What I’m Reading: The Gold in These Hills

I was on the online library that I use.  It was the one that I put books on hold with and have to wait forever.  The book I put on the list was The Gold in These Hills by Joanne Bischof.

I’m going to admit it right here and now.  I selected the book simply because of the cover.  I love pioneer, old west style stories.  I don’t find them much anymore so I hoped this would be a treat.
Well, little did I know this was Christian Fiction.  Remember, I just read the book by the cover.  I used to read Christian Fiction a lot and for the most part, enjoyed it.  I am not a fan of the preachy versions though…or the kind that the author suddenly realizes that in order for the book to be classified as Christian Fiction, they need to insert some bible stuff.  If you’ve read Christian Fiction you likely have dealt with those styles of books.

This book had a real natural flow to the Christian Fiction aspect of the book.  I ended up really enjoying it.  Their faith was just part of their evolving life.  That style, I don’t mind at all.

The story was good.  It wasn’t completely predictable…all in all, I really enjoyed it.  The author even had me putting myself on the waitlist for a couple of other of her books.

Here is what Amazon had to say:
“When mail-order bride Juniper’s husband vanishes, she writes to him—but fears she’s waiting for a ghost in a ghost town. A century later, Johnny Sutherland discovers her letters while restoring her abandoned farmhouse. Can her loving words from the distant past change his present?

1902: Upon arriving in Kenworthy, California, mail-order bride Juniper Cohen is met by the pounding of the gold mine, an untamable landscape, and her greatest surprise of all: the kind and charming man who awaits her. But when the mine proves empty of profit, and when Juniper’s husband, John, vanishes, Juniper is left to fend for herself and her young daughter in the dying town that is now her home.

Juniper pens letters to her husband but fears she is waiting on a ghost. Perhaps worse, rumors abound claiming the man she loves could be an outlaw. Fighting for survival, she befriends the few people left in Kenworthy and refuses to leave, resolving to be exactly where her husband left her in case he comes home. Surviving in a ghost town requires trusting the kindness of a few remaining souls, including the one who can unlock the mystery of her husband’s disappearance.

Present day: Trying to escape the heartache of his failed marriage, Johnny Sutherland throws himself into raising his children and restoring a hundred-year-old abandoned farmhouse in what was once known as Kenworthy in the San Jacinto Mountains. While exploring its secrets he uncovers Juniper’s letters and is moved by the handwritten accounts that bear his name—and as a love story from the past touches his own world, Johnny might discover yet that hope and resilience go hand in hand.

With The Gold in These Hills, acclaimed and beloved author Joanne Bischof returns with an absorbing masterpiece of faith, perseverance, and love that changes the course of history.”

Amazon readers give the book 4.6 stars.  I’m going to say 4.5.  I really enjoyed it and am happy I gave it chance.  If you enjoy Christian Fiction, I really think you’ll like this one!

You can find the book HERE on Amazon if you are interested.