About this Book-
Ivy Knight feels that her life may never start. Though her loving family assures her that her place in the world is close to home, she still feels a push to move out of her comfort zone. Hoping against hope, she travels to her old friends at McCale House, seeking a purpose.
Jordy McAllen has just returned to Scotland after his education in London. He fears that what everyone has always said about him may be true: he can’t be a good doctor, let alone a good man. Determined to prove himself, Jordy snatches up the opportunity to become the doctor in the village of Keefmore near his parents’ farm.
When an old friend decides to travel to Keefmore and visit a relative, Ivy follows. She soon finds herself drawn to Jordy, but as their attraction grows, they both face doubts. A relationship between the two of them feels improbable—and might just require a step of impossible faith.
My Review-
Other reviews from this series:
- The Dressmaker’s Secret by Kellyn Roth (Alice and Ivy #1)
- Ivy Introspective by Kellyn Roth (Alice and Ivy #2)
- At Her Fingertips by Kellyn Roth (Alice and Ivy #3)
I have been following Kellyn Roth’s Alice and Ivy series since it started being republished, and naturally, I had to read and review this one!
The main storyline in this book is following Ivy, the less accomplished twin, and her romance with Jordy McAllen, a doctor and Ivy’s friend. In book 2, Ivy Introspective, she develops a friendship with Jordy and they have grown together over the course of that book and this book, and in this one, they build their relationship and fall in love.
Ivy and Jordy have much more chemistry than Alice and her husband have, and I really liked reading their journey as they fell in love. Their discoveries about life, God, and each other are insightful and well done, and their development throughout the course of this book was really good to see.
Having read 2 books from each Alice and Ivy’s perspectives, I think now that I much prefer the books when they are written from Ivy’s perspective. They are more fun and have more interest as the story progresses. Maybe this will change in book 5, but Alice’s perspective seems more bland and uninteresting, whereas Ivy is still going through so much character development and growth that her books are inherently more interesting.
In addition to the story arc from just Ivy’s perspective, there is also a series-wide arc. In this book, there are some pretty big developments that are revealed and they were SO interesting! Due to spoilers, I can’t reveal what they are, but there were some big surprises that I hadn’t previously expected that changes the way I think about a lot of the characters, and I am so interested to see more! A lot of the information from the previous books were revealed, and it makes me more excited to see what that will mean for the characters in the future.
tw // child loss/miscarriage, alcohol use, gambling, depression/depressive episodes
As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews for this series, this is women’s fiction, which means that there is a lot of discussion of mature content that is not suitable for younger readers. In particular, the content includes (and is not limited to) drinking alcohol/getting drunk, premarital sex (with a heavy emphasis on purity), infant loss/miscarriage, depression, and consent (in regard to kisses). There is a heavy emphasis on Christian morals and change/sin/forgiveness, but there are a lot of heavier adult topics talked about, and sensitive readers should be aware of that.
One more thing to note is that Jordy has a Scottish accent, and all of his dialogue is written with a Scottish accent, which forced me to have to sound it out in my head while I was reading, so if that’s not how you read, it might be annoying/difficult.
Overall, I really liked this book, especially when compared to the previous book in the series, At Her Fingertips. If you are looking for a solid Christian adult novel with hearty dose of morals and teaching, this series would be a good one to pickup.
My Rating-
4/5
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion; I was not required to write a positive review.
Losing The Busyness 