Liar's Winter

"Kindness if from the soul. It's gived 'cause it can't help but be gived."

That about sums up Liar's Winter by Cindy K. Sproles who has given us the first novel in her Appalachian series. It is about judging people simply based on their looks without looking at their heart. For poor Lochiel Ogle, she has had to endure the cruelest kind of abuse at the hands of those who raised her. Being found by Gerald, her 'brother' and given to his Momma in hopes it might help with the loss and grief she had been experiencing but all the babies she had only to lose them moments after being born. However that was not the case, because Lochiel was different. She had a mark that covered her check down to her neck and the entire family made sure to tell Lochiel that it was the mark of the devil. It was the reason why bad things were blamed on her that happened to the family. Even losing more babies after Lochiel came to live with them.

They kept her locked away whenever the family had to go to town. Her only boundaries were those self imposed on her by the rope that her Poppy tied to her waist to keep her from wandering off. If you think that was cruel, you might just want to see how Gerald treated her when others weren't looking and of course hiding the blame. Gerald wanted Lochiel dead and he would try numerous times to get rid of her, until one day she ran. She ran with the help of a strange man named Walton, who was a half-breed white man whose father was an Indian. He would help Lochiel hide from Gerald even if it meant constantly being on the run and never far enough ahead for Gerald to find her.

At this time of the year she wasn't sure if the weather would turn to more snow or spring was just around the corner, thus the name Liar's Winter. Now living with Walton and his mother Edna, she found what kindness, faith and love were really. Those terms she had been led to believe were a far cry from how she had been raised, like an outcast, someone different that had to be hidden from the world and no matter how she tried to believe she was good inside, she couldn't help understanding that she was forever marked by the devil and his imprint remained on her face where it would always be seen and thus judged in an instant as being worse than she was on the inside. It would take more love than she had ever known to change her life, if she could stay one step ahead of Gerald, who wanted her dead.

I received Liar's Winter by Cindy K. Sproles compliments of Kregel Publications. There are so many good words of wisdom the reader will come across and like me, highlight or mark those places so when I need a kind or wise word in my own life I can find it. One of my favorites is, "You never know the hardships others carry. Looks is deceivin so you love and respect everybody. Even the ones who do you wrong." I reckon I couldn't have learned a stouter lesson, since I had walked in the shoes of one judged." Even Lochiel (pronounced Lo-Kill) learns something by the end of the novel about God is, "He give me eyes to see the best in folks, even when it looks bad. He give me love and I know now that love changes everything." Perhaps that is why the Bible reminds us that love is the greatest gift! It even outlasts time! I give this novel a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

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Liar's Winter by Cindy K. Sproles

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