My Review:An achingly beautiful and bittersweet tale of love, loss, addiction, and family, set in the heart of Appalachia.
Young widow Aven Norgaard leaves Norway to live in the Appalachian Mountains with her late husband's kin, helping to care for his cousins. But when she arrives she is surprised to find that the kin in question are not young boys in need of mothering, but strong and strapping men who make and market the finest hard apple cider around.
The brothers are different as can be, but they share a special bond forged by long hours working side by side to make their cidery a success. Aven finds herself drawn to the strong yet silent and deaf Thor, who finds much of his identity in working his craft, but also fights the demons in the bottle that make up his family's livelihood.
Mountain life is far from easy, with feuds and addictions that run deep, can love have a chance to grow?
This is a highly anticipated read for me. I was so excited to read this book as I have vastly enjoyed previous books by Joanne Bischof, and this one did not disappoint. Once you read this book you will be aching to read the next book, as it seems to end with a perfect transition into the next chapter of the family saga. I loved how Ms. Bischof dealt with the different facets of the various relationships between the characters and their varying level of communication with each other, showing the brothers's second nature ease with sign and reading each other's emotions, versus with Aven and the barriers that she faces coming to live with the close knit brothers.
The brothers' livelihood is hard cider, and though Thor lives in a silent world it is the cider that is his prison. I liked how Ms. Bischof did an excellent job portraying the dichotomy of the struggles at war within Thor, with layers of complexity that make this book sing a heartbroken yet hopeful mountain melody. A stunningly heartfelt read that speaks most in the quiet moments, with characters that will capture your heart and not let go even after the last page is turned down.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and testimonials in Advertising."
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