This book was a cute surprise for me. I fell in love with the characters and with the intricacies of genealogy - I'll definitely be on the lookout for the next book!

Meri Davies' story led to running and hiding from the pressures placed on her by her family. Her story is set in contemporary times at the Inn at Hidden Run outside of Denver, Colorado. This book also tells the story of Meri's ancestor, Eliza Davies, which is set in Memphis during the second half of the 1800s and revolves around a devastating yellow fever epidemic.

The Inn at Hidden Run is the first book in Newport's Tree of Life series. The author's goal is to inspire readers to go past DNA, to search for the stories of their families. Doing so has a significant impact on the relationships in Meri's immediate family. While her story was interesting, I was much more drawn to Eliza's story. The self-sacrificing work of Eliza and those who served with her is humbling. If I could rate their stories separately, I would give Eliza's a four- and Meri's a three-star rating.

I am grateful to have received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to write a positive review, and I received no monetary compensation.

Y THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK: Books that blend a story from the past with a contemporary one are very popular. Often the two stories feature relatives generations apart who are facing similar life challenges. In other books, place is the connecting factor. In some way, the past helps the present make sense or solves some current problem. For her new series TREE OF LIFE, Olivia Newport seizes on that popularity to tell stories of seemingly ordinary families who look to their family trees to better understand themselves. In the first story, THE INN AT HIDDEN RUN, genealogist Jillian Parisi-Duffy and her lawyer father Nolan quickly make friends with a twenty-something black woman who has taken a job at the local inn. When they realize that she is in hiding from her well-to-do, powerful family, Jillian and her father decide to delve into the past to find something that will help Meri stand up to her domineering relatives. This story alternates with the story of Eliza Davies, an unmarried Memphis lady, who puts asides her fears and the strict social mores of the time to help those suffering during the 1878 yellow fever outbreak. I found Eliza's story the most interesting of the two and was happy when the two stories finally meshed at the end. Until then, I found the modern day actions of Nolan to be contrived and a bit overbearing. I could never imagine intruding into someone's life whom I had just met to the extent that he did, and I also found Jillian's discovery of family tree information in such a quick way a bit magical. That said, I was fascinated by the work that Jillian was supposed to be working on for other clients -- like finding a woman who just inherited a fortune from an uncle she knew nothing about. Hoping more about that will be revealed in the next book. Final analysis, this was an easy, quick read and I recommend it for those who are looking for new Christian series. I love history so the historical part was a win for me. I am much harder to please with contemporary stories. I hope the series finds success, and perhaps as I get to know Jillian and Nolan better, their interactions with others will seem more natural and authentic.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review."

The cover told me this would be a Family Roots type of story, and thank you NetGalley for sharing a beautiful historical fiction and partly non fiction book. The place in 1878 and historical dictations are true and the author gives us a breif history lesson at the end of the book.
Jillian,the geneologist and discovers a powerful history of doctors..This book goes back and forth telling the story of a strong wealthy young woman, Eliza Davis. You have to pay attention to her characters surrounding the history in 1878 of when Yellow Fever epidemic hit in Memphis and how this strong young girl selfless and caring, saves alot of children's lives .They are left parentless, and placed in orphanages.
In the modern time today,Meri runs away from her family when she flunks Med School. Not notifying her fmaily, they go out there to Colorado to seek her and find her at the B & B . The Inn is run by Jillian's best freind Nia.
Meri, unskilled but asks for a job here at the Inn..
She is mysterious and tends to run when she suspects her fmaily is closing in on finding her,but Nolan,Jillians father is the perfect mediator and lawyer,he seems to have ways in convincing Meri to turn her bad decisions into a right.
AT first,it was difficult for me to grasp the two time frame stories going on...1878 and the modern day today,so I re-started the book to familiarize myself again with the characters.
Im happy I gave this book a chance again because its bonding of love and family history is a great story that many of us have in our ancestories and lovingly need to be told.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

‘What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’ Micah 6:8 NIV
Meriwether Eliza Davies, Meri, arrives in Canyon Mines, Colorado from Tennessee. How she got her name and why it seems so important that she should be a doctor is information she doesn’t have and is not sure she even wants to know. What follows is a wonderful unraveling of her family genealogy all the way back to 1909 Memphis, Tennessee. So many questions are answered that it really made me wonder why we don’t all search out our genealogy. Perhaps we, like Meri, would understand the calling on our lives.
This fabulous book is the first in the author’s Tree of Life series. With such an auspicious beginning, I am certainly looking forward to the next book!
I received this book through Barbour Publishing, NetGalley and CelebrateLit. The impressions and opinions given are my own.

Confused and quite disappointed. Over-bearing and over dramatic cast of characters and two time frames merging to give a family history that spends far to much time in the minutia of day to day life then jumps decades into the future left me annoyed, confused, and disinterested. Though i did finish the book i wont read the next installments in the series.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through netgalley. All opinions are expressly my own.

I really wanted to like this book but the dual story line did not mesh together for me. I did enjoy the historical fiction parts with the yellow fever epidemic. The setting and period really brought the story to life as well as the well written characcters. I had a problem with the contemporary portion. I couldn't connect with the characters. Although they were meant to be well meaning,, to me they came off very intrusive and rather pushy. I am happy to see some great reviews because the author did a good job on the story. It just wasn't for me.

The Inn at Hidden Run is the first installment from Olivia Newport’s new series, Tree of Life. I have other books by her in the past and this one is by far my favorite. As a genealogist myself, I loved the story line.
I give The Inn at Hidden Run five stars. I look forward to the next addition to the Tree of Life series. I recommend this one to other readers.
I received this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

This book got me and held me straight to the last word. I felt as if I couldn't read fast enough. The book tells two stories that eventually lead to each other. One present day and the other in the 1870s. I loved that instead of being confusing it left me hungering for more and had me paying attention to even the littlest detail. Jillian is a genealogist, Nolan is her father, a lawyer. Meri comes to their town of Canyon Mines, Colorado to "hide out" from her family by taking a job at a local inn. There were moments of hilarity, tension, suspense, heartbreak and joy. they all kept this reader eager for the next word. This is the first book in a series and I look forward to what is still to come.

The Inn at Hidden Run takes place in a town at the base of a mountain. It is a small town with a lot of locally owned shops where everyone knows everyone. When Meri shows up looking for a job, but clearly keeping a secret, she catches the attention of Nia, the woman who runs the Inn. Nia is good friends with Nolan and Jillian, the town lawyer and genealogist. She calls them in to help her figure out what is going on with Meri.

The story also flashes back to Memphis in 1878 where Yellow Fever has broken out, and it was wiping the city out. Here we meet Eliza, a nun who stays behind to try to help the people who have fallen ill. She comes from a wealthy family who has hired former slaves as servants. Eliza's only servant is Callie. She thinks of Callie as a friend, more than anything else. It's not until Callie leaves Eliza to tend to her sick family that Eliza realizes she knows nothing about Callie.

The story unfolds as Jillian works to tie the past to the present with the help of her dad, Nolan, and her friend Nia.

I like reading from two different timelines and trying to predict how and when they will intersect. I think the author did a great job of combining the two timelines.

My only criticism is that, to me, the characters of Nia, Jillian and Nolan didn't feel "real" to me. They were all VERY busy people who dropped everything to help a person that they didn't know. But more than that, someone who wasn't even asking for help. I know many people who would do that for a great friend, someone they loved, but I don't know people who would miss deadlines, skip meetings and ignore work to help someone they have only known for a few hours.

I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to read and review this book. It was a wonderful story, I loved the ties to American history. The characters are warm and realistic, the setting is a place I would love to visit, (even if it is fictional), and I learned a lot about American history as well as Faith and following your call. I will definitely recommend this book to everyone.

“Do you believe in calling? Choosing your path because your path chooses you, or because God puts it before you so plainly you can't walk any other way?”~Meri (pg 160)

First off, I didn't know this was a dual-timeline story when I started reading it. That doesn't bother me in the least, it was a pleasant surprise! Secondly, I think I was more invested in the historical portions of this book rather than the modern day setting. Not because one was better than the other, but because I was fascinated to learn about the yellow jack or yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, TN circa 1878 and how it impacted Eliza Davies's life. She had a heart especially for children orphaned when their parents died from the disease. She was selfless in giving of herself, helping the nuns in any way she could other than caring for the sick, running errands and taking as much of the burden off the Sisters as possible. I admired her strength and devotion to being the hands and feet of Christ to those suffering. I don't know if I could have done the same; it would be heartbreaking to watch so many people die everyday knowing you could only do so much to comfort them.

Then there's Meri Davies running from her family who insists that all members be doctors of some kind. For them, there were no other choices and she especially feels pressure after she flunks out of med school. She wants to be invisible and unknown so she can figure out how to make her real dreams come true; those her family would never understand! Enter Jillian and Nolan who see a wounded soul who needs help to face the hard stuff of life. I think at times they went a little overboard, which irritated me. Eventually, they win both Meri and me over! In the end, they piece her family history together and Meri has a better understanding of her roots & calling in life.

Even as often as the characters frustrated me, it was a better story than I thought it would be. In my opinion, the ending was the best! I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a stronger faith theme, however. That being said, it's a story of one families journey to find their place in the world and the strength they found in each other, no matter what life path they chose!

“Sometimes in order to understand ourselves, we have to understand our families.”~Jillian (pg 60)

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. *

I received an ARC edition of this ebook thru Netgalley. Set in a mountain town in present day Colorado, it does indeed involve an inn, but the story is not about the inn at all. A young woman named Meri has fled her overbearing family of doctors who also expect her to become a doctor even though she feels she has a calling elsewhere. She gets a job helping out at Hidden Run, but is a completely flaky employee by mysteriously disappearing several times. Somehow, her new employer, Nia, keeps Meri on which I didn't find realistic at all. And then Nia's friends Nolan & Jillian, a father & daughter, stick their nose in Meri's business which was a bit far-fetched too. Meanwhile, there is a second story unfolding about the yellow fever epidemic in Memphis in 1878 and a young woman of privilege, Eliza, who works tirelessly with the nuns to help care for the sick and orphans. Obviously, I knew the stories of Meri and Eliza were supposed to come together at some point, but getting there was very tedious and not very satisfying once they did. There were a lot of elements that set this story up to be a charming cozy mystery--mountain town, B&B, lots of coffee and baked goods, etc--but I just felt like Meri's story was rather weak.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts.

What a charming, heartbreaking story! This book was an incredibly rich, detailed time-split tale that is a wonderful start to the Tree of Life series.

The historical thread was so fascinating. I found myself completely wrapped up in Eliza’s journey even though I wasn’t sure, until halfway through the book, why it was being told.

The contemporary thread slipped a few times into a “preachy” mode, not about religion but about how genealogy and the search for and through proper records to find family histories works. I would have loved this to be smoothed out a bit more, as it was so beautifully done in the latter chapters of the book.

That being said, I rather enjoyed getting to know Jillian, Nolan, Meri, Nia, and Leo—the featured characters in the contemporary portion of the novel. They each brought important aspects to the story and had strong personalities that played well against each other for the sake of the plot. Perhaps my favorite subplot was Jillian’s search for a replacement mug. I’ve been there plenty of times where a favorite is broken, and, trust me, the hunt is real! I also enjoyed the levity this thread brought, particularly after a couple of heavier historical scenes.

A few of the major “surprises” were completely predictable to me, but there was a certain satisfaction in knowing I had reasoned out those plot points just as well as the author as she was writing this story. These few moments did not detract from my reading experience, because both story lines were engaging, interesting, and heightened with the good sort of drama.

Fabulous news! This book contained ZERO expletives or profanities. SUCH a refreshing thing!

Content: wine used in a sauce (once), death associated with illness, tobacco mentioned (once)

Recipes would be a great addition to this book.

Family relationships, a little bit of mystery, genealogy...This book had me engaged from the start. It is told in two different timelines and the author tied it together very well. I enjoyed the characters and look forward to the next installment. I would like to go to the Inn at Hidden Run! Many thanks to Barbour Publishing Inc. and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Inn at Hidden Run is a dual time period story. I definitely connect stronger to the historical side of the story. It is rich with texture, emotion, and well-rounded characters. Eliza is a unique, interesting, and has a good heart.

The contemporary side is more difficult for me to get into. The story doesn’t feel as authentic and doesn’t have the same pacing or flow. Jillian falls a little flat for me and doesn’t intrigue me like Eliza does.

This book has an eye-catching cover, interesting title, and nice blend of mystery and emotion. To give this an overall rating is difficult, due to mainly connecting to only one side of the story, so I’m settling in the middle.

Author: Olivia Newport
Publisher: Shiloh Run Press
Series: Tree of Life Book 1
Pages: 256
First Line: Sad, but true.
Source: I received a complimentary copy from Barbour Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a review.

This book was a bit different than other books I have read from this author. First it was contemporary and it was historical. Two time frames. The contemporary part was about a genealogist named Jillian which was close to home for me. That's been my occupation for 40 years. The book mentioned that there was no college degree for this occupation or something to that effect, but that isn't really true. I know this because I wrote a major part of the German track Genealogy curriculum for a university in another state and that was completed several years ago after the US track had been finished. Then after this there are extensive certifications to pass to be either accredited or certified as a professional genealogist.

But that said, I can say that being a genealogist is much like being a detective. It's exciting and full of mystery!

The historical part of the book was interlaced with the contemporary parts by their individual chapters. It was about the Memphis Yellow Fever epidemic and that also intertwines with the life of Jillian's family tree project with Meri.

It was a good read but a little hard to get started on for me. I did like it and I will probably be reading the rest of the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was and no obligation to post a review.

"The Inn at Hidden Run" by Olivia Newport
I really liked this story. A contemporary family with very strong traditions... and the discovery of the foundation those traditions were based upon. I had a bit of trouble getting used to slipping from current time to the 1870's. But then it became a bit of a relief to swap between the challenges of the two very different time periods. A chance to rest and digest the emotions and challenges presented in each era. Be sure to read the authors note at the end... the perfect ending to the story. I was gifted an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley and this review is wholly my thoughts, my opinions.

The Inn at Hidden Run seemed like a cozy type Genealogical mystery with a back-story included. I lost myself a bit on the present day portion but did enjoy the history, which did link up ok. I found myself drawn to Olivia Newport’s book due to the family mystery and there is nothing discoveries to explain how we all got here. Thank you Netgalley for this taste, it might be interesting to see how Jillian and Nolan evolve.

A copy of this ebook was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I was intrigued by the book blurb when I ran across this. I have a weird obsession with family trees and genealogy and I loved the idea of a series built around this. I was pleasantly surprised to discover it is written in dual timeline, one contemporary and set in a small town in Colorado, the other set in the 1870's during the yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, TN.

Things I liked:
--The role genealogy played in the plot.
--The historical timeline was my favorite storyline. I knew next to nothing about yellow fever and I always like learning things when I read.
--The small, quaint town the present day storyline is set in.
--The way the stories eventually intertwined.
--I liked Jillian's straightforward manner.

Things I struggled with:
--The beginning chapters introduced A LOT of character names, many who were never on the page.
--I found the way Jillian, her father, and the rest of the town went about "helping" a stranger (Meri) to be fairly aggressive and borderline intrusive.
--It took too long to bring the two timelines together. I honestly would have been interested to dump the contemporary timeline and focus on the historical storyline.

Overall, I thought it was a good effort at an interesting idea for a series.