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A Land More Kind Than Home [LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME] [Paperback]
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 14, 2026
Firstly, Cash is INCREDIBLY engaging as an author- you’re sucked in by Chapter 1. I will say normally I am not a fan of multiple first person narratives. But ALMKTH vacillates between perspectives very fluidly in a way that progresses the story well and keeps you turning the pages. I’m always a fan of a story with a clear villain, and you hate Reverend Chambliss from the get go. I firmly believe a good villain is a big part of keeping you engaged in a book, and Chambliss and his crates keep you turning. Critically, the book did hit a climax rather abruptly and I don’t know that the proper closure that I prefer was reached, making the book feel a bit like it slammed on the brakes. Even just an epilogue, perhaps a perspective from a fourth party than that of the other three who drive the story may have made all the difference. Definitely not a really feel good book, despite its engagement- which is really ironic considering its main theme of healing. I would not recommend this as highly as Ordinary Grace, but if you love characters you can root and feel for and with and an absolutely despicable villain as serpentine as the snakes he keeps, you’ll enjoy this read!
October 25, 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Psychological Suspense / Southern Gothic
Audience: Adult
In the misty folds of the North Carolina mountains, just beyond Asheville, a quiet town hides a festering darkness. Pastor Carson Chambliss, an ex-con and self-proclaimed man of God, has built his church on fear and fire—sermons laced with poison, tongues, and the hiss of serpents. Years ago, Adelaide Lyle saw the danger in his brand of salvation and gathered the town’s children under her own roof, shielding them from his pulpit’s grip. But when the innocent curiosity of one boy stirs the shadows, old evils awaken. What follows is a reckoning—raw, intimate, and unrelenting—that exposes the fragile line between faith and fanaticism, redemption and ruin.
It’s a story that lingers like smoke after the flames have died, leaving behind the uneasy question of what truly dwells in the heart of a believer.
Genre: Psychological Suspense / Southern Gothic
Audience: Adult
In the misty folds of the North Carolina mountains, just beyond Asheville, a quiet town hides a festering darkness. Pastor Carson Chambliss, an ex-con and self-proclaimed man of God, has built his church on fear and fire—sermons laced with poison, tongues, and the hiss of serpents. Years ago, Adelaide Lyle saw the danger in his brand of salvation and gathered the town’s children under her own roof, shielding them from his pulpit’s grip. But when the innocent curiosity of one boy stirs the shadows, old evils awaken. What follows is a reckoning—raw, intimate, and unrelenting—that exposes the fragile line between faith and fanaticism, redemption and ruin.
It’s a story that lingers like smoke after the flames have died, leaving behind the uneasy question of what truly dwells in the heart of a believer.
December 26, 2023
This is my second time through this book as I nominated it for book club after reading a number of years ago. As with many Appalachian stories, this one feels very sad for a long time. It goes into the Pentacostal practice of speaking in tongues, drinking poison, and snake handling. As in small communities, there is an interconnectedness of the people and a knowing of one another's "business" you don't get in larger areas. Although sad, there is hope by the completion and the writing is very well done and in the mountain people's "voice".
January 9, 2026
The land was kinder than home but home was hell on earth. Intense book that didn’t let up. 9 year old Jess? Traumatized, Cult? Wack. Pants? Soiled. It was PDG. Felt a bit rushed — could have had a bit better flow but I’d recommend it for the one who wants a quick rush and an appreciation for their boring church.
-CC
-CC
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews