The Winding Road (Stone Shed  Trilogy 2) by John A Heldt-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 16, 2025

Southeast Pennsylvania, November 1777.

For Noah and Jake Maclean, the saga gets real. One year after the brothers entered a time portal and traded the computer age for the colonial age, they rush headlong into the American Revolution.

Noah, 23, rides off to war. Against the wishes of his fiancée, Abigail Ward, he joins the Continental Army as it retreats to Valley Forge. To improve his odds of surviving the rebellion, he brings modern knowledge and pistols, weapons that soon draw the attention of the enemy.

Jake, 16, stays behind. He helps furniture maker Samuel Ward and his family resettle in the country after the British seize Philadelphia. As he supports his newfound kin, he strengthens his relationship with Rachel Ward, Sam’s mischievous younger daughter.

The time travelers chart new courses in an era filled with violence, disease, and disruption. In doing so, they leave a mess for relatives tasked with reporting their disappearance.

As Douglas and Donna Maclean confront investigators and reporters in 2024, they do their best to carry out an elaborate ruse, guard an ancient family secret, and use the resources of the present to protect their nephews in the past.

In THE WINDING ROAD, the second book in the Stone Shed trilogy, two brothers find romance, danger, and adventure as they make their way in a world they were never meant to see.

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REVIEW:THE WINDING ROAD is the second instalment in John A Heldt’s adult STONE SHED historical, time-travel saga focusing on brothers Noah and Jake Maclean. THE WINDING ROAD should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up after the events of book one THE PATRIOT.

SOME BACKGROUND: Following the death of their grandfather in 2024, Noah and Jake Maclean receive a letter that will change their lives: a stone shed, and a portal through time finds the brothers journeying back and forth through the past, landing in Philadelphia in 1776 wherein the American Revolution is in full swing, and the brothers are about to change a little bit of history for love and heart.

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives including Noah and Jake, following a non-linear timeline, THE WINDING ROAD follows Noah Maclean as his enlists in General Washington’s army, and finds himself at the center of an historical anachronism when he brings the future back into the past, and sets into motion a potential betrayal. As part of their journey, the brothers are warned against changing history but the reality of historical knowledge and the ability to save lives with modern medicine is too tempting for Noah and Jake. Lives will be saved but suspicion is aroused when clues are left behind, and Noah unknowingly has a target on his back.

Meanwhile, Noah’s love Abigail Ward has been approached to aid in the war effort, as Noah’s brother Jake struggles to find himself while his brother goes to war.

The secondary and supporting characters include the return of Noah and Jake’s Uncle Doug and Aunt Donna ; Uncle Lachlan; sisters Abigail and Rachel Ward, as well as their parents Sam and Elizabeth; house servants Sarah, Flora and Fauna Jones.; General George Washington; Benedict Arnold, and several British soldiers.

THE WINDING ROAD is an historical, time travel story, blending fiction with fact, focusing on the Maclean brothers as they journey towards family, romance and love. The premise visits several timelines as the brothers travel through history in the hopes of saving the people they love. The characters are determined and dynamic; the romances are understated .

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one THE PATRIOTS

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy