A Life Once Dreamed

A Life Once Dreamed
By Rachel Fordham
Published by Revell
Publication Date: August 4th, 2020

Description:
Six years ago, a shocking secret sent Agnes Pratt running in search of a new start. She found it in Penance, a rugged town of miners and lumberjacks in the Dakota Territory, where she became Miss Aggie, respected schoolteacher and confirmed old maid. But the past has a way of catching up with people.
When childhood friend and former sweetheart James Harris accepts a position as the town doctor, Aggie's pleasantly predictable days suddenly become anything but. James wants to know why Agnes left behind the life they had dreamed of creating for themselves--but he is the one person who can never know.
In the shadows of the Black Hills, can a healing light be shed on the past? Or will the secret Agnes can't seem to outrun destroy her chance at happiness?
Fan-favorite Rachel Fordham brings to life the dusty streets of an 1880s frontier town in this story that affirms where you come from matters far less than where you're going.

Review:
Aaahhh, big sigh. This book was just wonderful. I fell in love with everything about it--the setting, the characters, the messages, and more. Aggie is great--she's sweet but also strong and has her feisty moments. James, with his love for Aggie and his confusion about why she left him, just made me smile. Other characters--from little Freddie to Tommy (who asks the most embarrassing questions) to Sam and more--all just stole my heart. They all seemed real. I love reading characters who seem like real people with real problems that they have to work through, and Rachel Fordham is terrific at writing that type of character. The storyline moved along well, with serious moments balanced with laugh-out-loud moments, and the messages--of hope, of God taking the bad and following it with something good, of learning to look at people for who they are--were definitely ones that spoke to my heart. They were woven into the story in a way that didn't make them overbearing; they just felt right and good and uplifting. I seriously just loved everything about this book--including what is perhaps the best love letter I've ever read! This is easily one of my picks for the best books of 2020!
5 stars.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher.

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