4.46 avg rating — 1,102 ratings

"This is an EPIC storyline, as the title clearly suggests! Esther, a young woman in rural, early 20th-century Appalachia, is propelled forward into an incredible journey filled with danger and a budding romance with a German man. Her life isn’t her own as she tries to navigate what love is, what acceptance is, and her own sense of value amid it all. Think found family, slight age gap, forced proximity, interracial relationship, Southern Gothic, slow burn. I found it has a poetic, artistic quality that isn’t overdone. I enjoyed all the unexpected twists and suspense in this rich, character-driven novel.
I found myself waiting to review it, even though I read it quite a while ago and have been enjoying the rest of the books in the series. The delay wasn’t because it didn’t impact me, but quite the opposite. Truth be told, this novel was the reason I finally succumbed to a Goodreads account. I felt like this story needed to be heard. There aren’t enough stories about women like this—about resilience. There is just something so authentic about this storyline, her voice. Sometimes people had to survive, doing whatever they could, and that was a victory in itself. This author deserves to be read, and clearly her current ratings reflect that.
I look forward to her future work as well and can’t give her enough praise.

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