Gather The Gold In These Hills Composed By Joanne Bischof Readable In Version

fans of dual timeline stories, here is another one to add to your reading list, I so enjoyed that the setting was the same in the past as in the present, a house built by a wealthy man in a town that had become a ghost town.
In the present, the main character was restoring and living in that same house,

I was very moved by the reality that the main characters, Juniper from the past and Johnny from the future, were living lives that were filled with a sense of both helplessness for their situations and grief for what they had lost.
Yet, as the story progressed, the author did a good job of helping them to realize that they needed to lean on God.
And all the while, both characters just kept moving forward and doing the best that they could do as they pushed through circumstances that were out of their control and definitely not what they envisioned their lives would look like.


I really enjoyed watching the historical details unfold, both while reading the firsthand story of the past and then seeing the contemporary characters piece together bits of the past from letters, diaries, and photographs.


The author wrapped things up nicely, and although it was a difficult and often painful journey to read about, I felt hope as I turned the last page.


I received a complimentary copy of this book, All opinions are my own,

You can read this review on my blog:
sitelink wordpress. c Two secondchance love stories, hope across the centuries, and the legacy that binds them together,

Upon arriving at Kenworthy, California, mailorderbride Juniper Cohen was met by the pounding of the gold mine, the rowdiness of its prospectors, and her greatest surprise of all: the love of the kind man who awaited her.
But when the mine proves empty of profit, and when Junipers husband vanishes, doubt and discouragement are as prevalent as the pioneers fleeing this dwindling boomtown.


As winter blows in, Juniper pens a series of letters to her husband but fears she is waiting on a ghostor worse, an outlaw.
Carving out survival for her and her young daughter in a ghost town requires trusting in the kindness of a few remaining souls, including the one who can unlock the mystery of her husbands disappearance.


A century later, trying to escape the heartache of his failed marriage, Johnny Sutherland throws himself into raising his child and restoring a hundredyearold abandoned farmhouse in Californias San Jacinto Mountains.
While exploring its secrets he uncovers the letters Juniper wrote to her Dearest John and is moved by the handwritten accounts that bear his name.
Having learned that truth and courage go hand in hand, Johnny dares to

love again, and armed with lessons from the past, a modernday romance unfolds in the very same mountains that once held a love story that touched history.
I listened to this story of life, love, loss, and looking at the beauty we have around us, To be thankful for those we have, for those we have lost, and those we have found,

I enjoyed this book and the characters that made it up Juniper, Bethany, Johnny, Eddie, Santiago, Johnny, and Senoma, Juniper's words were so poetic and thoughtful I can imagine she was a woman of great heart, And I found in the present day Johnny, that he too had great heart in binding two families to the beginnings of this town.
Between the two and their deep thoughts and kind words, it made the story flow and I enjoyed very much,

As usual, Joanne Bischof weaves a tale so deep, one is left ruminating on it long after closing the final page.
Though it took me a little while to become invested in the story, the perseverance was worth it because this dual timeline unfolds with beautiful tenderness like a sunrise waking the day.
The historical storyline, in particular, breathed with such aching beauty as pain and bitterness gave way to the deeper and more secure healing of forgiveness.
It is always amazing to me how fingerprints from the past can reach out to touch us in the present,

Lovely story. The Gold In These Hills by Joanne Bischof is a beautifully written book with a duel time line, The prose is poetic and rich in details, I'm not certain what I was expecting, But this tale in both time lines is heart wrenching, I found myself with tears in several of the chapters, With that said, the author ends the book with doses of hope, I had to ponder this book for a while, The world is messed up and things happen in life that we didn't ask for, or expect, I love how the author shows how trusting in the Lord, we can put one foot in front of the other, And that was very encouraging, A beautifully written and impactful dualtimeline story, Bischof is a gifted writer, Her characters are vivid and I cared about every one of them, I felt their hopes and heartache in my soul, I received a complimentary copy of this book, Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own,Juniper is waiting for her husband to return, she doesnt even know if he will return, she doesnt know if he is still alive.
She met her husband as a mailorder bride but has come to love John, They have one daughter, Bethany, and while she waits for him to return, she writes letters to him, She feels his betrayal with the mine, with everything she thought to be the truth,

Present time Johnny Sutherland doesnt want his marriage to dissolve but his former wife, Emily has already moved on, He has recently bought a house in Kenworthy, California with the intention to flip this house, its what he does, He is grieving what he cant have anymore, he adores his two young children, he simply delights in them,

Both Johnny and Juniper have had to make hard decisions, and then they need to move forward after those choices have been made.
This was simply a lovely story about forgiveness, love, and trust in what we dont understand, This story is beautiful.

Gratitude to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley, All opinions expressed are my own,

Joanne Bischof has such a gift for creating memorable characters and building a beautiful storyworld, I loved this timeslip novel set in the earlys and present day California with heartfelt themes of God's care and healing from brokenness.
Her writing is lyrical, almost poetic, and I savored each scene, Well written and highly recommended! Hard to rate

I feel like the writing is beautiful and the truths are lovely and the gospel presentation so impactful and well done.
However: I just felt like there was no plot! I honestly dont think I wouldve read this if I had known it would never be more than the musings of two hurting and healing peopleand nothing elsefor likepages.
Im a reluctant dual timeline reader but if done well, I will love it! Today was not one of those times, I just wanted to stay in the historical time, Also, we did all that reading to find out: how will they stay afloat as the town dies! And then we dont really get a full answer.
So overall, I left a little disappointed, Historical fiction told in two timelines, earlys and current, set in California, Johnny buys an historic cabin, the only building remaining from an old gold mining town called Kenworthy, In the same cabin back inJuniper works to look after her daughter waiting for her husband to return, Told mostly in first person and letters, the story is told slowly, Some of the history is very interesting, the salting of old mines so they can be sold when they are really worthless, and some history and customs of the local Native American tribe, the Cahuilla.
But mostly its character driven and the minutiae of day to day details is overdone although I liked the parallels between the timelines eg the young daughters setting the table.
"I touch the page, and either I'm losing my mind, or she lost hers, because whatever grit dwelled within her, some must linger because I want to rise.

I want to stand and tell this life that it will not defeat me, ” Johnny, Page

This book is a masterpiece,

With beautiful prose, Bischof narrates a modern and historical tale, a reminder in the darkest of nights that there is hope because God is faithfula message that I'm sure resonates with so many of us.
I know it did for me,

While I don't read much adult historical fiction, or Christian fictionI mainly read YAI was able to immediately sympathize with the characters and their struggles.
The way Bischof was able to weave their backstories and immense tragedies they both had gone through in a way that felt natural and flowed with the plot takes skill.
I especially love how vivid all the characters were,

In many ways, this book was very characterdriven, Unlike most historical fictions, THE GOLD IN THESE HILLS didn't have anything huge going on settingwise, There were no explosions or bandits, Instead, this book had a very leisurely feel to it, strongly centering on the main characters and their journeys while not shying from the difficulties in life.
But through the awful things that happened to these characters and the pain, they learn that God is always faithful, That there is always light on the other end of the tunnel, This message almost made me tear up at multiple parts in the story, it was so good,

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was how it wasn't really centered on romance, There were two married couples in the historical setting, and a couple in the modern setting, but it was very well done, and the romance was more openended.
All we know is that it ended with them being friends, with a hint of something more, And honestly, that's good enough for me, :P

So in all, I thoroughly enjoyed THE GOLD IN THESE HILLS, and because it's completely clean, I'd feel comfortable handing this to mature readers.


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an HONEST review, All opinions are my own, Special thanks to the lovely author and publisher for providing me with a copy! Joanne Bischof has written a beautiful story of forgiveness, perseverance, love and loss.
This is a dual timeline novel, both of which contain rich, extremely well developed characters, In fact, while most would simply call this a romance, I would suggest this borders on literary fiction as well, I strongly recommend this novel to readers who enjoy books focused on character development, Both plot lines literally revolve around this, Readers should not pick up this book looking for a fast pace or swoon worthy romance, This is a book about characters who feel real and relatable, giving readers the opportunity to walk the storyline with them, closely.
If you are such a reader, I hope you thoroughly enjoy The Gold in These Hills, This gets a solid.from me.

I received a complementary copy of this book, Opinions expressed are entirely my own, This is a soft, slow, sad story, about hardship and hope,

I really enjoyed the historic setting, the descriptions, and the believable characters,

Some readers might find the pacing boring, and the introspection too thick to wade through, I agree that its not a thrilling pageturner by any stretch, and the moments where it could have been tense were prespoiled by the book itself like when the modern day characters reveal a fact about the historical characters before that part of the story happens in the narrative.
However, I think the pacing fit the lonesome, wilderness mood of the book, and it was nice to have a slow story to drift in and out of without tension keeping me glued to the page.


That said, I enjoyed it over all, Its not an emotionally manipulative sad story, as is a common pitfall in inspirational fiction, but its a hard, realistic look at loss and grief and finding the strength to press on.


It gets a little heavyhanded near the end with all the “this is a metaphor for life” passages, and while I understood why those passages were in there, I found myself skimming and eyerolling a little.
I think readers could draw the conclusions the characters made without it being spelled out over and over again, But thats something Im willing to forgive,

I did like it, but its definitely a book for a mellow mood, .