Wild Grows the Heather in Devon (Secrets of Heathersleigh Hall/Michael Phillips, 1)

Rating:
Summary: Heathersleigh Hall Series
Review: I approached reading the series by Michael Philips on Heathersliegh Hall with interest. I had read his two book series entitled Caledonia and found the story fascinating and captivating.
I started reading the Hethersleigh Series in early November 2003. I couldn't stop and had all four books finished by mid January 2004. I'm a mother of two year old triplets who doesn't have a lot of time on her hands so to say I read all those and kept up my home is a miracle!
The books were fabulous, captivating, intriguing, and very moving. I laughed and cried. I hadn't had a book move me to tears in a long time!
I'm amazed at the depth of informaion and detail Mr. Philips put into these books. I highly recommend this series to everyone!

Rating:
Summary: Heathersleigh Hall Series
Review: I approached reading the series by Michael Philips on Heathersliegh Hall with interest. I had read his two book series entitled Caledonia and found the story fascinating and captivating.
I started reading the Hethersleigh Series in early November 2003. I couldn't stop and had all four books finished by mid January 2004. I'm a mother of two year old triplets who doesn't have a lot of time on her hands so to say I read all those and kept up my home is a miracle!
The books were fabulous, captivating, intriguing, and very moving. I laughed and cried. I hadn't had a book move me to tears in a long time!
I'm amazed at the depth of informaion and detail Mr. Philips put into these books. I highly recommend this series to everyone!

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed the book immensly!
Review: I enjoyed this book very much and am waiting for the series to be finished before I pass full judgement. I was able to identify with Jocelyn Rutherford as she struggled to accept her physical deformity. I found the book to be interesting, especially for people who enjoy learning about different time periods and lifestyles. I heartily recommend this book to woman who enjoy reading a long series, as I do. Michael Phillips always gives you your moneys worth - don't you just hate short stories?!

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous historical novel filled with spiritual insight
Review: I got this book because I love history. The more I read of it the more I came to realize that Mr. Phillips has touched on nearly every problem that is common to us today in a very powerful way. This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to think about the wisdom of God and why He does things. I am truly grateful to Mr. Phillips for the depth of understanding of human nature he has show here.

Rating:
Summary: I was disappointed at the lack of plot development.
Review: I just finished this novel. In the end, I was forcing myself to read the book in hopes that the plot would actually develop beyond the very subtle hints dropped throughout the voluminous pages. I must confess, I learned more about heather plants than about the secrets of Heathersleigh Hall. Nonetheless, I will give the next book in the series a chance in hopes that the many nuggets of possible golden plots will be fully mined by the author as the series progresses.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to finish
Review: Michael Phillips is one of my favorite authors, but he usually always gets too wordy in his novels. This one is no exception. There are a few places in the book, though, that kept me reading, hoping that I would actually find out the well-kept secret. I would think that secret would have been revealed in this book of the trilogy. The lessons learned are quite good, though, but the explanation is often monotonous, repetitive, and boring. As I start the second book in this series, it picks up quite a bit. It even fills you in on everything that happened in the first. Wish I would have started on the second! Anyways, be warned that the book is a hard to get into, but the Christian values and attitudes are wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed this book immensely!
Review: Mr. Phillips does a marvelous job of beginning to re-tell the parable,'The Prodigal Son'. One of the many things I enjoyed about the book was the time setting and place. It proves that children of the early 20th century had many of the some problems children have today (rebellion and wanting to belong to society). Amanda Rutherford and her family struggle through everyday challenges as they adapt to the newly adopted Christian life-style. As Amanda tries to pull away from her parents, they pray strongly for her to choose the Lord Jesus as her best-friend. With the "Suffragette Movement" in full-swing, Amanda is anxious to join in with it with a dream to change te world! Her parents and siblings watch to see what will happen as they continue to pray faithfully.... I have already recommended this book to many friends, and I hope you will read and enjoy it to!

Rating:
Summary: Terrific Book!
Review: This book is wonderful! Not only does it capture the true flavour of the times (the Technological Revolution in England) but it gives you a whole host of characters to learn about and love. The story of how Charles and Jocelyn Rutherford discover Christianity will inspire you. Make sure you read every book in this series!