Author: Kim Michele Richardson
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Book Description: The new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek!
Bestselling historical fiction author Kim Michele Richardson is back with the perfect book club read following Honey Lovett, the daughter of the beloved Troublesome book woman, who must fight for her own independence with the help of the women who guide her and the books that set her free.
In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good.
Picking up her mother’s old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn’t need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren’t as keen to let a woman pave her own way.
If Honey wants to bring the freedom books provide to the families who need it most, she’s going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world.
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: Who knew there was going to be a sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek? I certainly did not, until I came across it with no rhyme or reason. What a wonderful surprise to be back in this word. Set 15 years after the original book, this book centers around, you guessed it, the daughter of the famous book woman, Honey.
Honey is 15 years old and loves her parents, but they have been sentenced to jail for having a “mixed marriage”. She rides off to Troublesome Creek to find family friend Loretta and ask her to care for her. The state grants her custody and everything is going well, until Loretta fall ill and passes away. This is where the story really transitions for me.
Threatened of going to state home, doing hard labor until 21, she begins to fight for emancipation. She takes on her mother’s old route delivering books to the people of this rural community. And while Honey goes out of her way to help her neighbors and potentially make lives better, there are people who will do anything to make sure she is put in her place.
Just like the first book, there are so many layers to this complex story. You will be rooting for Honey the entire way through. Richardson has done a fantastic job and taken a book set in the ‘50s and extract so many themes that are 100% relevant today. Beautiful read, that cannot be missed.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Obsessed Bookaholic 