Monté Hill brings us emotional historical fiction in Catbird Winter. In the year 1916, Trevor Middleton is an ambulance driver in Verdun, France, with aspirations of becoming a pilot in the war against Germany. When a tragic accident derails his plans, he goes back to America to heal from his injuries. He finds himself in Hickory Nut Gorge, North Carolina, where the fresh air is good for the soul. This is also where Trevor meets Annie Conner, a fiery hurricane in her own right, and daughter of local preacher, Lester Conner. Annie is looking for a way out of the Gorge and away from her father, and Trevor could just be her ticket to a better life. All she has to do is play her cards right.

Author Monté Hill has used the backdrop of the 1916 North Carolina storm to create this intriguing story. From the start, two raging storms head toward each other, set to collide. These characters are described with passion and have an abundance of personality. It will be really hard not to find them relatable. Writing in the third-person narrative gives the reader access to personal thoughts and motivations that might not have been evident without them. With great descriptive writing, sensory stimulation is evident. From bird calls to cold toes, you will experience them all in Catbird Winter. The wonderful dialogue reinforces the location and the period. Even though there is some strong language, mild sexual situations, and violence, I recommend this book to those who love historical fiction.

Catbird Winter comes to North Carolina in late May or June when the Grey Catbirds return from their winter vacations in Mexico and Central America. So says author Monte Hill in an introduction that is as fascinating as the story itself and sets the mood perfectly for the tale to follow. Set in 1916, Catbird Winter transports the reader, along with the protagonist, Trevor Middleton, to the remote mountains of western North Carolina. Trevor is going there to convalesce after he suffered a serious injury as an ambulance driver in France in WWI. When he meets Annie Conner, the daughter of a Pentecostal preacher who makes her life a misery, his life takes an unexpected turn. Annie is desperate for an escape from poverty, an invalid mother, and an abusive father, but fear and the failure of past escape plans have blinded her to the fact that she alone has the power to shape her future. She thinks Trevor might be her ticket to freedom, but unwise choices and insecurity lead the couple into a storm that, though horrific, proves to be nothing compared to the storm that will reshape the mountains and transform the lives of all who survive the raging flood waters.
 
Monte Hill brings the characters to life and transports us right into their world and lives. We cheer Trevor on as he battles to recover, and resists the pressures his controlling father exerts. We ride with him and his uncle on his visit to Effie, impressed with her skills with herbs and tinctures and her devotion to healing. We taste Effie’s whisky and the delicious foods Clavel prepares for Tom and Mattie’s guests. We watch, fascinated, as Effie strings beans. We hear Lester’s fire and brimstone sermons and angry rants. We weep for little Virgil, and we cheer Jacob on as he progresses from guilt and desperation to strength and opportunity. For a time, we become Trevor, feeling his emotions and seeing, hearing, and smelling the strange world he is transported to and becomes so much a part of. By the end of the story, we feel we have lived it and the people of Hickory Nut Gorge are our friends and neighbors. Catbird Winter is a genuine page-turner, and, as you approach the stunning climax, it becomes impossible to put it down. It’s a story that will stay with you long after you close the book. I suspect most readers will, like me, look for more titles by the talented Monte Hill. Inspired by a true event and some real people, and thoroughly researched, Catbird Winter is historical fiction at its best.

Outstanding book. Well written and hard to put down. I’m looking forward to another book from this author.

"Historical fiction meets Southern gothic in this World War I–era doorstop set on an Appalachian farm.

In the winter of 1916, Charleston-born Trevor Middleton is poised to become one of the first American Ambulance Field Service members to join the Escadrille Américaine, a group of American volunteer pilots fighting for the French cause during World War I. But when an accident leaves him severely injured, Trevor has no choice but to leave his new life—and his crush, Hannah, a nurse at the Lycée Pasteur—and return stateside to convalesce. With his physician uncle in tow, the refined Southerner settles in the Appalachian mountain town of Hickory Nut Gorge during a spring cold spell, where he crosses paths with a host of memorable characters. Annie, the strong-willed preacher’s daughter, is chief among them; the worldly Trevor fuels her fantasies of leaving her small town for good. But just as Trevor has begun to carve out a new life in the mountains, a terrible flood comes along and changes everything yet again.

Save for the expletives and occasional shocks of gore (a gruesome eye injury during a bull attack comes to mind), the rich narrative and unhurried pace recall the kind of meandering novel a teacher might read aloud to young students as a treat at the end of each day. Each new chapter, character, and plot twist pulls readers into the book’s carefully crafted universe, thoughtfully grounded in the historical events of the day. World War I history sticklers will be impressed by the detailed accuracy of Trevor’s military trajectory in France, while residents of Appalachia will appreciate the sumptuous passages devoted to “leather britches,” among other regional delights. Hill is a passionate storyteller and absolutely in her element.

A bewitching Southern epic that deals elegantly with the mysteries of fate." - Kirkus Reviews

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