Julie Klassen - The Ladies of Ivy Cottage

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?

Comment: Last month I've read and was not amazed by the first book in the Tales from Ivy Hill trilogy (plus a novella), set in a quaint and charming fictional village. The story was very much the author's usual style but I felt it didn't met my expectations. I was less eager to start this second one but since I was determined to read the three books anyway...

In this second installment, life goes on for the inhabitants of Ivy Hill and new challenges and worries make the daily routines of everyone. Rachel Ashford, whose father's scandal brought her down in certain cicles, is now helping at her friend Mercy's school but she still feels adrift in her new circumstances. She knows a proposal might come her way and she isn't certain if she should accept but in the meantime the suggestion of a library helps filling up her days. Mercy, on the other hand, is used to her days and the girls at her school but her parents decide enough is enough and Mercy must make decisions about her future. At the inn, Jane is now more confident about her work and role but while she is also happy for the new marriage of her mother-in-law, she can't help thinking what if in regards to a certain someone... 

As the days go by and many new things happen, with people coming and going, will these friends be able to grasp their happy endings?

Thankfully, I preserved in wanting to keep up with this trilogy because I'm happy to say that, for me, this second installment was everything I wanted from the beginning and now I feel even more the difference, and the pity, that the first book was not as compelling as this one turned out to be.

In this second book, the story starts pretty much right after the events of the first, but this time the focus is more obviously divided between the three friends, more so on Mercy and Rachel, although we do have other POVs here and there. I can imagine how the pace might be too slow for some readers but I think things worked very well for the type of story the author planned, an that this time seemed to be so much better. I was really glad to keep turning the pages and knowing more about what was happening to the ladies and what they had to deal with.

Since the pace is slow and the situations the characters are facing require very repetitive actions, I can see how this might feel like not having a plot. But somehow, I was captivated by the charm of the village, by the small but important steps required to accomplish something and how even the apparently simplest things could be more meaningful than what one would think. These things seemed to enrich the story line because the characters were likable and this time around, the overall vibe I got was not one of bleakness, even when something less good was happening.

This time, the three main ladies - Jane, Rachel and Mercy - were all doing worthy actions, things that helped themselves having peace of mind, but also things which helped others and even when something wasn't immediately fixed, they seemed to have a good support system in one another and in close friends. I felt this made the whole difference, because what seemed to be too sad and too dramatic in the first book suddenly made more sense and gave me a different side of their personalities, making me like them more. I can't explain properly without spoiler examples, but I think the ladies' actions made them more assertive and, as a consequence, more likable without losing the notion this is the 19th century, with all the expected social and financial limitations.

I think there are plenty specific scenes with each lady and their closer circle of friends, and then with them interacting, to convince me of the charm and the friendship I wanted to have in the first book too, if this is meant to be a trilogy about a vast cast of characters living in a practically idyllic village. Things aren't that simple though, and each lady has a personal road to travel. Rachel has her fate solved but the other two ladies, despite some obvious clues in regards to what might come for them, still have decisions to make, which certainly will happen in the last book.

This book surprised me very positively, I had a great time with these characters and their struggles, and watching some of their conquests. I hope the next book is as fascinating to me as this one and that the trilogy can have a good ending.

Grade: 9/10