I get excited when I find a new Christian fiction author. I would like to introduce Rachel Fordham. She has loosely based books on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Her latest book reminds many of her readers and reviewers of The Ugly Duckling. I am not sure if this was her intention, but I agree with these readers. All three of the books I have read by Rachel Fordham are set in Iowa during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.
The book that is loosely based on Romeo and Juliet is entitled The Letter Tree. The feuding families are the Bradshaws and the Campbells, and these families both own successful shoe companies. Laura Bradshaw and Isaac Campbell were childhood friends many years before the families became enemies. These two friends drift apart and lose contact with each other when the families turn against one another. Neither Laura nor Isaac has any idea what began this feud, but they do not question their families’ sentiments. Circumstances turn strangely when Isaac and Laura reach their early adulthood. They inadvertently become pen pals, and neither has any idea of the other's identity. What circumstances will unfold when Laura and Isaac discover each other’s identities? Will this story eventually have a tragic ending like Romeo and Juliet or will Laura and Isaac defy the odds?
Beyond the Ivy Walls is the book that is loosely based on the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Sadie West’s family is in financial straits, and they are in danger of losing their farm. The misdemeanor in this story is not theft, but trespassing and squatting. Sadie is forced to leave her family and work in a feather duster factory. She cannot afford lodgings, so she seeks refuge in an abandoned building. Otis Taylor is the recipient of the trespassing and squatting, because his wealthy family owns this abandoned building. He has returned from the place where his late father exiled him to settle his family affairs. What will Otis do when he discovers that Sadie is living in the abandoned building? Will he order her to leave or offer her an alternative? Why did Otis’s father exile him in the first place? Read this exciting story if you wonder about the answers to these questions.
Hope in Azure Springs is the book that reminds us readers of the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling. Em and her younger sister Lucy are separated on an orphan train. A family adopts Lucy, but will not adopt Em. A man named George eventually adopts Em, but he severely neglects her. George is later mysteriously murdered, and Em is almost murdered as well. Local people discover Em when she is unconscious from the murderers’ attack. The sheriff Caleb Reynolds is assigned to investigate Em’s case. A couple named the Howells open their home to Em during her recovery. Caleb later interrogates Em regarding the murderous incident. He welcomes this assignment because he is infatuated with the Howell's beautiful but spoiled daughter Eliza. Caleb and Em develop a friendship during this investigation. Will Caleb continue to pursue the beautiful Eliza, or will Em become more beautiful to him? Read this book if you are curious of the choice that Caleb gradually makes.
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