This book was ahmazing!!! I read it quickly as I just could not put it down! Dove Jarrod is a faith healer. She died 8 years ago and her granddaughter Eve is the keeper of Dove's big secret, she was a hoax! Eve is in charge of Dove's charitable organization and while fixing up the psychiatric hospital Dove was born in, Eve finds herself in physical danger! One of Dove's secrets from the past is about to unveiled unless Eve solves the secret! This book has it all; murder, family drama and secrets, and fantastic characters! It is told by Dove in the past and Eve in the present. I have read all of Emily Carpenter's books and I am a fan for life! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

In Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters, Emily Carpenter revisits the southern gothic theme that she writes so well. In this new book, we learn more about Dove, one of the characters in Burying the Honeysuckle Girls. I loved this fabulous story!

This is a dual time line novel moving between Dove and her grand daughter Eve in 1934 and the present respectively. Dove, who worked as a faith healer, lived a very colorful life, which Eve is exploring - but even she didn't know Dove's secrets before she is assaulted and challenged to find the truth about Dove. Did Dove murder Steadfast Coe and steal a coin worth US$1 million? Well, the family secrets and lies are twisty and more than Eve thought they would be. This is a followup to an earlier book, which I haven't read, so it was a standalone for me- and fine that way. The characters are good, the atmospherics nicely done (yes. it's Gothic adjacent, not fully Gothic), and the storytelling fluid. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. An entertaining read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this gothic story !!! Loved the duel story line! I also loved Burying the Honeysuckle girls! Highly highly recommend!

this was a really interesting concept, I liked the morally gray characters and felt like they were real people, the book was fun to read.

Dove Jarrod is known far and wide as an evangelist and faith healer. Only her granddaughter, 24-year-old Eve Candler, knows the truth: Dove is a fraud. As head of fundraising for The Charles and Dove Jarrod Foundation, Eve's committed to upholding her grandmother's reputation as a miracle worker, even though Dove has admitted privately that she's no such thing. When a strange man threatens to expose her grandma as not just a fake but also a murderer, Eve knows she has to stop him. Dove may be the former, but there's no way she's the latter. Or is she? With the stranger breathing down her neck, Eve has no choice but to dig into her family's past to find its real truth—before everything her family has worked so hard to build and protect crumbles to nothing.

I'm a big fan of Emily Carpenter's unsettling thrillers. Some are better than others, of course, and her newest, Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters, isn't one of my favorites. Which isn't to say it's not an engrossing read. It is. The plot is a little patchy, but it still kept me riveted. I saw some of the twists coming but there were enough surprises to keep the story suspenseful and intriguing. This isn't a happy book (Carpenter's novels rarely are), but for the most part, I enjoyed this immersive read. It made for a distracting COVID read, even though it's sad and depressing.

(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. You?)

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for language, violence, blood/gore, disturbing subject matter, depictions of illegal drug use, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC from the generous folks at Lake Union Publishing via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

A wonderful and captivating southern gothic story. Emily Carpenter never disappoints. So much was packed into this novel... skeletal remains, insane asylums, faith healers and psychics! I really couldn't put it down.

In 1934, a young orphan leaves behind the psychiatric hospital in which she was raised to start a life of her own. She eventually becomes caretaker for a wealthy man who collects uncirculated erroneous coins and hides them around his home to ease his OCD. She also finds herself as one half of the Hawthorn Sisters, an inspiring duo traveling around Alabama tent revivals to spread the gospel and heal people with faith. Little does she know that there is a dangerous man searching for her; obsessing over her…

In present day, the faithful still mourn the loss of evangelist Dove Jarrod who performed miracles during her lifetime. Her granddaughter, Eve Candler, is working on a documentary about Dove’s life. Before filming wraps, Eve is assaulted by a stranger claiming that Dove murdered the man she took care of and that she stole a valuable coin from him. The stranger gives Eve 3 days to locate the coin or he’ll come forward with the information he has and destroy Dove’s legacy.
With the help of a filmmaker and one of Dove’s friend, Eve is on a race against the clock to learn the truth of Dove’s past.

The past and present timelines unfold in alternating chapters and though it took me a while to really get into the story, I became invested in learning the truth about the coin and Dove. There’s a lot going on here: several characters to keep track of as well as a couple unnecessary twists, but overall this is a solid and atmospheric Southern Gothic novel.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is scheduled for release on October 20, 2020.

For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com

I absolutely love this beautiful gothic story! And I love Dove so much! Great story, great characters and I just want to plant a Hawthorn tree!

Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters by Emily Carpenter is the story of Ruth Lurie, later known as Dove, an evangelist faith healer or is that a lie? This is a mystery that is told in 2 different timelines. The storyline told during the 1930’s is about Ruth and another girl named Bruna who make up the pair that is known as the Hawthorn Sisters. They go around to revivals singing and praying over people. The storyline told in the present day is of those women’s granddaughters, Eve and Ember and Eve’s hunt for a missing coin. After having read many of Emily Carpenter’s books, I knew this would be an entertaining story and one I would enjoy. It held my attention and kept me reading later than usual. It’s one I’ll be recommending to other readers. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc that I received off the Read Now section to read and review. I’m giving this a 4 star rating.

I loved the format of this book, dual timelines...from 1934 to present day. The switching back and forth was coherent and easy to follow. This is a book about secrets and relationships, family and the romantic kind. Enchanting, poignantly real... Emily Carpenter's characters come to life.

I devoured this in a day. It's beautifully, intimately written, and leaves you feeling warm and cosy – despite exploring themes of growth, pain and loss. Emily Carpenter writes wonderfully, poetically at times. The words are equally poignant and entrancing I could not put this book down, it was brilliant and I look forward to reading her other works.

Just finished reading REVIVING THE HAWTHORNE SISTERS by Emily Carpenter. Thanks Emily Carpenter for sending a copy my way for an honest review. Official publication date is October 20th, 2020.

Dove Jarrod was a famous faith healer. She stared her career in 1934 as part of a duo called the Hawthorne Sisters. Her granddaughter, Eve Candler, knows however that Dove was essentially a con artist and not a real healer. But she has pledged her career to help maintain the image of her granmother, for the charitable foundation she started, and her families legacy.

When a stranger attacks Eve during a production shoot of a documentary about her grandmother's life, Eve must team up with the film maker and a close friend of Dove's to prove her innocence. As the stranger has accused Dove of being a murderer, a thief, and a liar, which would destroy the foundation. When Eve finally stumbles upon the truth, will it set her free, or turn her world upside down?

I enjoyed the dual timelines from 1934 to present day, the switch back and forth was seamless. This Southern Gothic thriller had me hooked from the first page, I felt like I was along for the ride to figure out this mystery with Eve.
I will definitely be reading more by this author.

REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS⁣
By⁣
Emily Carpenter ⁣
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A great read that brings out family love, loss and secrets. The characters were intriguing, there were different timelines, and they were well explained. It also has a sort of mystery attached to it, revealing lots of horrifying stuff as the story unravels. The explanations were well adapted, and it was really dramatic and well paced. It was an enjoyable read for me. ⁣
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I recommend this for drama lovers. ⁣
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⁣Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher for this digital ARC copy

I absolutely love Emily Carpenter's books and Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is just another one for me to love. It felt different from her other books that I've read and I was totally into the topic of faith healers, which I've never really thought about before. I was glued to the pages and read it in just two sittings because I had to know what was going to happen next. There is such a great flow to the writing, and I loved the switches between present day and 1934. There aren't that many viewpoints and I wasn't confused at all, even though this is still a complex story.

I hadn't realized that Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters was a continuation/follow up to Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, so as soon as I finished this one I went straight to Honeysuckle Girls (thank you Kindle Unlimited) and it is my current read. This was a super quick book that could easily be read in one sitting, and I was hooked from the very first chapter. I love Southern Gothic and Carpenter really kills that genre with Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters. If you are looking for a quick read that you can get lost in, I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Emily Carpenter’s new novel was a pleasant surprise for me. When I began reading, I had forgotten the premise, but I was soon into the story of Eve and the secrets that her late grandmother had inadvertently left for her to uncover.

Eve’s grandmother, Dove, was a faith healer and had worked the tent revivals in the 1930’s. One odd thing about Dove, was that she had been born in a psychiatric hospital and had lived there as an orphan even after her mother’s death.

Dove had the uncanny ability to remake herself in order to survive, which led her into the role as a caregiver for an elderly man with dementia and then later as a singer with the Hawthorne Sisters.

Throughout all of Dove’s adventures, there was a predator following her that even continued after her death. Eve had the unfortunate and dangerous task of uncovering all of the mystery surrounding Dove’s life.

I liked the unusual history of this family and the dual timelines of present day and the 1930’s. The story has many old gospel tales mentioned as Dove and her singing partner travel the revival circuit, many of which I remember my grandparents singing as a child. I highly recommend this to those who love historical fiction with a bit of mystery mixed within.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this book and keeping all of them straight so for that reason I abandoned the book at 40%. Just not for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Another great book from Emily Carpenter. I loved Burying the Honeysuckle Girls and Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters did not disappoint.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
I was extremely excited for this book, I love the Emily Carpenter and I loved Burying the Honeysuckle Girls. That being said, I tried harder to get into this story than I might have - the beginning of the book drags and it’s hard to get hooked.
Once it kicks into gear, this is another solid take on historical fiction meets southern Gothic. This book weaves together past and present in an intriguing tale of multi-generational revenge, love, murder, and more.
Maybe a little less riveting than some of the authors previous work, but still a worthwhile read, 3.5/5

First things first: this is a semi-follow-up to Carpenter’s earlier “Burying the Honeysuckle Girls,” in that some of the characters overlap, but the storyline are completely different. I have not read the Honeysuckle Girls yet, and had no problems reading this one as a standalone.

This book follow two distinct timelines: The present day, when Eve is working to dedicate a new women’s center at the former hospital for the insane where her grandmother, famed evangelist and healer Dove Jarrod was born. Eve believes her grandmother was a total fraud, but keeps her secret in order to protect her fragile family - a plan which goes to hell when a mysterious man shows up and says that he has proof Dove was involved in some really awful business in the 1930s following her escape from the hospital. Now Eve and some friends have to uncover the truth. The second timeline follows Dove herself as she goes through those turbulent years and reveals the truth, which as always, is stranger than fiction.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning. Carpenter really can set a scene, and mix religion, faith healing and a mysterious woman’s past that begins in an insane asylum and I am hooked! There’s a lot of characters to keep straight throughout the book, but things eventually really all fall into place and the plot flows really well between the two timelines.

I really liked both Eve and Dove in their own ways, both were trying to do the best they could given pretty grim circumstances in both cases - Eve thinking she has to carry the burdens of her family, while Dove, well, you’ll see. In the end, they both end up doing the best they could, even if it meant sacrificing their own need, which is admirable.

There’s also a whole cast of secondary characters in this one who add tons of color to this story - both good and bad.

Overall, this is another Southern Gothic winner from Emily Carpenter, who is a must-read author for me. I highly recommend this and any of her other books to those looking for a good suspenseful read to sink into during a long weekend.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

Ruth Lurie, just a girl trying to survive and Dove Jarrod, a renowned evangelist and faith healer. The same person but two very different people.

This was an okay read but I struggled with it a bit. I preferred the older timeline with Ruth and found that character the most compelling. But the writing seemed a bit jagged. Hopping back and forth between the different timelines felt unbalanced at times ... keeping track of who was with who and how they fit into their timelines.

2.75☆