Really enjoyed this book. Great plot and engaging, believe characters. I was drawn right into the story. Would definitely recommend.

The women pretending to be men premise is justified here. It’s not just for fun; it’s a matter of survival. Jack’s reason to disappear is a little more far-fetched and once again, the antagonist is cartoonishly bad.

I enjoyed the way Jack accidentally revealed his true identity to Hennie, and his reunion with his brother. The resolution of the problem was a little less believable, but definitely effective. I enjoyed side characters like Lottie and Zeke in this one; generally Stansfield’s side characters are a bit less well-developed.

There is a little bit of a time kerfluffle here, as Lottie becomes pregnant before Hennie, but Hennie’s baby is born first.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Lottie turned to prostitution to survive before she returns to Hennie’s life. Deception. Hardship. Men make passes at Hennie as she works in a tavern.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2023/08/author-focus-anita-stansfield.html
Thank you to Covenant Communications and NetGalley for providing advanced reader copies in exchange for my honest opinion.

Anita Stansfield is I of my all time favorite authors! I have read almost everyone of her books. This one stay true to my expectations. The flow was great and it was a page turner!

The House of Stone and Ivy by Anita Stansfield has lots of potential. As a historical romance the story was intriguing.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

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.

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 deception: 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?

The House of Stone and Ivy was just an okay read for me. I had a hard time getting into it. I give it two and a half stars.

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.

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 and seemed to have more of a fairy tale feel where all problems are easily resolved. But I had a problem the repetition of the same thoughts and dialog through out the book. 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.

This story almost——but not quite——had a kind of regency fairy tale vibe to it. I liked all the characters. The storyline seemed to have just a little bit too much in it at the end, but I enjoyed it anyway. I was hoping that Hattie and Jack would find their happily-ever-after. It was an interesting story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I am a fan of Anita Stansfield and always enjoy her books, but I struggled a little with this story. I liked the premise of the book and I did enjoy the characters. But it took me awhile to read and I had trouble keeping interested.

Hennie and Lottie were close friends when they were in the same orphanage and workhouse. They separated afterward, but Lottie soon was able to track Hennie down to explain how she found work posing as a man. Hennie is glad to leave the job she had in order to join her, though she is increasingly nervous when she realizes it is the manor home she had lived in with her mother prior to her death. No one recognized Hennie, and she is able to pull off the deception, even making friends. It turns out that the blacksmith is her former childhood friend, also in disguise. They grow even closer and decide that their path forward eventually includes honesty for everyone

House of Stone and Ivy is a very sprawling novel, spanning several years from beginning to end. We're often told what the characters think and feel instead of inferring it for ourselves, but the relationships do flow naturally. It doesn't feel clunky at all and does portray the difference in social classes. Even among servants, there is a divide, one that Lottie and Hennie feel keenly as women and as men. The play-acting lets us explore masculine and feminine roles as well as class. Even though Jack is of a higher class than Hennie and Lottie, they weren't the titled members of the ton that are usually written about in Regency romance novels. The family did have a lot of money, and there is scheming from another family to get the property and finances, so that would be familiar.

There aren't any sex scenes or bad language, and hardly even any kissing. The romance is born of friendship, not sexual desire, so don't expect any grand declarations of death-defying passion. Hennie and Jack talk about God's will and forgiveness a lot, especially given the hurts that Jack's father had been the cause of. Friendship and love endure in this novel, and it wins out over greed only because of patience and last minute deals to show characters' true colors.

This book has everything-lost heir of the manor, murders, deceit & romance. It was almost too much packed into one story. I found it hard to believe that women would be able to pass as men in that time period, but it was a fun read anyway. It ended well with a nice HEA ending for almost all of the characters and supporting cast.

Henrietta Wood was eleven when her mother died and she was sent to an orphange. While there she met her best friend, Lottie. When they were old enough they were sent to the workhouse. These were dismal and depressing places. But the two girls kept each other sane. They escaped from the workhouse and became separated. Hennie lived in a small room where the roof leaked and her employer worked her hard and did not allow her to sit and eat. But she and Lottie did finally hook up. Jack Hannaford was the heir, in his father's will he tried to force Jack into a horrible marriage. He ran and disguised himself, waiting for that woman to marry, The father created a lot of heartache for his children. He berated and demeaned them. The author did a wonderful job on this tale, it moved smoothly and was easy to read , even though it is somewhat of a complicated novel. I loved it, the interactions of the characters, their engaging quality and the kindness that they displayed. I enjoyed watching Jack and Hennie's relationship grow.

The House of Stone and Ivy by Anita Stansfield. Covenant Communications, 2018.

Set in early 1800s England, this story takes place over several years as Hennie and Lottie, friends first in an orphanage then a workhouse, successfully disguise themselves as men to work as grooms on an estate so they can avoid problems experienced by young women on their own. This is intertwined with a second plot: the heir of the estate must marry a woman he actively dislikes or forfeit his inheritance. As the story unfolds, we meet another of Hennie’s childhood friends, a fairy tale romance develops, and a secret buried by childhood trauma is revealed to save the day. It is an interesting premise for this atypical Regency era romance.

Although I found this an engaging and enjoyable story, at times I was distracted by twists, turns and loose ends that tied up in ways that were not quite believable - not that many regency romances are - and writing that seemed to shift from the third person to the second person perspective, becoming more like a documentary and less like a story that flowed well.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of The House of Stone and Ivy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

(posted to Amazon, link to follow)

I really gave this book a shot, but it definitely wasn't for me.

I thought it was an interesting premise, in which the main character (Hennie) is reunited with her best friend (Lottie). They have survived an orphanage and workhouse together, and Lottie comes to Hennie's current place of employment (an inn) with the offer of a new life where Lottie is currently employed. The catch is that they must both be disguised as men. When Hennie arrives at her new job, she realizes it's her mother's old home and where she grew up.

That said, there was way too much exposition and info-dumping at the beginning of the book. We start with Hennie's regular life of employment and reuniting with Lottie very quickly, but there is just so much information given that really slows down the pacing. I didn't feel connected to the characters at all, even though I knew I was supposed to be caring about the women's shared hardships. There was also this strange thing of characters literally repeating themselves, despite saying the same thing in a different way either in dialogue or in Hennie's inner monologue.

I made it about 20% in, but I didn't like the execution or pacing. I think it might have been a lovely historical novel, but it was hard to connect with it.

The House of Stone and Ivy was not my favorite by Anita Stanfield. I liked it enough to keep reading but the characters never really came alive for me. They were perhaps too good. They needed a few more flaws to make them truly lovable. The premise is fun — two friends who dress like men to find “respectable” work. The story line moved well and the romance was sweet. In short, it was good — just not great.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review. The opinions expressed are my own.*

"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.

Hennie and Jack were the type of people I would have hoped to befriend if I were living in England during their time. Hennie and Lottie spent most of their childhoods in orphanages and a workhouse, and when they finally escape, make their way to an old manor house that Hennie actually lived in with her mom before she became an orphan. While at the house, they were forced to disguise themselves as men in order to get jobs as stable hands and provide for themselves.

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 deception: the women must disguise themselves as men.

Upon arriving at the manor, Hennie is stunned to learn that her best friend from childhood, Jack, has vanished. And through various circumstances in the book discovers what led to his disappearance and eventually finds him.

The question is, if whether they are reunited, can they find love and can it survive?