Moonlight on the Millpond

Tucker Mills Trilogy #1

by Lori Wick

Welcome to 1839 Tucker Mills, Massachusetts! Can Jace simultaneosly manage a new job, romance---and his interfering sister? As indentured servant Reese works toward her liberty, should she keep her heart free? And when widowed Dannan takes over his uncle's medical practice, will single fatherhood be too big a pill to swallow? 3-Volume Set includes: Moonlight on the Millpond, Tucker Mills Trilogy Series #1 / Just Above a Whisper, Tucker Mills Trilogy Series #2 / Leave a Candle Burning, Tucker Mills Trilogy Series #3

Genres: Christian Fiction, Christian, Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian Romance, Historical

285 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Lori Wick is known as one of the most versatile Christian fiction writers on the market today. From pioneer fiction to a series set in Victorian England to a contemporary novel, Lori's books (over 5 million in print) continue to delight readers and top the Christian bestselling fiction list. Lori and her husband, Bob, live in Wisconsin with "the three coolest kids in the world."

Reviews

[Mayda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as some Lori Wick’s other works, this novel is predictable and trite at times. Because it is Christian fiction, some references to the Bible and religious beliefs are to be expected. But Ms. Wick went beyond the pure religious aspect and added in her own beliefs in theology. Long dialogues about the ineffectiveness of infant baptism in God’s eyes offended me. Thinly disguised disgust of the evils of drinking and the evils of controlling women were unneeded and over done. Shallow characters and a thin plot added little to like about this first book of a trilogy.

[Beth F · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was confusing.

For the most part, the entire book is written in short segments that range from a couple of paragraphs in length up to an entire page. Occasionally some would clock in at 1.5 to 3 pages in length before switching to the next group of characters and/or settings which was distinguished with a curlicue-thing. In fact it wasn't uncommon for 2-4 curlicues to appear on each double page spread. That's a heck of a lot of head hopping.

There were 8 key characters. I don't feel like going back to check but I'm pretty sure all 8 of them were introduced in the first chapter. The problem with this was that at first, the reader has no idea the relation between any of these people and it's hard enough remembering which name goes with each setting and set of characteristics let alone care that two of them are mfeo and slated to fall in love.

It didn't take too long to figure out who was who and what was what but by then I was already annoyed and convinced that I was reading yet another crappy Christian fiction novel. Call it predestination.

Quick, somebody call John Calvin.



****mild spoilers past this point****



Maddie, the female romantic lead, is apparently so sensitive to the effects of alcohol that after taking three swallows of something from a flask, she blacks out and doesn't remember sharing a kiss with Jace, the male romantic lead. And as if that wasn't bad enough, later on when Jace and Maddie are married, she blacks out again after drinking two glasses of champagne and doesn't remember giving it up to her new husband... Um, really?

So anyway, by the time the two ludicrous alcohol-induced blackouts ocurred, I was already rolling my eyes and doing some mental "gag me with a spoon" moves so I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was.

It’s a stupid thing to get hung up on and not like it really matters that there is a wide and varied middle ground in between sobriety and a blacked out drunken stupor, but I can’t help it.

I was given this entire trilogy so I’ll likely continue on and read the next two—I mean, they can’t be any worse, can they?

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I am a fan of christian historical romance fiction, this was a very good, quick read for me. It is facinating to "watch" as people find out how good their lives can be when they invite God to be the center of their lives. This journey for Jace and Maddie, and even Jace's sister Eden, to find God and to discover on their own a faith in Him, is wonderful. The storyline has had a few twists that even I was not ready for, so it was a great surprise and a joy to read.

[Shantelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet Lori Wick book to help me out of my reading slump! Moonlight on the Millpond was a rather quick and easy read, with endearing characters and a meaningful theme. I usually enjoy this author's work, and I certainly did this time. Set in the 1830s, it focuses on a few different couples, but mainly on Jace Randall and Maddie Shepard. Young love, betrayal, new beginnings, a hunger for truth, and just life - Lori Wick's books have a special, charming, realistic touch to them. They usually leave me with lingering musings about life and my faith.
I'm looking forward to reading more about Jace and Maddie in the second book in the TUCKER MILLS TRILOGY.

[alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author has a really interesting (in a weird way) writing style. I’m not sure if it’s just this book or all books in general; but I was SO lost. Essentially, the entire book is written in little snippets that are sometimes a paragraph and other times 4 pages. I was confused for 1/4 of the book and couldn’t establish any of the characters in my head and who was who. After I figured things out, the story was pretty good. However, the amount of excessive or unnecessary things that happened quite literally overwhelmed me. By the end of the book, although I was happy Jace and Maddie were together, I was so bored of their dull characters since they both lowkey lacked an actual personality.

Some other points of critique-
1. You cannot get blackout drunk on TWO glasses of champagne. You literally cannot. It’s not possible unless you weigh like 4 pounds and didn’t eat for 3 weeks. Is the author condoning or reasoning with alcohol usage? I don’t understand.
2. The fact that her first kiss with Jace, her wedding, and her LITERAL wedding night was when she was “blackout drunk?” Hello? Is the author feeling alright? I cringed so hard a few times I almost threw up.
3. The plot holes- did Maddie ever get baptized or actually accept Jesus? It seems as if she just reached ‘happiness.’ I’m confused.
4. Who the dump is the printer’s wife and why did she leave him? That was such a random part of like the VERY LAST CHAPTER????
5. I love cringe romance books but this was sooooo cringy. I have never read the word naughty so many times in a CHRISTIAN novel??? Cringe.
6. Is Eden in love with her brother? Be honest. Cringe!


Otherwise, chill vibes. I liked Jace a lot mostly because his name is hot and he sounds hot. Maddie is a sensitive little baby and I don’t like her at all. Eden’s whole transformation thing was kinda weird but whatever, God bless her, I guess????

I’m gonna read more of this author’s work because there’s no way she’s actually this awful at writing. I will choose to believe that some books are just flops.

[Joanie Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all of Lori Wick’s books, and this one was no exception. However, I don’t believe this is one of my favorites

What I liked: I loved the small town setting and the insight into what life was like in the “western days.” I also liked the natural questions Maddie asked about spiritual things. She had never been taught that heaven existed or how to prepare for death, and her pastor talked around the answers, never satisfying her hunger. The natural progression of her doubts were believable and answered many questions an unbeliever might like to know about hell, death, and heaven.

What I didn’t like: The characters could have used a little more development, and the story was somewhat predictable. There was also the unresolved question at the end of the book, whether Jace and Maddie would ever come to believe in God and accept his love.

Although it might not compare in quality to some of her other books, it was nevertheless an enjoyable read, and I still consider her one of my favorite authors.

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too much Christians judging other Christians as going to hell because they have different beliefs. blech

The main characters weren't terribly likeable either, especially Maddie. And come one, two glasses of champagne is not going to make anyone black out and forget what they did that night. Has the author ever drank alcohol or did she just want to write something that would serve as a warning to its evils? Ridiculous!

Didn't like this one at all.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting Wick book to read...different than her others in that both of the main characters were not 'saved' as they usually are in her books. It made for a little deeper characters, more growth through the book.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I usually like Christian fiction. I thought that Eden was a completely unbelievable character. Who acts that way? The main couple had issues but never talked to each other about them. It was ridiculous. I did like the Muldoon family. This was my first Lori Wick book. It might be my last.

[Malia Saldaña · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a sweet book. Tucker Mills sounds like a fun town. 3.5 stars

[ANNETTE · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light read and enjoyable story The Jace & Maddie characters seem to pull me in and were delightful.

[Kennedy Gosnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I have to say is, perfect!!🥰
Chef’s kiss💋

[Jessica Bearden · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first historical romance and it was very cute and cozy. I imagined all the small town shows on Netflix and it definitely kept my attention! I’ll have to pick up the next book in this series!

[Kresha Hicks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Torture

[Sarah Crnkovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had so much potential to be so good, BUT there are just a few things that happen that really ruined it for me. But the author still does a very good job of developing the story and the characters, I just didn’t like how things turned out.

[Dora Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the desire to revisit some old friends. There is nothing like reminiscing with great characters and a wonderful town full memories. Lori Wick is an author create stories that always have me returning from time to time to revisit those friends I make between the pages or in my case, through out the audio "pages". Trust you will love a trip to Tucker Mills.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Christian historical fiction novel is set in the 1800's, and is the first of a trilogy. Jace and Maddie are both questioning many things about faith, and that part I enjoyed because it seemed very real, although it wasn't fully resolved in this book. Then there were a couple of scenes involving alcohol that just didn't quite seem believable. Eden, Jace's sister, changed so much during the course of the book that she was a character I changed my mind about. I wouldn't mind finding out what happened to her in the next book. This was not one of my favorite books by Lori Wick, but I did enjoy it enough to consider reading the other two in the series.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't very impressed with the author's ability to keep things clear at the beginning of the story. There are several people/families that the story is switching back and forth between. There wasn't enough lead up or information on the characters initially. I kept wondering who was who.

After I got past that, I enjoyed the overall story. A romance that highlights the importance communication plays in relationships. Nice reminder about how easy it can be to misunderstand, and how we need to keep an open mind and not jump to conclusions. Oh, and also that one should be very weary about the consumption of alcohol!

The author is a Christian writer (which I didn't realize when I picked up the book). Sometimes the character's search for the truth in religion didn't seem to flow, but it was nice to have a clean story.

[Kayrene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whew! I haven't read Lori Wick in several years, and this was not a good choice to jump back in. I never could get into the secondary stories about the other families. I was confused as to who they were. Then the main characters; Jace and Maddie; the story just got so dysfunctional, and near the end I just wanted to finish the book. Very strange, about the memory loss, etc., and sad. Was there some kind of underlying message to be told about alcohol? Then Jace, just a little creepy. I thought that part of this novel should have been joy-filled and positive; turned out really unfortunate, IMO. Anyway, think I'll pass on the LW's in my pile and pass them on.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a love story between Jace and Maddie. Unfortunately, his sister tries to break them apart as she feels she knows what is best for her brother. After a time Jace has a visit from his sister, and she is very different. She shares an amazing testimony about the L-rd and how she experienced His love and love from other believers. Great book for everyone, especially those questioning if G-d is real.

This book kept my interest and touched my heart in a way a book hasn't in awhile. Looking forward to reading the following two books.

[annabeth ☼ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate hating books. And yet, here we are again.

I never write reviews containing spoilers but I don’t know how to review this book without spoiling it, so I’m just doing it. No one cares anyway.

(𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒘)

The way this is written, the choppiness of the scenes, just got on my nerves from the start and it never stopped bugging me. I mean, I don’t normally mind this jumping-between-stories approach to writing, but the way this is done is just so dizzying and confusing. And not to mention the time jumps. They’re never addressed until we’re like four months in the future all of the sudden, which makes it so confusing for the reader.

See, if the whole break up and falling out and rekindling love of Jace and Maddie’s was spread out more and not just thrown into like 40 pages of the book, I would’ve actually enjoyed it. But it wasn’t, so I actually kinda hated it? It just felt pointless, like the only reason Wick included it was because she needed some drama in the book. Like, it took place over four and a half months and it was just smushed into the book into 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 40 pages and almost completely disregarded with how in the background it was. I feel like Wick just wasted so much potential with it.

Jace taking incredibly important steps in a relationships with Maddie while she was drunk…. that was something else. Not to mention him believing his conniving sister over the woman he loved enough to be considering marrying her! And the way Maddie just backed down from being furious with him over things of that sort! And how she just started feeling bad for him like a minute later! It was just… disgusting? if that’s the right word. It felt like it was promoting.. completely submitting to the man in your life? if that’s a good way to word it. Like, no honey, you should hate that man, you should walk away and never see him again, and you shouldn’t feel an ounce of bad about it!!

I mean, the man married her when she was drunk and he wasn’t and it was all resolved in two pages. 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧. 𝙋𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨.

Maddie wasn’t ready to sleep in the same bed as him but he forced his way into it anyway… petition for Jace Randall to be thrown in a jail cell please

It’s wayyy too suggestive with its content as well. Like, I come to Christian romance to get away from that and it was just here anyway, 𝘶𝘨𝘩.

Also, the random and incredibly brief suicidal thoughts and near suicide attempt just thrown into the middle of the book… like, 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤???

And just one more thing. Jace’s drinking problem really could’ve been a big character arc if it were written right, but instead, it was just sort of a muddled thing in the background of the book. I feel like that was a common theme with many important things.

And of course it was incredibly predictable, but we all saw that coming.

So, overall, didn’t like it. I’m mostly just frustrated because I really think it could’ve been something wonderful if Wick had done some things differently, but alas, she did not. And so I’m left with this.

[Anna Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read many books by this author, and it was actually refreshing to read a Lori Wick book where every single main character does not experience a spiritual revival and get saved by the end of the book. I enjoyed not reading about a pile of angelic main characters for once. It was more realistic, and this book was entertaining and fun overall.
That being said, Jace was too good to be true, especially for someone living without the Holy Spirit. He was very patient and self-controlled. His only major flaw was his trust issues towards Maddie before they got married, which disappeared completely after he married her. I was rather disappointed with Jace’s character, since he was so uninteresting, and so perfect like nearly all of Lori Wick’s male main characters.
Also, Maddie gets so drunk that she can’t remember what happens, twice! Once after only a few gulps from a flask, and another time after only two glasses of champagne! I find this hard to believe, but I suppose it’s possible!

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of characters introduced in the opening chapter but their connections soon fall into place. Maddie has many questions about religion and she doesn’t get specific responses from either of the ministers in town, so her insecurities of life and death continue throughout this book.


Jace Randall has return to Tucker Mills and to assist his elderly uncle Woody at the saw mill in the winter and the farm the rest of the year. The eligible girls from town often walk by to get a get look at the young man but Jace has no time for them and hasn’t dated since he returned to town.
Madelyn, “Maddie,” raised by her Aunt Cathy and Uncle after her parents passed, moved to Boston at the tender age of 17 to become a governess to Paige and companion to Mrs. Nunley. When her Uncle becomes ill and needs to rest, she returns to Tucker Mills to assist in the store. Not interested in dating because of a difficult relationship she barely notices that Jace has an interest in her.

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

His Uncle requested that Jace comes to Millpond, and learn the business. He wanted someone that would take over his business, and hoped his health would give him time to teach him. With the planting, and then the cutting of the boards was a lot of work.
Doyle was told to rest his heart, for a time. Kathy his wife couldn’t do it all, with the customers they had daily. Sending for their niece that they had raise to come and help out.
Soon it was evident that Jace and Maddy had eyes for one another. Being cautious of what his sister Eden might say. She was older and had raised him and warned him of falling for the first woman.
A good story of a time in 1839, with work and worshipping on Sunday.

[Kendra]

I’ve just gotta say it- I think this book is very problematic. I was young and naive when I read it and yet I’ve read morally grey romance novels since that I found less creepy then I found this book at the time.

The morning after when main girl gets drunk and gets married- wakes up in bed with her new husband without any knowledge of what happened the night before is awful- and especially how the husband treats the matter is disgusting. When she’s panicking about everything he makes a smirking remark that has stuck in my mind ever since- “you could be pregnant with my baby right now.”

I think this part was supposed to serve as a moral about the evils of drink but the only moral I took away was that this self-satisfied prick got his way in the end and isn’t taught any lessons.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tucker Mills book 1

I have read quite a few of Lori ick’s books and this one was quite different from some of her others. If there were to be a movie made of the book, I think I could guess 2 of the songs that would be on the soundtrack; Married to a Waitress (or something like that) by Alan Jackson, and the song Just As I Am. It was a little different, but still the message is the same. Maddie had lots of questions. I believe that God draws us to Himself and sometimes that drawing includes us having questions about our lives and our eternity that lead us to Him. Praise God! Also, I was quite surprised at the changed person in this story. Now for book 3!

[Margaret Fraleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jace Randall has moved to Tucker Mills t help his Uncle Woody with the farm and the mill,
as his uncle is not doing well with his health. Clara is his housekeeper and caregiver.

Maddie Shephard who lives in Boston as been asked by Doyle and Cathy (her Aunt and Uncle) is come for a visit and help in the store.

Jace's parents died when he was young and his sister raised him. His sister was not too happy
that he left and moved to Tucker Mills.

Maddie , while in Boston, was devastated to find out that the one she planned to marry was
already married.

Is there a happy ending for these folks.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story had a lot of good points, but it also left me feeling very distant from the scene because of the writing style. It’s clear she did her research on historical setting, but apparently not on historic names or speech, and it was jarring to keep trying to force my imagination back to 1838 while in the midst of scenes with such strongly 1970s/1980s names as Sherry, Cathy, Jace, Maddie, Paige, Alison, and Doyle; and terms like “the kids at school” and so on. Otherwise it’s a sweet story and I will be continuing the series.

[Joy Birky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novel in 1800’s

This story evolves around life in Tucker’s Mill in the 1800’ s.

Jace’s sister Eden’s protective & controlling nature toward Jace lead to major problems between them. Then her conversion changes her focus.

Maddie’s many questions about death cause big differences between she and Jace in how to find satisfying answers.

Rev. Muldoon shares his explanations based on the Bible, but accepting them is hard.

[Scarlette Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story:
I found it to be very sweet, and assumed it was going to be a predictable love story-boy was I wrong!!
I’m impressed with the surprises of the story, but I didn’t particularly like them.

The characters:
Jace- honest, believable and seems like a sweet guy
Maddie- though she was described as a sweet and caring person, I found her all but that.
Eden-a horrible monster.

I was impressed by the character change by a specific character, but I found the ending to be very disappointing.