A Lady in Attendance

Title: A Lady in Attendance

Author: Rachel Fordham

Publisher: Revell

Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

My Review:

This book starts with a bang, with Hazel in a reformatory! Immediately it draws the reader in as we want to know what a lady would do in 1893 to be put in a reformatory! All questions are eventually answered and the book is a very quick read.

"The coarse gray fabric of Hazel's newly donned uniform felt uncomfortable and foreign against her skin."

I have never read anything by Rachel Fordham before (sadly) but will be reading more of her works. Her writing is engaging, her characters are well developed, the plot flows seamlessly, and the lessons on love and forgiveness will touch the reader's heart. I have never read a book quite like this one before.

"Bury the past and cling to whatever future you have. Some things are best forgotten, left closed."

A Lady in Attendance has it all: heartache, love, mystery, a bit of suspense, faithfulness, flawed characters, secrets, doses of humor, and an unlikely hero and heroine. After her time in the reformatory, Hazel fudges the truth a bit to land the lady in attendance position with Gilbert, the dentist. While working for him she is also working hard to clear up events of her past. She has made friends with a lady at the boarding house, Ina, but will Hazel ever trust her or Gilbert with the truth?

"It wasn't a virtue she'd ever recognized before, but there was something dignified about a man who did not have to drag another man down or puff himself up to prove his own merit." 

Gilbert Watts is a very quiet, reserved dentist until he meets Hazel. Before long he finds himself engaging in long conversations and jumping in to save the lady in distress. He is the true hero of the story, the most changed character, and very swoon-worthy. He was just so romantic and sweet, in subtle ways. 

Hazel, Gilbert, Ina, Duncan, and even Eddie are characters that you will love and be rooting for. The only thing that I disliked was the ending...I was with Mathilda, I wanted all the details, what the dress looked like, who she danced with, LOL. No spoilers here, just not where I expected the book to end. I settled in to finish the book when I saw the (next page) next chapter was the discussion questions! I was sure I had a few more chapters to go and had put my bookmark in the wrong place. Nope. I had got interrupted when I had half a page to read and was just so disappointed it was over. That is the mark for an excellent book, not wanting to end.

Thank you to Revell for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to give a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

★★★★★

Synopsis:

Five years in a New York state reformatory have left a blemish on Hazel's real name. So when she takes a job as Doctor Gilbert Watts's lady in attendance in 1898, she does so under an alias. In the presence of her quiet and pious employer, Hazel finds more than an income. She finds a friend and a hope that if she can set her tarnished past in order, she might have a future after all.

As Gilbert becomes accustomed to the pleasant chatter of his new dental assistant, he can't help but sense something secretive about her. Perhaps there is more to this woman than meets the eye. Can the questions that loom between them ever be answered? Or will the deeds of days gone by forever rob the future of its possibilities?

Rachel Fordham pens a tender tale of a soft-spoken man, a hardened woman, and the friends that stand by them as they work toward a common purpose--to expunge the record of someone society deemed beyond saving--and perhaps find love along the way.