Hawk’s Mountain

By: Elizabeth Sinclair
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Publication Date: January 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61194-010-7
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor 
Review Date: June 18, 2011 

We begin our tale on top of Hawk’s Mountain located in Carson, West Virginia, with one of the most interesting and humorous characters in print today.

Josephine Walker Hawks, otherwise known as Granny Jo, has lived on Hawk’s Mountain for a good long while now. Although her beloved husband, Earl, has already ventured into Heaven; and she lost her son Jake and his wife in a car accident, Granny Jo spent her time raising her son’s daughter, Rebecca. When Becky grew up, she headed for the big city of Atlanta, where she was going to fulfill her destiny by working for the Department of Human Services.

There is one other person up on Hawk’s Mountain - a man by the name of Nicolas Hart. Nick is a new addition to this small town and, like any new thing in a small town, is talked about by all the local gossips who wonder where he came from and why the man hardly ever comes down off the mountain. Nick doesn’t socialize. In fact, he feels that he should keep far away from people in order to not mess up their lives.

Becky comes home to the quaint world full of tree-lined streets, church socials, and her beloved Grandmother, slightly different and more angry than when she left. Becky didn’t expect her chosen career to be so difficult. She is dealing with the demons of not being able to do the things she truly wanted to do. As she walks the familiar trails of Hawk’s Mountain, Becky notices a strange man on her Granny Jo’s property and lashes out at him, telling him he’s most definitely trespassing. It’s not until Becky steps inside Granny Jo’s house that she realizes this man bought some property from Granny Jo when she had to sell a bit in order to pay the taxes. Hence, the man was no trespasser.

Becky has her demons, whereas Nicholas Hart is certainly battling his own. This ex-Navy Corpsman is still suffering from the bullet-riddled, bombed out streets of Baghdad, and has a great deal of guilt weighing down his shoulders. But once these two “scarred” people find each other…their lives quickly begin to change.

The descriptive phrases that this author offers are absolutely lovely. Readers will feel like they’re free, walking though the beautiful forests of Hawk’s Mountain, and breathing in the cleanest, freshest, most peaceful air on earth. The plot is solid and the romance is charming.

Quill Says: After reading, you’ll want nothing more than to sit down and have a cup of coffee with the tremendously entertaining Granny Jo.