The Librarian's Journey: Four Historical Romances. Patty Smith Hall, Cynthia Hickey, Marilyn Turk, Kathleen Y'Barbo. 2021. [October] 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]
The Librarian's Journey is a novella collection published by Barbour. It contains four novellas--all historical romance. The theme is FDR's pack horse librarian program part of the Works Progress Administration during the Depression. Essentially, librarians traveling in country/rural areas where bookmobiles did not/could not go.
Love's Turning Page by Cynthia Hickey is set in the Ozark Mountains. FDR's program technically didn't serve this area/community. So the author took a few liberties. I wouldn't have minded those liberties with location, but, I wasn't a fan of the story overall. This book had...UNNECESSARY villains. Characters that serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever except to wear the bad guy villain hat and provide a cheap excuse for a hero to emerge as THE HERO and save the heroine. It's bad enough when a romance has one...but when a story has more than one...well...I have a hard time liking it. I also thought the hero wasn't all that likable.
For Such A Time by Patty Smith Hall is set in Georgia. Ruth Sims, our heroine, is a former nurse. She lost her job due to budget cuts due to the Depression. She never wanted to be "a librarian," but she needs a job. She's returned home to the community she grew up in, and she's reunited with a former love--now a school teacher. Reunited as in they are now working closely together to serve the community. She longs to serve the community...but as a nurse...not a librarian. Can this new job give her the opportunity to do a bit of both? I liked this story. I did.
Book Lady of the Bayou by Marilyn Turk is set in Mississippi. I really liked this story. Lily Bee Davis is the book woman. She meets a little girl, Evie, and Evie's reclusive father. (The father just happens to be super cute.) As she begins to serve the community, she loses her heart as well....I already mentioned I enjoyed this one. I thought the characters were well done. I loved that this story loves calling out certain books by name. Like Lily choosing The Velveteen Rabbit and Winnie the Pooh for Evie especially. Other titles are included as well for other patrons--I remember someone reading Little House in the Big Woods and maybe Pollyanna.
The Librarian and the Lawman by Kathleen Y'Barbo is set in West Virginia. It may just be my favorite and best from this collection. (Though I also really loved the third novella). Lottie Trent, the heroine, hasn't had the easiest life. Her family has secrets. Secrets BIG enough that they've had to change their name and move around a bit. Secrets that keep her parents a little jumpy and over-protective. Lottie falls in love--sorta instantly--with Clay Turnbow. Clay has declared his love and his intentions to marry her. She thought about it for like five minutes and was like WOW that would be great. Things didn't work out then--1925? 1926?--but ten years later when they are both in different places in their lives and careers...it might just. Clay is now an FBI agent going undercover...and Lottie is a book woman. I really loved this last story so much. I loved the characters and the plot.
Overall, the book collection only gets better and better as you go along. I would rate the first story as two stars. The second as three stars. The third as four stars. The fourth as five stars. I am glad the stories were arranged this way.
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