When Mountains Move by Julie Cantrell

About this book: (from the publisher) In a few hours, Millie will say “I do” to Bump Anderson, a man who loves her through and through. But would he love her if he knew the secret she keeps?

Millie’s mind is racing and there seems to be no clear line between right and wrong. Either path leads to pain, and she’ll do anything to protect the ones she loves. So she decides to bury the truth and begin again, helping Bump launch a ranch in the wilds of Colorado. But just when she thinks she’s left her old Mississippi life behind, the facts surface in the most challenging way.

That’s when Millie’s grandmother, Oka, arrives to help. Relying on her age-old Choctaw traditions, Oka teaches Millie the power of second chances. Millie resists, believing redemption is about as likely as moving mountains. But Oka stands strong, modeling forgiveness as the only true path to freedom.

Together, Bump, Millie, and Oka fight against all odds to create a sustainable ranch, all while learning that the important lessons of their pasts can be used to build a beautiful future.

About the author: New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, Julie Cantrell was the editor-in-chief of the Southern Literary Review. She has been a freelance writer for a decade and has contributed to more than a dozen books.

Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction

If this book were a movie, I would rate it: PG-13 for mature themes and imagery

[Tweet “A lyrical tale of hope and healing set against the stunning backdrop of the Rockies @JulieCantrell @TNZFiction”]

Reflection: Within minutes of beginning another one of Julie Cantrell’s novels, The Feathered Bone, I suspected I’d just discovered a new author to add to my shortlist of favorites. By the time I finished the book, I knew I had. Her stunning storytelling moved me so powerfully, the impact of it did not leave me for days. Thus began my watch for another opportunity to read her work, and so when this one came my way, even though it’s not a new release (originally published several years ago), I jumped.

I’ll start with this: Julie Cantrell knows how to hook a reader. From page one, I was swept away by the originality of her characters and the urgency of their problems. But better, Cantrell knows how to keep her readers hooked, with a steady ratcheting of tension right up until the riveting end. Her skills are breathtaking, but I’ve decided her genius derives from her unexpectedness. With almost every page turn, I encountered something I didn’t anticipate: a twist of phrasing, an especially apt metaphor, or the characters themselves, and the choices they face. And what about the setting? A World War II-era Western. Who does that?

Julie Cantrell, that’s who — and it works.

When Mountains Move isn’t just for histfic fans, either. Devotees of women’s fiction who gravitate toward novels with insightful explorations of complicated relationships and emotions will appreciate Cantrell’s deft handling of the complexities of marriage — of love finding its way.

The joining of a beautiful story with life-impacting themes: this is the gift of When Mountains Move. And it’s the promise of more like this that will — I know — keep me returning again and again to Cantrell’s novels. Even while addressing the harsh realities of life, she illuminates the hope that can always be found, when one is determined to see it.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers and Thomas Nelson for providing me a free copy to review. All opinions are mine.

After words: Have you read any of Julie Cantrell’s other novels? Which one(s)?