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?

Fan-favorite Rachel Fordham brings to life the dusty streets of an 1880s frontier town in this story that affirms where you come from matters far less than where you’re going.

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In My Opinion

From the start of A Life Once Dreamed, readers realize Aggie Pratt is a woman who knows her mind. And then her past meets her present and she’s not so sure of herself.

Aggie and James have a rich history between them as childhood best friends turned sweethearts and it enriches their reuniting. Add to that a town filled with people who have their strong opinions about everything from matchmaking to newcomers to what their schoolteacher should and shouldn’t do, and the book only gets richer and deeper.

This story reminded me a little of Persuasion (my favorite Jane Austen novel) but in a reverse as Aggie makes a decision to leave the man she loves because of family. Plus, those who’ve read Rachel Fordham’s other books will delight in the little mentions of them in this one.

I have just one thing to ask after reading this one: Can Sam please get his own book now?

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.