The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill: Tales from Ivy Hill Book 1 by Julie Klassen

    Somehow, I managed to cram through The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill in under twenty-four hours.  The story moved very quickly, and all I wanted to do was keep reading.  Unfortunately, not everything was resolved in the end.  Which means I have to go out and get the second book in the series to see what happens!  I wonder if I will read it as fast as I did this one.

At the Ring of a Bell/Artwork by Kate Dorsey

    Things are not going well for The Bell in the village of Ivy Hill, an inn that has been in business for generations.  A year ago, its owner, John Bell, died.  As a result, the inn was left in the hands of his wife, Jane, a woman who never wanted to work there. 

    It was an inheritance that shocked John’s mother, Thora.  She had managed the inn for years.  Then, after John’s funeral, she went to live with her sister, leaving the business in Jane’s care.  Now she is back in Ivy Hill and is concerned about the state of the inn.  Having received word things are not going well, Thora wants to check it out for herself.

    Even though the inn is her responsibility, Jane doesn’t have any interest in it.  She didn’t before her husband died, and she is in too much grief to do so now.  But a situation forces Jane to take responsibility.

    When John was alive, he took out a £15,000 loan Jane knew nothing about.  Now she must pay it back, and her only options are to either sell the inn or make it profitable again.

    Reluctant to sell to even her brother-in-law, Patrick, Jane decides to give running the inn a try.

    A surprising help to Jane’s endeavor is a guest by the name of James Drake.  James owns a hotel and explains to Jane the inn’s old ways of doing things are hurting the business.  He convinces Jane things need to change; an idea that does not go over well with Thora or the cook, Mrs. Rooke.  They believe their old (and sometimes questionable) methods are fine, and do not want someone like Jane changing them.

    As reluctant as these two women are to change, what they overlook is the fact Jane is in charge.  She is putting the money her father left her into the changes, and there is really nothing they can do about it.

    Encouraging Jane along is Gabriel Locke, the farrier.  Every time Jane begins to doubt herself, Gabriel lets her know how important the inn is to the entire village.  Not only does it employ people, it also brings customers to the other businesses in the area.

    While Jane has Gabriel to help her through these times, Thora has Walter Talbot.  Talbot worked for years at the inn and knows everything about it.  He left during the time Thora was living with her sister.  His brother died and Talbot is now taking care of his brother’s farm and ill wife.

    Unhappy Talbot is no longer working at the inn, Thora keeps going to the farm to talk to him.  He is then brought into meetings about what improvements the inn should make.

    As they spend time together, Talbot starts to reveal his feelings for Thora.  Feelings Thora does not know if she will ever be able to return.          

    Jane is going through personal difficulties as well.  Old friends are returning from her past, and people are starting to question her relationship with Gabriel.  What they don’t realize is, at this moment in time, the only thing Jane can concentrate on is her business.  Everything else, including romance, will have to wait until later. 

    I will warn you, this book does read like a Jane Austen novel.  Especially at the beginning.  It is set in 1820s England, Jane Austen time (not long after Ms. Austen’s death), and the way it is written reflects that.  This characteristic made it a little tough to get through the book in the beginning.  Then, either it lessened, or I became used to it, because very quickly this story started to fly.

    Also, as with Jane Austen, there are a lot of characters, and questions about which person can truly be trusted.  I’ll admit, I did get impatient and tired of dealing with the behavior of one of the characters, so I looked ahead to see what happened with them.  Once I saw the answer, I went back to where I was and eagerly read to the end.

    Even though I enjoyed this story, I was not sure I was going to read the next book in the series.  Some of the characters tried my patience, and I had to decide if I wanted to read more about them.

    Then the storyline with Gabriel was left unresolved.  I have to find out what happens with Gabriel!  Plus, there are two other characters who have romances brewing.  I want to find out what happens with them as well.  Which means, I’m off to find the second book!