "She's always got the mullygrubs but down deep she's as soft as fresh biscuits." (p 113) But any attempts to wax poetic have fallen embarrassingly short so I'm not sharing them here! Just know that this is the kind of story you live through with all your senses. The kind that carries you away so completely that it's hard to pull out of. And, if someone or something does manage to haul you back to your sorry 21st century reality, you will be utterly discombobulated for awhile...in fact the disorientation will likely last until you can slip back to Basham's mountain setting again.

This is such a sublime read I can't even...head thunking on desk...I have no words!

Laurel charmed me -- she's bewitching and beguiling and exuberant and hopeful. Steadied by her faith and a mountain folk practicality that captivated me. And she loves books!!!!  "If a book comes by, any book, I'm obliged to give it my attention." (p 72) How can you not love a heroine like that?!

And Jonathan is an intriguing mix of noble and broken and searching. He comes to this Appalachian community with an open heart and the desire to not only teach, but learn as well. And then the story unfolds -- only you forget it's a story -- you feel like you are living their lives right along with them and every day is an adventure and you're wrapped up in something so epic and elemental and true that it takes your breath away.

True fact: I'm all kinds of giddy after living Laurel's Dream right along with her that I'm all out of words. Just plum happy and basking in the literary afterglow.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge : Laurel's Dream, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and .in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday February 2 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!