Heather’s Bookshelf: The Winding Road
Author: John A. Heldt
Released: 04/16/25
Genre: Historical Fiction/Time Travel
“As he did, he set aside the ethics, morality, and even the wisdom of killing men with a vastly superior weapon. He focused instead on doing a job that would bring him closer to Abby and America closer to freedom.”
“The Winding Road” is book 2 of the Stone Shed Series. However, this book will be reviewed as a standalone novel. The story follows Noah and Jake Maclean, two brothers who used a family-protected time portal back to 1777 from 2024 Philadelphia.
The story picks up one year after the brothers fell in love with the Ward sisters (Abigail and Rachel)and decided to stay with their new family during the American Revolution. After the British attacked Abigail and Rachel, Noah decided he must act. Against the wishes of everyone he loves, including his new fiancée Abigail, Noah leads a group of men from Philadelphia to join General Washington’s army. He takes with him the knowledge of the future as well as a few other things…
Jake stays behind with the Wards. Feeling guilty and useless, he tries to find every advantage to help his brother- even if he has to time travel again. Their Aunt and Uncle watch the brother’s choices from the future and try to manage what they can. But will anyone be able to save the brothers or their families from the consequences of their choices or will their pasts finally catch up with them?
Trigger Warning: violence, war-time death, reference to sexual assault, sexual situations
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It’s is a combination of several genres. There’s scifi from the time travel aspect, historical fiction from the settings/years, and romance. The story is told through many POVs including our main protagonists of Jake and Noah. The young men are loving, kind, smart, and driven. Their love for each other, the women in their lives, and their families shines off the pages. I enjoyed how the author hinted at differences between the couples and their interactions with the younger couple acting in a much more naive way to the older siblings (having already been through immense loss), even though both were lovely in their own way. Each relationship moves forward with consequences for all involved. Each of the main ancillary characters adds a lot of heart to the story including the officer Noah reports to-Jasper. He’s trustworthy, honorable, and witty- a great addition to the ensemble. The pacing is a bit slow at times especially when moving between and during battles. However, the different POVs help with moving it forward. The ending somehow wraps up this portion of the story while clearly leaving an opening for a third segment. Not a fan of cliffhangers, but I would love to find out what happens to the Maclean Brothers.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A time-travel/historical fiction sequel focused on family, choices, and consequences. Intriguing characters and poignant historical events underscore family love.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with John A. Heldt
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Find it for purchase here
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