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House on Sandstone
'The House on Sandstone' is a story of different life choices two old friends made - the consequences, and what happens when they meet again.
Twenty-five years ago, Carly Griffin left Leland, Kentucky – sure that it held nothing for her future. Now weary of living overseas for one consulting project after another, she’s glad to have two months back in Leland to relax with her aging parents.
When she catches a glimpse of her high school friend Justine in the doorway of her elegant home, she is surprised by the warm, famiiar feelings stirred within.
Justine Hall made different choices, returning to Leland after college to marry and raise two children. Now divorced, she walks a fine line between sanity and hell, struggling to reconcile the sexuality she can no longer deny with the expectations of motherhood and mores in a small town.
Twenty-five years ago, Carly Griffin left Leland, Kentucky – sure that it held nothing for her future. Now weary of living overseas for one consulting project after another, she’s glad to have two months back in Leland to relax with her aging parents.
When she catches a glimpse of her high school friend Justine in the doorway of her elegant home, she is surprised by the warm, famiiar feelings stirred within.
Justine Hall made different choices, returning to Leland after college to marry and raise two children. Now divorced, she walks a fine line between sanity and hell, struggling to reconcile the sexuality she can no longer deny with the expectations of motherhood and mores in a small town.
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
16 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
K.G. MacGregor
39 books333 followersA former teacher and market research consultant, KG MacGregor holds a PhD in journalism and mass communication. Infatuation with Xena: Warrior Princess fanfiction prompted her to try her own hand at storytelling in 2002. In 2005, she signed with Bella Books, which published the Goldie Award finalist Just This Once. Her sixth Bella novel, Out of Love, won the 2007 Lambda Literary Award for Women's Romance, and the 2008 Goldie Award in Lesbian Romance. In 2009, she picked up Goldies for Without Warning (Contemporary Romance) and Secrets So Deep (Romantic Suspense).
Other honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Royal Academy of Bards, the Alice B. Readers Appreciation Medal, and several Readers Choice Awards. An avid supporter of queer literature, KG currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Lambda Literary Foundation.
KG MacGregor divides her time between her homes in Miami and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. When she isn't writing, she's either on a hiking trail, a golf course, or if she's really lucky, a cruise ship.
Other honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Royal Academy of Bards, the Alice B. Readers Appreciation Medal, and several Readers Choice Awards. An avid supporter of queer literature, KG currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Lambda Literary Foundation.
KG MacGregor divides her time between her homes in Miami and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. When she isn't writing, she's either on a hiking trail, a golf course, or if she's really lucky, a cruise ship.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 20, 2019
When I heard that the new book called The Lucky Ones included characters from one of MacGregor’s older books, I decided to fallback almost 15 years with The House on Sandstone. I hate reading books out of order and since this is one that was already in my collection I thought why not. I hate to say it but this was a bit of a slog to get through.
I’m a fan of MacGregor, she has written some books I loved like T-Minus Two and Worth Every Step. Not to mention plenty of other books I really enjoyed. I hate to say that this was a real struggle. When I start a book with an average number of pages, I almost always read it in one day. However, this book took me three days to read instead, and considering I’m swamped with books right now I was getting a little frustrated.
The biggest issue for me was the first half of the book. For one it felt dated. Yes, I know this book is almost 15 years old but I just finished a book that was 25 years old, right before I read this one, and it didn’t feel half as dated. There is a difference between a book that feels dated and a book that just takes place in a certain time period that you have to adjust to while reading, unfortunately this was the former.
The second issue I had with the first half was that it was long and honestly boring. It was a lot of everyday life stuff, with no conflict or anything to drive the story. One character almost came off a little stalker-ish, but that wasn’t meant to be exciting or thrilling, instead it was a little creepy. This was just a real slog to get through and I kept kicking myself for choosing this book. I don’t like to DNF unless I really have to and the ratings and reviews from people I trust on this book were decent so I kept going. Finally after two days of reading I got about half way through.
Today I picked up the book promising myself to finally finish it and thank goodness the second half was 10 times better than the first half. It still had a few bumps but it was like two different books. Finally a few interesting things started to happen, and the whole book just took a better turn. I still can’t give this more than 3 stars due to the boring first half but the second half saved the book for me.
Even with The Lucky Ones having some of the characters from this book, I don’t think I can recommend this. There are so many good books out there in lesfic romance and GREAT books out there by MacGregor, which makes this not as worth it in my honest opinion. If you already own this book or get a great deal on it, that’s another story and I say go for it, otherwise treat yourself to some of MacGregor’s other books instead.
I’m a fan of MacGregor, she has written some books I loved like T-Minus Two and Worth Every Step. Not to mention plenty of other books I really enjoyed. I hate to say that this was a real struggle. When I start a book with an average number of pages, I almost always read it in one day. However, this book took me three days to read instead, and considering I’m swamped with books right now I was getting a little frustrated.
The biggest issue for me was the first half of the book. For one it felt dated. Yes, I know this book is almost 15 years old but I just finished a book that was 25 years old, right before I read this one, and it didn’t feel half as dated. There is a difference between a book that feels dated and a book that just takes place in a certain time period that you have to adjust to while reading, unfortunately this was the former.
The second issue I had with the first half was that it was long and honestly boring. It was a lot of everyday life stuff, with no conflict or anything to drive the story. One character almost came off a little stalker-ish, but that wasn’t meant to be exciting or thrilling, instead it was a little creepy. This was just a real slog to get through and I kept kicking myself for choosing this book. I don’t like to DNF unless I really have to and the ratings and reviews from people I trust on this book were decent so I kept going. Finally after two days of reading I got about half way through.
Today I picked up the book promising myself to finally finish it and thank goodness the second half was 10 times better than the first half. It still had a few bumps but it was like two different books. Finally a few interesting things started to happen, and the whole book just took a better turn. I still can’t give this more than 3 stars due to the boring first half but the second half saved the book for me.
Even with The Lucky Ones having some of the characters from this book, I don’t think I can recommend this. There are so many good books out there in lesfic romance and GREAT books out there by MacGregor, which makes this not as worth it in my honest opinion. If you already own this book or get a great deal on it, that’s another story and I say go for it, otherwise treat yourself to some of MacGregor’s other books instead.
July 30, 2017
Great read! insightful,lots of drama,well developed characters,a backstory of two women who's life,love and marriage got tested for more than 25 years and survived through all these problems/issues..this storyline was even thought provoking and very well written (paperback!)
November 4, 2019
My fall back Friday choice is The House On Sandstone by K.G. MacGregor, first published in 2005. I enjoyed it very much and the solid writing of this author (one of the Grand Poobahs of lesfic) reminds me I have to read more of her. She has such an extensive back catalogue., it’s just criminal not to.
Lost daughter Carly returns to smallville Kentucky for a short stay between jobs that takes her all over the globe. Her high school crush Justine has divorced her husband and is trying to build up her life again after a faux pas that had the whole city of Leland clutching their purls. A drunken fumble, a love re-awakened but with no future when a mother lives only for her children and is terrified that losing her heart also means losing them… again.
A slow burn and a love that does not dare to speak its name. It could easily go the telenovela way, but MacGregor is too much of a pro to let that happen.
f/f
Themes: coming home, small town homophobia, a drunken fumble, what will the neighbors say, living for your kids, furniture shop, coffee shop, weight loss, difficult teens.
4 Stars
Lost daughter Carly returns to smallville Kentucky for a short stay between jobs that takes her all over the globe. Her high school crush Justine has divorced her husband and is trying to build up her life again after a faux pas that had the whole city of Leland clutching their purls. A drunken fumble, a love re-awakened but with no future when a mother lives only for her children and is terrified that losing her heart also means losing them… again.
A slow burn and a love that does not dare to speak its name. It could easily go the telenovela way, but MacGregor is too much of a pro to let that happen.
f/f
Themes: coming home, small town homophobia, a drunken fumble, what will the neighbors say, living for your kids, furniture shop, coffee shop, weight loss, difficult teens.
4 Stars
February 26, 2020
Nicely done ! Another well-written story by KG MacGregor... Yes, it was a bit draggy initially but it got better. Story of lost love and love found, some 25 years later between 2 high school friends, Carly & Justine. Love lost due to fear to own one’s sexuality and when you faced your fear head-on, you found love... That’s the story of Carly & Justine with other issues put forth in this friend-to-lover, second-chance romance. 😊
March 31, 2024
Didn’t really work for me: it was ‘hard’ to read with little flow and neither Main Character pulled me in enough to be invested. Sorry.
July 9, 2016
**7/9/16 - needed another reread. Wonder if I noticed the head hopping in my previous reads. At first I thought it was because I was listening via text-to-speech but that wasn't it. Still very enjoyable but, for some reason, the changing POVs really stood out to me this time around.**
**2012 - I've read the online version several times and finally bought the published version. This is, I think, the fourth time I've read the book. I'm not sure why this book touches me so much but I find myself drawn to read it at least once a year.
The final chapter of the published version is completely different from the online version. It's always nice to see something different or extra in a published version. But even without it, it's worth the price.
You can read my whole review at the C-Spot Review site: http://reviews.c-spot.net/archives/1710
**2012 - I've read the online version several times and finally bought the published version. This is, I think, the fourth time I've read the book. I'm not sure why this book touches me so much but I find myself drawn to read it at least once a year.
The final chapter of the published version is completely different from the online version. It's always nice to see something different or extra in a published version. But even without it, it's worth the price.
You can read my whole review at the C-Spot Review site: http://reviews.c-spot.net/archives/1710
September 3, 2019
Picked this up at a used bookstore for a buck and then had it sitting around. Picked it up randomly last night at 5pm and stayed up until midnight finishing it. Just sucked me right in.
Carly returns to her Kentucky hometown between consulting jobs and reconnects with high school friend, Justine. Having never forgot each other, will it be ships passing in the night or will they seize the chance to be happy together?!
Carly returns to her Kentucky hometown between consulting jobs and reconnects with high school friend, Justine. Having never forgot each other, will it be ships passing in the night or will they seize the chance to be happy together?!
August 25, 2017
As usual another sweet story by the writer but this time I find this slow paced in bringing me to embrace and love the characters. I sincerely can't pin point the whys perhaps the maturity of the main characters or the depressingly realistic closeting in all...I give this book a 4 star mainly for good writing and less for my loving it as much as the many other books I have read by this author.
November 10, 2019
The plot is fine but has been dragged too long...
March 31, 2023
This review is for the 2019 Author's Edition...
I think one of my favorite aspects of The House on Sandstone is Justine’s honest struggle to be both accepted and authentic…two things that weren’t always achievable in Kentucky in the early 2000’s. Her sincere sweetness is paired with a sometimes self-effacing wittiness that works brilliantly with Carly’s occasional irreverence. I simply adore these women.
Being privy to another’s inner journey towards accepting that their own happiness and self worth is beautifully valid is stunning. Another MacGregor book joins my list of favorites.
I think one of my favorite aspects of The House on Sandstone is Justine’s honest struggle to be both accepted and authentic…two things that weren’t always achievable in Kentucky in the early 2000’s. Her sincere sweetness is paired with a sometimes self-effacing wittiness that works brilliantly with Carly’s occasional irreverence. I simply adore these women.
Being privy to another’s inner journey towards accepting that their own happiness and self worth is beautifully valid is stunning. Another MacGregor book joins my list of favorites.
November 18, 2019
Sweet
This was a interesting read. I appreciated that the story seem entirely plausible. I enjoyed getting to know the characters by reading about their daily lives. I sat down expecting this to be a cookie cutter romance but it was written in such a way that it seemed like an entirely new idea. Worth the read.
This was a interesting read. I appreciated that the story seem entirely plausible. I enjoyed getting to know the characters by reading about their daily lives. I sat down expecting this to be a cookie cutter romance but it was written in such a way that it seemed like an entirely new idea. Worth the read.
October 22, 2018
Another good read
As usual this author delivers a great story, good characters and a combination of humour and emotion. Overall good read, not the best book she has ever written but well worth a read.
As usual this author delivers a great story, good characters and a combination of humour and emotion. Overall good read, not the best book she has ever written but well worth a read.
April 19, 2009
Well-written lesfic with enough good characterisation to be interesting. I was pleasantly surprised that the author dodged many of the repetitive plot devices that are so common in the genre, or at least turned them around. It even contains some nuggets of good advice for anyone getting involved with a single mum! Could have saved me making some mistakes back in the beginning :-)
August 6, 2007
This book is a great book. What I learned from it, is that if you worry so much about what other people think about you, you can't have fun and you can't live life. The only approval that you need is your own. I definitely recommend this book.
January 9, 2016
Great story about to 40 something women getting it right after 20 yrs
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews