Review: The Ladies of Ivy Cottage by Julie Klassen

About:

In the confines of Ivy Cottage, friendships thrive, romances blossom, and mysteries await! Gentlewoman Rachel Ashford has moved into Ivy Cottage with the two Miss Groves, where she discovers mysteries hidden among her books. Together with her one-time love Sir Timothy, she searches for answers—and is forced to face her true feelings.

My Thoughts:

What a lovely story and town Julie Klassen has created in The Ladies of Ivy Cottage. This is the second in the series, Tales from Ivy Hill, and it reads very much like a well done BBC drama. It has been a year since I read the first in the series so I just needed to get reacquainted with the characters again, but once I was reestablished, the story came alive.

This series is about a town called Ivy Hill. We have three main characters that the story does revolve around: Jane, Mercy, and Rachel who are good friends and have been since childhood. All of them have had their ups and downs and this story continues their lives. Jane is now officially out of mourning, Mercy’s girl school is up and running and Rachel has opened a subscription and circulating library which was interesting to read and learn about. All three still are still unattached and seem to think that is the way for them. Not by choice, but by life and each of their current circumstances. The author really kept me on tenterhooks as I was reading. There was not just one gentleman, but a few that vied for the attentions of each one.

We are introduced to other townspeople’s and there are a couple of hidden secrets that come to light that changes the course of life for the characters. This is not a short book and the author takes her time to flesh out all the details. I was at times quite impatient and hoped to get at least a few of the story threads tied up nice and neat. I will say that things took an interesting and unexpected turn for one of the young ladies, a happily ever after for another one, and a hopeful one for another.  I look forward to the next in the series to see how all these storylines will resolve. I highly recommend this whole series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.