About the Book
Book: After Our Castle
Author: Kellyn Roth
Genre: Historical Women’s Fiction
Release date: October 2022
A year into a blissfully happy marriage, Violet Angel admits to a dose of skepticism. She’s not married, granted—but as the closest friend of the bride and groom, she feels she has a perspective no one but the people directly involved could have. There’s no such thing as a happy ending, and it’s only a matter of time before the castle in the sky plummets to earth. If only Violet were always wrong instead of just mostly wrong. Ivy McAllen doesn’t believe she and her new husband are out of the honeymoon period—if they are, she isn’t going to admit it to herself—but there are certainly areas of adjustment that she hadn’t expected. Changes at the village of Keefmore and in Ivy’s life lead to complications, and Violet spirals further and further from reality. When a castle in the sky turns to be more cloud than stronghold, finding a foothold proves to be more than a little difficult.
My Review:
Similar Reviews:
- 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)
- Beyond Her Calling by Kellyn Roth (Alice and Ivy #4)
- A Prayer Unanswered by Kellyn Roth (Alice and Ivy #5)
tw // child loss/miscarriage/infertility/conception, a mention of a suicide attempt
This is the third book from the perspective of Ivy and I really liked it! I don’t think this book was my favorite overall, but it kept me engaged and I looked forward to seeing how the story would progress.
Like always, this book deals with a lot of gritty topics: a lot of hard hitting, real life, adult topics. In particular, this book navigates the first few years of marriage, and the adjustment between courting and marriage. It deals with a lot about wanting/waiting for children, so if that is a topic that you are sensitive towards, this may be a book to skip.
In addition, this book seemed more preachy than the previous ones. There were a lot of takes that I really didn’t agree with, including discussions about children before marriage may lead to “temptation,” anything less than 100% transparency between a married couple is fully adultery, and the “it takes a village” adage is unreliable and that a family unit should be self sufficient (which is not only just bad advice, it’s actively unbiblical). Characters would occasionally go into monologues about their beliefs and what to do to live a Christian life, some of which I agreed with, and some of which I didn’t, but they happened a little too frequently in my opinion.
I did like seeing the inclusion of more of Violet Angel in this book: while she isn’t exactly a reliable narrator, it was cool to see her growth and development as she navigates the world. Her character arc was really cool to see, and I also liked seeing flashbacks to her experience at the McHale house where she and Ivy met. I also liked Alice a lot more in this book than previously: she seems to have mellowed and matured ad lot since the previous book. She provides a lot of wisdom and comfort to Ivy that I really liked seeing, especially with all that happened to her in the previous book.
This book was very slice-of-life, where it narrated a lot of Ivy’s day to day and her life living in the village, which was really fun to read. Overall though, I think this book was weaker than some of the previous books in the series, and while I did enjoy it, it got a little too preachy at points for me to truly enjoy it.
My Rating
3/5
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.
About the Author
Kellyn Roth is a historical romance & women’s fiction author who writes about the empty places where hope has the most room to grow. Her novels include the inspirational Victorian family saga, The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy, and the Kees & Colliers series, which follows a broken family in the tumultuous years of the first half of the 20th century. Kellyn is a student of the Author Conservatory and a writing coach. When not building her author career, she is likely getting lost somewhere in the Pacific Northwest with her friends, watching period dramas and facetious comedies, or spending time with her husband.
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Kellyn is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Enter Here.
For more information about this blog tour, and exclusive content from the author about After Our Castle, as well as more stops from the blog tour, click here.
Losing The Busyness 