Cover Image: The Cherokee Hideaway

The Cherokee Hideaway

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Member Reviews

A perfect premise. A woman of Cherokee heritage helps a young discovery more than the history books have to tell. Raleigh barely survives his time in the Sipsey Wilderness. His survival prompts him to ask more questions about the Trail of Tears and those who survived. Armed with artifacts her found he Jenny Riddle unearth a tale so heart breaking and yet filled with the fight that native Americans struggled to maintain into the modern era. Noteworthy.

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I live in Oklahoma. My husband, daughter and grandson are Cherokee. The book cover caught my eye and the story synopsis was interesting enough to read the book. Wheeler Pounds did a great job of including many of the hardships inflicted during the Trail of Tears. He set a tone for his characters set to one of the most shameful periods of history. The story did not flow as smoothly as many others I have read but the story itself is unique and compelling enough to overcome that one shortcoming. I have recommended this book to my family and friends for their input. I'm sure they will find it just as compelling as I did.

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I was very disappointed in this novel. The writing was very elementary and felt the story was just on the surface.

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I have always been fascinated with our Native Americans and their history. I was delighted to come across this book which lends a human aspect to a tragic piece of American history. While one may have heard of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, this approach to the story is relate-able and real. We grieve along with Eve and are frustrated along with Raleigh as he attempts to locate any current members of Eve’s family.

That said, while I enjoyed this story and all the characters in it, I was put off by some of the more unrealistic aspects. I believe this is more due to an amateur author at the helm of the story than any actual substantive issues. For example, I found much of the dialog to be unlike how actual people speak. It seemed to me that the author was formalizing the speech of modern characters, excepting that of older Cherokees. The older Cherokee's speech is a bit beyond informal and I wondered if it was realistic or pushed a bit beyond realistic to make a point. My other bone of contention was how the relationship between Raleigh and Jenny is developed. It felt a bit too rushed, even considering the “Cherokee Way”. The story was good enough to get past those details and I still greatly enjoyed the book – even with the snakes.

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*Book provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 4
Pace: 4
Plot development: 4
Characters: 3
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of Reading: 4

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

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This is a book that I am glad to have stumbled across. While there may have been a few spots that read like a first-time author, by far the majority of the book was polished and flowed smoothly. The author artfully describes the wilderness through which his main character, Raleigh, treks into the Simpsey Canyon in Alabama. Not since reading Black or White by John Aubrey Anderson have I read a book with so many snakes, but they truly help create the setting Raleigh finds himself in. The author also writes romantic attraction and tension that is quite intense without offending those who enjoy reading in the clean and Christian genres.

While The Cherokee Hideaway would not be classified in the Christian fiction genre, many spiritual references are included, some in regard to missionary work with the Cherokee in the past and some with the modern day characters who also have a Cherokee heritage. God is often referred to as a higher power, and Christ is not mentioned.

The history of the Cherokee nation unfolds through the words of an old journal and of a Cherokee grandmother. The reader will grieve over the atrocities perpetuated against the Cherokee, but the mood is kept hopeful and looking into the future. One that will have the reader wanting to follow Raleigh and Jenny into the next book in this series.

I thank Bluewater Publications for providing me with a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

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