These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas is this week’s Reader Friday. Here’s the opening:
Grove Park Inn,
Asheville, North Carolina
September 1923
“It must be–” Ellen Harshaw closed her eyes and kissed her fingers, her shoulders dropping as she exhaled and flung her hand wide– “exquisite. Yes, that’s the only word for it. Edith has carried your homespun fabrics to the height of fashion, and this gift for Cornelia…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “I trust you can create something exceptional. Perhaps like you did for her twenty-first birthday?”
I used the opening because everything hinges on this paragraph. It’s the backdrop for the story, one I’m sure you’ll love.
But first the photo and verse. Tuesday night I saw the moon as I drove home. At the time, clouds obscured it but by the time I drove in, they had cleared away, leaving a halo effect. I grabbed my Canon Sure Shot, and while it gave me a good shot of the moon, it didn’t show the trees. My iPhone did. And Voila! I got the moon and the trees. And I liked the verse I found to go with it.
Now onto These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas. Here’s the cover and back copy:
Seven years ago, a hidden betrayal scattered three young friends living in the shadow of Biltmore Estate. Now, when Biltmore Indust
ries master weaver Lorna Blankenship is commissioned to create an original design for Cornelia Vanderbilt’s 1924 wedding, she panics knowing she doesn’t have the creativity needed. But there’s an elusive artisan in the Blue Ridge Mountains who could save her–if only she can find her.
To track the mysterious weaver down, Lorna sees no other way but to seek out the relationships she abandoned in shame. As she pulls at each tangled thread from her old life, Lorna is forced to confront the wounds and regrets of long ago. She’ll have to risk the job that shapes her identity as well as the hope of friendship–and love–restored.
In this seamlessly woven historical tale, award-winning Appalachian author Sarah Loudin Thomas delivers a poignant novel of friendship, artistry, restoration, and second chances.
My take:
Oh, my goodness! Sarah Loudin Thomas captured the essence of the Biltmore Estate and the Biltmore Industries in this amazing story of redemption! This story kept me up until one-thirty two nights in a row…I didn’t want to put it down, and when I finished, I wanted more. It’s my hope Ms Loudin will write a sequel, perhaps with Gentry and Boyd? hint hint.
The characters were amazing. My favorite was Gentry, probably because I identified with her quite a bit–the jumping around, her mind never settled, but Lorna and Author ran a close second. They all were simply wonderful.
I wanted to shake Lorna a time or two when she didn’t have a clue that Arthur was in love with her, but if I’d been through what she’d been through, I’d probably be walking around in a daze. All of the characters were so well drawn, it was like I knew them personally. And the Biltmore Estate was one of the characters as Ms. Loudin seamlessly wove in the background. And not just the Biltmore, but the character of the times and Appalachian culture.
This is a book not to be missed!
Okay, Readers, leave a comment and I’ll enter you in a May drawing for a book from my library. Let me know if you’ve ever been to the Biltmore. After reading this book, I wish I’d taken time to at least have driven to the Estate the time I drove through Asheville, NC!
These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas is this week's Reader Friday review. Leave a comment and I'll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library. Share on X
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Comments 40
An interesting photo, Pat. The verse certainly fits. Last Tuesday night, there were clear skies in Tucson and the moon was stunning.
I have never been to either Carolina. When I lived in Alexandria, VA, the farthest south I got was a visit to Williamsburg, VA.
“At least the protestors seemed to have taken the night off. Angie Garcia slowed to a stop at the gate to her family’s ranch near the south rim of the Grand Canyon and allowed herself one small sigh of relief.” Is the first line of “Hidden in the Canyon” by Jodie Bailey.
The above is what started reading yesterday. Before that, I read “Vanishing Legacy” by Kate Angelo. This is book 1 in the new Savannah Elite Guardians series. One of the cool things about this riveting book is the heroine’s prior protection duty of, as the book states, celebrity author S. M. Warren. Hmm, I wonder who that might be???
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S. M. Warren…I think that’s an Easter egg. lol Tim, Vanishing Legacy is on my sagging TBR table!
I’ve never been to the Biltmore, and regret not driving by it years ago when I went to Ridgecrest for a writer’s conference. As for the photo, I wish I could snapped it when the clouds half covered it…
Hey Tim, as a lifelong resident of southwest Virginia, not counting nearly four years in Kentucky, but still officially within the Appalachian Mountain range, you missed the real Virginia. Alexandria is just part of the sprawl of DC. And Williamsburg’s main draw is historical. You should come visit southwest Virginia or the Shenandoah Valley sometime to see what it’s really like. 🙂
Hey Edward, I loved Virginia and saw a lot of it while I lived there. I spent a lot of time camping in the Shenandoahs. I was only there two years, and there was so much to see. Somehow, work kept getting in the way of my joy of exploration, however. Since I had just started with the company, I only got two weeks of vacation.
I loved your picture and verse, it’s amazing that our phones can take such good pictures, even at night!
I hate to say I’ve never been to the Biltmore, being only an hour and half drive from it too….. we’ve passed by it many times on our way to Florida but have never taken the time to stop. My daughter did get proposed to there, and they loved it!
I’ll have to put this book on my growing list.
These Tangled Threads caught my attention the first time I heard about it. It sounds so good. Great review, Pat!
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You will totally love it, Priscilla!
I had the opportunity to visit Biltmore for the first time several years ago. It’s such a gorgeous home! The beauty of the area, and the estate really has to be seen with one’s own eyes to be appreciated.
Sounds great. It’s on my TBR list. Thanks 🙂
Great photo, Pat. I love the clear shot of the full moon with the whispers of the leaves in front. I almost want to write, “It was a dark and stormy night.” However, the Scripture overshadows that thought because the LORD almighty is his name!
Great review of These Tangled Thread, Pat. I’ve seen this book, now I’m convinced to read this it. On the list it goes. Biltmore is 95 miles from my house!!!!! 🙂 It has a bowling alley and a pool in the basement. . . and the gardens. Oh my!
I’m thoroughly enjoying Jerusha Agen’s Guardians Unleashed series this week. “The CIA had trained her to withstand interrogation and torture, but they’d never prepared her for a stench like this one.” This comes from Covert Danger, book two in the series. If anyone is inclined to read this series, be sure and start with the prequel, Rising Danger.
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I almost put “It was a dark and stormy night.” in the post, Barbara! It was definitely one of those kinds of nights. I’ve never been to the Biltmore, passed through Asheville on my way to a Blue Ridge Christian Writers conference and I truly wished I’d stopped by! I’ve got to read Jerusha’s book!
Ha!! You almost put it was a dark stormy night? Love it! lol. It seems we’ve had a lot of those dark and stormy nights lately.
Yep, Biltmore is a must see!
This series of Jerusha’s is really good. I think you’d enjoy the rest of the series,
Read that book and loved it. I love learning about history.
Author
It is such a good book, isn’t it Paula? I’ve got to look her other books up now!
It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
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It is, Diana! I think you would enjoy it!
Always inspired by the verse & photo. This is definitely on my TBR. I’ve been to the Biltmore twice. Both times amazing. I could so live in the library.
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You will so enjoy the book if you’ve been there, Lisa! I plan to go if I ever get back that way.
This is a new author to me.
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She’s fantastic, Natalya!
Love the photo and verse! Good review of These Tangled Threads. This author is new to me.
It has been a few years since I went there but I have been to Biltmore several times, the first time at Christmas. Talk about Christmas decor! The house is fascinating but the spring gardens are beautiful!!!!
I am reading Into The Fire by Liz Bradford – Dylan leaned his elbows on the table and let his mind drift from the conversation that circled around the room to the images of the eight girls he and his team had extracted a few years ago from a burning house.
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Sarah said they started getting ready for Christmas at the Biltmore in January, Mary! I would love to see it then. And I’ve heard so much about the gardens…The Fire sounds really good!
I really like that picture, Pat. The verse is well-chosen.
I haven’t read Ms. Thomas’s book but the mention of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian culture drew me in. I will have to seek out this book. Besides romantic suspense and Old West novels, I enjoy books with a historical Appalachian setting.
I started reading Fragile Design by Colleen Coble early this morning. Someone has probably already shared the first line, but here it is again. Colleen Coble is one of my favorite authors. When I began reading Christian fiction again in the early 2000s, hers were some of the first I found at the public library. The book begins:
Another wave of nausea hit Carly Harris the minute she opened her car door and got out in the garage. It was the stench of gasoline and oil mixing with the humid South Carolina heat swirling around the space that upset her stomach. (Skipping to the first line of the next paragraph.) Eric’s truck was in its bay with the engine running, and she gritted her teeth.
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Oh, wow, Edward, what an opening! I’m signing books with Colleen Coble in July at bookstores in Murfreesboro, Shelbyville and Chattanooga!
I sure wish you were going to be a lot closer. Chattanooga is the closest, and that’s 386 miles.
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Edward, I wish I were going to be closer, too! It would be fun to meet you and your wife!
I haven’t read this book, but I did read a book about the history of The Biltmore . I would love to see it some day.
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Me, too, Judy!
Hi , I have never been to Biltmore. Thank you for sharing your review of this book, I have read some reviews on it and now that I have read your review I really need to get it for sure, it sounds like a very good read! Have a great evening and a great weekend.
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Alicia, I think you’ll really enjoy it!
I have been to Biltmore mansion quite a few times! Book sounds great!
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Lucky you, Shelia! 🙂 I hope to go one day.
I have that book on my TBR pile and I’m looking forward to reading it. I’ve never been to Biltmore but I hope I will be able to in the future. I’ve seen pictures of the inside on posts by friends.
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Gail, I’ve never been, either, but the book made me really want to visit! I think you’ll really enjoy the book!
Have a blessed and safe Memorial Day Weekend.
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Thank you! You, too.
I have been to the Biltmore Estate, but it has been many, many years and would like to go again.
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Yes! I figure one visit won’t be enough, Gloria! lol
Thanks for loving my characters! Gentry is a pip, isn’t she??
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Yes, she is, Sarah! I loved the characters and story. 🙂