Where the Road Bends by Rachel Fordham

 

Rachel Fordham has returned with a new tale of second chances and starting over. 

Where the Road Bends features a young struggling farmer Norah King, on the cusp of her wedding in 1880s Iowa to save her farm and Quincey Barnes a former fighter trying to find a better way of living.

As usual, Fordham has presented a story with wonderful protagonists filled with enough charming characteristics to draw readers to their side and just enough rough around the edge to make them relatable. 

I have to say though, Mrs. Dover is probably my favourite character in the book, she really was brilliantly written as a way of connecting the misfit crew of the Mission Hotel. Her warmth and wisdom helped her steal every scene she entered and oh how I'd love to read more of her story.

It is fair to note that this novel does include themes of violence towards women as well as the physical, emotional, and mental recovery from those events. While Fordham doesn't get graphic in her descriptions, her ability to pour emotion into her characters could make these themes triggering for some readers.

That said, Fordham really took time to craft Norah's journey through trauma and recovery with respect. I also felt that Fordham's willingness to incorporate Norah's recovery: her fear responses to trauma triggers, the physicality of her recovery, and the emotional fallout, allowed the redemptive and restorative nature of the story to come more clearly into focus. 

I've come to appreciate how Fordham gives her characters room to breathe, grow, and make mistakes. There's no rushing to gloss over or fix the loss, grief, or trauma in this book (with one exception I'll mention shortly). I've come to appreciate how Fordham lets her characters have room to speak as it adds to their charm.

My only negative take away from the story was the more fantastical elements of the ending. 

Don't get me wrong, it was wonderfully written, hits a strong emotional chord, and falls in line with what most readers will probably find themselves hoping for. Maybe it's the cynic in me of late, but the ending feels a little too Hallmark with the town's final stand against Norah's past.

4 out of 5 stars.

Book was provided courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. and Baker Publishing Group.