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Mountain Women #2
Cold Comfort
When feisty Wanda Wyatt is left widowed, penniless, and troubled by recent fits of rage, she turns to the one person she hates—her grandmother, ex-moonshiner Lucie Bosell. Lured by a vague invitation, she travels back to her mountain roots with two goals in mind: money and revenge. But at what cost? Prohibition has come to West Virginia, and with moonshine worth more than ever, Lucie wants in on the action. Playing along, Wanda finds that being as mean and deceptive as Granny hurts her chances with a compelling man from her past. Worse, the old woman’s high-stakes business attracts ruthless people. Wanda learns the hard way—revenge is cold comfort.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 6, 2013
1454 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
About the author
Carol Ervin
27 books125 followersI’ve been lucky. Years ago, I wanted to live on a farm, and my husband said “Let’s do it.” When personal computers were introduced, I wanted to know about them and have one, and lucky me, the school where I taught offered a course in Basic. When we bought our first computer, I discovered the writer’s best friend--word processing. (Before that, I could not write without crossing out most of a typewritten or handwritten page, and progress seemed impossible.) When I wanted to shift from teaching to writing, the first Macintosh computers came out, and I was lucky enough to offer, along with technical and business writing, the first “desktop publishing” in my county. And when finally I had the leisure to give a lot of time to a novel, my husband didn’t merely tolerate my commitment, he encouraged it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
February 1, 2025
If writing and grammar errors annoy you
This book may not be for you. I can only rate it three stars, halfway through I lost interest and had to resort to skimming the last half. I won't attempt to read the rest of the series
This book may not be for you. I can only rate it three stars, halfway through I lost interest and had to resort to skimming the last half. I won't attempt to read the rest of the series
May 9, 2019
I am a sucker for a good historical fiction in rural America, especially around the early 20th century. I don’t know if it just makes me feel close to my grandmother, or if it fulfills a yearning I have for a life that was easier and simpler than where we are now. But I confess that affection to explain how much I have enjoyed this series, and why I have just bought and downloaded my third book.
The Good - I love strong female characters who have a good head in their shoulders. Ervin writes that kind of female lead.
The Eh - There is usually a convenient love interest, but happily, that love interest doesn’t dominate the story line.
The Ugly - The villains. They are ugly. Them Cottons in this particular book are worth of disdain.
I also love following characters through decades of life over the course of the books. I always appreciated that about Janette Oke books, and these are similar, without the heavily Christian fiction overtones.
If you love tales of strong women in brutal and somehow simpler times, this is the series for you. As for me, on to Book 3...
The Good - I love strong female characters who have a good head in their shoulders. Ervin writes that kind of female lead.
The Eh - There is usually a convenient love interest, but happily, that love interest doesn’t dominate the story line.
The Ugly - The villains. They are ugly. Them Cottons in this particular book are worth of disdain.
I also love following characters through decades of life over the course of the books. I always appreciated that about Janette Oke books, and these are similar, without the heavily Christian fiction overtones.
If you love tales of strong women in brutal and somehow simpler times, this is the series for you. As for me, on to Book 3...
May 28, 2020
This one felt a bit manufactured - like the author needed reason to get "us" back to town, so she invented this beef with Granny Bosell. At no point in the first book was any hay made of Wanda/Wands's mother's treatment by her grandma - just a mention of how they went back and abruptly left, and were never close or in contact after that.
That's a might thin reason for a 15 year grudge that requires travelling across the country to address.
Regardless of that, and the fact that Wanda is pretty unlikeable, i'll continue on with the series, because I do enjoy MayRose and the little town that's growing.
That's a might thin reason for a 15 year grudge that requires travelling across the country to address.
Regardless of that, and the fact that Wanda is pretty unlikeable, i'll continue on with the series, because I do enjoy MayRose and the little town that's growing.
June 19, 2020
The first Mountain Women book kept me interested enough in the characters and plot to stick with it. I really wanted to know where Wanda ended up, so I went on to read this second book. As in the first book, I was a little overwhelmed with the numerous characters introduced and going back and forth between them. I found myself asking, "Wait, who was that again?" While the book was still interesting, this second book will be my last in this series. I just couldn't get into the story and it felt like it dragged on a bit. The author writes well, the story just couldn't hold me.
December 13, 2024
Cold Comfort (Mountain Women #2) by Carol Ervin (Audiobook Read On Hoopla app)
I really wanted to like this book as it was set in West Virginia but it just wasnt My style of book. In the book Wanda Wyatt is left penniless and returns to the Grandmother she hates, ex moonshiner Lucie.
Wanda returns with two goals in mind. To make money to raise her own daughter and to get revenge on her Granny for her own moms alcoholism.
Wanda will ask herself if her goals are worth it or if she should just go back and create the best life she can for her own
This is the second in the Series but My Library did not have the first. I didnt like this book enough to continue the Series. People that like old westerns might like this book though.
I really wanted to like this book as it was set in West Virginia but it just wasnt My style of book. In the book Wanda Wyatt is left penniless and returns to the Grandmother she hates, ex moonshiner Lucie.
Wanda returns with two goals in mind. To make money to raise her own daughter and to get revenge on her Granny for her own moms alcoholism.
Wanda will ask herself if her goals are worth it or if she should just go back and create the best life she can for her own
This is the second in the Series but My Library did not have the first. I didnt like this book enough to continue the Series. People that like old westerns might like this book though.
August 7, 2019
I was unimpressed by this second book of the series. I found nothing endearing or likeable in the main character Wanda nor most of the female characters and felt they were pretty self-destructive women regardless of being uneducated and poverty stricken. I plan to read the third book only to see what happened with May Rose.
I just don't see myself recommending this to another reader. I was bored.
I just don't see myself recommending this to another reader. I was bored.
November 2, 2022
A fairly good story
I would have liked to give "Cold Comfort" a 5 but it started out really slow for me and too much emphasis on how to build a bootleggin still. About 1/3 through the book it finally started to get some action to make me interested in finishing the book. I also would have liked to know what happened in the 15 years between book #1 and book #2. I feel there could have been a good story line by what came of Wanda and Homer.
I would have liked to give "Cold Comfort" a 5 but it started out really slow for me and too much emphasis on how to build a bootleggin still. About 1/3 through the book it finally started to get some action to make me interested in finishing the book. I also would have liked to know what happened in the 15 years between book #1 and book #2. I feel there could have been a good story line by what came of Wanda and Homer.
October 23, 2020
Available for borrowing only in audio. Set among the hillbillies of West Virginia. Not particularly enthused about the narrator.
Wanda quickly learns her granny’s invitation involves helping to make corn liquor--moonshine and fending off the unwanted attentions of male clan members. About as cliche as it sounds. Life is tough here, especially if you’re a woman. Cold Comfort indeed.
Wanda quickly learns her granny’s invitation involves helping to make corn liquor--moonshine and fending off the unwanted attentions of male clan members. About as cliche as it sounds. Life is tough here, especially if you’re a woman. Cold Comfort indeed.
March 8, 2023
great fictional history of19th century America
I am thankful the my family relationships were mostly loving. Living in a family like Wanda’ s would not have been good for me. I did identify with Piney a bit. Theirs was a rough life fighting for every scrap of food, comfort, and control of the circumstances. I know however that is very realistic for many then and even now
I am thankful the my family relationships were mostly loving. Living in a family like Wanda’ s would not have been good for me. I did identify with Piney a bit. Theirs was a rough life fighting for every scrap of food, comfort, and control of the circumstances. I know however that is very realistic for many then and even now
May 2, 2024
I enjoyed the strong women characters. Seeing Wanda grown and going back to where she was born. It wasn’t a complicated story but it was very entertaining to me. To hear how women had to work if they wanted anything. What they had to put up with. And the influence of alcohol all through the story brought on other feelings.
February 21, 2024
Wanda
Good story of Wanda going back in to Winkler since she's 15 years older. A lot has changed for Wanda the town is barely a town. She goes to meet her Granny the mean moonshiner her Aunt Ruth and Aunt Piney still doing the same things. Wanda got kidnapped by the Cottons.
Good story of Wanda going back in to Winkler since she's 15 years older. A lot has changed for Wanda the town is barely a town. She goes to meet her Granny the mean moonshiner her Aunt Ruth and Aunt Piney still doing the same things. Wanda got kidnapped by the Cottons.
July 13, 2025
Hill County Saga !!
The grit of the women !! Forsaken by their men booze fights guns Bootlegging family drama but love and redemption all you want in a story that just keeps going and going love it !!
The grit of the women !! Forsaken by their men booze fights guns Bootlegging family drama but love and redemption all you want in a story that just keeps going and going love it !!
December 21, 2017
Took me until I was more than halfway into the book to become involved in the plot. Almost gave up and then it finally got interesting. Not a fan.
April 8, 2019
Just as good as the first in the series.
September 12, 2019
This book was the second in a 5 book series on Mountain Women. Can't say I loved it, but it was an interesting story. Hope the next 3 will be better.
March 7, 2020
Don’t really know what go say. Except it’s good enough to go to the next book without stopping. That tell you anything?
October 30, 2021
Great book
July 3, 2022
There was a lot of good reading but at times it was a little senseless.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2023
I am enjoying this series.
September 19, 2024
A must read
Great read loved it. I can’t wait for the next one. Love the setting and the time it was set in.
Great read loved it. I can’t wait for the next one. Love the setting and the time it was set in.
November 6, 2024
I enjoyed this book. The second in this series.
April 28, 2025
West Virginia and moonshine...not typecast at all! Good book and I'm ready for the next one in the series!
April 9, 2020
May Rose is s saint
I love May Rose. Her husband was a scoundrel. Wanda is a real character too. She really made this book very interesting.
I love May Rose. Her husband was a scoundrel. Wanda is a real character too. She really made this book very interesting.
March 8, 2022
The second of the series and I have been captivated by the characters Carol Irvin has developed and her ability to tell a story in a way that builds empathy. She transports the reader to a place and time in history so you feel like you're living right along side these characters.
September 28, 2018
MOUNTAIN LIFE
Sadness and revenge for past wrongs. Wanda is a grown woman who has a daughter named Evie. May Rose lives in Fargo, North Dakota with her brother-in-law Russell, one of the Heriff brothers Charlie who will live with May Rose until he's fifteen and then leaves for parts unknown. Wanda is headed back to Winkler, West Virginia to visit her grandmother, Lucie. The reason for Wanda return is revenge for her dead mother Evalena, who Wanda feels was mistreated and her own grandma did not support her mother, which forced Evalena to become a who're.
This is series is a sad insight of how hard it was to
keep food on the table and a descent roof over your head. Hardships around every corner no reprieve to be seen. Domestic and child abuse seems to be rampant throughout the settlement. These are mountain people who are closed mouth, they don't trust or like outsiders. Moonshiners are considered as lawbreakers, but this is part of the fabric of life in the hollers and dales that support farms and hide other things. Lots of farms have been in the family for at least a hundred years or more. The descriptions of how the area looks sounds depressing, for example lots of lumber companies depleted the forests for lumber, but they never replace or replanted the
trees. Then there were the coal mines which created mini-town's which were company owed. The miners were mistreated, the mines were dangerous, lots of mines caved in. The entire set up was dangerous. Many miners suffer from the life threatening respiratory diseases, mainly "Black Lung Disease" due to inadequate ventilation in the mines..Wanda and her aunts deal with a lot of misery..hoping for the best but expecting the worse this seems to be life in the mountains of West Virginia.
Sadness and revenge for past wrongs. Wanda is a grown woman who has a daughter named Evie. May Rose lives in Fargo, North Dakota with her brother-in-law Russell, one of the Heriff brothers Charlie who will live with May Rose until he's fifteen and then leaves for parts unknown. Wanda is headed back to Winkler, West Virginia to visit her grandmother, Lucie. The reason for Wanda return is revenge for her dead mother Evalena, who Wanda feels was mistreated and her own grandma did not support her mother, which forced Evalena to become a who're.
This is series is a sad insight of how hard it was to
keep food on the table and a descent roof over your head. Hardships around every corner no reprieve to be seen. Domestic and child abuse seems to be rampant throughout the settlement. These are mountain people who are closed mouth, they don't trust or like outsiders. Moonshiners are considered as lawbreakers, but this is part of the fabric of life in the hollers and dales that support farms and hide other things. Lots of farms have been in the family for at least a hundred years or more. The descriptions of how the area looks sounds depressing, for example lots of lumber companies depleted the forests for lumber, but they never replace or replanted the
trees. Then there were the coal mines which created mini-town's which were company owed. The miners were mistreated, the mines were dangerous, lots of mines caved in. The entire set up was dangerous. Many miners suffer from the life threatening respiratory diseases, mainly "Black Lung Disease" due to inadequate ventilation in the mines..Wanda and her aunts deal with a lot of misery..hoping for the best but expecting the worse this seems to be life in the mountains of West Virginia.
October 16, 2013
Wanda left the Virginia mountains in 1900 as a child. After her husband dies, leaving her with a child of her own and a penchant for craziness, Wanda returns to her Virginia roots to avenge her mother and because she needs help. But going home is fraught with danger. Wanda’s grandmother, Lucie Bosell, is a hard-scrabble mountain woman who makes moonshine and gets what she wants. Being near blind doesn’t stop her.
In Cold Comfort, author Carol Ervin has woven a vivid tale set in the backwoods with bold characters, brilliant dialogue, and descriptive skill that sets you on the back of an unfamiliar horse and lets you feel the bumps right along with Wanda.
Though the plot lags in spots and at times I wanted to feel the danger even more, Cold Comfort is a good read and I was never tempted to stop.
In Cold Comfort, author Carol Ervin has woven a vivid tale set in the backwoods with bold characters, brilliant dialogue, and descriptive skill that sets you on the back of an unfamiliar horse and lets you feel the bumps right along with Wanda.
Though the plot lags in spots and at times I wanted to feel the danger even more, Cold Comfort is a good read and I was never tempted to stop.
January 17, 2016
Another good read from the author of The Girl on the Mountain, continuing the story and can't wait for the next book! Here's a brief review from Amazon:
When feisty Wanda Wyatt is left widowed, penniless, and disturbed by recent fits of rage, she turns to the one person she hates ─ her grandmother, ex-moonshiner Lucie Bosell. Lured by a vague invitation, she travels back to her mountain roots with two goals in mind: money and revenge. But at what cost? Prohibition has come to West Virginia, and with moonshine worth more than ever, Lucie wants in on the action. Playing along, Wanda finds that being as mean and deceptive as Granny hurts her chances with a compelling man from her past. Worse, the old woman’s high-stakes business attracts ruthless people and big trouble. Wanda learns the hard way--revenge is cold comfort.
This is Bk. 2 in the Mountain Women series.
When feisty Wanda Wyatt is left widowed, penniless, and disturbed by recent fits of rage, she turns to the one person she hates ─ her grandmother, ex-moonshiner Lucie Bosell. Lured by a vague invitation, she travels back to her mountain roots with two goals in mind: money and revenge. But at what cost? Prohibition has come to West Virginia, and with moonshine worth more than ever, Lucie wants in on the action. Playing along, Wanda finds that being as mean and deceptive as Granny hurts her chances with a compelling man from her past. Worse, the old woman’s high-stakes business attracts ruthless people and big trouble. Wanda learns the hard way--revenge is cold comfort.
This is Bk. 2 in the Mountain Women series.
March 12, 2015
Cold Comfort By Carol Ervin
Reading about Wanda is a never ending adventure! I'd love to see these books made into films! Learned about how a still works, and how much labor is involved. We could all imagine living in that house in the valley with a pond, geese, dogs underfoot and the sounds of country living when the sun goes down. We all have a family member who is as mean as dirt, yet we love them just the same and they manage to give all families stronger hearts and memories to talk about! These are easy books to read and lots of fun!
Reading about Wanda is a never ending adventure! I'd love to see these books made into films! Learned about how a still works, and how much labor is involved. We could all imagine living in that house in the valley with a pond, geese, dogs underfoot and the sounds of country living when the sun goes down. We all have a family member who is as mean as dirt, yet we love them just the same and they manage to give all families stronger hearts and memories to talk about! These are easy books to read and lots of fun!
March 30, 2015
I really enjoyed reading this book. Loved reading about prohibition era moonshiners. Characters come to life in a West Virginia mountain setting. As I was reading Wanda came to life with a depth of character exhibiting a whole gamit of emotions and I loved the crusty grandma Lucy. Can't wait for the next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews