Oh this book…I loved this one so much! I loved being back in Troublesome Creek with these Troublesome women! The story is beautiful, the writing is descriptive and vivid, and you’ll want to sit for the day and just absorb yourself in this book.
This is the follow-up book to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, and I would highly recommend reading it before reading this one. It’s also a five-star read, and I think it will help to set the stage for The Book Woman’s Daughter.
Honey is 16, and her parents are heading to jail for being married and of two different colors. One blue and one white. Honey’s blue skin is only in her hands and feet, and her mama sends her off to live with Retta in Troublesome Creek while her parents serve their sentence.
Honey is such a strong woman, just like her mama, and I instantly wanted things to work out for her. It seems like there’s one problem after another for her, but she’s fierce and continues to push forward. I loved the themes about laws for women in this one. Honey wants her independence, but men make the rules for women, and Honey wants that changed. Not just for her, but for all the women she sees and knows.
This was beautifully written, and I highly recommend it for historical fiction lovers!
There are some content warnings for this one:
Spousal abuse, child abuse, forced sterilization, sexual assault.
Where to Find This Book:
Bestselling historical fiction author Kim Michele Richardson is back with the perfect book club read following Honey Mary Angeline 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 that 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.
Just the Facts:
The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.
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