Beyond Her Calling

4 stars

FTC DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Reveries Co. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

Sweet. Charming. Idyllic. Classy. Faith-filled. Romantic (in a sweet way). Scottish charm.

These are just a few terms that define Beyond Her Calling, book four in the Chronicles of Alice and Ivy series. I haven't read the previous three books, so while I enjoyed this one immensely, I did feel I had missed a few things by coming in late. My remedy for this? Saving up money to purchase the full series in paperback and reading from the beginning.

I especially loved the innocent sweetness of this story. Ivy was quite refreshing with her take on the world. It's not every day that a “mentally challenged” person is the lead of a novel, and I found it something to cherish, truly. Her perspective was my favorite, and I thought the aspect of her different way of thinking was captured perfectly.

All right, so I have to talk about the setting next. Who wouldn't love to hop the pond to Scotland right now? Well, look no further than this book for that virtual journey. The atmosphere definitely had some Gaelic charm, and the dialect was written beautifully and added much depth to the story. Is it okay if I start dreaming in Scot? Because that accent might be stuck in my head for a while! (That's a delicious problem to have, by the way, for an accent-addicted gal like me. [quiet shout:] I love accents of all sorts, y'all!) The sheep, cows, pastures, barns, stores, people, small-town vibe, and general atmosphere were amazing and made me feel as if I could step out of my house and into a little Scottish town. Too bad that didn't happen during the week I was reading this book. (Aw, shucks!)

This story kicked off with an emotional lurch, which I loved dearly. Emotional stories and I understand each other well, and I was thrilled that this one would speak to my emotion-loving heart. I laughed, huffed (at Violet, which you'll understand well once you read this one), wept (for at least three different reasons), and sighed very happily. All the great feelings were present and active in this one, folks. Definitely a keeper on the emotion side of things!

There were many quotes I adored in this story. This one might just be my favorite:

Violet: This is a terrible book.
Ivy: Then stop reading it.
Violet: I don't want to.
Ivy: Then keep reading it.

Y'all, I have so been there! Some books just irritate me to death... but they still manage to hook me in till I have to continue reading to see what all happens. Can you relate to that at all? Because I totally understood this bit of dialogue from sheer personal experience (though not from this book, as it did not irritate me).

The author of this book might be young (still in her teens as of this moment in 2018, I believe), but she's got a lot to bring to the table. I'm excited to see how she grows her storytelling talents in the coming decade, because I think she's got plenty of room to grow even though she's already quite good at her job. Since I'm a writer and editor myself, I know that a writer has never “arrived” but always has room for growth (unless they've become stagnant or fallen backward in their writing journey). I think Miss Roth has the potential to wow us all time and again as her writing gets tighter and even more developed than it already is over the coming years. She's an author to watch, that's for certain.

Fans of Dianne Price's Thistle series will adore this book!