Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Inn at Hidden Run

GIVEAWAY
NEWPORT, OLIVIA
THE INN AT HIDDEN RUN

Tree of Life -- every family tree grows an unforgettable story.

Meri's family has been producing doctors for so many generations that no one remembers why, so when she flunks out of medical school, she runs as far from her family in Tennessee as she can. In the small mountain town of Canyon Mines, Colorado, she takes a job at the Inn at Hidden Run B&B. And waits. It's only a matter of time until they show up.

What she doesn't count on is genealogist Jillian Parisi-Duffy and her father, Nolan, having her back when it takes everything she has to stay and face the truth that only her family history can reveal. While Nolan works on keeping Meri calm -- and in town -- Jillian draws out gems of information Meri doesn't know she has and arranges them into a fascinating mosaic of a desperate epidemic in Memphis history.

But none of that changes the fact that Meri's family arrives to haul her back to her "real" life and duty to her family tree of doctors. If Meri disappears again, Nolan and Jillian may be out of time.

My Review:

"Sometimes in order to understand ourselves, we have to understand our families." (p 60)

There's something you need to know about me. I'm a stunted closet genealogist. I'm that person who watches and re-watches episodes of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and literally sobs my heart out over the stories he uncovers for his celebrity clients. I'm crying partly because the ancestor stories are so moving and partly because I can't find any stories related to the names and dates on my family tree. So I live vicariously through Mr. Gates....and now through this series. So Olivia Newport gets a hearty, fan-girling Eeeeepppp!!!!! from me. :-)

Though, I have to say that the synopsis is a tad misleading. While this book is about Meri's struggles with her family's expectations, it's told from the points of view of genealogist Jillian and her lawyer/mediator father, Nolan. At least, the contemporary time line is because...insert an image of me in wild biblio-girl jitterbugging abandon...this is a dual timeline story!!!!!!  And the 1878 Memphis epidemic timeline is told from Eliza's perspective. Whoa! Have the tissue boxes handy!

To say I was completely riveted by both stories would be an understatement. I loved the way Newport developed the plots to the point where they collide together in a Eureka! moment Meri and her family will never forgot. But there's a lot of angst and dysfunction before that happens.

Absolutely love the father/daughter dynamics between Nolan and Jillian. There's teasing and banter but a deep, underlying understanding between the two. And Nolan is full of patriarchal gems of wisdom -- "...the work will always be there later, but the moment is only here now." (p 52) The book is full of gentle undercurrents about family and faith and the way who we are is built upon who our ancestors were.

Now I'm super excited to get reading book two in The Tree of Life series -- In the Cradle Lies (a November 2019 release.) Then I'll be impatiently waiting for May and November 2020 when the next Tree of Life books will be released. Woot! Lots of Happy Reading in store for me!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  The Inn at Hidden Run, 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 December 28 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

23 comments:

  1. Hope you had A Happy Holiday
    Thanks for sharing this book with us and for the chance to Win 😃💖😍💗
    iamabho AT gmail DOT com 💜💙💜

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    1. Still blissing out on Christmas cookies and mince tarts. :-) Good luck, Linda!

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    2. Oohhh Cookies 🍪 Yummy 😋
      Thank You

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  2. My tissues are handy! Enjoy your holidays!
    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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    1. Hope you're enjoying your holidaying too, Melanie. Good luck!

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  3. Nice review. cheetahthecat1986ATgmailDOTcom

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  4. "THE INN AT HIDDEN RUN" sounds fabulous! Love dual timeline stories to start with, but love the genealogical aspect adds a whole new dimension to it. Definitely on my TBR list now. Can't wait for the opportunity to read it.

    Thank you for the chance to win a copy!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    1. I really like the genealogical aspect of the books too. So far the series has four books and I'm excited to read them all. Good luck, Kay!

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  5. Book twinning dance 💃. Great book. I just read the second book in the series.

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    1. Eeeppp!!! Happy twinning dancing is the best. I'm excited to read In the Cradle Lies too.

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  6. The genealogical aspect and the dual timeline should make this a very interesting book.
    Can't believe we are heading for 2020 in a few days!!
    pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

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    1. It's really unique and I love that. I know-- where did this year go? Still wondering what my last read of the year will be. :-) Good luck, rubynreba.

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  7. This sounds very interesting. teshawATsbcglobalDOTnet

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  8. I've heard a lot of great things about this book. Thanks for the review and chance to win!
    whthomas13 at yahoo dot com

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  9. I have been watching this author.
    paulams49ATsbcglobalDOTnet
    Thanks Kav.

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    1. I've enjoyed her historical and Amish books and now I'm over the moon about this genealogy series! Good luck, Paula!

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  10. Still eating pie for lunch over here, and making ham and bean soup tonight with the leftover Christmas ham bone...

    I've heard about this release but not read any of the series, although I think I have read other books by this author.

    pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. I've got this mid-afternoon cocoa and cookies thing going on which absolutely has to stop...in the new year. :-) Tis the season to munch and read. Good luck, Patty!

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  11. "Me, me (raising hand high in the air), I would love to win!" I absolutely love your review. Dual timeline novel!! Your quotes are great. Count me in. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House kathleen[dot]e[dot]belongia[at]gmail[dot]com

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