Ann H. Gabhart

I love historical fiction, and what could be better than being wrapped up in an entertaining and educational story about my home state? I've lived in Kentucky my entire life but never knew that people from all over the country once visited Mercer County because of the healing powers associated with its mineral water. This book is set at Graham Springs, a once popular resort near Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and it features the mystery and suspense surrounding the life and death of a beautiful show more young woman who visited the resort in 1842. Her identity remains unknown, and the true cause of her death is still uncertain, but her existence is a compelling backdrop for The Pursuit of Elena Bradford!

From the beginning sentence to the satisfying ending, I was captivated by the title character, Elena Bradford. Remember, in 1842, a twenty-two-year-old woman was considered a spinster. What better way to find a wealthy husband than to visit a popular resort? Author Ann H. Gabhart vividly portrays Elena's dilemma as her mother sets out to find her a husband, and three men appear to be interested in her! Poor Elena, she only wants to be loved and cherished by one good man! I loved the beautiful setting, sweet romance, and Elena's willingness to sacrifice love so that she could help her family. Gabhart's descriptive powers and the ability to weave facts with fiction have never been better! I recommend The Pursuit of Elena Bradford to all who enjoy historical Christian romance!

I received a copy from the publisher and NetGalley. There was no obligation for a positive review. show less

First sentence: Elena Bradford had yet to meet the man to make her consider marriage. She would, her mother assured her when Elena was younger. She should, her mother insisted when Elena turned twenty. She must, her mother demanded when Elena's father died. By then Elena was twenty-two.

Premise/plot: After the death of her father, Elena and her sister--along with their mother--go to Graham Springs, Kentucky, to a health resort to 'catch' husbands. The goal: marry Elena off to a rich man and show more allow Ivy to marry for love. Elena as a 'spinster' is unsure she'll be able to catch a man--wealthy or not. And she despises her mother's intentions though she can't really stop her mother from scheming. There are several men who could prove potential love interests. Elena finds herself attracted to two: an artist with dreams of going West to paint landscapes and a recently jilted man (I believe his family's business is raising horses???). Kirby and Andrew are night and day different. Kirby is EAGER to marry anyone who can give him enough money for a ticket west. If she's pleasant, charming, a fellow artist that would be a bonus. But he can tolerate anyone--or thinks he can. Andrew is more reserved and is unsure if he'll ever marry. However he finds himself falling for Elena. Meanwhile, we have a scheming mother, a determined sister (she is in love with a man back home), and a MYSTERY GUEST that dies on the same day she arrives after making quite an entrance. Ivy (the sister) may just have witnessed something she shouldn't....

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. Granted, I could have done without the twenty-two equals spinster, old maid trope. But I loved the story and the characters. I found myself underlining so many sentences! Which is something I usually don't do with Christian fiction!

Quotes:
No boy when she was younger, no man now, had ever truly pursued her. Or was it that she had never given love a chance?
She couldn't solve her problems tonight. Tomorrow would bring whatever it brought, and she would face it with the Lord's help. With his love. She pulled the thought of that love up over her like a blanket and slept.
A woman willing to marry for money rather than love is hardly a lady.
"Dear Father in heaven," she whispered after Ivy and her mother left to take the waters. "If there is a man like that here, please let me meet him. One I can love as a wife should love her husband. I realize I've done nothing to deserve love, but love isn't something to earn. It just is."
Sometimes we need to do more than hope. We need to add actions to that hope of friendship. show less

Ann H. Gabhart's writing sparkles in The Scent of Lilacs. When you finish this book, you will want to read all that she has written. Ann H. Gabhart shows so much love and care with her characters. So many times while reading I was wishing that I could actually meet them and talk to them!

The author brings the story of the characters in Hollyhill, Kentucky in 1964 alive and makes you hope that things will turn out alright for them. This story begins with Jocie Brooke, a thirteen year old girl show more who says one prayer for a dog to come into her life and another one for her sister, Tabitha to return home. Jocie narrates and we meet her unusual friend, Wes who has all sorts of stories of coming from Jupiter and her Aunt Love who spouts bible verses constantly but who is hiding her own tragic story. Then her father takes his turn in telling the story. He is hoping to be the fulltime instead of a temporary preacher. He loves both of his daughters deeply hides his pain from his wife’s desertion of him. He thinks he has failed. We go back and forth the narrators and the pieces of the puzzle of this story fit so neatly.

There are plenty of quirky characters and all of them have their own secrets which spill out bit by bit through this story. There is humor throughout and the characters feel closer to each other as their private secrets are revealed. This is a tale of forgiveness and the building of love.

I recommend this book to all lovers of Christian fiction and everyone who loves the story of To Kill a Mockingbird as this book is about human values and love. This is a book that you will want to hug! show less

I love Ann H. Gabhart’s books, and part of that love comes from trust. My heart feels safe opening one of her stories because she handles ordinary lives with such tenderness and care. Again and again, her tender, patient storytelling has shown me that deep spiritual weight can live inside the day-by-day reality of ordinary lives, where faith is prayed through, carried in tired hands, steadied by Scripture, and lived before the Lord.

A Chance for Kallie Mae gave me all of that, and then it show more gave me something even more precious. It gave me the beauty of Scripture being learned, memorized, understood, and treasured.

That is where this story became deeply personal for me.

Kallie Mae’s longing to read touched something tender in my heart, because Ann H. Gabhart never treats words as a small thing. Reading means dignity. Reading means hope. Reading means opening a door that life had nearly shut. And in these pages, reading also means drawing nearer to the living Word of God with understanding, hunger, and reverence.

Watching Emmie learn Scripture, hold Scripture, and begin to understand the riches inside those verses was one of the sweetest gifts in the whole book. I loved the way faith lived inside ordinary moments. Prayers were whispered. Bible verses mattered. The Lord was sought for direction. Hope had roots because hope was anchored in Him.

There is a moment when Kallie prays for help finding Emmie, and old Goldy comes through the trees. Kallie wonders, “Maybe Goldy was the answer to her prayer.” I loved that so much. It felt true to the Lord’s tender care in ordinary life: mercifully near, beautifully practical, and sometimes arriving with paws and a wagging tail.

And when Kallie says, “Our prayers got answered,” about the chance for a school, I felt the weight of that too. A school was hope. A school was mercy. A school was a door opening where life had long felt closed. It reminded me that the Lord cares about the hidden places where people are tired, ashamed, longing, waiting, and still trying to believe He sees them.

Kallie Mae is the kind of heroine my heart recognizes, because her strength has been formed in hidden places: beside sorrow, beneath responsibility, through love that costs something, and through hope that waits on the Lord and trusts Him completely. She carries tenderness and guarded hope. Her love for Emmie and Whitt has weight. Her own dreams have had to wait. And yet the Lord’s kindness keeps meeting her in ways both practical and beautiful.

Quinn’s part of the story carries its own ache and tenderness, and my heart keeps returning to the sacred thread running through these pages: Scripture treasured, prayers whispered, children loved, dreams awakened, and hope rising by the mercy of the Lord.

This is Christian historical fiction with deep roots. The faith has breath in it. The mountain setting feels alive. The characters feel lovingly known. And the story honors something I treasure deeply: the immeasurable mercy of being able to read God’s Word for yourself.

For readers who are seeking God, this story carries a gentle invitation to notice His nearness. For readers who already know and love the Lord, it offers the sweetness of seeing His care woven through ordinary life. For the weary and tired who are clinging tightly to Him, it offers a tender reminder that the Lord is still faithful in the waiting, still kind in the hidden places, and still able to open doors that once seemed closed.

Ann H. Gabhart wrote these pages full of warmth, dignity, and spiritual richness. Revell gave readers something beautiful here: a story where literacy becomes mercy, Scripture becomes treasure, and a long-delayed chance becomes a reminder that the Lord sees hidden hopes.

Five+ stars with my whole heart.

This is the kind of Christian fiction I treasure most: gentle, rich, deeply rooted, and shining with the goodness of God.

I received a copy of A Chance for Kallie Mae from the author. I also purchased the audiobook. I am not required to write a positive review in any way or for any reason. My honest and unbiased opinions expressed in this book review are my own. My review focuses on the writing style, the pacing, and the story’s content, ensuring transparency and reliability. show less