Stephanie Sullivan: Review - The Book Woman’s Daughter

TITLE: The Book Woman’s Daughter (audiobook)

RATING: ★★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): Bestselling historical fiction author Kim Michele Richardson is back with the perfect book club read following Honey Mary Angeline Lovett, the daughter of the beloved Troublesome book woman, who must fight for her own independence with the help of the women who guide her and the books that set her free.

In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good.

Picking up her mother’s old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn’t need anyone telling her how to survive, but the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren’t as keen to let a woman pave her own way. If Honey wants to bring the freedom that books provide to the families who need it most, she’s going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world.

REVIEW: I fell in love with Cussie Mary’s story in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, so I was excited to learn more about her daughter, Honey. I listened to 80% of it on audiobook because Katie Schorr is the absolute BEST narrator I have ever heard, and she truly brings this book series to life. I read the other 20% from an ebook only because I was in a public place where audiobooks weren’t allowed. Honey Lovett is an admirable character. She’s been through a lot of heartache in her short life, but she meets every circumstance head on just like her mom, and you can’t help but love her. The injustice she and the other female characters endured at the hands of the men made my blood boil - even more so knowing that during this era in history these horrors really did exist. My only grievance with the book is the ending felt rushed, much like the first book. There were several unanswered questions. What happened with Honey and Francis? Did they marry? Did Cussie and Jackson survive prison? Did the Gillis family retaliate? There’s no epilogue included, so I guess we’ll never know.