The Guardian (Gables of Legacy, #1) by Anita Stansfield

The Guardian (Gables of Legacy, #1) Reviews

• 
  Kelley Anne

  I just reread this great book and the rest of the Gables of Legacy series. This series is a continuation of her first 3 novels, and brings readers back to the Hamilton family.
  
  It just reminded me of why I love Anita Stansfield's books so much! She writes in a way that makes the characters come alive. She also isn't afraid to tackle the hard issues. I'll admit that several times throught this series I found myself crying right along with the characters in the books. I feel like some of them are old friends. Some LDS authors seem to just write books where everything is perfect, you grow up, you fall in love with the first guy you date, you get married, have healthy kids and live happily ever after. Stansfield actually writes realistic books. She understands and portrays the fact that life isn't perfect, problems come up. Spouses can die, or cheat, or become abusive. Kids aren't always healthy and perfect. Life doesn't always have a happily ever after. I think that's one of the reasons that I just love her books so much!
• 
  Debbie

  This was a typical Anita Stansfield book. Characters live through great tragedy and crises and come out strong. A few things I thought were odd. Like Michael and Emily leaving on a mission while they have a son going through an emotional crisis. Or the fact that no one notified his parents after his suicide attempt. Or his parents and girlfriend bombarding him by calling him selfish and loading on the guilt right after the suicide attempt. Suicide can be selfish but you have to consider the frame of mind of the person. Very often they are not in their right minds. And even if you do think they are being selfish, it is probably not the right time to tell them while they are still in hospital. Felt like they were kicking him when he was down.
  The story also dragged in places. It felt like it hit a climax less than halfway through and then dragged through until it reached another climax at the end. It probably could have been half the length and still told the same story. Which is a pet peeve of mine.
  On the plus side, it is story of forgiving and healing and hope. These characters have seen some real lows and have overcome them to have a great life. I definitely liked that message. Overall, I think 3 stars is perfect for this book!
• 
  Vivian

  Herein is a novel-length sermon mash-up of Jane Eyre (with Emily and Jess standing in for Jane and Mr. Rochester) and Pride and Prejudice (with Emily always having the right responses) and with Little Men thrown in as a teaser (The Gables standing in for Plumfield) for potential sequels, as this is volume one of "The Gables of Legacy".
  
  There are many instances of the main character believing she has been led to this place at this time by a deceased ancestor, journals wherein the leads derive direction and solace from said ancestors, spiritual confirmations of choices being right or wrong, and so forth. There is emotional and mental healing when a proper understanding of Christ's love and atonement are understood and accepted.
  
  Whether or not the reader agrees with these elements is irrelevant, as they are hastily stirred together into a rushed plot. Bronte uses Jane Eyre as a sermon of sorts, but it feels less contrived and more emotionally satisfying. In the end, this novel is a gothic-infused romance and as such is satisfying on that level.
• 
  Beth Given

  This is LDS romance again, so I knew from the get-go what I was getting into: a predictable little story. I made the mistake of reading the back cover before reading the book, so that took out most of the surprise.
  
  Nevertheless, it was one of the better LDS romance novels I’d ever read. The characters had depth, personality, and experiences that shaped them (I know that many of those experiences were simply plots from previous books, but I enjoyed how Stansfield alluded to them naturally instead of sticking them in for no reason). She didn’t use her dialogue as a crutch to avoid having a plot. This was a good book — perhaps not entirely believable (I can’t get over that these Hamilton characters have such an inordinate amount of money), but that was okay, too — books are meant to be a bit of an escape sometimes.
• 
  The Sweet Bookshelf

  If you can't tell from the list above, this series is HUGE. Epic really. Each book is neatly tied up though. The books just gather momentum to create the whole family saga. You'll meet the whole family from the late 1800's to current times! Which I love!!!
  
  I read this book almost a decade ago, and I still LOVE it. I was craving it and it gave me everything I'd hoped for. This family saga is amazing. Seriously. So full of drama, romance, Australian men, horses, and heartbreak. What's not to love?!
  
  If you haven't read this family saga, which I'm pretty sure you haven't, you should! It is going to cost me a fortune to get this whole series on my Kindle. My paperbacks are back in the states. I'll have to see if my family will mail them out to me. I'm dying to read them all!! I forgot how much I loved them!
• 
  Lorena

  I found this series at Salvation Army and read it over a week. It certainly kept me reading.
  
  I am not really familiar with Anita Stansfield's writing. I came into it expecting a somewhat cheesy predictable love story, and it was certainly that.
  
  I did really enjoy the topics she tackled along the way and applying principles of the gospel and Atonement to their lives. I liked the way the characters were described,but found them solving all their own and everyone else's problems fairly quickly and easily. Sort of relatable, sort of not.
  
  I would have enjoyed more surprises along the way, but liked the series overall. Now I find out the series didn't start here and I have to go find the preceding books.
• 
  Cristina

  I really enjoyed this book, at times I felt it dragged a little and it could have been a little faster getting to the ending but it was very well written and enjoyable. I am going to read the rest of the series for sure! I enjoy reading a good romantic book that I know is still clean and I feel that Anita Stansfield does a good job at writing a good clean romantic book that you just can't put down. My mom has been trying to get me to read these books for years and I am glad that I am now finally getting around to reading them...they are great.
• 
  Karina

  I would probably give this a low 4 stars, or maybe even 3.5. Maybe I have read too many Anita Stansfield books lately. I really liked it, but her books are pretty predictable, and they do all feel like the same stories. Probably my main complaints about this was that 1. The declarations of love came WAY too fast, even for me, and 2. The change that came over Jess in the end almost seemed too quick and easy. Overall, I did really enjoy this, and I am excited to read the rest of the series, but I think after that I will take a break from these for a while.
• 
  Melissa

  I am soooo not the cheesy love story girl. I don't like chick flicks and love stories that much.. but I really enjoyed this series and prequels. Been meaning to read them again.. these are a guilty pleasure that I don't like to admit, but they are warm and fuzzy, simple and easy.... just a good happy book
• 
  Katie

  CHEEESY!!! This series is really cheesy, but if you are good at filtering it out so you dont get sick, then you'd like it. Its a love story that has all the great parts but Is very G rated, which is refreshing if you read love stories that are in the main stream popular books.
• 
  Karen Bing

  This is the first book in Gables of Legacy and I wasn't too sure about it at first but as soon as I kept reading I was HOOKED....this story is so intense and makes you just want to read more to know what will happen to Jess and Tamara....sooooooo GOOD!
• 
  Heidi

  I liked this series but it was just a little to long and slightly repitious for me. It needed to have more substance. I found the books repeating a lot. However, it was a good story line in the Anita Stansfield quintessential way. Over all a pretty good series!
• 
  Christina

  I enjoy the Australian 'station' setting and the Hamilton family, so this series is one I like. I always appreciate how Anita Stansfield confronts serious issues. I also thought the end of this one was sweet.
• 
  Maggie

  The Guardian is the first volume of a series of novels by Anita Stansfield. It is an exhilarating story of triumph over despair, of ancestral connection, and of the decisions that could mean the difference between eternal love or bitter tragedy.
• 
  DeeAnn Christensen

  This is one of the best books ----
  
  I have ever read, even though I have read it before. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in LDS fiction. Thanks Anita Stansfield for another great read.
  
  
  
• 
  Apzmarshl

  March 2008
• 
  Connie Williams

  This is a great LDS series with clean romance. However there are some really heart-rending parts. I cried during several of them.
• 
  Joni Fletcher

  Great Book, really a great series! I love books about members of the church and their personal struggles, even if this is fiction it still is great to relate to other peoples trails!
• 
  Audrey

  I loved it. I could feel their pain and couriosity.
• 
  Madison

  Great book everyone should read all of them in the series
• 
  Jennifer

  Own: Book
• 
  Melissa

  Very good series! Loved all six of these!!
• 
  Courtney White

  you can't read this series with out reading her first love series it won't make any sense but I love it too