Beyond Ivy Walls by Rachel Fordham

 

                

                                Beyond Ivy Walls by Rachel Fordham 5 Stars 
                                   Reading Vlog: https://youtu.be/U7ns0QplUG0

Rachel Fordham can do no wrong! Absolutely beautiful. 5 stars. A new favorite historical romance with beauty and the beast vibes!

Set in the early 1900s, Sadie West's family is in dire financial need so she leaves to go work in the Hoag duster factory. She has nowhere to live so she stays in an abandoned building. This throws her right in the path of the town's mysterious bachelor - Otis Taylor. Otis hires Sadie - with the condition that she tells no one he has returned.

Sadie and Otis get to know each other and they start to care for one another as she shows him how much he truly matters, regardless of his scars that have left him feeling less than desirable. Otis has been a recluse for so long, embarrassed of his appearance and Sadie coming in truly opens him up and is the bright light he needs to bring him back to the public. He has kept so much in for so long and the way this ended was beautiful as he was able to deal with the past of his family and what he had endured. 

Sadie was a great character who truly showed how much she cared for others and her family. Sadie's encouragement for Otis to be his true self was the best to see throughout the story. There is a bit of grumpy/sunshine between them that I loved seeing. 

My favorite parts of this were the letters, music and interactions between Sadie and Otis. Every time they were together on page was perfection. I loved them so much I wanted even more of them together! :) I also loved the little bits of Beauty and the Beast elements we got in this! It was also nice to have light faith elements included.

Highly recommend for a great historical romance! Must finish reading the rest of Rachel's books now! Thank you to Rachel Fordham & the publisher for a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6446219418
Amazon:  https://amzn.to/4dnYDF0
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/560302

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The Letter Tree by Rachel Fordham

 

The Letter Tree by Rachel Fordham - 5 Stars - AMAZING!

The Letter Tree by Rachel Fordham is a delightful and captivating story that effortlessly weaves together elements of a classic 1920s romance with a storyline that is perfect for lovers of You've Got Mail and Romeo and Juliet. At the heart of this book lies two characters - torn apart by their family feud many years ago. Laura Bradshaw and Isaac Campbell. They were childhood friends at one point but they were torn apart by circumstances unknown to them many years ago. All they know is the Bradshaws and the Campbells hate each other and are to not be seen together.

The twist of this tale comes when Laura and Isaac have been secretly exchanging letters together in the big tree in the Buffalo Zoo in New York for years. The one rule? Never to reveal each other's name to one another. It all started when Isaac found one of Laura's poems she wrote and put in the tree - so he wrote her back many years ago. 

So, they have grown to care for one another through these letters, yet neither one know they are writing to the other. Perfect story for lovers of You've Got Mail! There's more then meets the eye to this old family feud....as things would have it, circumstances push them together, things start to be revealed and BOY do we have a GOOD story on our hands! 

We have so much more to the story too as we see close friends and business partners that can't be trusted get involved in many business dealings with others and they try to figure that out as well with the help of a private investigator.

I absolutely ADORED this book. The audiobook narrator did a fabulous job and she really kept me immersed in the story. She does great male and female voices in my opinion. Mrs. Gaskin was such a mother figure to Laura - she needed that since she lost her mother when she was very young. I loved her so much and how she truly cared about her happiness as a mother would. I also loved how Isaac truly cared for Laura, he wanted to protect her and the letters were THE SWEETEST. 

I think if you are someone who loves a good zoo setting in a book, stories with letter exchanges, the 1920s, Romeo and Juliet references, and just a beautiful clean romance - this is for you! I love Rachel's writing and can't wait to read more of her books. I am SO glad I preordered this because I will be recommending this for a long time.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an audiobook copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5907758944
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PUV6Dt
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/528830
YouTube Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt-U-nf5HX8