The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill ( Tales From Ivy Hill Book 1) by Julie Klassen

February has started as a good reading month for me. The first book I read is The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill ,the first book in the Tales from Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen. I really liked this book. The story is about a new widow Jane Bell, who is struggling to come to terms with her husband leaving her in charge of his family’s inn after his death. Adding to her stress, her mother-in-law, Thora, returns to the inn after being informed by a staff member that the inn is falling into disrepair. The relationship between the two women was never warm, even a little hostile in some instances. Thora struggles with the fact that her son left the inn to Jane, who was raised a gentlewoman and has no experience running an inn. Both women have to work together to save the inn when the bank threatens to sell the inn if their business does not start being profitable. The relationship growth between Jane and Thora is well done and an enjoyable part of the story. I liked the love story between Thora and Walter Talbot! It was so cute. We are introduced to several people who live in Ivy Hill, including Janes friends, Mercy and Rachel. Rachel and Janes friendship is strained and that weighs on them both. Rachel’s father dies and she has to leave her manor that will go to her cousin, she moves into Ivy Cottage with Mercy and her aunt who run a school for girls. The next book will focus more on Mercy and Rachel. Things are resolved in a satisfying way, but hopefully we see more of the characters form the first book in the second.