The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill

"The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill"

Julie Klassen

I really wanted to like this book, especially because I always enjoy all of Klassen's novels. I  was excited to get it in the mail, my excitement was quickly extinguished, however. This novel is different from other of Klassen's stories. The novel doesn't have a main protagonist but two. Thora a fifty-something widow, who I didn't like much, she seems bitter at times and treats Jane poorly sometimes who is her daughter in law. Jane seems a dull, sad and weak character in my own opinion. I have to note, that I wasn't able to finish the novel in its entirety, what I read (some 200 pages) was enough to draw my valid opinion. The plot moves very slowly and the novel is too long, I was just bored reading through it. I was not a big fan of multiple heroines, I like to stick to one protagonist, the story just seems to develop the character better that way. Having stated the bad, I would like to stay a few things I did like. I liked the small village imagery drawn which forms the setting of the story. I'm a fan of small English country villages so it was nice to see it in here. I regret having to write a negative review, which I never do because I generally enjoy historical fiction and have read quite a few novels from this author and have loved them but unfortunately this has not been the case for this one. 3 stars out of 5

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House without a required review, positive or negative. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.