Yours Truly, Thomas

Title: Yours Truly, Thomas
Author: Rachel Fordham
Publisher: Revell
ISBN: 978-0-8007-3538-8

“No one should have to live with regrets. I understand about life going differently than we want it to. In a small way it’s as though I can feel his pain,” Penny admits in Rachel Fordham’s novel, Yours Truly, Thomas.

~ What ~
The second novel by the author that is based in fictitious Azure Springs, Iowa, this three-hundred-and-seventeen-page paperback targets those interested in a historical romance set in the midwest in the late 1800s. With no profanity, topics of arson, abuse, and injury may not be appropriate for immature readers. The ending includes twelve discussion questions, acknowledgments, and the author’s biography with advertisements.

In this tale that begins in Washington D.C. and travels to Iowa, twenty-two-year-old Penny Ercanbeck works as a clerk at the dead letter office, opening undeliverable mail. When she reads a letter from a man named Thomas to a woman named Clara, she is determined it gets delivered to its intended recipient.

However, life has a way of going on different roads than expected when Penny makes the decision to go to the midwest in search of Thomas. What she finds is not only a broken man who is desperate to forget the past but the yearning to step out on her own, making life-choice decisions.

~ Why ~
I enjoy novels where I learn about America’s history, especially how the U.S. Post Office used to handle undeliverable mail. I appreciated the details of small-town living where everyone knows everyone’s business yet are the first to help someone in need. The author’s dealing with forgiveness, redemption, and hope is well written and tender while a thread of mystery weaves through the protagonists’ relationship.

~ Why Not ~
Those who do not like stories of an impulsive, dreamy woman crossing boundaries to find an answer to love may not enjoy this read. Some may wish some of the characters were not stereotypical and the romance predictable. While others may not care for the religious undertones, I found there was little reference to relying on the Lord for answers.

~ Wish ~
I prefer all pronouns of God capitalized for reverence. I hope the writer has a sequel to this read as she has written a book previously about some of its characters.

~ Want ~
If you like a historical novel of the blooming romance between two individuals who are drawn together through sorrow and pain, this is a lovely story that brings resolve, determination, and peace to several of its characters.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Revell for this complimentary book that I am under no obligation to review.

This book can be purchased at https://amzn.to/2XhzBUN