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8 min read
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.3
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These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas Review: A Rich Appalachian Historical of Friendship and Redemption
These Tangled Threads is a historical novel by award-winning Appalachian author Sarah Loudin Thomas, published by Bethany House Publishers in April 2024, set against the backdrop of Biltmore Estate and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Centered on master weaver Lorna Blankenship and the fractured friendships she must revisit in order to fulfill a high-stakes commission for Cornelia Vanderbilt's wedding, the novel weaves together themes of artistry, betrayal, restoration, and second chances. It is a strong choice for readers drawn to Appalachian settings, faith-inflected fiction, and character-driven historical stories.
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Best for
Readers of Christian historical fiction who are drawn to Appalachian culture, the Biltmore Estate world, and emotionally textured stories about fractured friendships, craft traditions, and the long work of personal reckoning.
Worth it if
The premise of a master weaver untangling a seven-year-old betrayal against the backdrop of Cornelia Vanderbilt's 1924 wedding — with deep Blue Ridge Mountains atmosphere and a structurally purposeful weaving metaphor — sounds like exactly your kind of historical fiction.
Skip if
Readers who want fast-moving external drama or political intrigue from their historical fiction, or who have no appetite for faith-inflected storytelling (even when lightly handled), are likely to find this novel quieter and more interior than they'd prefer.
What readers & critics say
Reviewer sites including Reading Is My Superpower and Novels Alive awarded the novel strong praise, with Reading Is My Superpower highlighting its "subtle faith notes tenderly tucked between the lines" and its weaving of Blue Ridge landscape, Appalachian music, and craftsman heart into a "heartfelt story," while Novels Alive called it "a powerhouse novel full of historical relevancy focusing on the power of second chances." Inkwell Inspirations offered a more measured note, praising the rich historical detail and Biltmore atmosphere but flagging that the multiple timelines and jumping chronology required frequent reorientation.
Sources: Reading Is My Superpower, Novels Alive, Inkwell Inspirations, Bonnie Reads and Writes, Susan Loves Books, PT Bradley4.3from 612 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
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These Tangled Threads is a character-driven historical novel set in the world of Biltmore Industries and the Blue Ridge Mountains, following master weaver Lorna Blankenship as she races to fulfill a commission for Cornelia Vanderbilt's 1924 wedding — a quest that forces her to confront a seven-year-old betrayal and the fractured three-way friendship she left behind. The weaving metaphor is structurally purposeful throughout, with the novel's form mirroring its subject: a hidden knot worked loose, thread by thread. It's a natural fit for readers of Christian historical fiction and Appalachian literature who value emotional depth and a rich sense of place over sweeping external drama — though readers with no appetite for faith-inflected fiction should know that element is woven throughout.
- Is it worth reading?
- For readers drawn to Appalachian settings, faith-inflected historical fiction, and character-driven stories, These Tangled Threads delivers on its premise with purposeful construction and genuine historical grounding. The weaving metaphor is coherent and sustained rather than decorative, and Lorna Blankenship's intertwined personal and professional stakes give the narrative a clear emotional engine. The key caveat is pace: readers expecting sweeping external drama will find this a quieter, more interior novel than they may anticipate.
- Similar books
- Readers who enjoy These Tangled Threads may want to explore Lisa Wingate's Before We Were Yours, which similarly combines Appalachian roots with emotionally resonant historical storytelling. Marie Benedict's Carnegie's Maid offers another angle on women navigating powerful Gilded Age households, while The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah delivers the same sense of historical weight and female resilience, albeit with a more dramatic sweep. For fiction centered on women's craft and community, The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick and The Secret Sewing Society by Siobhan Curham share thematic common ground with Lorna Blankenship's world of textile artistry and female bonds.
- Who should read this?
- These Tangled Threads is a strong choice for readers of Christian historical fiction, fans of Appalachian literature, and anyone drawn to stories in which the past must be honestly reckoned with before the future is possible. The Biltmore Estate setting and Cornelia Vanderbilt's 1924 wedding will particularly appeal to readers with an existing connection to that world or to the craft traditions of western North Carolina. Book clubs that favor emotionally substantive historical fiction with a strong sense of place will find plenty to discuss.
- About Sarah Loudin Thomas
- Sarah Loudin Thomas grew up on a 100-acre farm in French Creek, West Virginia, as the seventh generation to live there. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Coastal Carolina University. Her historical fiction, often set in West Virginia, celebrates the people, land, and heritage of Appalachia. Her novels include the Selah Book of the Year winner The Right Kind of Fool and an Inspy Award-winning title.
- What are the main themes?
- At its core, These Tangled Threads explores betrayal, restoration, and the question of whether broken relationships can be repaired once the truth is finally confronted. Artistry and identity are equally central — Lorna Blankenship has built her entire sense of self around her professional role as a master weaver, and the novel interrogates what remains when that identity is threatened. Faith, second chances, and the weight of the past round out a thematic framework that is internally coherent: the act of weaving — unpicking knots, restoring broken threads — mirrors every layer of the story.
- Is this a good book club pick?
- These Tangled Threads is well suited to book clubs that favor emotionally substantive historical fiction with a strong sense of place. The novel's structural parallel between Lorna Blankenship's craft and her relational reckoning — betrayal as a knot to be unpicked, friendship as threads to be restored — provides a rich conceptual framework for discussion. The real history of Biltmore Industries and Cornelia Vanderbilt's 1924 wedding also gives groups something historically concrete to explore alongside the character drama.
- Where should I start with Sarah Loudin Thomas?
- Readers new to Sarah Loudin Thomas will find These Tangled Threads a strong entry point given its historically grounded premise and the accessibility of its faith themes. Her award-winning track record — including the Selah Book of the Year-winning The Right Kind of Fool — suggests that readers who connect with the Appalachian voice and character-driven storytelling in this novel have a rich back catalogue to explore.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
About Sarah Loudin Thomas
What are the main themes?
Is this a good book club pick?
Where should I start with Sarah Loudin Thomas?
Summarize this book
These Tangled Threads centers on Lorna Blankenship, a master weaver employed by Biltmore Industries — the real Appalachian craft program connected to the Vanderbilt estate in Asheville, North Carolina. When Lorna is commissioned to create an original textile design for Cornelia Vanderbilt's wedding, she discovers her own creative reserves aren't equal to the task and must track down an elusive artisan deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Doing so means revisiting three relationships she abandoned seven years earlier after a hidden betrayal shattered a close friendship — risking both the professional role that defines her and any chance at restored friendship and love.
Follow up
How historically grounded is the story?
How does the weaving theme work in the story?
What is the setting like?
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Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
Content to know about
themes of betrayal and personal shame
Skip if you're looking for fast-paced historical fiction driven by sweeping external events or political intrigue rather than interior character drama.
Our Review
These Tangled Threads is a character-driven historical novel rooted in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the world of Appalachian craft — and it delivers a story as carefully constructed as the handwoven textiles at its heart.
What the Novel Is About
Back cover with synopsis, author biography, and endorsement quote from Ann H. Gabhart.
At the center of These Tangled Threads is Lorna Blankenship, a master weaver employed by Biltmore Industries — the real craft program that operated in the shadow of the Vanderbilt family's famous estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The story's inciting pressure is concrete and high-stakes: Lorna is commissioned to create an original textile design for Cornelia Vanderbilt's wedding, a landmark social event, and she knows her own creative reserves are not equal to the task. Her only hope lies with an elusive artisan somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains — but tracking that weaver down means revisiting the relationships she abandoned seven years earlier, after a hidden betrayal shattered a close three-way friendship. As Lorna pulls at each thread from her past, she is forced to confront old wounds, personal regrets, and the identity she has built almost entirely around her professional role. The publisher's synopsis frames the full cost plainly: she must risk both the job that defines her and any hope of friendship — and love — restored.
Setting and Historical Texture
Thomas roots the novel firmly in a specific, verifiable moment in American history. Biltmore Estate, the Vanderbilt legacy, and Cornelia Vanderbilt's actual 1924 wedding provide an anchor that gives the story a sense of weight beyond the personal drama. Biltmore Industries, the estate-adjacent craft enterprise that employed local Appalachian weavers and wood-carvers, was a genuine institution, and using it as Lorna's employer places the novel inside a richly documented cultural world. The Blue Ridge Mountains landscape, Appalachian music, and the tradition of handcraft are woven throughout the narrative, according to the book's publisher synopsis and reader reception. The Reading Is My Superpower review describes the novel as weaving "the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains landscape, the lilt of Appalachian music, and the heart of craftsmen everywhere into a heartfelt story."
Authorial Strengths and Craft
Thomas is an award-winning author with an established reputation for Appalachian-set fiction, and that regional expertise is visible in the specificity with which the novel is constructed. The plot structure itself mirrors the book's central metaphor: a hidden betrayal is the knot, and the narrative systematically works back through the threads of three estranged lives. The publisher positions These Tangled Threads as "seamlessly woven," and the thematic coherence between the story's form and its subject — weaving as both craft and metaphor for human relationships — is one of the novel's distinguishing design choices. The faith element is present but, as noted in reader reception, handled with restraint: the Reading Is My Superpower review characterizes the faith notes as "subtle" and "tenderly tucked between the lines," making the novel accessible to readers who appreciate faith-inflected fiction without heavy-handed messaging.
Limitations and Fit
Readers who prefer historical novels driven primarily by sweeping external events or political intrigue may find These Tangled Threads quieter in its ambitions than they expect. The novel's engine is relational and interior — the repair of a fractured friendship, the reckoning with personal shame, the question of whether Lorna can rebuild what her own choices destroyed. That emotional register is a deliberate choice on Thomas's part, and it will resonate strongly with readers who value character depth and a sense of place, but it is worth setting expectations accordingly. Additionally, the faith dimension, while lightly integrated according to reader response, is present throughout; readers with no appetite for faith-based fiction should approach with that awareness.
Who This Book Is For
These Tangled Threads is well suited to readers of Christian historical fiction, fans of Appalachian literature, and anyone drawn to stories in which the past must be honestly reckoned with before the future is possible. The Biltmore Estate setting will appeal to readers with an existing connection to that world — whether through the estate itself, Appalachian craft traditions, or the broader cultural history of western North Carolina. Thomas's track record as an Appalachian-focused author, combined with a historically grounded premise and a protagonist whose personal and professional stakes are tightly intertwined, makes this a natural choice for book clubs that favor emotionally substantive historical fiction with a strong sense of place.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
store.focusonthefamily.com
- 2
- 3
bonniereadsandwrites.com
- Further reading
- 4
- 5
- 6
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