The Hope of Azure Springs is the inaugural book for Rachel Fordham and hopefully a series involving Azure Springs.  The reader is immediately drawn to all of the characters in this late 1800s novel.  Each character has different quirks and unique characteristics.  Fordham has done an excellent job helping readers to feel the personalities of her characters.

Perhaps due to the personal challenges the author describes in her biography, the readers feel connected to all of the joys and heartaches taking place.  Each one is felt deeply and potently without feeling overwhelming or as though the author is trying to convince readers to feel certain things.

According to Rachel Fordham, this is her first published manuscript and that is exciting, because it means more stories will be likely forthcoming.  Something about this story and its people resonates long after the last page is turned. 

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Revell

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None 

Violence/Gore:  Person bleeding from injuries; report of a person being shot and killed, another was beaten; a body is found hanging from a tree; a character is kidnapped and bound; report of a child being whipped and beaten. 

Sex/Nudity:  Report that characters are prostitutes; mention that some male characters visit prostitutes; non-married characters kiss and embrace.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of family members, orphans, child abuse.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Person drinks a lot and is likely drunk.