Bloggin' 'bout Books: 07/26/17

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama

- Alaska

- ~~Arizona~~ (1)

- Arkansas

- ~~California~~ (5)

- ~~Colorado~~ (3)

- Connecticut

- Delaware

- ~~Florida~~ (1)

- ~~Georgia~~ (1)

- ~~Hawaii~~ (1)

- Idaho

- ~~Illinois~~ (1)

- Indiana

- ~~Iowa~~ (2)

- Kansas

- Kentucky

- Louisiana

- ~~Maine~~ (1)

- Maryland

- ~~Massachusetts~~ (1)

- ~~Michigan~~ (2)

- Minnesota

- Mississippi

- Missouri

- ~~Montana~~ (1)

- Nebraska

- Nevada

- New Hampshire

- New Jersey

- New Mexico

- ~~New York~~ (5)

- ~~North Carolina~~ (2)

- ~~North Dakota~~ (1)

- ~~Ohio~~ (1)

- Oklahoma

- ~~Oregon~~ (2)

- Pennsylvania

- ~~Rhode Island~~ (1)

- ~~South Carolina~~ (1)

- South Dakota

- ~~Tennessee~~ (1)

- ~~Texas~~ (1)

- Utah

- ~~Vermont~~ (3)

- ~~Virginia~~ (2)

- ~~Washington~~ (3)

- West Virginia

- ~~Wisconsin~~ (1)

- ~~Wyoming~~ (1)

- Washington, D.C.* (1)

International:

- Australia (3)

- Canada (2)

- England (7)

- France (2)

- Puerto Rico (1)

- Scotland (1)

Lyrical Southern Novel Atmospheric and Powerfully Rendered

9:54 PM

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Adelaide Lyle doesn't go inside the church anymore. The only reason she comes anywhere near the building is for the children. Kids should not be anywhere close to the River Road Church of Christ in Signs Following or its dangerous pastor. It's up to the 81-year-old midwife to steer them away, to keep them safe. Their parents might believe in Pastor Chambliss' poison-drinking, snake-handling brand of faith, but that doesn't mean the children should be in harm's way.

Despite Adelaide's watchful eye, a mute, autistic teenager dies during church services. Although the pastor claims the boy's death was an accident, Adelaide doesn't believe it. Not for a minute. Strange, sinister things follow Carson Chambliss wherever he goes. What really happened inside the church? Why is an innocent boy dead?

A Land More Kind Than Home, a debut novel by Wiley Cash, tells the story of a tragic death and the ways in which it rocks a small North Carolina town. Atmospheric and powerfully rendered, it hits on important subjects—faith vs. fanaticism, revenge vs. redemption, and remorse vs. regret. It's an undeniably sad novel, but a compelling one nonetheless. The story has stuck with me, even though it's been months since I read it. If you enjoy rich, thought-provoking Southern fiction, you won't want to miss this one.

(Readalikes: Reminded me a little of The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (1 F-bomb, plus milder expletives), violence, blood/gore, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love: Another library ~~fine~~ find

Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Jan)
2. She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke (Jan)
3. My Salty Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows* [audio] (Jan)
4. The Echoes by Jess Montgomery (Jan)
5. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro (Jan)
6. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes (Jan)
7. Murder at Chateau sur Mer by Alyssa Maxwell (Jan)
8. Away by Megan E. Freeman (Jan)
9. Unsinkable by Jenni L. Walsh [audio] (Jan)
10. A Golden Grave by Erin Lindsey* (Jan)
11. All Over the Map by Lanie Jacobs (Jan)
12. Stranded by Nikki Shannon Smith (Jan)
13. Elementary, She Read by Vicki Delany [audio] (Jan)
14. The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright (Jan)
15. How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn (Jan)
16. A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Jan)
17. The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos, RN* (Jan)
18. Red River Road by Anna Downes [audio] (Jan)
19. Janitors School of Garbage by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
20. Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (Feb)
21. Janitors School of Garbage: Trials of the Trash by Tyler Whitesides (Feb)
22. The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse [audio] (Feb)
23. A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry (Feb)
24. The Crash by Freida McFadden (Feb)
25. To Catch a Storm by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
26. Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (Feb)
27. A World of Hurt by Mindy Mejia (Feb)
28. If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell (Feb)
29. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano [audio] (Feb)
30. Wool by Hugh Howey (Feb)
31. Shift by Hugh Howey (Feb)
32. Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns [audio] (Mar)
33. The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan (Mar)
34. Last Light Over Galveston by Jennifer L. Wright (Mar)
35. Murder on the Page by Daryl Wood Gerber (Mar)
36. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Mar)
37. The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden (Mar)
38. The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor [audio] (Mar)
39. You Belong Here by Megan Miranda (Mar)
40. Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell (Mar)
41. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth* [audio] (Mar)
42. Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks With Monks and Amish Farmers helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human by Carlos Whittaker (Mar)
43. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister (Mar)
44. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto* (Apr)
45. Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams (Apr)
46. The Wind Called My Name by Mary Louise Sanchez (Apr)
47. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (Apr)
48. The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth [audio] (Apr)
49. That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White (Apr)
50. A Pie to Die For by Gretchen Rue (Apr)
51. The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian (Apr)
52. The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes (Apr)
53. Cold As Hell by Kelley Armstrong* [audio] (Apr)
54. Murder Runs in the Family by Tamara Berry (Apr)
55. The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden (Apr)
56. Petals and Poison by Jess Dylan [audio] (Apr)
57. It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson (Apr)
58. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah* [re-read] (May)
59. Outside by Jennifer L. Holm (May)
60. You Are Here: Connecting Flights by various authors, edited by Ellen Oh (May)
61. The Silver Shooter by Erin Lindsey* (May)
62. The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry* (May)
63. The Secret Room by Jane Casey* (May)
64. The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B. Jackson (May)
65. The Sasquatch of Harriman Lake by K.B. Jackson (May)

Search This Blog

2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:

2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge

My Progress:

2025 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:

2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

My Progress:

Booklist Queen's 2025 Reading Challenge

My Progress:

2025 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:

2025 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:

2025 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:

2025 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge

2025 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress

2025 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress

2025 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:

2025 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress

Phase Out Your Seriesathon - My Progress

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:

Lyrical Southern Novel Atmospheric and Powerfully Rendered

Reading

Listening

Followin' with Bloglovin'

Followin' with Feedly

Grab my Button!

Blog Design by:

Blog Archive

2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge

2025 Reading Challenge

2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

2023 - Middle Grade Fiction

2022 - Middle Grade Fiction

2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction

Books Read in 2025 (asterisks denote favorites)