ABOUT THE BOOKA Father-Daughter Genealogy Team Link Present to Past on Family Trees
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 parents as she can get. 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.
What she doesn't count on is genealogist Jillian Parisi-Duffy and her father, Nolan, having her back when it takes everything she has not to bolt again but to stay and face the truth that only unfolding her family's history will reveal. While Nolan works on keeping Meri calm--and in town--Jillian pulls out of her gems of information she doesn't know she has and arranges the puzzle pieces.
But none of that changes the fact that Meri's family is closing in to haul her back to her "real" life. When their arrival inflames tensions and Meri finally does bolt, Nolan and Jillian may be out of time.
The Inn at Hidden Run is the first book in the Tree of Life series. Readers will come back to backdrop of a lovely mountain town of Canyon Mines again and again to explore and celebrate unforgettable family stories that inspire them to connect with their own family histories and unique faith journeys.
MY THOUGHTS.....
The Inn at Hidden Run by Olivia Newport
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Split-time or dual-time novels have become quite popular in the last few years and this book is a new addition to this genre. Olivia Newport sets her modern day story at the Inn at Hidden Run B&B in Canyon Mills, Colorado and the characters include a genalogist, her father, and the inn owners as they help a young woman who has run away from her Tennessee home. Meri Davies has flunked out of medical school and she needs to escape her family's disappointment so she begins by taking a job at the inn. As they try to help and encourage her, Jill and her father Nolan begin to research Meri's family history and the reasons why her parents are so insistent that she become a doctor.
The historical element in this book involves a young woman in Memphis, Tennessee who made it her mission to help during the yellow fever epidemic that struck Memphis in 1878. Eliza Davies was from a well-to-family and she could easily have left Memphis like so many others but she stayed to help the people who had no means to escape. Eliza ministered to the poor and to African-Americans who had once been slaves and she especially loved caring for the children. There is a touching scene near the end of the book that demonstrates how her love affected the ones she helped. As one of "her children" thanks her for changing his life, Eliza says "I only did what the Lord asked of me. 'What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?'" This very emotional scene also weaves together the past and the present in a very satisfactory way!
I love historical fiction so I especially enjoyed Eliza's story. Newport shares a lot of historical information about the devastation that resulted from the yellow fever epidemic and much of it is new to me. This book is the first in the Tree of Life series and each story will include the Inn at Hidden Run B&B as the basis for the current day storyline. I enjoyed getting to know Jill, Nolan, Nia and Leo and I look forward to seeing how author Olivia Newport uses the inn and genealogy to share more dual-time stories.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
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