Liar's Winter

     BOOK REVIEW:   From the moment Lochiel Ogle entered the world, her red-wine birthmark has put her life in jeopardy. Mountain folks call it "the mark of the Devil". And for all the evil that has plagued her nineteen years, Lochiel can't help but agree. If there's one thing she knows, it's that people only wish her harm.
     Beaten and left for dead by her brother, Lochiel is rescued by a stranger. At his hand, she experiences kindness and love instead of fear and hatred, and the lies behind her entire existence are exposed. But just as she begins to trust this saviour, she finds her life in danger again.
     Set in the wild and beautiful Appalachian Mountains of nineteenth-century East Tennessee, Liar's Winter is an unflinching yet inspirational exploration of prejudice, choice, and learning to trust God.
   
     MY REVIEW:    Let me start by explaining the title:  "Liar's winter---the time when the mountain fights with winter and spring not knowin whether to warm the ground or chill a body to the bone."
     This book is the story of Lochiel Ogles, a nineteen-year-old girl living in the Appalachian Mountains. After being abandoned by her volatile brother, she is found by a peddler who takes her to stay with his mother. Here she learns that her entire life has been a lie, and her parents did not rescue her as a baby---they stole her away. As her brother continues to hunt her down, Lochiel has to decided whether to trust the peddler and his mother, and what they've told her.
     One thing I really liked about this book is the lesson that the peddler taught Lochiel----you are who you choose to be. You can choose anger and hatred (like her family and brother) or you can choose love. Lochiel battles the desire to see her brother killed, but this lesson wins in the end.
     Most fiction stories set the plot simply to hide the real story---the love story. This book though, was entirely about Lochiel and finding out who her parents really are. She is married in the epilogue and that is introduced a bit in the last chapter, but not at all a major theme.
     I can't decide if this book has too fast an ending or not. It would have nice to read more about Lochiel after she finds her mother and her brother is gone, but as for the story, it all got wrapped up.
     Cindy Sproles was raised in the Appalachian Mountains and now lives and writes in Tennessee. Her book is written in the "mountain lingo", for example: "I brung you here for two reasons. First, it's hidden away. Safe. Ain't hardly a soul knows this place is here. "  She has written another book in this series, Mercy's Rain, plus several other books. You can find her at cindysproles.com.

   I received a copy of this book from KREGEL PUBLISHERS per their blogger program and was only asked to write an honest review.