“My old man once told me, lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.”

As a mostly fantasy reader, I was nervous that this book wouldn't "click" with me or that I wouldn't be "smart" enough to fully enjoy the historical themes woven throughout the book, and the clear research that it took. But let me tell you I was so pleasantly surprised by just how much this story moved me. This story was raw, it felt real and the characters truly came alive and felt palpable. Overall, this is just such a good read and Donna Everhart will forever and always be on by auto buy list.

The Saints of Swallow Hill
by Donna Everhart, Author

Review

Ms. Everhart has created a Southern masterpiece of grit, and intrigue~ a purely unique, immersive, depression-era experience that didn't loosen its grip on me until days after the last word was read.

THE SAINTS OF SWALLOW HILL is the type of story that took my love for Southern Historical Fiction to yet another level and held me under its spell.

This vivid, yet gut-wrenching and most captivating journey into the isolation and darkness of the Turpentine Camps of the American South, left me breathless.

With characters who are written with the greatest of detail~ humanity at its truest form, both good and evil, has made for a fascinating story that was both knowledgeable, and most certainly unforgettable.

From the tense and tragic, to the calm and serene, THE SAINTS OF SWALLOW HILL opens the readers eyes to a colorful tapestry of a most authentic reading experience through sacrifice and survial, hope and healing.

I thank Ms. Everhart for the opportunity to experience a novel such as this, and for proving once again, why she remains on my list of favorites.

5 Stars
Wild Sage Book Blog

#TheSaintsofSwallowHill @donnaeve2 #KensingtonBooks #Netgalley

If you loved Where the Crawdads Sing, you'll love The Saints of Swallow Hill. Another strong woman who does what it takes to survive. The Depression was hard enough without also being a woman. Taking place mainly in North Carolina, this is a compelling read.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The time period was an interesting setting to me, and I also liked the area where the story took place. I thought a lot of the story was predictable and some things were implausible. But it was a quick read with a happy ending.

What is going on between the covers

Rae Lynn Cobb and her careless husband, Warren, run a small turpentine farm together. They are happy and have a good marriage, but tragedy hits when Warren’s carelessness catches up to them. Rae Lynn flees the farm, is on the run and applies for work at Swallow Hill turpentine camp disguised as a man. When she struggles with the job, she becomes a target for the racist, evil, controlling foreman. She meets Dell, who is the only one not afraid to help his fellow workers. An unlikely bond is formed between them.

Setting

Donna Everhart captures a good sense of time and place with the turpentine camps and pine forests of the American South during the Great Depression. Hacking into tree trunks to draw the sticky sap gives the Tar Heel State its name.

Themes: courage, survival, and friendship

My two cents

While Donna Everhart captures that sense of time with sexism and racism, the dialogue became a bit much for me, with men treating women like they owned them or were around mainly for their entertainment. I tried to remind myself that it was a reflection of the times and focus on how times have changed, but I wasn’t all that convincing. I was ready to throw in the towels soon after starting.

Both Rae Lynn and Dell are strong, developed characters. Rae Lynn is vulnerable, courageous, and resilient. They meet the abused wife of the owner and form a heartwarming friendship. While I was not too fond of Dell’s sexist cringy treatment of women, he stands up against violence, bullying, and bigotry.

I had a hard time buying into why Rae felt like she needed to run, other than her being a woman and not being believed. It just wasn’t strong enough of a hook for me to invest in or create the tension and suspense to drive the story forward.

Overall

There are many good themes for social change here, and I should have loved it. There was too much going on in the story, making it feel busy, sad, and unsettling, and I couldn’t silence that overthinker who won’t stop nagging me.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn't get into this one. They were obviously going for a Crawdad's feel, but it just totally missed the mark for me. Very slow and uneventful.

4 stars

This books reads like a William Faulkner novel, both in terms of the setting (Depression Era in the rural US South), and in terms of tone & content. It’s really well written, and it was difficult for me to read. Despite the mostly tragic & violent happenings, it actually has a positive ending for most of the protagonists.

(But do check the content warnings before reading; there is significant violence & bigotry in this story)

[What I liked:]

•Dell is a great protagonist. His introduction is quite unique & interesting. He’s not a perfect person (he seduces a bunch of married women early on), but he respects other people as human beings with dignity (regardless of race or gender), & stands up against violence & bullying. I enjoyed seeing from his perspective in the story.

•Rae Lynn is also a great MC. She is smart, compassionate, hard working, & determined to survive. She goes through some awful things but hangs onto her identity & empowers others.

•I appreciated the inclusion of queer themes & characters. The experiences of the queer character are subtly & tenderly portrayed, but there is a lot of nasty bigotry as well. It was actually really interesting (& disturbing) to see how intertwined the sexism, transphobia, & homophobia were in this story.

•The writing is so well done. The prose & dialogue, yes; but I was especially impressed with the way the story is constructed. All the subtle hints of menace & impending disaster slowly build up towards the doom you’re dreading as you read. Honestly, I think it’s this aspect of the book that reminds me of Faulkner the most. The tragedy that befalls Rae Lynn’s husband reminds me of As I Lay Dying. Rae Lynn, a woman alone in a predatory world of violent men, reminds me of Light In August, etc.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•It’s not a flaw in the book or a criticism of it, but whew were there a lot of traumatic events in this story!

CW: racism, sexism, homophobia/transphobia, infidelity, murder, torture, sexual assault, domestic violence, death from injury

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I am a huge fan of the author's writing and attempted to read this book in both audio and digital form, but it felt too long to me. I was not as invested and was unable to work my way through to the end.
For fans of historical fiction based in the southern USA post civil war, this will be a good book to pick up. i am not as interested in the topic and therefore, it did not appeal to me.
I think the author's writing style is still evocative and would definitely pick up another book by her if I am better equipped to appreciate the content!

This book brings alive life in the depression era south. Freed slaves still labor tirelessly and face punishment for their existence. Women have little to no rights, and face complete destitution without a man to take care of them. Swallow Hill is, essentially a labor camp. Meager wages are swapped for small portions of canned beans and grits. Mattresses are stuffed with moss, soap is a luxury, and clothing without holes or patches is an extravagance.

The Saints of Swallow Hill depicts the struggles and strength of two unlikely friends and their experience of just trying to get by.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

EEEEEEP. I love Donna. This was a no go for me. I do think it is a case of it's not you, it's me.

I might pick it up again at some point but for now, I am setting it down.

Saints of Swallow Hill tells the sad story of the living in the turpentine camps during the Depression in the American South. I feel like I've read this commissary/corner store setup before in Four Winds by Kristin Hannah... instead of paying the people, they get credit at the store, where the Cashier is also the Camp Owner, and all the items are overpriced and after you pay your weekly rent on your desolate, disgusting shack there's barely enough for a sleeve of crackers and two tins of tuna - your food for the week. This, of course, is not realistic, especially if you have youngens, so you buy the very minimum but just enough for you and your babies to have 1 meal a day, and so you're inevitably in debt. All the time. Well, here comes your next paycheck, or "credit amount", and it goes directly on your books at the county store. But because you had bought that loaf of bread, box of cereal, and a gallon of milk, along with your tuna and crackers, half of your new credit is already gone. Well, ok...lets take care of this week's rent - Now all the credit is gone! What about this week's food? "Oh that's fine, get what you need Dear, you'll just owe." So with this system you can imagine how broke and hopeless these people are. Not to mention if you get sick? Medicine is there but the cost is outrageous, only the rich get to see a doctor. This way of life is just absolutely abhorrent and inhumane. And with this being now the SECOND book I've read with this same exact "credit system" I have no doubt it's based on actual facts from the Depression era. I learned a lot and I enjoyed the book. 4 1/2 stars 🤩

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 💛

Rae Ann Cobb suffers a devasting loss of her beloved husband, Warren. Set in the South during the Depression years, Rae Ann reinvents herself as Mr. Ray Cobb and heads out work in the turpentining industry. We also meet Del, a good guy with a libido that gets him into BIG trouble. He, too, ends up in the turpentining industry. Rae Ann and Del are both fleeing from their pasts; hoping to find new paths. If the treatment of the workers was even 50% true, I don’t know how people actually lived through that time period.
This was an entertaining story that brought to light an important industry in making turpentin

WOW.....I was just reflecting on what a great movie "The Saints of Swallow Hill" would make.
This is my first book by Donna Everhart. I'm not sure if she specialises in stories from the south of the USA, but her writing made it easy for me to imagine the sticky relentless heat, wildlife and sounds of workers I amongst trees, calling their names out and chipping away hour after hour. Knowing nothing about Turpentine (other than buying it from the hardware store), this whole story setting/backdrop was a revelation to me. Such physically hard and dangerous work....and those working the trees were equally so.
As we read, we switch between 2 main characters, and their story ultimately collides. Rae Lynn Cobb was raised an orphan but did marry a man who was kind, but a little full hardy. His loss turns her life upside down and inside out. She tips up at a Turpentine farm in Georgia, named Swallow Hill. Far from the idyllic name portrayed.....workers are mis-treated and the place is hellish.
Del Reese is a white and running from his own demons. Swallow Hill is a new beginning for him too.....but how can you stand by and watch the black workforce beaten and demoralised? You might be unlucky and be branded a nigga-lover.
A small number of ensemble charcters bring the fire, the anger, the love and ultimately the salvation to the story of resilience and morality lighting the way. Hard times and hard lessons.....it takes courage to turn your life around...but the reward is all the sweeter.
Beautifully written and I truly loved this book.
Thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Donna Everhart for my copy.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced edition. This is a book that I just couldn't get into - I read the first 20 percent, skipped ahead some, still couldn't get into it, then skipped to the end, where I discovered that I didn't miss much. Others may like this book, but it was not for me.

North Carolina storyteller Donna Everhart returns to the south in an emotional story set in the depression-era South. THE SAINTS OF SWALLOW HILL explores the turpentine industry and the people employed in the work camps in the forest.

The story revolves around Rae Lynn Cobb and Delwood ‘Del’ Reese, employed by the Swallow Hill work camp in Georgia. Swallow Hill was filled with dangers from an environmental perspective and within its labor camp practices.

Rae Lynn, recently widowed under tragic circumstances, once ran a small-scale turpentine farm with her late husband. She is on the run to escape her previous life and ends up at the Swallow Hill camp. Disguised as a man “Ray Cobb,” she seeks employment and is put to work with the rest of the men.

From alternating narratives of Rae Lynn and Del’s, we learn the backstories and working conditions that are cruel and involve racism and misogyny. I enjoyed Rae Lynn and Cornelia, both strong and brave women. A fitting title.

Like her other books I have read, a beautifully written story of resilience and survival.

Heartbreaking yet insightful and informative, I always enjoy Donna's storytelling as she honors the Southern states and their rich history that often goes unnoticed. Her characters always come alive on the page, and you are assured to learn something along the way.

Well-researched I had no clue about this part of history that she brings to light and enjoyed her author's note which I found interesting regarding the naval stores. As well as Zora Neale Hurston who spent time in Florida documenting what it was like to work in a labor camp. As an NC native, I did not know the state was at one time the top producer of naval stores in the world.

An ideal pick for book clubs with an extensive Reading Group Guide included.

Thank you to #Kensington and #NetGalley for an ARC and ALC #TantorAudio narrated by Amy Melissa Bentley for an engaging performance.

Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 25, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars
Jan 2022 Must-Read Books

Deep in the heart of Georgia there's a turpentine camp called Swallow Hill. This is where Rae Lynn and Del first meet. Rae Lynn is forced to flee her beloved home in North Carolina when her husband dies. Del is a ladies man who can't seem to settle down. Both end up at Swallow Hill, which ends up transforming their lives in ways they never imagined.

I loved the southern backdrop of this story. The descriptions made me feel as though I was in the deep south during the depression era. The pine trees, turpentine farming, old crank cars, boiled peanuts, chocolate pie...

The story had ups and downs. There were some tense moments in which I was gripped - particularly at Swallow Hill with Crow. I also learned a lot about turpentine farming But, which was interesting. But there were also parts that dragged and strayed off the main plot too much. The characters also needed more depth as it was difficult to connect with them. They were one note and predictable.

Although there was some beautiful writing - the author's ability to carve out a scene or a location was topnotch - it also could have used some editing. Rather than "telling" the reader how the characters felt, would have been so much more powerful to let the characters "show" the reader. The reader could then make their own observations and inferences.

I think folks who are drawn to atmospheric historical fictions about the deep South will want to read this book. Thank you to Kensington Books and NG for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While the country is struggling through The Great Depression, Raelynn tragically loses her husband, and is forced to find a way to go into hiding and make a living for herself. Del is a bit of a wanderer, who is struggling to recover from the consequences of his womanizing ways. They meet in Swallow Hill, a turpentine manufacturing camp in Georgia. Both suffer abuse and mistreatment from the hands of Crow, a foreman in the camp, and struggle to survive and find ways to come to terms with their pasts.
Donna Everhart is an amazing, talented and gifted writer who has no problems getting the reader to step into the world she is creating for her books.. In this book, you can easily imagine the land with it's pine trees, the little homes, and the struggle of the people of the time. One can easily empathize with characters as they struggle in the brutal and yet realistic situations in her stories. It is quite amazing how Everhart does not go into explicitly descriptive details about different altercations, but she pulls no punches, making the reader at times feel the darkness of the trauma being inflicted on the characters. For this reason, I find her books are a struggle to read at times.
These are my independent opinions. Thank you to NetGalley and to Kingsington Books for the digital advanced reader copy of this book.

I enjoyed this one, thank you! Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.

In the dense pine forests of North Carolina, turpentiners labor, hacking into tree trunks to draw out the sticky sap that gives the Tar Heel State its nickname, and hauling the resin to stills to be refined. Among them is Rae Lynn Cobb and her husband, Warren, who run a small turpentine farm together.

Though the work is hard and often dangerous, Rae Lynn, who spent her childhood in an orphanage, is thankful for it—and for her kind if careless husband. When Warren falls victim to his own negligence, Rae Lynn undertakes a desperate act of mercy. To keep herself from jail, she disguises herself as a man named "Ray" and heads to the only place she can think of that might offer anonymity—a turpentine camp in Georgia named Swallow Hill.

Swallow Hill is no easy haven. The camp is isolated and squalid, and commissary owner Otis Riddle takes out his frustrations on his browbeaten wife, Cornelia. Although Rae Lynn works tirelessly, she becomes a target for Crow, the ever-watchful woods rider who checks each laborer’s tally. Delwood Reese, who’s come to Swallow Hill hoping for his own redemption, offers “Ray” a small measure of protection, and is determined to improve their conditions. As Rae Lynn forges a deeper friendship with both Del and Cornelia, she begins to envision a path out of the camp. But she will have to come to terms with her past, with all its pain and beauty, before she can open herself to a new life and seize the chance to begin again.

The book was well-paced I loved the characters, Rae Lynn, Del, and Cornelia. The writing was fantastic and I read it in about two days. I haven't read this author before but I would most likely read some of her other titles. I am a big fan of historical fiction and this was precisely what I was looking for at the moment. What I loved most is is how much I learned about that area. Most depression-era novels are set in the south or midwest that I've read so it was a nice change of pace to read about a different region. I didn't know anything about turpentine harvest and the camps that were set up and how dangerous it could be.

Though the work is hard and often dangerous, Rae Lynn, who spent her childhood in an orphanage, is thankful for it—and for her kind if careless husband. When Warren falls victim to his own negligence, Rae Lynn undertakes a desperate act of mercy. To keep herself from jail, she disguises herself as a man named "Ray" and heads to the only place she can think of that might offer anonymity—a turpentine camp in Georgia named Swallow Hill.

The author had me at her dedication:

This story is dedicated to all the chippers, dippers and tackers of tin

Still, I was nearly ready to stop all: the anxious atmosphere, hot and urgent, started with Del and his youthful proclivities to unskirt every woman he meets. I was just about ready to set him aside only a few pages in, when the whole story turns miraculous. One chapter in and I'm ready to see where it goes. Chapter next brought me Warren and Rae Lynn, and after that dramatic introduction, there was no way I was stopping.

Set three years after the Wall Street Crash, the author's narrative wends its way around the turpentining industry adopted by the South to take the place of cotton, and characters of every stripe, to take on the large themes of gender struggles for dominance and identity, racism and the guilt-edged legacy of slavery, and cruelties daily imposed by power hungry men, ready to sacrifice every good thing in order to control all. Chilling to think about, and it was hard to read knowing that at some point in time it had happened non-fictionally. Every page turned intensified my feelings for the characters, along with my worries and hopes for their futures, that they truly would all get what they deserved.

I'm West Coast, start to finish. Turpentine camps were something I'd never heard of or thought about. Even the reason for the term "Tar Heel" was not a mystery to me, because it was never a question for me. Why a state would adopt pine tar on a barefoot as their label was just one more proof that some people's kids can't be explained. Inscrutable. Reading Saints of Swallow Hill rolled out explanation enough to begin an education for this girl, on this topic. Once the book was read and ended, I scooted to my keyboard and fired up turpentining - I wanted to see the cat face, see the tool used, and those poor scarred up trees. I figured it was all in the past. Before this read I would have sworn I've never had or owned any turpentine - my only experience was my mother's paint supplies, where a small container often needed refills. Now that I've googled, I know it's in that little blue Vicks jar in the medicine cabinet!

A great read. A book that pulled back a curtain on a place, time and environment that a week ago had no place in my head. . . and now. . . .has me thinking. . . .

A Sincere Thanks to Donna Everhart, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review. #SaintsofSwallowHill #NetGalley