The Road to Magnolia Glen (Natchez Trace #2) + Blitz Tour Giveaway

Posted August 15, 2018 by thebeccafiles in / 0 Comments

Title: The Road to Magnolia Glen
Author: Pam Hillman
Series: Natchez Trace #2
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publishing Date: June 5, 2018

About the Book:
1792, Natchez Trace, MS
Bitter since his eldest brother abandoned their family in Ireland, Quinn O’Shea travels to Natchez, Mississippi, ready to shuck the weight of his duty and set off on an adventure of his own. It’s time Connor, as head of the family, took responsibility for their younger siblings. While aboard ship, a run-in with three Irish sisters lands Quinn in the role of reluctant savior. Though it may delay his plans, he cannot abandon the Young sisters, especially the tenacious yet kind Kiera.

Upon arriving in the colonies, Kiera Young prepares to meet her intended and begin her new life. But she soon discovers the marriage her brother-in-law arranged was never meant to be, and a far more sinister deal was negotiated for her and her sisters.

Quinn offers to escort his charges safely to Breeze Hill Plantation and his brother’s care, fully intending to seek his freedom elsewhere. But the longer he remains, the greater his feelings toward Kiera grow and the more he comes to realize true freedom might be found in sacrifice.

About the Author:
CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn’t afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn’t mind raking. Raking hay doesn’t take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that’s the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

My Review:
Pam Hillman has weaved together an intriguing story of hope and mystery. It’s a fast-paced novel about longing for both freedom and belonging, with plenty of action in the fight for it. Each character faced unexpected hurdles upon their arrival at Natchez. Quinn was expecting to hand off his younger brothers to their eldest brother Connor so that he’d be able to have his own adventures. Kiera was expecting her journey to lead her to a respectable man and his hand in marriage. Neither one of them got what they expected, but God was certainly with them.

I love that this story really had two main characters. This wasn’t your typical “prince rides in on a white horse to save the day” type of a romance. Both Quinn and Kiera had their mountains that they were facing, and the author did an amazing job of developing each of them as they matured both personally and relationally (and not only with each other). It gave the story a whole different level of depth and really made it come to life even more.

This is definitely one of those stories I would recommend starting earlier in the day. It certainly wasn’t one that was easy to put down. It’s no easy feat for an author to create a story with just enough action and suspense for it to be believable without going over the top. It’s also not easy to create a believable romance without being to sappy or cheesy. Pam Hillman was able to successfully achieve the perfect level of action, suspense, and romance to keep readers engrossed and captivated until the very last page.

I absolutely loved this story! My only regret is that I didn’t look enough into reading the first book first because I was told they were stand-alones in a series. While I was easily able to read this story as it was, I was also wishing I could know more about the eldest O’Shea brother Connor and his bride Isabella. Now that I’ve finished the book, I looked and saw that their story is what book #1 is about. So allow me to personally recommend starting at the beginning!

This was my first time reading a book by Pam Hillman but I’m sure it won’t be my last! As of right now I don’t see another book set to release in the series, but the O’Shea brothers do have another brother who ran off and was talked about a few times throughout the book, so I’m curious of another will come out to follow him. I know right now I’m currently left wanting to go farther with the characters, so my hope is definitely that there will be more to come. This is a series I highly recommend.

*I received a complimentary copy through JustRead Publicity tours and the author. I was not required to give a positive review. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

Rating:

Age Appropriateness/Content Warnings:
I am a bit torn as to whether I would recommend this to younger readers or not. The characters are younger and have much younger siblings that they are caring for, but there is definitely some content to be aware of. *MILD SPOILER* The girls discover that they’ve been sold to a man who runs a brothel. Although nothing actually happens, they do discuss the fact that even Kiera’s eight year old sister Meghan is included in this. The story doesn’t include any rape, but Kiera faces quite a bit of inappropriate attention on several occasions. Considering this is a Christian fiction book, it doesn’t go into too much detail, but there are a lot of insinuations. I still don’t think this would be one of my first choices to recommend to younger readers though. There is also quite a bit of violence sprinkled throughout including knife and gun violence. Depending on the individual, I don’t think I’d recommend for ages under 14.