 Author: Sarah Loudin Thomas Genre: Historical Fiction Pages: 368 Release Date: April 2, 2024 Publisher: Bethany House Set in the shadow of Biltmore Estate, a poignant tale of friendship, restoration, and second chances. Seven years ago, a hidden betrayal scattered three young friends living in the shadow of the great Vanderbilt mansion. Now, when Biltmore Industries master weaver Lorna Blankenship is commissioned to create an original design for Cornelia Vanderbilt's 1924 wedding, she panics knowing she doesn't have the creativity needed. But there's an elusive artisan in the Blue Ridge Mountains who could save her--if only she knew where to begin. To track down the mysterious weaver, Lorna sees no other way than to seek out the relationships she abandoned in shame. As she pulls at each tangled thread from her past, Lorna is forced to confront the wounds and regrets of life long ago. She'll have to risk the job that shapes her identity, as well as the hope of friendship--and love--restored.
 Reviewer: Cheryl Wood "He marveled, uncertain how the tangled threads of their lives had come together to create this gorgeous pattern." Another outstanding book! These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas is a story that is woven with the threads of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Ashville, North Carolina. The story follows Arthur, a woodworker, and Lorna, a weaver who works for Biltmore Industries and Gentry, as we witness the intricate weaving of their hearts, the abandonment of others, and the choices that they make. A well-written story rich with forgiveness, second chances, grace, and mercy. I enjoyed the attention to detail. I could see the colors of the threads that Lorna was weaving into something beautiful—the mountains with the sunrise and sunset. My aunt was a weaver, and the time and patience that go into weaving are incredible. The talent that Lorna had was unique. Family is not always those through blood but can be others whom you share incredible bonds with, like the characters in the story that withstand the test of time. For my honest opinion, I received a complimentary copy from Bethany House Publishers via Interviews & Reviews. Reviewer: Joy Hannabass These Tangled Threads, A Novel of Biltmore, written by Sarah Loudin Thomas, is a story set in Biltmore Village, in North Carolina. We have had the privilege of seeing this beautiful place many times throughout the years. I was excited to read this book, a story that takes place in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the beautiful hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This book doesn't disappoint. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. I thoroughly enjoyed this virtual trip to the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. Author Sarah Loudin does a magnificent job describing the scenes in such a beautiful and detailed way. The three main characters, Authur, Lorna, and Gentry, quickly became my favorite people. The three working together at Biltmore and the experience it brings is an added beauty to this story. I loved the inside stories of what was taking place in the mansion. I find that this story flows so smoothly and makes the story so much easier and fun to read, thanks to Sarah Loudin Thomas and her phenomenal writing style. All in all, this is a beautiful story of faith and acceptance, love and restoration, and so much more. You will enjoy it all when you read this amazing book. There are several twists in the book, as well as some little tidbits that make you turn the pages faster to find out what's going on. I'm giving this book five stars, and I wish I could give it more. I received a complimentary copy from Revell through Interviews & Reviews for my honest review. Reviewer: Heather L. Jones These Tangled Threads, A Novel of Biltmore, written by Sarah Loudin Thomas is a story set in Biltmore Village in North Carolina. The story is set from 1897 to 1924, the year of Cornelia Vanderbilt's wedding. Featured settings in the story are Biltmore Industries, featuring textiles and woodworking, which is owned by the Vanderbilt family, and Grove Park Inn. The Vanderbilts live in what would amount to a beautiful castle, Biltmore House, which faces the Blue Ridge Mountains. The main characters, Lorna, Gentry, and Arthur, work for Biltmore and are friends. Over the years, many changes have taken place, one in particular leading to a betrayal resulting in deep, long-held guilt-ridden secrecy. The friendships are split, and new paths are chosen. When one day a request is made to create an original fabric design as a wedding gift for Cornelia (affectionately known as Tarheel Nell), the owner of the secret finds herself in a bind. While shopping, she comes across a fabric unlike any she has seen and sets out to find the weaver, hoping to enlist assistance. In doing so, she must try to heal broken relationships and create something new, at the risk of her secret coming to light. Along the way are some surprises. This story contains friendship, love, betrayal, anger, remorse, forgiveness, healing and redemption. It also features the history of the Vanderbilt business. I found it to be a riveting book, very much worth reading and highly recommend it. I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Bethany House through Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion. Reviewer: Marta Aldrighetti Biltmore Industries is a big firm with about one hundred workers in Asheville, North Carolina. Lorna Blankenship is a talented weaver and young woman. "Gentry... as if promises meant anything. Her mother had taught her how easy they were to make and break." Nowadays, business, liars, and jealousy can cause families, friendships, and firms to split up. Sometimes being right, thinking what you think, and being sincere can cause trouble, but lying can cause more problems. I enjoyed reading this book because it's well-written. The characters are well-built and lovely. Instead of writing the story in a linear style, each chapter shifts the main character, the point of view, and the month or year in which the tale takes place. I love crafts too. I attended three courses to learn to weave. What a wonderful world! Through NetGalley and Interviews & Reviews, I received a complimentary copy from Bethany House Publishers. Reviewer: Adriann Harris These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas is an emotionally moving story. This Christian historical fiction novel is set between 1915 and 1924 in Asheville, North Carolina, and told from three different points of view, with biblical themes of forgiveness, sacrifice, and redemption. Thomas drew me in immediately with her detail and captivating descriptions, and due to her picturesque prose, I became so immersed in the story that I felt like another character within the story. I could taste the snow on my tongue at the cabin with Vivian, Gentry, and Lorna in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I was so enraptured by the beauty and sumptuousness of the master weaver's fabric that I could feel it. Throughout the story, I was reminded of a famous quote by Walter Scott: “O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!” Thomas’s meticulous attention to detail and compelling characters not only captivate her readers with fascinating history but also emotionally and stimulatingly cause one’s senses to go into overdrive in a good way. The descriptions of the intricate weave of the fabrics that were woven in this book and how it affected each person who saw it helped me envision it right along with them, drawing me deeper and deeper into this story. I highly recommend These Tangled Threads, a Christian historical fiction work of art written by Sarah Loudin Thomas. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Bethany House via NetGalley through Interviews & Reviews. I was not obligated to write a favorable review, and all opinions are my own.  Reviewer: Conny Withay “To track down the mysterious weaver, Lorna sees no other way than to seek out the relationships she abandoned in shame,” states the back cover of Sarah Loudin Thomas’s novel, These Tangled Threads. A novel of Biltmore, this three-hundred-and-sixty-eight-page advanced reader copy targets those who like Southern fiction based in the 1920s that focuses on weaving and woodworking, surrounded by the famous estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Containing slang words such as darn and heckuva, topics regarding alcoholism, brothels, abandonment, deformity, and death may not be appropriate for immature readers. The ending includes an author’s note, acknowledgments, an excerpt from another book, the author’s biography, and advertisements. In this tale spanning roughly seven years, weaver Lorna is commissioned to create an original woven design for Cornelia Vanderbilt’s wedding. With no inspiration for something different and unique, she questions using others’ drafts for the design. With the help of a long-time friend and a carefree young teen, she is challenged to do the right thing and learn what forgiveness encompasses. This story, based in the Appalachians, covers friendships that are tested and tattered due to guilt and secrets. I enjoyed learning about the Biltmore, weaving, and woodcarving. The uncertainty of the three protagonists is engaging and well-written. Some may not approve of the fraud, potential lies, and deceit that are sewn throughout the story. Others may not care about the Biltmore, regarding its owners or opulence. I found Gentry to be whiney, obnoxious, and immature, while Arthur was timid and weak. The book’s chapters jump back and forth between different years, making it harder to comprehend. With the publisher being considered a Christian company, this read lacks the spiritual content expected of it. Having more Bible verses and prayers would be welcomed. I would prefer no slang words if this is truly a Christian-based book. If you like Southern fiction involving the weaving of three broken individuals as they are tied together by love with scraps of forgiveness, this is a nice story. Thanks to Bethany House and Interviews & Reviews for this complimentary book. I am under no obligation to give a positive review. Reviewer: Elizabeth Eckmeyer This is the first novel I have read by Sarah Loudin Thomas, and it won't be the last. The story begins with three unlikely friends. They all came to Biltmore Estates as children to work in their prospective trades. Each one dealing with their childhood issues turns to compassion toward each other. Each one is learning how to live again and healing from the hurts of their past. After leaving each other for a while and living their lives fate brings them back together again. Each one is a better version of themselves because of their friendships with each other. This novel is about overcoming and coming back to life. It's about letting others in and living your life the best that you can. It's about second chances and forgiveness. And realizing that you are not your past. I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Bethany House Publishers through Interivews & Reviews for my honest opinion. Reviewer: Rebecca Maney
"He marveled, uncertain how the tangled threads of their lives had come together to create this gorgeous pattern." Tangled threads. Master weaver Lorna Blankenship was tearing her hair out over untangling the tangles that her young weaver constantly manufactured, if in fact she was actually doing what she was supposed to be doing, which was consistently rare. Gentry had plenty of energy. It was simply unharnessed, unpredictable, and undeniably going in wrong directions. Ironically, the fourteen-year-old ended up possessing something that took Lorna by complete surprise. Gentry had extraordinary patterns stashed away in her room, the kind that would produce exquisite fabrics for Biltmore Industries, and the little scamp claimed they were her mother's. It becomes a moot point who has ownership of what when Gentry disappears, leaving Lorna with a guilt-ridden hole in the pit of her stomach. Years later, Lorna accepts a commission for a one-of-a-kind design for Cornelia Vanderbilt's upcoming nuptials and uncharacteristically begins to panic when inspiration eludes her. She turns to her friend Arthur Westcott, with whom her relationship has taken many confusing twists and turns, to help her search for an artisan weaver whose talent she happened upon in a local market. The ensuing journey takes the two on a crisscrossing of mountain towns and trails, spending the kind of time together that could weave the complicated experiences of their past and present into a fabric strong enough to ensure their future. Told with the beautiful Biltmore Estate and Village as a backdrop and concurrently using a three-tiered set of character voices, the author succeeds in bringing the illustrious history of the area into the spotlight while celebrating the talented artisans whose stories should be impossible to separate from the success of their benefactors. I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Interviews and Reviews. I also purchased a copy. The opinions stated above are entirely my own. Leave a Reply. |
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