The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

Blue Castle is written by L.M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables. Prior to reading Blue Castle, I had no idea Montgomery had written other books. Here is the Goodreads book synopsis and what ended up grabbing my attention (and led me to eventually reading it):

“If it had not rained on a certain May morning, Valancy Stirling's whole life would have been entirely different."

At twenty-nine, Valancy had never been in love and it seemed romance had completely passed her by. Her only consolation were the "forbidden" books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle.

All her life Valancy lived on a quiet little street, in an ugly little house, never daring to contradict her overbearing mother and meddlesome aunt. Until the fateful day a letter came from Doctor Trent—and Valancy decided to throw caution to the wind once and for all...

For the first time in her life, Valancy said and did exactly what she wanted. Soon she discovered a world full of fine surprises and real adventures that she never knew could exist outside of her secret Blue Castle.