Return to Ivy Hill in The Ladies of Ivy Cottage as friendships deepen, romances blossom, and mysteries unfold.
Living with the two Miss Groves in Ivy Cottage, impoverished gentlewoman Rachel Ashford is determined to earn her own livelihood . . . somehow. When the village women encourage her to open a subscription library with the many books she has inherited or acquired through donations, Rachel discovers two mysteries hidden among them. A man who once broke her heart helps her search for clues, but will both find more than they bargained for?
Rachel’s friend and hostess, Mercy Grove, has given up thoughts of suitors and fills her days managing her girls’ school. So when several men take an interest in Ivy Cottage, she assumes pretty Miss Ashford is the cause. Exactly what–or who–has captured each man’s attention? The truth may surprise them all.
Meanwhile, life has improved at the coaching inn and Jane Bell is ready to put grief behind her. Now if only the man she misses would return–but where is he?
As the women of Ivy Hill search for answers about the past and hope for the future, might they find love along the way?
Julie Klassen is the current queen of writing regency era novels. If Jane Austen (the all time queen) lived in this time period, she would have a worthy competitor. There are no current authors that I have read that come close to her. That is saying something because I have only read two of her books, and I have read many regency era books. So, if you are an author that wants to write a regency era novel, then use Klassen as a mentor, because she rocks at it!
This book was so good, everything about it, from the story to the writing style. I read it within a few days. You do need to read the first book (The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill) in order for this book to make any sense. Since all of the characters are from the first book.
So back to this book. Let me just say that I liked this book so much that I cannot wait for the next one to come out. This book, like the first, changed points of view, but I got used to reading it quickly. Julie Klassen added a lot of quotes/ideas from books such as Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice and pretty much any of Jane Austen’s novels. I did see just a little from North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell too.
All the characters were well developed and all had their own interesting story. My favorite (in this book) was Rachel. She was the one I was most looking forward to reading about. Especially since she was based off of Anne Elliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen. I am not going to tell who Captain Wentworth is in this story.
My favorite part was when Rachel received a copy of Persuasion. It was one of those moments in a book when you want to do a happy dance. Don’t worry I didn’t, my family would have thought I was super weird. But for you book nerds out there, you know what I mean.
I highly recommend this book/series and I am looking forward to reading more from this author. For Jane Austen nerds like me, this is the book for you! If you have any recommendations for Klassen’s other books, please comment.
Title: The Ladies of Ivy Cottage
Author and her website: Julie Klassen
I received this book from the Bethany House Publishing of the Baker Publishing Group for this review.
This review is written in my own words and is my honest opinion.
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