Road to Magnolia Glen

The Road to Magnolia Glen

Historical fiction fans will agree this is a five star series. I read The Road to Magnolia Glen, Book #2 in the Natchez Trace series . After just a few pages, I was digging into additional resources to find out more about Mississippi’s Natchez Trace. Its historical value is so vital that it is has been designated a National Parkway, managed by the National Park Service. A historical fiction book is always a winner when it prompts readers to go looking for more.

The immigrant experience is featured in this book. Natchez located on the Mississippi River is a crossroads of commerce. Immigrants with little means arrive as indentured servants and agree to work off the costs of their ocean passage. This story follows some indentured servants and others who arrived free of service obligations. A main character, Quinn O’Shea is a freeman ready to embark on a bright future. His intention is to unload his two younger siblings on his older brother and then strike out on his own. But Kiera Young, an indentured immigrant, wins his heart and his plans follow a different path.

Pam Hillman’s female characters are stars. Both Kiera and Isabella are problem solvers and resourceful. Readers will develop empathy for the colonial women’s plight, when they read about the obstacles these females must overcome. Kiera boards at Isabella’s plantation home and launches a stand where travelers along the Trace can secure food and modest lodgings. Stands along the Trace historically sprung up at intervals of a day’s travel. Kiera establishes a popular stand frequented by Trace travelers, as well as the loggers and field hands employed by Isabella and Connor at Breeze Hill Plantation.

Isabella and Connor are a couple that will capture your heart. They plan together, work together for common goals, and balance each other out in a charming way.

The cast of secondary characters drive the threats that have the potential to derail everything. A distraught father seems determined to harm Kiera’s sister because he holds her responsible for his son’s middle of the night elopement. The young couple’s disappearance sets in motion a search and rescue mission. The outcomes are likely to be vastly different based on who finds the couple first. The lecherous tavern keeper, Pierre Le Bonne, and his henchmen persist as ominous threats from beginning to end. Fans of inspirational historical romance will eagerly await the next installment in this series. I received a complimentary advanced reader’s copy from Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. in exchange for my honest review.