The Ladies of Ivy Cottage

GIVEAWAY

KLASSEN, JULIE
THE LADIES OF IVY COTTAGE

Return to Ivy Hill in The Ladies of Ivy Cottage as friendships deepen, romance blossoms, 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 they 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 -- each man's attention? The truth may surprise them all.

As the women of Ivy Hill search for answers about the past and hope for the future, might they find love along the way?

My Review:

published in 2017

Reading this series is like watching a British period drama -- very like Larkrise to Candleford and Crandford -- where we enjoy a real slice of village life and all the drama and romance that goes along with that. It's divinely captivating and utterly addictive.

Probably best appreciated if you've read the first book -- The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill -- as there are a lot of characters and relationships to sort out. If you haven't read Innkeeper, be prepared to feel a bit lost the first couple of chapters but stick with it and it will all come together. Kind of like starting to watch a TV series in the second season where it takes you a few episodes to get up to speed.

This is the kind of story you settle into and live right along with the characters.Three heroines face unique challenges as they make their way in the business world. All of them are gentlewomen whose circumstances have changed. Jane is the landlady of an inn, Mercy runs a small school for girls and Rachel embarks on setting up a subscription library (my favourite part of the story!) And that library becomes a catalyst for uncovering a number of secrets that have the potential to transform lives...or destroy them!

And we have no shortage of intriguing gentlemen to swoon over! That leads to the promise of romance -- not without despair, mind you! Heartache and misunderstandings and deep sorrows too. Because feelings are fragile and life can take the most unexpected twists and turns when you least expect it. Not everyone gets her happily ever after by the end of this novel. We'll have to wait until book three comes out this December to get full closure of the romantical kind. I can't wait!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Ladies of Ivy Cottage, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday August 19 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!