Sons of Blackbird Mountain

FTC disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

I am terribly conflicted over this story. While I admire Ms. Bischof for tackling such a tough topic as alcoholism, the presentation was too heavy-handed for me as the entire first half of the book focused nearly solely on the addiction rather than the other plot points that had been set up within the first two or three chapters. However, there were incredibly sweet moments, particularly in the second half of the tale, that really drew me in. The expressiveness of the writing was beautiful and immersive (as is Ms. Bischof's trademark), yet there were times when a clutch of fragments and confusing, disjointed sentences took over, causing me to lose focus.

Jorgan was amazing. He was strong, sweet, courageous, generous, manly, a good brother, and an overall sweetheart. He's the type of guy I'd love to meet in real life. If he wasn't Norwegian, he'd be a Texan cowboy with those qualities, I'm sure.

Haakon, on the other hand, I pretty much despised until the final three chapters. There was not much to admire or like about this fellow, including his eyes, which were “such a startling blue that even the sky overhead seemed the wrong color.” That line was awkward to me, making me wish his eyes were brown or green or even purple so we'd get a more natural analogy.

Speaking of the brothers, with silent and intriguing Thor added in there, the relationships among the trio reminded me a bit of that between the brothers in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie Christmas with Holly, one of my favorites.

I liked that the Ku Klux Klan was featured, though it seemed to get forgotten for a hefty chunk of the book (at least half). I don't like what the group stands for and cannot support it, but it was handled well in this book and brought an interesting aspect to the story.

I was disappointed to see three expletives and one profanity. This is a Christian fiction book. Those words have zero place in its pages, in my opinion. This was very saddening to me, and cast a shadow over the redemptive messages of this story.

Pulses were taken with the thumb, which is a big no-no since there is a strong pulse in the thumb, making it nearly impossible to detect the other person's pulse that one is trying to find. This was done twice.

I loved how well Ms. Bischof expressed the heartache and grip of sin, as well as the struggle to pull free from it. The aspect of God helping one through such times was too lightly dipped into for my taste, but it was there a few times.

There were several spots that made me uncomfortable as they were overly sensual, especially scenes that were honeymoon material. Keep it behind closed doors, please!

Tobacco was used, which made it seem like a character traded one vice for another. This was a little awkward, as he never seemed to need tobacco before he kicked the other habit.

A couple of mentions of obscene or expletive hand gestures were disruptive, as they were unnecessary to the plot or genre. The characters' anger and frustration were already well expressed without such inappropriate behavior.

One thing that really bothered me was the claim that cooking with liquor makes it “lose its potency. Becoming delicate enough for even the littlest of children to eat.” (Chapter 20; fragment used as written in the story.) Firstly, this was not a known myth during the 1800s, as far as I'm aware. Secondly, it isn't scientifically accurate. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, “Contrary to what most people believe, the entire alcohol content doesn't always evaporate or boil away before the food is served. A study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Data Laboratory showed that it can take longer than two and a half hours for all the alcohol to be cooked out of food to which wine or some other alcoholic beverage has been added.” Dr. Weil has also stated that “people need to avoid alcohol for various reasons, such as to guard against alcoholic relapse, to protect a fetus, or to avoid adverse reactions that might be brought on by certain medications.” Therefore, the character who suffered with alcoholism in Sons of Blackbird Mountain should have steered clear of any foods that contained alcohol or, if he did choose to consume them, should have felt the effects of the alcohol within the dishes, causing his struggle against the vice to be made worse.

If it weren't for the sweetness of the second half of this story, I would have dropped my rating to one or two stars. However, I did enjoy the majority of the second half, and, thanks to the final three chapters and Haakon's adjusting attitude/actions, I am willing to try the next book in the series when it comes out.