Where the Road Bends by Rachel Fordman

The audio version of this review was first shared in Episode 31: Guest Karen Barnett & a Review of Where the Road Bends by Rachel Fordman.

About the book

As Norah King surveys her family land in Iowa in 1880, she is acutely aware that it is all she has left, and she will do everything in her power to save it–even if that means marrying a man she hardly knows. Days before her wedding, Norah discovers an injured man on her property. Her sense of duty compels her to take him in and nurse him back to health. Little does she realize just how much this act of kindness will complicate her life and threaten the future she’s planned.

Norah’s care does more than aid Quincy Barnes’s recovery–it awakens his heart to possibilities. Penniless and homeless, he knows the most honorable thing he can do is head on down the road and leave Norah to marry her intended. But walking away from the first person to believe in him proves much harder than he imagined.

Rachel Fordham invites you to experience the strength and beauty of love forged in the crucible of hardship in this heartwarming story.

The Review

One could gush about the hero’s dramatic life-altering decisions that push him to be a better man or one could get lost in Norah’s hope that keeps her hanging on when life knocks her down, but what makes this story unputdownable is the author’s voice in the way she weaves the two main characters’ stories together and apart leaving the reader wondering just how all this will work out in the end. With any romance novel, the reader is assured of the HEA, the trick for an author is to still lead the reader on by wondering exactly how it will all happen. Rachel Fordham delights her readers with almosts, twists, disappointments, and redeeming moments. Movies have a montage of characters falling love over the course of a single song, but through daily events and conversations this story progresses with wit and humor. This book will have you rooting for all the characters, even the fully-fleshed out secondary ones. 

It’s been some time since I’ve read a historical romance book that was such a pleasure to read. I finished it in two days and I’m still thinking about the story and the characters. Where the Road Bends is a must-read!

Disclaimer: The publisher offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.

About the Author

Rachel Fordham has long been fascinated by all things historical or in the words of her children “old stuff”. Often the historical trivia she discovers is woven into her children’s bedtime tales. Despite her love for good stories she didn’t attempt writing a novel until her husband challenged her to do so (and now she’s so glad he did). Since that time she’s often been found typing or researching while her youngest child naps or frantically writing plot twists while she waits in the school pick-up line. In addition to her passion for storytelling she enjoys reading, being outdoors and seeing new places. Rachel lives with her husband and children on an island in Washington state.

Learn more about current projects at RachelFordham.com