Sons of Blackbird Mountain by Joanne Bischof, 2018

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When Aven Norgaard leaves Norway to serve as housekeeper to her late husband’s cousins in Appalachia, she expects lads in need of care, not three grown men—each in need of a wife and bound by a powerful brotherhood. As the men carve out a living by brewing artisan liquor, young Haakon’s pursuit tempts Aven’s lonely spirit . . . but it is his deaf brother, Thor, whose silent strength shows her the depths of real love.

Unable to speak to any woman, Thor Norgaard never anticipates Aven will befriend him, let alone treat him as her safe harbor. Though hard cider is their livelihood and his greatest talent, he fights his way to sobriety with Haakon’s help, defying the bottle for Aven’s hand—only to face a battle of the heart that tests even the strongest bonds of brotherhood.

(341 pages)

You might think that this is just another cheesy Christian old-timey romance. To a certain extent, you would be right.

But to shove Sons of Blackbird Mountain into the same category as so many of the throw-away novels in that category doesn't really seem fair to it. Because, while I may have been a bit cynical going in, I quickly realized that Bischof has a serious gift for storytelling. Her prose is beautiful and absorbing, and the characters are drawn so well they feel like people you could actually meet in real life.

Perhaps this is because the characters are flawed. And not just the typical "stubborn and quick to righteous anger" flawed, but actually screwed-up people with struggles and challenges. Both Thor and Haakon make big mistakes at different points in the story, and there is no softening or pooh-poohing away the badness of what they do.

Along the same vein, Aven's hard background is laid out for the reader to see: her illegitimate birth in a nobleman's house, her mother's death at a young age, her childhood in a workhouse and her marriage at 17 to a Norwegian stranger who shipped her from Ireland to Norway, her husband's addiction to alcohol, etc. Plus there's an entire storyline about the KKK and their attacks on a black family close to the Norsgaards.

That's not to say that Sons of Blackbird Mountain is a depressing book, though. In fact, if anything, I'd still say it errs on the side of optimism! Thor got away with a lot of bad things when he was an alcoholic, and everyone waved away a lot of things I would have had a very hard time swallowing. I loved that he is deaf, because there are so few books out there with hard-of-hearing characters (and Bischof did an amazing job describing his lifestyle!), but I was a little taken aback by how well he and Aven connected when she literally didn't even understand sign language! Like, seriously.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed reading Sons of Blackbird Mountain even when I had to fight back an eye-roll or two at the most ridiculous plot turns. I loved the characterizations and the way nothing was sugarcoated, and I highly recommend Sons of Blackbird Mountain for those of you who are interested.

I do just have to add a trigger warning for this book, though: there are two scenes where sexual assault is implied (once it is a misunderstanding, the other time it never goes past PG-13).

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to participate in a TLC tour.