A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Fordham

Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Revell
Released: August 1, 2020
325 pages

About the Book:

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?

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The characters and setting made this story for me. It is set in 1880 in a frontier town in the Dakota territory. Aggie has left all she knew in the city of Buffalo after learning a devastating secret 6 years ago. She has built a life for herself in this new frontier town as a school teacher, but when someone from her past shows up in town her plans for the future are threatened. How does she deal with this and is it a bad thing or could it be good? I wasn't a fan that Aggie ran rather than being honest about why she left, but I understood what held her back from sharing. There are two wonderful guys that could provide a future for Aggie, but will she choose one or stay single? I had to laugh at little Tommy with his questions and how the adults tried to pass off answering him. Life during this time period was hard and it was described so well that I was able to picture what they were going through. There are quite a few things that happen that shake up the community and had me worried for certain people. Aggie was determined to stand up against the prejudice towards illegitimate children. The friendship and the resilience of the community members made me root for them. There was one particular character that I would like to see find their match.

Favourite Quote: 

“Sometimes the hardest things are the very best things.”

(I received this book as a gift from a friend; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Other books from this author that I have reviewed:   

   

Beyond Ivy Walls

The Letter Tree

The Hope of Azure Springs 

Where the Road Bends  

Yours Truly, Thomas