Merry Christmas, y’all!

I’m back today with my first review for my second Classics Club list! I am so excited to participate again with my second list!

The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery was the perfect place to start my next Classics Club journey. I have read all of the Anne of Green Gables books and loved them. But I haven’t yet ventured beyond Anne into Montgomery’s other novels. I absolutely loved this one!

Initial Thoughts:

• This is the only Montgomery book with an adult protagonist. And I think she does it well!
• There is something so beautiful about the ways Montgomery describes her Canadian settings. They are so iconic and I am left wanting to see them for myself. Definitely on my bucket list to see Prince Edward Island and other Canadian sites made famous by Montgomery’s writing. 

Book Summary: “An unforgettable story of courage and romance. Will Valancy Stirling ever escape her strict family and find true love?

Valancy Stirling is 29, unmarried, and has never been in love. Living with her overbearing mother and meddlesome aunt, she finds her only consolation in the “forbidden” books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle–a place where all her dreams come true and she can be who she truly wants to be. After getting shocking news from the doctor, she rebels against her family and discovers a surprising new world, full of love and adventures far beyond her most secret dreams.”

The writing and language are simply beautiful. There is something so lovely about Montgomery’s writing style and the way she transports readers into her settings. Her books feel like coming home or eating your favorite food or snuggling under a blanket watching the snow fall. They are simple yet cozy and endearing. Descriptions of the wilds of nature — trees, water, clouds, sunsets, snow, spring, — everything was so vividly detailed. I felt transported to Canada and like I was experiencing it’s wild beauty firsthand. My favorite setting is Valancy’s home with Barney on the island. Their life is beautifully simple there and the way Montgomery creates their little world is stunning. 

I loved Valancy and her incredible journey to living a full life. Hers was a clever and engaging story. I was surprised by her heart diagnosis and admired how it gave her the strength to live her best life. I admired her strength and how she finds happiness and fulfillment outside the confines of her incredibly overbearing clan. I love her interactions with them once she decides to be her own woman. There are several laugh out loud funny moments! I was so glad she found true happiness elsewhere. Also I loved her relationship with Barney. Their relationship is slowly built on friendship and service as their help their mutual friend and his ailing daughter. But their love story grows into something so beautiful!

Valancy and Barney’s love story is subtle and lovely. I love the life they build together and the quiet ways they become inseparable. They have deep, meaningful experiences together in the beauty of everyday life. The moments they spend exploring the land, fishing on the water, cooking, reading, living in their blue castle. The way Valancy discovers her love for Barney is so lovely and powerful. I am glad she found true love and felt worthy of it. Their relationship is central to the plot of the book and pulls readers in with its charm and simplicity.

I loved this book and am so glad I started my next Classics Club list with this novel. The action is clever and the ending was fantastic! I love the characters and Valancy’s journey through the story. As always, Montgomery has me wishing to see the wilds of Canada. I only wish I had read this one sooner!

Which are your favorite LM Montgomery novels?
Do you have other Canadian authors that you enjoy reading?

This is my 1st classic finished on my 2nd list for The Classics Club!
Check out my full list here. To see my completed first list, click here. For more info on the club, click here.