"The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill" by Julie Klassen

[reviewsbyerin]

 


It had been quite a while since I read anything from Julie Klassen, and this new series is something a little different than what she's done before. I think that's a good thing - sometimes her Regency mysteries got a little too formulaic for my taste. However, this book started off so slow for me! It took me nearly 4 weeks to finish it, which is highly unusual, but by the end I really loved the characters and was glad I had Book 2 to pick up immediately.

Our story opens with Jane Bell, a young widow whose husband has left her the coaching inn which had been in his family for several generations. Jane grew up a gentleman's daughter and it had been somewhat scandalous that she had married a working man, and now she is having to learn the business herself. This was never what she expected out of life.

Thora, Jane's mother-in-law, comes to visit, and is still in deep mourning after losing her husband, her son, and the inn which had been such a big part of her life. She can see that Jane is in over her head, but has to admire the young woman's determination.

But things appeared stacked against these ladies. They find out that before Jane's husband died he had taken out a secret loan from the bank which is now coming due. A new coaching inn is opening up closer to the turnpike and may steal their business. And all the while relationships around Ivy Hill are being tested and refined as these women pull together for each other and their livelihood.

There was much to love about this story! It reminded me at times of British village dramas like Cranford and Lark Rise to Candleford, while Thora reminded me of Mrs. Thornton from North & South. There were so many wonderful characters to come to know in Ivy Hill, and a few romance angles which I am interested in seeing continue throughout the rest of the series. Be watching for my review of Book 2, The Ladies of Ivy Cottage, coming soon!