Ann Gabhart’s third book in her Hollyhill series is Sumer of Joy and it is an entertaining read driven by delightful characters.
Summer of Joy revolves around the Brooke family. The father, David, runs the small town newspaper in Kentucky and is also the pastor of a small church. His ex-wife, Addrienne, left him years ago leaving him with their pre-teen daughter, Jocie, but taking their oldest daughter, Tabitha, with her. Tabitha has now returned home, along with her new baby, Stephen Lee. And Aunt Love is sort of the matriarch of the family, but she is beginning to suffer from dementia in her old age. The Brooke family has many people in their lives that are part of an extended family and the most important one is Leigh, David’s new love.
There are many sub-plots in this book, but the main plot is David and Leigh’s love story and the hurdles they have to go over to get to their wedding day. A couple of people from the past throw a wrench in their lives, Jocie’s problems with a strange teacher, and the same strange teacher relentlessly pursing Leigh force them to lean on God.
The story of Summer of Joy begins at Christmastime and over half of it takes place in the winter. So, I thought the title was a bit strange, but I guess it’s because it’s all leading up to David and Leigh’s wedding, which takes place in June. The book does reach a fairly unexpected climax and turns a little dark, which I did not see coming, given the humor throughout the entire story. Rumors, misunderstandings, and character hang-ups create some humorous moments.
I did not read the first two books in this series, so it took me a while to get all of the characters straight. But once I did, I found this book to be absolutely charming. The colorful characters from this small town in the 1960s felt like real people. Ann Gabhart’s story-telling and character development very much reminded me of Jan Karon’s Mitford series. If you like those books, I recommend the Hollyhill series. I fully intend on reading the first two books to see how this beloved family got to the places they are in Summer of Joy. I was a little sad to say goodbye to them at the end of this book.
Reviewed by Melissa Paulson
