The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill
Series: Tales From Ivy Hill, Book 1
By: Julie Klassen / Narrated By: Elizabeth Jasicki
Length: 17 hrs
Set in the 1800s, but there’s a lot to make modern women proud
But first! You’ve GOTTA listen to the audiobook on at least x1.25 (my normal speed) or x1.5, which is the speed I used. Otherwise, Jasicki, who portrays the narrative and each character very well, gives way too many lengthy pauses in between lines. And at 17 hours, that can stretch into a lot of time spent waiting for the next line, then the next, and so on.
Jane, Thora, Mercy, Rachel. The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill follows these four women as they try to live with the hands Life has dealt them. Jane has inherited an inn which she, in her grief, has little interest in but which begins to weigh on her. Thora, Jane’s mother in law, is used to managing people, situations… everything but her own tongue, which can by quite sharp. Mercy runs a school for girls and young women in her home, being forever as good-hearted as she is plain. And Rachel has recently lost her father, inherited only his book collection, is in need of a place to stay, and who lives with regret and not just a little resentment.
Mostly it follows Jane (the Innkeeper of this book) as she comes to realize that maybe she is more capable than she thinks, that maybe the inn is worth saving. But times are changing, postal coaches are changing routes, and now there’s competition from a new hotel in the vicinity. She starts waking up (which is good because at the beginning I found her soooo apathetic as to be rather annoying), and starts caring enough to become somewhat ingenious when it comes to thinking about ways for the inn to survive. Plus she’s working against the tide; there’s a mystery as someone wants very much for her inn to fail and to be taken over by the local bank—so there are clues here, red herrings there that add to the story).
What I really liked about the book was how each character struggled to be as strong as possible during a time when women were thought of as weak, and where they gave up their rights to men. Jane struggles to be a business owner when the business SHOULD belong to a husband; Thora struggles to maintain her independence to the detriment of all personal feelings lest she have to give up all she owns, all she is, to a husband. There are many examples of a woman’s trials and tribulations of the time period.
The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill is the first in a series which, I believe, chronicles the lives of each character, so here Jane and Thora are most featured. But I’m truly looking forward to getting to know more about Mercy and Rachel, to discovering how Jane and Thora’s lives and decisions play out.
This is a series that I’ll keep up on.
I’ll let ya know how it goes!
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