"The Inn At Hidden Run"
By Olivia Newport

About the Book:

A Father-Daughter Genealogy Team Link Present to Past on Family TreesMeri flunks out of medical school—and runs from her parents. Genealogist Jillian Parisi-Duffy’s digging traces the family long tradition of doctors to an ancestor saved during a yellow fever outbreak in Memphis in 1878. As Meri’s family closes in, Jillian gets the final puzzle pieces in place just in time for them all to learn the truth. 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.

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My Thoughts:

I have read many books by this author and enjoyed every one of them, however found this tale very difficult to "get into". Don't get me wrong, this novel is well written but just not one that grabbed my attention. It may very well appeal to others but just was not one of my favorites. Historical fiction is not one of the genres that I usually read and I was a bit surprised to find this book was one of dual timelines, one in the present day, the other in 1878 Memphis.

The characters were well described in a realistic manner, however, I found it hard to get involved in their lives. I had difficulty remembering who was who and which era they were living in. This made it difficult for me to make a connection with them.

The plot was one that had an excellent depth to it. The topics were very different from the usual. Getting deeply involved in the tale became a problem for me. I struggled to finish reading this book. It did end on a very positive tone.

Basically, this book is just not one that I would recommend for readers who are not enthralled with historical fiction. I believe that it is an excellent book for those who love that genre. I just found it very confusing and the dual timeline kept me struggling to remember who was who and what was currently going on. That being said, Olivia Newport remains an author that I do enjoy. This book was clearly just not one that appealed to me and me alone. I DO believe that it is a very creative work that would appeal to many.

This book was supplied by CelebrateLit. The opinions and thoughts expressed are honest and my own.

About the Author:

Olivia Newport’s novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. Her husband and twentysomething children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books. She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is.

More from Olivia

Of Family Lines and Family Lore

I suppose it all started in a cemetery.

Once, while a group of relatives were visiting a cemetery, one of my cousins and I wandered off and looked at all sorts of graves, speculating about the names we read and the lives they represented. We were duly scolded both for separating from our families, which caused some consternation, and for being disrespectful—though I think the second accusation was a false one!

Just because we were young children didn’t mean we were disrespecting the dead. Quite the opposite. We were respecting lives long forgotten with our curiosity about who they were and what legacies they left.

These days a lot of people are interested in genealogy. Entire TV series spin around the theme, and DNA kits show up in Christmas stockings. Lost branches of family trees find the main trunk—sometimes with big surprises.

My new Tree of Life series is set in the backdrop of a lovely Colorado mountain town I hope you’ll want to visit often, where a father-daughter genealogy team link present to past on family trees and characters learn about who they are, where they come from, and their unique faith journeys as they discover their own Tree of Life.

It all starts with The Inn at Hidden Run. When Meri arrives in Canyon Mines because she wants to run away from her family, true answers come from understanding the past that generations have forgotten—the accounts from another time and place no longer handed down but that still form the backbone of the family’s story.

What’s the backbone of your family’s history? How is it shaping your own future?