Justice is not free...someone must pay.

What an incredible book, certainly one you will not put down until you have finished, so be sure you have no other plans for your day! Oliver Ward finds himself in Dartmoor Prison for a crime he did not commit. Figuring the only way out of this situation is to escape and then clear his name, he starts to plan. That is when things start to get very difficult. Maggie Lee is living at the end of the moor incognito, having run away from a promising career for reasons yet to be discovered.

Between danger and intrigue the mystery surrounding these wonderful characters starts to unfold. Will the revenge they seek bring them happiness in the end? As they try to resolve their difficulties they begin to realize that the justice they so earnestly seek must be paid by someone, just as God nailed those injustices on the One who did not deserve it. They must resolve relationships before justice can happen. I loved the growth and change seen in Oliver and also Barrow, the Constable. The author shows that repentance is the key to real change.

This copy was received through Barbour Publishing, NetGalley and CelebrateLit. The comments and impressions are my own and were in no way solicited.

Why I was surprised when I couldn't put this book down, I don't know. I have read and enjoyed so many of this authors stories. I love the way Michelle just takes you right into the story from the very first pages. For a short time you can leave your troubles and worries behind. Michelle gives us adventure, mystery, family, faith and a wonderful love story. Not just the one between Maggie Lee and Oliver Ward, but one between father and son and also between two wrongly accused sell mates. I would highly recommend this new book by Michelle Griep, you will not be disappointed. I received a copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

•°o•:*:•.WELL TOLD, BUT DARK.•:*:• o°•

A well told story but with a great deal of darkness.
For me, the darker side of the story is heavy laden and lingering even after resolution. Yes, God is woven throughout, but so is evil. While I realize we live in great darkness every day, I personally prefer stories that do not remind me of that fact so keenly. I am a fan of this author and I did like the two main characters, especially how each one championed the less fortunate.
Set in 1861, England

Favorite Quote: “If we are not faithful in the small things, we will not be found faithful in the large.”

A Rather Heated Quote 😳:
"My own traitorous hand rises to press against his, and I tell myself it is merely to reassure this man who’s been through so much in the past nine months. But that’s a lie. I want to feel his strong fingers, to give in to this foreign desire urging me to know more of him in ways I’ve never experienced."

I received an eCopy from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review with no further compensation or expectation. All opinions expressed are my own.

***Reviews will be posted to AMZN, B&N, BooksAMillion, CBD, Goodreads, Kobo, my blog: BlieJeansAndTeacups.blohspot.com

A great storyline and atmosphere, well written characters and a plot that flows: these elements are what makes this story an engrossing and entertaining read.
I liked this story and I recommended it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Michelle Griep is a masterful wordsmith to be sure, and I was quickly drawn in to this story by the isolated, old house on the moor and the heroine wistfully reading Jane Eyre. However, it seems not much time was spent in that house and the ensuing tale was disappointing. I found myself in a twixt 'tween the two—being bored and wanting to skim—or my heart racing because of the quandary the main characters were in.

The romance fell flat as did my connection with the hero and heroine. I really wanted to love this story as Ms. Griep is one of my fave authors, but unlike many other readers, it just didn't happen for me. The wonderful conclusion rather redeemed the novel, however, with a few twists and turns, and a spiritual thread of love, redemption, and forgiveness.

*I received a copy of this novel by Barbour Publishing via NetGalley and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.*

I absolutely enjoyed reading 'The House at the End of the Moor' and would rate it as one of my favourite reads this year. This book had me hooked from the first page until the last. In fact, i didn't really want it to end! I seldom write what the story is about as i prefer one to read the book for themselves, but i can highly recommend. I am hoping to read more titles by Michelle Griep.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review which i have voluntarily given.

Michelle Griep enters 2020 with a brand new book full of the things I love--Regency England, romance, and intrigue, to name just a few. Reminiscent of Julie Klassen, especially her latest book Bridge to Belle Island, the story nevertheless stands on its own and made me eager to read or reread more of Michelle's books.

I think the best part of this story was, I never quite knew where it was going to go. For example, Oliver and Maggie lay all their cards on the table pretty early, so to speak. I left myself wondering, "Okay, what are we gonna do for the next 200 pages? Where did all the secrets and intrigue go?" However, Michelle did not disappoint. The House at the End of the Moor isn't heavy on classic plot twists, but the characters make enough unexpected moves that you stay on your toes throughout. Even knowing who the villains were almost from the beginning, I stayed invested, especially since Maggie and Oliver were so often one wrong move away from devastation at the hands of said villains. I love it when villains are defeated despite being on exactly the right track.

Michelle's characters remain as memorable as always, and their motivations are multifaceted and realistic. I especially appreciated the interplay, romantic and otherwise, between our two lead characters. The scene where they banter in the carriage is probably my favorite, but I also love the scene where Maggie meets Oliver's father, the Hawk of Crown Court. I rooted for her as she cajoled Oliver to make amends with his father while examining her own paternal relationship and achieving spiritual growth.

In fact, the spiritual thread in The House at the End of the Moor is the strongest I've seen from Michelle Griep in awhile. Neither Oliver nor Maggie have reason to trust or even acknowledge God, yet they come to find His love for them in a well-paced, organic way. I loved the contrast between our just, yet gracious God and the evil Barrow, who personifies what happens when legalism and self-righteousness are stirred with vengeance and taken to dangerous levels. I hated him...but I loved to hate him. The same is true for Mr. Groat, who even down to his name will inspire revulsion.

The suspenseful, adventurous elements balance well with quiet moments of character growth. For instance, the reason for Oliver's strained relationship with his father broke my heart, but I also loved their late night conversation in the study, so fraught with tension, love, and attempts at love that have not been communicated well. The suspense of Maggie's final performance works beautifully against her realization that she is her own woman and can be free and safe on her terms and God's.

Since I did read an early copy, there are some issues. Spacing is a big one. It often looks like this: ."Then he said..." or, "Yes.I think..." There are also some issues with line spacing, hyphens, and the like that need to be cleaned up, as well as some lettering that is inexplicably bolded or italicized. Otherwise though, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and want to read more like it.

Filled with mystery, intrigue, dastardly characters and romance, The House at the End of the Moor
follows both Maggie and Oliver in their search for truth and freedom from their past.

Both innocent, their paths entwine to discover the truth behind Oliver's incarceration and Maggie's forced disappearance from society.

The House at the End of the Moor is a truly enjoyable read with well-developed characters and plot.

Delightful read!
Michelle Griep's writing ability takes you on a little vacation to another time, another place.
The main characters in this book have integrity and as they experience several challenging situations they listen to the whisper of the Holy Spirit to guide them and thus change them from the inside out. It not only changes them but has a ripple effect on the lives of others.
I enjoyed the story line and the intrigue that surrounded how Oliver came to need refuge and who is Maggie and why is she living almost alone at the end of the moor?

Lovely historical romance. Well-written, but I am not a fan of the writing style execution. The language used is not as "poetic" as it could be and the story, after the first half, had a strange flow. It became stilted and stiff for a few chapters before getting back to normal. The end, where all "Christy" award authors decide to write "the sermon" is platitudinal (my word). It strikes as false when it's plopped into the book at the end. The reader understood that the father & son made amends, or the bad guy became a good guy, without the Bible wrap-up. Except for a few glitches, good story. Liked the premise.

The characters are great! I love how well Griep describes settings as well. The only thing that I did not enjoy was the shift in point-of-view.....I found it a bit off-putting. Great story, though!

This was an interesting read. It was well done but it just lacked depth for me. It was also a bit slow but it was interesting. Others may enjoy it very much.

This author has a unique voice and I always enjoy the stories she weaves. Her talented writing pulls me back in time and for a history buff, it's a special treat. Although set many years ago the themes addressed in the book are current and enduring. Not only are societal issues tackled, the importance of faith, family relationships, and the heart of a person shine bright in this novel..
" But I fear you judge the wealthy too harshly. Not all who are rich are self-centered money-mongers, just as not all who are poor are virtuous. Having lived amongst both the rich and the needy, I find it is the heart of the person that makes the man, not the amount of coin in his pocket."

Seriously, Michelle Griep’s books are wonderful, this one included. Maggie and Oliver were both deeper characters than who they were initially introduced to us as. They were each hiding a secret, which tied their stories together even more when it came out. The development of the stories and their relationship, both as two people who grew to trust each other first then developing into a deeper connection, were all done at a perfect pace to keep me interested and be realistic at the same time. There was a nice theme of redemption and forgiveness of one character in particular towards the end also wrapped this up without ever feeling too overpowering.

This book is amazing!

No, really -- it truly is. I enjoy reading historical romance novels set in the 18th to 19th centuries, but many feel the same. The characters change, the settings change, but the plot, for the most part, stays constant.

This book broke the cycle in the best of ways. "The House at the End of the Moor" contains a refreshingly original and fast-paced plot with a strong cast of memorable characters. We see strong growth as the plot progresses, ride out a few twists and turns, duck a few curve balls, enjoy the redemption of seemingly irredeemable characters and ultimately land right in the middle of a satisfyingly happy ending. The closest title I can think of would be Les Misérables, but there are only faint similarities to the main plot.

Michelle Griep masterfully sets the stage on page one and she doesn't let up for the entire story. I felt like I was right in the middle of the Moor with Oliver and Maggie. We feel Oliver's anguish as he watches his friend suffer in prison and we cringe at the pain caused by the efforts of a misguided constable (think Paul persecuting the Christians -- you wouldn't be too far off). We feel the tension between Oliver and his father thanks to their cargo-hold's worth of past emotional baggage. And, yes - we also get to watch interest gradually take root and grow between our two main characters in the sweetest of ways.

Blush factor: squeaky clean
Violence: a fair amount of light violence, with somewhat graphically described injuries
Language: again, squeaky clean

I wholeheartedly recommend this title and look forward to re-reading it myself at a later date.

Thank you, publisher and author, for granting an advance copy of this title in exchange for a review! All opinions expressed are my own.

This was an intriguing book to read. It had a good plot, interesting characters enough to keep me reading. The life of prisoners in Dartmoor was well written giving an insight of what they had to endure. The two main characters were strong and it was nice that the book had a happy ending after all the things they went through. I recommend you to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I really want to like this book. It's historical fiction, which I really enjoy, and it's also Christian fiction. But the big problem for me is the writing style. I've said this many times, but when you have multiple narrators but only one is first person, that one is singled out to be more important. It's also really distracting and breaks the immersion whenever it switches. In this case it's even more of a dissonance because it's first-person present tense and the third-person is past tense. But it doesn't even switch off every chapter; sometimes it switches within the chapter itself. That makes it really hard to stay engaged in what's happening.

I'm still giving this a good rating because the atmosphere is really good. I'm just finding it hard to focus on the story when the style switches so drastically.

Brava!
Every time I think Michele Griep's writing is at its peak, she comes out with something even better than anything she's written before. Everything about this book- the intrigue, the story premise, the historical content, and the crafting of her words- has been beefed up. I highly recommend!
This book was provided to me by the publisher, but as always, my opinions are my own.

Great read. It truly was a beautiful read.
I loved how the characters grew up and all for the better and forgiveness for others.

A very well written inspirational romance with a bit of suspense. Great plot, setting and well developed characters. I highly recommend this book. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.