The House of Stone and Ivy

by Anita Stansfield

Orphaned as children, Hennie and Lottie share an unbreakable friendship. Together, they suffered the horrors of orphanages and the workhouse, and now grown, they continue to rely on each other. When Lottie approaches Hennie about a possible position at a manor house, Hennie is eager to work alongside her dear friend. However, to secure their positions as stable hands, they will have to undergo a bold act of the women must disguise themselves as men. Upon arriving at the manor, Hennie is stunned. Her new position is at Ivy Manor—the beautiful estate where her mother was employed long ago and where Hennie was raised until her mother's death. Hennie has wonderful memories of her friendship with the son of the house, Jack, and is shocked and dismayed to learn he has vanished. Living in disguise at the manor allows her to gradually uncover the truth of Jack's disappearance and eventually find him. Both Hennie and Jack are thrilled to be reunited, and their friendship is renewed. Soon, their relationship blossoms . . . and threatens their determination to remain concealed. With so much at stake, will they be prepared to risk everything for love?

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Regency, Lds Fiction

280 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Anita Stansfield, the LDS market's #1 best-selling romance novelist, is an imaginative and prolific writer whose romantic stories have captivated her readers.

"With sales approaching a half million, Anita Stansfield has clearly found a niche in this market," said Nicole Martin, Publicist for Covenant Communications. "Her popularity stems from her ability to empathize with and write about the issues that LDS women deal with on a daily basis."

"I always write for women like me. It's through my interaction with other women that I've found there are some personal and emotional struggles that are typical," said Anita Stansfield. "I hope my writing makes women feel better about themselves and shows them these real problems can be solved through gospel principles."

Reviews

[Deanne Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a regency feel to it, it's a very different book than what I am used to reading.
I enjoyed the descriptive setting, it really had me picturing things as they were happening.
The plot was easy to follow but repetitive in areas and it did make the book drag.
The plot is unique to the regency era.
The book focuses on renewed friendship,trust,survival and romance.
The author writes about subjects we can all understand and empathize about.
Published January 1st 2019 by Covenant Communications.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t tell you just how much I LOVED this new one by Anita Stansfield! The characters are great, the setting is too, but my favorite thing about it was probably the plot. I loved the way it’s not a plot like I’ve ever seen in a Regency romance book.

This book opens with Hennie. Hennie is a young girl who serves in an inn. She doesn’t love her job, but she does have somewhere to live and food to eat. And she doesn’t have to sell herself to any man. But she’s not overly happy.

One day, a gentleman comes into the inn Hennie works in. He doesn’t seem like any other gentleman she’s ever met. Hennie is kind and serves him as she would any other man. But she’s in for a big surprise when she takes him to his room to rest. The “man” is none other than her missing best friend, Lottie. I loved that Lottie had come up with a respectable way to support herself. And then she went looking for Hennie to offer her the same.

Having these two women pose as men is way different than any plot of a Regency romance I’ve ever seen. I wondered how a romance would play into it, because the women weren’t telling anyone they weren’t men. The romance happened in a way I never would have expected. And I loved that.

This one had tons of twists and turns in the plot. I had no idea how things were going to work out, or at some points even if they would.

This one is such a fun regency romance! Make sure to read it!

[NaDell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book felt a little long and I can't tell for sure if it was because I took awhile to read it (just at work when there weren't customers over the last few weeks) or if it just kind of drags out a little bit.
Some parts are repetitive (and as my mother in law said one time, "Sometimes I repeat myself and sometimes I say the same thing over again.") It felt like that during quite a bit of the book. Despite that, the plot was actually well thought out and the story was good. It felt predictable, but sometimes that's kind of nice to read too. There were plot twists I didn't see coming as well, so it balanced out a bit.

[Hannah Landeen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this book because the premise was promising. However, it needs a lot more of “show don’t tell” and I quickly lost interest. It was long winded and everything goes too smoothly for all the characters. It needed more drama and foreshadowing and less redundant lengthy explanations.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stansfield has written another compelling tale of love and friendship versus greed and manipulation. Hennie is brought to Ivy Manor by her friend Lottie to work in the stables disguised as a man. Hennie is stunned to be back at Ivy Manor, the place she grew up as a child before being sent to an orphanage after her mother died. But she settles in and grows to like her life, despite the deception. She's surprised to discover that the heir to the manor, her old friend Jack, has disappeared. She wonders about him, but doesn't expect to ever see him again. But life has a way of surprising one sometimes and she finds herself not only discovering Jack's location, but re-establishing her friendship with him. But as their friendship grows into something stronger, they are left trying to find a way to be together in the face of the challenges that sent Jack running in the first place. The tale is an intriguing one full of interesting twists and turns as Jack and Hennie face some pretty big obstacles. I enjoyed this very much and recommend it to those who enjoy a well-told story of love and mystery.

[Crystal (Books Are Sanity!!!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this story is completely different from another other regency romance I have read. So I was drawn to the book just from that alone; add in a great cover and an author I have read for years and I was all in. Hennie and Lottie were best friends who grew up through the most difficult of circumstances, an orphanage and a workhouse. Now they are disguised as men working as stablehands in the very home that Hennie grew up in. So my thoughts are two fold. I like the story and how different it is from any other regency I have read. However, the author did a lot of telling what happens and what the characters think, instead of showing the reader. I had to do a lot of skipping over parts because it was tedious to read. I hate to say that because Stansfield is one of my favorite authors, but it was so difficult to read through parts where we were being told what the character thought instead of getting to peer into their mind and hear their thoughts. This is still a good story, it was just a little bit harder for me to get through. I received a copy of this book for free, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The House of Ivy and Stone by Anita Stansfield is a beautiful and well thought out story. Stansfield has written a unique plot that takes place in the regency era. It’s written in a way that regency romance novels are not typically written. This adds delightful twist and turns in this delightful story. Readers will enjoy this story focused on survival, friendship, trust, and romance. Stansfield’s stories never disappoint. Readers will definitely want to pick up this intriguing historical regency romance novel.

Genre: historical, regency, romance
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Publication date: January 1, 2019
Number of pages: 280

A review copy of this book was provided by Covenant Communications. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story of how 2 young women survive during a time of struggle.
Love the characters and descriptions.

[Maria Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the concept for this book. It was a very different story line that had potential to stand out as unique romance. The cover is beautiful and inviting. I liked the main characters though I wondered at how they could come out of their childhood experiences in as good a shape as they did.

The story is heavy on the Christian lit. The characters are strong believers that believe that God has a plan for them and they listen for promptings to guide them through the plan. For a while I felt like this made the story feel contrived but after I thought about it for a while I decided that sometimes life can be like this. Through out this story there is a problem, then there is a prompting and everything falls into place usually without much effort and the problem is solved. Then there is a new problem and the whole cycle repeats. It felt too easy and therefore contrived. But I thought about my husband's employment. Getting his job followed that same pattern too. Everything just fell into place and we felt it was all providential. I'm just not sure that the cycle constantly repeats in my life. Sometimes, but not constantly. So while I could argue that this could be a believable aspect of the story it still felt like too much.

There didn't ever seem to be negative consequences. - Lets pull a fast one at the local manor house and fool all of the community. Now we feel bad about it so we'll come clean. And then everyone just thinks it was all a fine joke. Nobody cared in a society that normally cared about gender differences and propriety. Surely someone would have a negative reaction to it besides the one snob.

But the biggest problem I had with the book was repetition. So much restating the same thoughts and dialog. It made the story drag out and ruined the pace. So while I liked the idea for this book it just didn't work for me like I hoped it would.

No sex or language
Violence: threats and reference to violence prior to the book timeline

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was probably my least favorite of the seven I read. The underlying story of Meri and her children escaping her cold in-law family is good. Of course, the in-law family is over-the-top bad. One of the things that bothers me here is that, since Meri’s four-year-old son is the heir to his father’s estate and title, she is made the custodian of all of that. That role would definitely have gone to her husband’s (evil) younger brother. Instead, Meri just takes her kids and leaves to her aunt and uncle’s home far away. And the in-laws never seem to follow-up or communicate with her or demand that she return in any way until the climax of the story. And her son is never referred to by anyone by his title.

As Meri is traveling to her aunt and uncle’s home, we’re told that she never felt especially close to any of her cousins. Later, we hear multiple times that she loves them all as sisters.

And oh my goodness, this book has more sobbing than all the other ones combined. That woman sobs multiple times a day.

In the end, when Meri marries again, it is a full church wedding, with a veil (rare in that time period), walking up the aisle, flower girl, etc. A woman’s second marriage was not treated like a first marriage in that time period.
On the good side: I like how Stansfield takes on both physical and emotional abuse and the terrible effects both of those have.

There’s a big plot twist in this one as well, but the reason behind it is much more purposeful and believable.

Possible objectionable material:
Physical and emotional abuse, unwed pregnancy, suicide, eating disorder, perilous situations.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2...

Thank you to Covenant communications and NetGalley for providing an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Gregandemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, thank you to the publisher and author for gifting me a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

My mom was a big fan of Anita Stansfield's LDS romance novels so I recognized her name on netgalley. I haven't read anything of hers in a long time and if I am being honest, found a lot of her novels to be the same story retold over and over again. It wasn't my cup of tea, but this title sounded different and I was looking forward to giving her a try again. This title was different from what I remember of her books in the past and was a pleasant read. It isn't an LDS or christian romance, however it is clean and appropriate for any reader. Two girls orphaned at young ages who meet in the orphanage and become family to each other. They make a pact to leave together and to support each other in every way they can, however they end up leaving the orphanage at different times and lose each other for awhile. When they find each other, one has come upon a good work situation for them both, but it requires the girls to pretend to be men as there are no jobs for women. While a little far-fetched of an idea, the story was well told to be a story you could go a long with and had interest in how it would all turn out. The story was predictable but enjoyable. I found it to be a nice light read that didn't require any thought - a historical beach read.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The House of Stone and Ivy" is a romance novel loosely set in 1808 in England. There were numerous historical details that were incorrect for this time period, but the story read more like a fairytale, anyway. The point of view was distant and omniscient, telling the reader what the various characters felt and what they did. There was a lot of telling what happened rather than showing events through scenes and dialogue, perhaps partly because several years pass during the story.

The characters were likable, and the romance was based on an enduring friendship. But the dialogue didn't flow naturally and often repeated what we were told they were thinking, which slowed the pace. There was little suspense because of the distant point of view and quick passage of time. We're quickly told how the potential problems turned out to not be problems. Only two people let their greed and self-interest prevent them from immediately forgiving and supporting the main characters. The only problem that was not solved quickly was the reason Jack was in hiding, and Hennie pushed him to face the conflict and find a solution. There were no sex scenes or bad language.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to look back at my ratings on the other regency era books I have read by Anita Stansfield to see if my thoughts on this latest book matched with my past experiences. I've realized I have grown a lot in my tastes and expectations in a well written historical fiction romance. I echo my thoughts on some previous reviews in that there is so much repetition and over explaining, along with unbelievable social and emotional responses to character thoughts and actions, that it's hard for me to truly engage with these books. I almost put this one down when I just had to start skimming to get through it but my curiosity to see how everything works out got the better of me. I know that Anita is a very popular author but her style of writing just doesn't seem to resonate with me. Her ideas in the few books I have read are often creative, but the execution is not to my taste.

[Rachel DeVaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! The story was interesting and fun to read and the characters were likeable. I especially loved Hennie and Lottie's friendship through out the entire book. Although they both had a terrible upbringings and past; they didn't let that define them or ruin their future. They continued to be kind, trustworthy, and hard workers which served them well later in life.

The story had some romance and drama but overall; it was just a good, clean, historical fiction book. Very well written-would recommend!

I received a copy of this book complimentary for blog and social media review. All opinions are my own.

[Luci Jamison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I liked the characters that were in the book. They were well developed. I loved the ones who I was supposed to like due to their strength and character. I loved the way they relied on faith to help them through hard times both past and present. I disliked the ones who are greedy and vain. The story had mystery and suspense. But it was a bit far fetched even for a fiction.
The way things happened were either very much true to the time period or a bit unbelievable in how they worked. The ending was a bit disappointing to me as there was more to be gained by the law...
I would recommend the story as a clean romance and mystery.

[Tami · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to enjoy reading Stansfield’s books, but this was not her best work. It was repetitive in spots similar to a sequel reminding of something from an earlier book in a series only it was from this book.

Some of the characters could’ve been developed more instead of the repetitious expository. Leticia would’ve seemed less of a caricature if she’d been seen more and talked about less.

Many elements of the story didn’t fit with the period. It fractured the story to put modern themes in the 1800s. The narrator’s accents could use some serious work, too.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't put it down. I grew attached the characters very quickly, Anita did a great job at making them personable and lovable. The story line was unique, different, and very clever. I only saw a few grammatical errors, none of which were anything major. Anita did a great job with this book. Way to go!

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was honestly hoping for a little more drama with the plot of this story. It would have also been nice if the secrets hadn’t all been revealed within the first half of the book. I’m glad that things were all happily ever after. But I think this story could have had a major dilemma, instead of the one that really made no difference and then the stupid ones that kept coming up at the end.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a normal Regency romance, but stylistically and expectedly written to feel like one. Repetition and introspective analysis left the story dragging in many areas. George comes out of nowhere in first person, like-what?! Class lines overlooked as they rarely would have been historically, but a nice story where plot lines all tie up nicely.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite of stanfields books. The secrets of identity and suppressed childhood memories were the mystery factor of this book, but it just didn’t get a emotional connection or reaction from me like I’d hoped.

[Debra England · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from Anita

I loved this book. It was fast moving. And full of real life emotions. Anita again shows how no matter the issues we face in life a positive attitude has a profound effect on the outcome. Thanks Anita. I can't wait for your next book.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The characters were likable and grew throughout the book. However, it seemed like the author was trying to make the book longer by repeating the same ideas over and over. For me, that slowed the plot down and made it less enjoyable. I did like the ending.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure if the legalities of Jack having to follow his fathers will or give up his inheritance and title. I can see the inheritance and even the estate if not entailed but not the title itself. This was a great story otherwise but I would say too wordy and too long.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to get into this book. I really did. I wanted to like it. Ugh. The storyline was totally unrealistic and really slow and I wasn't able to connect with the characters at all. I'm giving this book 2 stars, but only because I didn't finish it.

[Jackie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! I loved every minute of it! It keep my interest and I would suggest this book

Five star 🌟rating! I loved reading this book! I would suggest this book to anyone! Keep my interest and all!

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

1808 In England, Anita Stansfield write a unique storyline of struggles, trust, romance, full of details, suspense and romance. from the start of Henriettas' life at Ivy Manor until the end of the novel, her life is so full of fear, adventure, maturing growth and romance.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this story. The characters were well developed and played a good role in the story. I enjoyed the way it progressed with just the right amount of mystery and suspense but not over the top.
Very enjoyable.
Clean with no language.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book!

[Kiersti Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow. Wordy.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story! Anita Stansfield is a great story teller!