Mountains Between Us

by Jenny Proctor

After three years of social work in Nashville, Eliza Redding is eager to leave behind her life at home for a new adventure. Nestled deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina is the site of her first job as a clinical Rockbridge Academy, a rehabilitative boarding school for troubled youth. Anticipating that she'll be the only Latter-day Saint at the academy, Eliza is pleasantly surprised to discover that English teacher Henry Jacobson is a fellow member of the Church. Her excitement is quickly diminished, however, when she discovers Henry's standoffish and cold personality--undeterred, she commences the monumental task of befriending her reserved coworker. 

As they each face serious familial struggles, Eliza and Henry find themselves drawn together by their growing understanding of each other. But when a life-threatening crisis arises at the academy and family conflicts escalate, will these two independent spirits realize they are meant for each other?

Author This book was published with a religious small press and centers largely around elements of faith and finding religion. If you're here because you've enjoyed my more recent romcoms, this is a very different kind of book! It still has elements of romance (I don't know how to write without romance!) but it is more serious in tone and topic.

Genres: Lds Fiction, Romance, Lds, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Clean Romance

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2014

About the author

Jenny Proctor is an award-winning author of more than fourteen romantic comedies and an Amazon bestseller. She began her career in publishing in 2013; her writing has been a constant since then, but she's also spent time as the owner and managing editor of Midnight Owl Editors and the chair of the Storymakers Conference. Wired for relationships, Jenny loves public speaking, teaching, and building lasting connections.

Jenny was born in the mountains of Western North Carolina, a place she considers one of the loveliest on earth. She loves to hike with her family and spend time outdoors, but she also adores lounging around her home, reading great books or watching great movies and, when she’s lucky, eating delicious food she doesn’t have to prepare herself.

Reviews

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so pleased with Love at First Note, I looked up Proctor's backlist to see if others shape up so well. Sadly, at least in this instance, not so much. I liked Eliza well enough, and the setting was outstanding. Which makes the background work pretty well, too. Proctor is on solid ground when she gives us a detailed look at people following their avocations even while dealing with family or other life issues that jerk them around.

Unfortunately, Henry is a complete waste of space/time. He's immature, gloomy, emotionally constipated, and, frankly, weak. He spends the entire novel getting in his own way in every aspect of his life and with things that are, frankly, relatively simple. He's thirty, for heaven's sake, and has great parents and he still can't figure out that maybe the perception of himself and his biological father at age five might need to be reconsidered? Really? I mean, I could see it if he maybe had ongoing trauma or an abusive stepdad or something, but he so very much doesn't. And that's before you get to him spending literally half the novel pushing Eliza away—a woman who obviously cares about him and is awesome in every way. By the three-quarter mark, I wanted her to blow the idiot off and go make happy babies with the very charming Flip. I just didn't see what Eliza sees in the drip. I can see why he needs her (duh, he needs someone emotionally beyond "brooding sounds fun" to tell him to pull his head out enough to breathe). But he brings her, what, exactly? Heck if I ever found out.

Henry is a limp noodle is what I'm saying. An emotionally damaged idiot who spends the entire novel learning to be human. Yeah, he got there in the end, but it took enough clue-bats to straighten out a political convention (okay, maybe not that many).

Sigh. I'm not writing off Proctor. I'm hoping future work is as solid as Love at First Note. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out.

A note about LDS: This one is also more in the religion/faith subgenre. It's solidly LDS and you'd need to be both familiar with and sympathetic to LDS theology to be entirely immersed. That's not a bad thing, but this is solidly faith-based literature and relies on those sympathies in the storytelling.

[Jenny Proctor]

New books are always going to feel exciting, but there's something about the characters in this one that kept them with me long after I finished writing. I really love this story--I love the romance, and the challenges Henry faces both as a father, and a teacher. I love Eliza's bravery and boldness. And I love the journey these characters take to find each other. I hope you'll love it too!

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading "Mountains Between us" by Jenny Proctor. This was an excellent story, easy to get into each character. I am not a Latter-day Saint; however I do take my religion seriously. I appreciate how both Eliza and Henry had struggles, everyone does. I liked how they were able to rise above their own personal struggles. I won this book through the good reads giveaway. Thank you, Jenny for giving me such a great read. Thank you also for personally signing the book, now I have a collectors item. Well done, Kudos!!! Cindy

[Lucinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful story from Jenny Proctor.

I really liked Eliza and Henry. At first, I thought Eliza was the happy-go-lucky kind of character but her relationship with her mother is somewhat strained, and it's even worse with her sister who has addiction problems.
Henry is still recovering from his divorce 2 years prior and he doesn't know how to relate to his 7 yo son. Then someone from his past returns to complicate things for him.
With added problems at the school, there is enough going on in lives of these characters to pull them in all directions.

The setting is beautifully done and the secondary characters serve a purposeful role (it was great to see Kate and Andrew!) in adding to the story

I admit I was frustrated with Henry at times but he got there eventually.

I also enjoyed Flip and his conversion and I was glad to find out he'll be in the main character in an upcoming story (yay!).

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun to read book by my friend Jenny.

[Hannah Lundell · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ - ok this book wasn’t bad, it was just so cheesy and cringy to me lol. Still had some decent plot and development though!

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an INCREDIBLY WONDERFUL READ!
Filled with depth and love and hope!

Eliza has just taken a position at Rockbridge Academy, a rehabilitation facility for troubled teens.

She finds the work challenging, but rewarding, and living in the woodsy out-doors is a bonus.

She is intrigued with fellow employee, Henry.

He is of her same faith, however, everyone tells her that he keeps to himself.

She also quickly realizes that another employee, Flip, finds her attractive and seeks her friendship.

When her past family troubles catch up with Eliza, Henry offers to help.

Not really knowing why he was so bold in that move Henry finds Eliza's company comforting.

As each open up their hearts they are drawn towards one another.

Yet something is holding Henry back.

He has never let anyone get so close, especially after losing Allison.

Can they find a way to get around the 'mountain that is between them?'

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

While Eliza and Henry's stories are the main theme there are also DELIGHTFUL details and insights into the lives of Flip and AJ and Amber and Bill and others that will also touch your heart!

The writing is FABULOUS!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book!

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I appreciated that Eliza and Henry were characters with relatable struggles in life. The book was a pretty quick read but there was still a lot of substance, enough so that this wasn't just "fluff." At the same time, it also wasn't too heavy. I thought the author found a good balance of fiction and real life. The book also has a definite LDS audience in mind, but not so much that it can't be enjoyed by readers of other religions.

There was one section where I struggled with the timeline of the story. (Eliza and Henry both leave for the weekend. Eliza gets through to Monday morning while Henry is still at Friday evening. When they are back together in the story it's at least Tuesday, possibly Wednesday. What was Henry doing all that time, besides what we know for sure that only took part of one day?) There were also a couple of things that I really wanted to know. They aren't essential to the story, but I still want to know exactly how old Eliza is (about 26?) and where she served as a missionary. (Henry went to Brazil. Me too! Woohoo!)

I won this book in a giveaway from NewLDSFiction.com. Thanks, Jenny, for signing the book for me!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light, feel-good romance that touches on some deeper family issues and some LDS themes. Jenny is great with making the setting be another character in the book.

[Contemporary LDS romance is not my typical genre, but I read it when I know the authors as friends, and I'm always impressed by their talents. I admire the imagination and plot-organization of fiction writers!]

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a sweet story, tho I felt like things were so 'on hold' with the development of their relationship and had a very sudden quick ending.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. The characters were real. They had real feelings and real struggles. This was a book about forgiveness and acceptance...two things that are hard at times.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just ok. There wasn't anything terrible about it but there wasn't anything great about it. I thought in places it was a bit abrupt and didn't really explain or talk about the solutions to the many problems the characters seemed to have. Also several times the book jumped from scene to scene and I wish there had been more detail or at least a little time talking about some of the things I wanted to know about like Eliza's roommates wedding, Henry's relationship with his son etc. I just felt like there were a ton of problems and the solutions were sometimes weird and abrupt and didn't seem super believable or satisfying. There were moments I liked, for instance the way Henry got through to Daniel, I also liked Flip. Eliza was alright for the most part. I wish Henry had been more likable. He had his moments but it seemed like he had more issues than the kids at the school. Although that's hard to determine because it seemed like the students and their issues were glossed over. I know the book was about Henry and Eliza but since they both worked at the school it seems like there would have been more about the students. Maybe I'm just being super picky I was just annoyed at all the issues and the solutions weren't satisfying to me and were more abrupt than they should have been. This book did make me think about forgiveness though and the way I treat or see people so in that way it was positive. All in all the book was ok.

[Amy S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, depressing. 1.5 stars. One psychological issue after another as told by an overly upbeat (I can't quite say falsely upbeat but it was close) counsellor at a camp for wayward teens and her counterpart, a struggling writer/English teacher and divorced father. The nice guy (third wheel) in the story got honorable mention but still finished last. The relationship was an awkward tailspin from the start and the effort to pull up before the flaming-death-crash by putting on a happy ending finish just felt like faked misdirection to keep gawkers from the fiery remains. Over and over the author tried to encourage the belief that people with problems are "completed" by finding someone else who makes them feel better; this is codependency, not love. I can go for an angsty and despondent love story if it's meant to be just a little silly but this one shot for heavy realism and put me way, way off.

No sex, no swearing, almost nothing violent, topics of alcoholism, drug addiction, child neglect

[amygdala · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can say no to dating someone purely because you just don’t want to you do know that right?? RIGHT?? Also that ending was rushed asl we didn’t see any Henry x Aj interactions on a deeper level we didn’t get any kind of beginning of relationship stage where Henry was, the very awkward man that he is, probably fumbling, it’s just cut scene to new house and proposal which was kinda meh, the bio dad subplot was like…. Okay? Idc what kinda lesson we’ve learnt IF WE CANT SEE THE RESULTS PLAY OUT… anyway the Daniel thing was cute we didn’t expand on it, I don’t think we expanded on anything but maybe Gina? I was just learning things for no reason, all in all it wasn’t bad it was okay the characters were very nice just flat

[Allison Bradbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in one night, staying up until early morning. It’s a very easy read. It IS another cheesy and predictable piece of work published by Covenant but that being said...characters are very relatable and likable. I found myself feeling their inner turmoil and truly wanting them to succeed. The author did well at developing Henry, Flip, and Eliza’s characters as well as creating a typical love triangle.

[Pattisue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a heartfelt story of faith and forgiveness. Henry fights the demons of his past, hiding behind the wall protecting his heart. Not even Eliza can sneak past his defenses. Will she wait for him, or move on? Henry has a chance to repair past hurts before it is too late. Faith guides the different characters to trust God.

[Kirsi Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the themes in this book are a little heavy—I might have shed a tear or two along with Henry and Eliza. If you're looking for a light and fluffy read, this one isn't for you. If you want a little more depth with your happy ending, I'd give this one a go.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my second book by this author. It was a very different book than Wrong for You, which was comical, light and fun. This book delves into dysfunctional families, adoption, addictions and so forth. I enjoyed it as well, but in a different way.

[Bry Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was cute. And it wasn't cheesy and over religious like some LDS fiction books are. Quick and easy flow read. I liked the stories. Like all love triangles, I loved the rejected one. Kind of hoping she'll write a story on his happily ever after.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

sweet, for such a complex plot and characters, the writing felt rushed... or maybe I just didn't want it to end? I enjoyed the 5 hours I spent reading it, never putting it down

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read romance with a bit of adventure.

[Monica Guymon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was good and clean but it was a little too slow for me.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see how characters are portrayed who have dealt with "childhood" trauma.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family struggles and mountains won't keep Eliza from loving Henry. Now, she just has to convince him.

[Dorry Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unless a book is one I cant put down, I rarely give it more than a 3. It was just o.k.

[Kari Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would make a perfect Hallmark movie.

[Ali~may · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2, maybe 4 stars

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters “fell in love” without ever dating or talking about their feelings for each other and for that reason alone, I have to rate it lower!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real people with real problems.

I wasn’t totally sold on the falling in love, but it still gave me all the warm fuzzies.

[Malinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and thought it was well written. The struggles each character had were believable and not overdone.