The House on Honeysuckle Lane

Heartland Memories #1

by Carole Gift Page

In 1932, the world was still a simple place for Annie Reed. She and her best friend, Cath Herrick promised to stay friends forever and spent their days dreaming of their future lives and loves. And in the sheltering arms of Annie's beautiful rose colored, gabled house on Honeysuckle lane, dreaming was easy. But Annie and Cath couldn't have imagined how the trouble brewing around the world would reach into their lives--changing their families, their dreams, and their friendship.

Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction

286 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jeanne Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, not the ending I was expecting but sometimes books you find in Lending libraries surprise you.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. It had a believable story line and a good ending. I hate when books are good till you get to the end.

[Bekah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had this book laying around for probably around a year now and I decided that now would be a good time to pick it up and give it a read. I wish I could have given it a higher rating, but I just couldn't because of some things I will list below, but of course, I will list the things I liked about the book first. This book definitely did have some lovely aspects to it.

What I Liked: This author definitely does have a talent for writing. Her descriptions were very vivid and I felt like I could see the house on Honeysuckle Lane very well and the characters that resided in it. So much was packed into this book, yet it didn't feel rushed. It flowed smoothly and there were quite a few surprises nestled inside of it's pages that kept me desiring to find out what would happen next.

I also quite liked the time period this book was written in. (The 1930's and 40's.) It was quite an interesting peek into the lives of fictional characters that lived in that time period.

What I Didn't Like: I dislike having to write this part of the review, but it just can't be helped. I'll try to give my issues in a respectful, kind way.

1. The romance. I felt that it was solely based on outward appearances and attraction. There were also several well described kisses in this book and because of that, I could not in good conscience hand this book off to a younger reader. I felt uncomfortable with it, myself. (There were also a few innuendos that I didn't appreciate.
2. One of the main side characters gets pregnant out of wedlock and the only remorse Cath feels is that she made the mistake of not waiting until marriage and not feeling ready to be a mother. That wasn't as big of an issue to me because Cath, who isn't a Christian, isn't going to understand sex outside of marriage according to Biblical terms. She only understands that it's wrong because of society. But when Annie, who is Cath's sister-in-law, who is supposed to be a strong Christian doesn't even have any thoughts on how the Bible commands that the marriage bed remain undefiled, that was frustrating to me. Anyway, that was quite disappointing to me.

3. When Annie runs away from her husband, another man falls in love with her. Nothing happens, but they go out alone together on social outings together a couple times and Annie sees nothing wrong with that. There was just quite a bit of indiscretion. Robert, the guy who falls in love with Annie, said that she was so very loyal to her seemingly unfaithful husband and wouldn't get a divorce, and that was one thing he greatly admired about her; yet he persists in taking her out! Ugh, and the thing is, I know Annie is upset with her husband and believes things are over with him, but she is still a married woman! She shouldn't have shown so much indiscretion.

Anyway, those were my main issues with this story. I did like the ending though, but I cannot in good conscience read this book again.

I give this book 2/5 stars.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself is a little typical/predictable, but it was really well written. I really liked the layout of the story with the first chapter starting at the end, then going back in time to the beginning of Annie's life, then working up to the beginning/end to finish out. That was cool to see how the different parts fell into place.

[Elaine]

4
424
397

[Kacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel, concluding after WWII in Indiana, traces 2 boy-next-door, girl-next-door relationships with the Victorian house as touchstone backdrop.

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happiness, sadness, and very well done. I really enjoyed reading this book about growing up and memories.