This appears to be the first in a new series, Ivy Hill
Tales.
Jane’s husband died over a year ago and left her in control
of their inn. The place has been falling
to pieces, but Jane isn’t happy to see her mother-in-law step over the threshold. They’ve never really gotten along but saving
the inn is going to rely on these two working together. With a bank loan due and Jane’s childhood
home becoming the competition, Jane has her work cut out for her.
I hate to say it, but I didn’t like this book. It has the feel of a Lark Rise to Candleford,
where we read about what goes on in someone’s life, even the uninteresting
parts. We read a lot about Jane’s
attempts to learn how to improve the inn, but her interactions with people
didn’t lead me to understand why they liked her so much. I didn’t even understand the relationship
between Jane and Thora. What happened in
there that they changed their minds about each other? I never understood it. And there’s a miscarriage scene in there that
was pretty depressing. Just be aware of
that if it’s something that bothers you.
There were also some things that just didn’t make
sense. If there’s such a shortage of
men, how do we have 5 different men showing interest in these two different
women? And I didn’t see anything in
either of their personalities to warrant that kind of attention. Thora is harsh and judgmental, and Jane is
apathetic. The story line with Rachel
felt crammed in, and I didn’t understand why it was there. She didn’t have the kind of connection with
the Jane/Thora story that would have made the transitions to her point of view
believable. Granted, she was one of my
favorite characters and almost wish she’d been the main character.
I’ll take partial responsibility for not liking this book, because
I wasn’t necessarily expecting this kind of story. But after disliking Lady Maybe, this was me
giving the author another chance. I
found her characters flat and the story line uninteresting, and expecting
something different doesn’t account for that.
At the end, there was a mention of a second book in the series, but I’m
out. I used to enjoy this author so
much. Unfortunately, with this book, I
kept hoping Jane would fail so it would be over. I’m saddened to say it, and maybe others can
appreciate this book, but I just could NOT get into it. No matter how hard I tried.
*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House through
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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