Though she will one day inherit an estate bearing her family's legacy, Maggie feels there has to be more to life than becoming a "grand lady." Ian, the son of an earl, has been carousing his young life away to avoid facing himself, but meeting Maggie shifts his course in The Heather Hills of Stonewycke by authors Michael Phillips and Judith Pella.

I rather enjoyed another historical ChristFic series partly co-authored by Phillips and Pella, The Russians series, despite its stylistic flaws, so I decided to try The Stonewycke Trilogy.

Now, in large part, the characters in this first novel of the trilogy have an unnatural feel without sufficient dimension. It makes the development of their relationships fall fairly flat, especially when the authors "tell" about important developments without "showing" a convincing process. Also, at various points in the novel, the plot ambles along, seeming to lack focus.

When the story picks up and reaches more serious levels, it's often overdramatic and driven by clichés, both in terms of the plot and the characters. Also, not all aspects of the conflict make consistent sense.

Even so, the heightening action in the later chapters sparked my interest. As it was for me early in The Russians series, I'm not into Stonewycke's characters, at least not yet, but the events and what may be coming next have me curious. Besides, it often takes more than one book for a series to hit its stride, so I plan to check out Book Two. ( )

I read this before, years ago...well worth reading again! ( )

Great character development in this story by a great duo. A young girl, Maggie, departs from her father emotionally when he sells her horse as a teenager. Her father brings a relative into the home whom she falls in love with, and a young man whom he wants her to marry. When Maggie stands up to her father, a family war begins and she and her new husband leave her home when he is accused of killing his rival. A must read is the next in the series to find out what happens next. Great character and family relationships that will appeal to both men and women, but the line "I'd marry him even if he is a murderer" is a bit out of character.

The only reason I finished this book was because I wanted to know how the story ended. I wasn’t drawn to it, and I didn’t connect with the characters well. Read more: http://christianfictionaddiction.com/book_reviews/heather_hills_of_stonewycke.ht... ( )

The Stonewycke Trilogy, Book 1