diff --git a/.github/scripts/dev.js b/.github/scripts/dev.js
index e9c003ae6a..9526218b2b 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/dev.js
+++ b/.github/scripts/dev.js
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ const COMMAND_ADMIN = {
 
 const COMMAND_TYPESCRIPT = {
     name: 'ts',
-    command: 'nx watch --projects=ghost/collections,ghost/in-memory-repository,ghost/mail-events,ghost/model-to-domain-event-interceptor,ghost/post-revisions,ghost/nql-filter-expansions,ghost/post-events,ghost/donations,ghost/recommendations -- nx run \\$NX_PROJECT_NAME:build:ts',
+    command: 'nx watch --projects=ghost/collections,ghost/in-memory-repository,ghost/bookshelf-repository,ghost/mail-events,ghost/model-to-domain-event-interceptor,ghost/post-revisions,ghost/nql-filter-expansions,ghost/post-events,ghost/donations,ghost/recommendations -- nx run \\$NX_PROJECT_NAME:build:ts',
     cwd: path.resolve(__dirname, '../../'),
     prefixColor: 'cyan',
     env: {}
diff --git a/ghost/bookshelf-repository/.eslintrc.js b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/.eslintrc.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cb690be63f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/.eslintrc.js
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+module.exports = {
+    plugins: ['ghost'],
+    extends: [
+        'plugin:ghost/ts'
+    ]
+};
diff --git a/ghost/bookshelf-repository/README.md b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c63e633c50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Bookshelf Repository
+
+
+## Usage
+
+
+## Develop
+
+This is a monorepo package.
+
+Follow the instructions for the top-level repo.
+1. `git clone` this repo & `cd` into it as usual
+2. Run `yarn` to install top-level dependencies.
+
+
+
+## Test
+
+- `yarn lint` run just eslint
+- `yarn test` run lint and tests
+
diff --git a/ghost/bookshelf-repository/package.json b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d9eb30b634
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+{
+  "name": "@tryghost/bookshelf-repository",
+  "version": "0.0.0",
+  "repository": "https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/tree/main/ghost/bookshelf-repository",
+  "author": "Ghost Foundation",
+  "private": true,
+  "main": "build/index.js",
+  "types": "build/index.d.ts",
+  "scripts": {
+    "build": "tsc",
+    "build:ts": "yarn build",
+    "test:unit": "NODE_ENV=testing c8 --src src --all --check-coverage --100 --reporter text --reporter cobertura mocha -r ts-node/register './test/**/*.test.ts'",
+    "test": "yarn test:types && yarn test:unit",
+    "test:types": "tsc --noEmit",
+    "lint:code": "eslint src/ --ext .ts --cache",
+    "lint": "yarn lint:code && yarn lint:test",
+    "lint:test": "eslint -c test/.eslintrc.js test/ --ext .ts --cache"
+  },
+  "files": [
+    "build"
+  ],
+  "devDependencies": {
+    "c8": "7.14.0",
+    "mocha": "10.2.0",
+    "sinon": "15.2.0"
+  },
+  "dependencies": {
+    "@tryghost/nql": "0.11.0"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/ghost/bookshelf-repository/src/BookshelfRepository.ts b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/src/BookshelfRepository.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9ac1712b7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/src/BookshelfRepository.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+type Entity<T> = {
+    id: T;
+    deleted: boolean;
+}
+
+type Order<T> = {
+    field: keyof T;
+    direction: 'asc' | 'desc';
+}
+
+export type ModelClass<T> = {
+    destroy: (data: {id: T}) => Promise<void>;
+    findOne: (data: {id: T}, options?: {require?: boolean}) => Promise<ModelInstance<T> | null>;
+    findAll: (options: {filter?: string; order?: OrderOption}) => Promise<ModelInstance<T>[]>;
+    add: (data: object) => Promise<ModelInstance<T>>;
+}
+
+export type ModelInstance<T> = {
+    id: T;
+    get(field: string): unknown;
+    set(data: object|string, value?: unknown): void;
+    save(properties: object, options?: {autoRefresh?: boolean; method?: 'update' | 'insert'}): Promise<ModelInstance<T>>;
+}
+
+// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+type OrderOption<T extends Entity<any> = any> = Order<T>[];
+
+export abstract class BookshelfRepository<IDType, T extends Entity<IDType>> {
+    protected Model: ModelClass<IDType>;
+
+    constructor(Model: ModelClass<IDType>) {
+        this.Model = Model;
+    }
+
+    protected abstract toPrimitive(entity: T): object;
+    protected abstract modelToEntity(model: ModelInstance<IDType>): Promise<T|null> | T | null;
+
+    async save(entity: T): Promise<void> {
+        if (entity.deleted) {
+            await this.Model.destroy({id: entity.id});
+            return;
+        }
+
+        const existing = await this.Model.findOne({id: entity.id}, {require: false});
+        if (existing) {
+            existing.set(this.toPrimitive(entity))
+            await existing.save({}, {autoRefresh: false, method: 'update'});
+        } else {
+            await this.Model.add(this.toPrimitive(entity))
+        }
+    }
+
+    async getById(id: IDType): Promise<T | null> {
+        const model = await this.Model.findOne({id}, {require: false}) as ModelInstance<IDType> | null;
+        return model ? this.modelToEntity(model) : null;
+    }
+
+    async getAll({filter, order}: { filter?: string; order?: OrderOption<T> } = {}): Promise<T[]> {
+        const models = await this.Model.findAll({filter, order}) as ModelInstance<IDType>[];
+        return (await Promise.all(models.map(model => this.modelToEntity(model)))).filter(entity => !!entity) as T[];
+    }
+}
diff --git a/ghost/bookshelf-repository/src/index.ts b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/src/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2458798717
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/src/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export * from './BookshelfRepository';
diff --git a/ghost/bookshelf-repository/test/.eslintrc.js b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/test/.eslintrc.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6fe6dc1504
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/test/.eslintrc.js
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+module.exports = {
+    parser: '@typescript-eslint/parser',
+    plugins: ['ghost'],
+    extends: [
+        'plugin:ghost/test'
+    ]
+};
diff --git a/ghost/bookshelf-repository/test/BookshelfRepository.test.ts b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/test/BookshelfRepository.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8758f699bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/test/BookshelfRepository.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+import assert from 'assert';
+import {BookshelfRepository, ModelClass, ModelInstance} from '../src/index';
+
+type SimpleEntity = {
+    id: string;
+    deleted: boolean;
+    name: string;
+    age: number;
+    birthday: string;
+}
+
+class SimpleBookshelfRepository extends BookshelfRepository<string, SimpleEntity> {
+    protected modelToEntity(model: ModelInstance<string>): SimpleEntity {
+        return {
+            id: model.id,
+            deleted: false,
+            name: model.get('name') as string,
+            age: model.get('age') as number,
+            birthday: model.get('birthday') as string
+        };
+    }
+
+    protected toPrimitive(entity: SimpleEntity): object {
+        return {
+            id: entity.id,
+            name: entity.name,
+            age: entity.age,
+            birthday: entity.birthday
+        };
+    }
+}
+
+class Model implements ModelClass<string> {
+    items: ModelInstance<string>[] = [];
+
+    constructor() {
+        this.items = [];
+    }
+
+    destroy(data: {id: string;}): Promise<void> {
+        this.items = this.items.filter(item => item.id !== data.id);
+        return Promise.resolve();
+    }
+
+    findOne(data: {id: string;}, options?: {require?: boolean | undefined;} | undefined): Promise<ModelInstance<string> | null> {
+        const item = this.items.find(i => i.id === data.id);
+        if (!item && options?.require) {
+            throw new Error('Not found');
+        }
+        return Promise.resolve(item ?? null);
+    }
+    findAll(options: {filter?: string | undefined; order?: {field: string | number | symbol; direction: 'desc' | 'asc';}[] | undefined;}): Promise<ModelInstance<string>[]> {
+        const sorted = this.items.slice().sort((a, b) => {
+            for (const order of options.order ?? []) {
+                const aValue = a.get(order.field as string) as number;
+                const bValue = b.get(order.field as string) as number;
+                if (aValue < bValue) {
+                    return order.direction === 'asc' ? -1 : 1;
+                } else if (aValue > bValue) {
+                    return order.direction === 'asc' ? 1 : -1;
+                }
+            }
+            return 0;
+        });
+        return Promise.resolve(sorted);
+    }
+
+    add(data: object): Promise<ModelInstance<string>> {
+        const item = {
+            id: (data as any).id,
+            get(field: string): unknown {
+                return (data as any)[field];
+            },
+            set(d: object|string, value?: unknown): void {
+                if (typeof d === 'string') {
+                    (data as any)[d] = value;
+                } else {
+                    Object.assign(data, d);
+                }
+            },
+            save(properties: object): Promise<ModelInstance<string>> {
+                Object.assign(data, properties);
+                return Promise.resolve(item);
+            }
+        };
+        this.items.push(item);
+        return Promise.resolve(item);
+    }
+}
+
+describe('BookshelfRepository', function () {
+    it('Can save, retrieve, update and delete entities', async function () {
+        const repository = new SimpleBookshelfRepository(new Model());
+
+        checkRetrieving: {
+            const entity = {
+                id: '1',
+                deleted: false,
+                name: 'John',
+                age: 30,
+                birthday: new Date('2000-01-01').toISOString()
+            };
+
+            await repository.save(entity);
+            const result = await repository.getById('1');
+
+            assert(result);
+            assert(result.name === 'John');
+            assert(result.age === 30);
+            assert(result.id === '1');
+
+            break checkRetrieving;
+        }
+
+        checkUpdating: {
+            const entity = {
+                id: '2',
+                deleted: false,
+                name: 'John',
+                age: 24,
+                birthday: new Date('2000-01-01').toISOString()
+            };
+
+            await repository.save(entity);
+
+            entity.name = 'Kym';
+
+            await repository.save(entity);
+
+            const result = await repository.getById('2');
+
+            assert(result);
+            assert.equal(result.name, 'Kym');
+            assert.equal(result.age, 24);
+            assert.equal(result.id, '2');
+
+            break checkUpdating;
+        }
+
+        checkDeleting: {
+            const entity = {
+                id: '3',
+                deleted: false,
+                name: 'Egg',
+                age: 180,
+                birthday: new Date('2010-01-01').toISOString()
+            };
+
+            await repository.save(entity);
+
+            assert(await repository.getById('3'));
+
+            entity.deleted = true;
+
+            await repository.save(entity);
+
+            assert(!await repository.getById('3'));
+
+            break checkDeleting;
+        }
+    });
+
+    it('Can save and retrieve all entities', async function () {
+        const repository = new SimpleBookshelfRepository(new Model());
+        const entities = [{
+            id: '1',
+            deleted: false,
+            name: 'Kym',
+            age: 24,
+            birthday: new Date('2000-01-01').toISOString()
+        }, {
+            id: '2',
+            deleted: false,
+            name: 'John',
+            age: 30,
+            birthday: new Date('2000-01-01').toISOString()
+        }, {
+            id: '3',
+            deleted: false,
+            name: 'Kevin',
+            age: 5,
+            birthday: new Date('2000-01-01').toISOString()
+        }];
+
+        for (const entity of entities) {
+            await repository.save(entity);
+        }
+
+        const result = await repository.getAll({
+            order: [{
+                field: 'age',
+                direction: 'desc'
+            }]
+        });
+
+        assert(result);
+        assert(result.length === 3);
+        assert(result[0].age === 30);
+        assert(result[1].age === 24);
+        assert(result[2].age === 5);
+    });
+});
diff --git a/ghost/bookshelf-repository/tsconfig.json b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7f7ed38664
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/bookshelf-repository/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "extends": "../tsconfig.json",
+  "include": [
+    "src/**/*"
+  ],
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "outDir": "build"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/ghost/core/core/server/models/recommendation.js b/ghost/core/core/server/models/recommendation.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3e90bb9d91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/core/core/server/models/recommendation.js
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+const ghostBookshelf = require('./base');
+
+const Recommendation = ghostBookshelf.Model.extend({
+    tableName: 'recommendations',
+    defaults: {}
+}, {});
+
+module.exports = {
+    Recommendation: ghostBookshelf.model('Recommendation', Recommendation)
+};
diff --git a/ghost/core/core/server/services/recommendations/RecommendationServiceWrapper.js b/ghost/core/core/server/services/recommendations/RecommendationServiceWrapper.js
index cbf1c86d55..cee6ae13c8 100644
--- a/ghost/core/core/server/services/recommendations/RecommendationServiceWrapper.js
+++ b/ghost/core/core/server/services/recommendations/RecommendationServiceWrapper.js
@@ -21,7 +21,9 @@ class RecommendationServiceWrapper {
 
         const config = require('../../../shared/config');
         const urlUtils = require('../../../shared/url-utils');
-        const {InMemoryRecommendationRepository, RecommendationService, RecommendationController, WellknownService} = require('@tryghost/recommendations');
+        const models = require('../../models');
+        const sentry = require('../../../shared/sentry');
+        const {BookshelfRecommendationRepository, RecommendationService, RecommendationController, WellknownService} = require('@tryghost/recommendations');
 
         const mentions = require('../mentions');
 
@@ -35,7 +37,9 @@ class RecommendationServiceWrapper {
             urlUtils
         });
 
-        this.repository = new InMemoryRecommendationRepository();
+        this.repository = new BookshelfRecommendationRepository(models.Recommendation, {
+            sentry
+        });
         this.service = new RecommendationService({
             repository: this.repository,
             wellknownService,
diff --git a/ghost/core/test/e2e-api/admin/__snapshots__/recommendations.test.js.snap b/ghost/core/test/e2e-api/admin/__snapshots__/recommendations.test.js.snap
index 49a7001ac3..d9414bb7b5 100644
--- a/ghost/core/test/e2e-api/admin/__snapshots__/recommendations.test.js.snap
+++ b/ghost/core/test/e2e-api/admin/__snapshots__/recommendations.test.js.snap
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ Object {
       "one_click_subscribe": true,
       "reason": "Because dogs are cute",
       "title": "Dog Pictures",
-      "updated_at": null,
+      "updated_at": StringMatching /\\\\d\\{4\\}-\\\\d\\{2\\}-\\\\d\\{2\\}T\\\\d\\{2\\}:\\\\d\\{2\\}:\\\\d\\{2\\}\\\\\\.000Z/,
       "url": "https://dogpictures.com/",
     },
   ],
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ exports[`Recommendations Admin API Can browse 2: [headers] 1`] = `
 Object {
   "access-control-allow-origin": "http://127.0.0.1:2369",
   "cache-control": "no-cache, private, no-store, must-revalidate, max-stale=0, post-check=0, pre-check=0",
-  "content-length": "354",
+  "content-length": "376",
   "content-type": "application/json; charset=utf-8",
   "content-version": StringMatching /v\\\\d\\+\\\\\\.\\\\d\\+/,
   "etag": StringMatching /\\(\\?:W\\\\/\\)\\?"\\(\\?:\\[ !#-\\\\x7E\\\\x80-\\\\xFF\\]\\*\\|\\\\r\\\\n\\[\\\\t \\]\\|\\\\\\\\\\.\\)\\*"/,
@@ -178,3 +178,65 @@ Object {
   "x-powered-by": "Express",
 }
 `;
+
+exports[`Recommendations Admin API Cannot edit to invalid recommendation state 1: [body] 1`] = `
+Object {
+  "errors": Array [
+    Object {
+      "code": null,
+      "context": "Featured image must be a valid URL",
+      "details": null,
+      "ghostErrorCode": null,
+      "help": null,
+      "id": StringMatching /\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{8\\}-\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{4\\}-\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{4\\}-\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{4\\}-\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{12\\}/,
+      "message": "Validation error, cannot edit recommendation.",
+      "property": null,
+      "type": "ValidationError",
+    },
+  ],
+}
+`;
+
+exports[`Recommendations Admin API Cannot edit to invalid recommendation state 2: [headers] 1`] = `
+Object {
+  "access-control-allow-origin": "http://127.0.0.1:2369",
+  "cache-control": "no-cache, private, no-store, must-revalidate, max-stale=0, post-check=0, pre-check=0",
+  "content-length": "265",
+  "content-type": "application/json; charset=utf-8",
+  "content-version": StringMatching /v\\\\d\\+\\\\\\.\\\\d\\+/,
+  "etag": StringMatching /\\(\\?:W\\\\/\\)\\?"\\(\\?:\\[ !#-\\\\x7E\\\\x80-\\\\xFF\\]\\*\\|\\\\r\\\\n\\[\\\\t \\]\\|\\\\\\\\\\.\\)\\*"/,
+  "vary": "Accept-Version, Origin, Accept-Encoding",
+  "x-powered-by": "Express",
+}
+`;
+
+exports[`Recommendations Admin API Cannot use invalid protocols when editing 1: [body] 1`] = `
+Object {
+  "errors": Array [
+    Object {
+      "code": null,
+      "context": "Featured image must be a valid URL",
+      "details": null,
+      "ghostErrorCode": null,
+      "help": null,
+      "id": StringMatching /\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{8\\}-\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{4\\}-\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{4\\}-\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{4\\}-\\[a-f0-9\\]\\{12\\}/,
+      "message": "Validation error, cannot edit recommendation.",
+      "property": null,
+      "type": "ValidationError",
+    },
+  ],
+}
+`;
+
+exports[`Recommendations Admin API Cannot use invalid protocols when editing 2: [headers] 1`] = `
+Object {
+  "access-control-allow-origin": "http://127.0.0.1:2369",
+  "cache-control": "no-cache, private, no-store, must-revalidate, max-stale=0, post-check=0, pre-check=0",
+  "content-length": "265",
+  "content-type": "application/json; charset=utf-8",
+  "content-version": StringMatching /v\\\\d\\+\\\\\\.\\\\d\\+/,
+  "etag": StringMatching /\\(\\?:W\\\\/\\)\\?"\\(\\?:\\[ !#-\\\\x7E\\\\x80-\\\\xFF\\]\\*\\|\\\\r\\\\n\\[\\\\t \\]\\|\\\\\\\\\\.\\)\\*"/,
+  "vary": "Accept-Version, Origin, Accept-Encoding",
+  "x-powered-by": "Express",
+}
+`;
diff --git a/ghost/core/test/e2e-api/admin/recommendations.test.js b/ghost/core/test/e2e-api/admin/recommendations.test.js
index d533ca9010..5d05e40829 100644
--- a/ghost/core/test/e2e-api/admin/recommendations.test.js
+++ b/ghost/core/test/e2e-api/admin/recommendations.test.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 const {agentProvider, fixtureManager, mockManager, matchers} = require('../../utils/e2e-framework');
-const {anyObjectId, anyISODateTime, anyContentVersion, anyLocationFor, anyEtag} = matchers;
+const {anyObjectId, anyErrorId, anyISODateTime, anyContentVersion, anyLocationFor, anyEtag} = matchers;
 const assert = require('assert/strict');
 const recommendationsService = require('../../../core/server/services/recommendations');
 
@@ -133,6 +133,34 @@ describe('Recommendations Admin API', function () {
         assert.equal(body.recommendations[0].one_click_subscribe, false);
     });
 
+    it('Cannot use invalid protocols when editing', async function () {
+        const id = (await recommendationsService.repository.getAll())[0].id;
+        await agent.put(`recommendations/${id}/`)
+            .body({
+                recommendations: [{
+                    title: 'Cat Pictures',
+                    url: 'https://catpictures.com',
+                    reason: 'Because cats are cute',
+                    excerpt: 'Cats are cute',
+                    featured_image: 'ftp://catpictures.com/cat.jpg',
+                    favicon: 'ftp://catpictures.com/favicon.ico',
+                    one_click_subscribe: false
+                }]
+            })
+            .expectStatus(422)
+            .matchHeaderSnapshot({
+                'content-version': anyContentVersion,
+                etag: anyEtag
+            })
+            .matchBodySnapshot({
+                errors: [
+                    {
+                        id: anyErrorId
+                    }
+                ]
+            });
+    });
+
     it('Can delete recommendation', async function () {
         const id = (await recommendationsService.repository.getAll())[0].id;
         await agent.delete(`recommendations/${id}/`)
@@ -155,7 +183,8 @@ describe('Recommendations Admin API', function () {
                 recommendations: [
                     {
                         id: anyObjectId,
-                        created_at: anyISODateTime
+                        created_at: anyISODateTime,
+                        updated_at: anyISODateTime
                     }
                 ]
             });
diff --git a/ghost/recommendations/package.json b/ghost/recommendations/package.json
index 318fe058cc..e14e69162a 100644
--- a/ghost/recommendations/package.json
+++ b/ghost/recommendations/package.json
@@ -31,6 +31,9 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@tryghost/tpl": "0.1.25",
-    "@tryghost/errors": "1.2.25"
+    "@tryghost/errors": "1.2.25",
+    "@tryghost/in-memory-repository": "0.0.0",
+    "@tryghost/bookshelf-repository": "0.0.0",
+    "@tryghost/logging": "2.4.5"
   }
 }
diff --git a/ghost/recommendations/src/BookshelfRecommendationRepository.ts b/ghost/recommendations/src/BookshelfRecommendationRepository.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a00737c2c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ghost/recommendations/src/BookshelfRecommendationRepository.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import {Recommendation} from "./Recommendation";
+import {RecommendationRepository} from "./RecommendationRepository";
+import {BookshelfRepository, ModelClass, ModelInstance} from '@tryghost/bookshelf-repository';
+import logger from '@tryghost/logging';
+
+type Sentry = {
+    captureException(err: unknown): void;
+}
+
+export class BookshelfRecommendationRepository extends BookshelfRepository<string, Recommendation>  implements RecommendationRepository {
+    sentry?: Sentry;
+
+    constructor(Model: ModelClass<string>, deps: {sentry?: Sentry} = {}) {
+        super(Model);
+        this.sentry = deps.sentry;
+    }
+
+    toPrimitive(entity: Recommendation): object {
+        return {
+            id: entity.id,
+            title: entity.title,
+            reason: entity.reason,
+            excerpt: entity.excerpt,
+            featured_image: entity.featuredImage?.toString(),
+            favicon: entity.favicon?.toString(),
+            url: entity.url.toString(),
+            one_click_subscribe: entity.oneClickSubscribe,
+            created_at: entity.createdAt,
+            updated_at: entity.updatedAt,
+        }
+    }
+
+    modelToEntity(model: ModelInstance<string>): Recommendation | null {
+        try {
+            return Recommendation.create({
+                id: model.id,
+                title: model.get('title') as string,
+                reason: model.get('reason') as string | null,
+                excerpt: model.get('excerpt') as string | null,
+                featuredImage: (model.get('featured_image') as string | null) !== null ? new URL(model.get('featured_image') as string) : null,
+                favicon: (model.get('favicon') as string | null) !== null ? new URL(model.get('favicon') as string) : null,
+                url: new URL(model.get('url') as string),
+                oneClickSubscribe: model.get('one_click_subscribe') as boolean,
+                createdAt: model.get('created_at') as Date,
+                updatedAt: model.get('updated_at') as Date | null,
+            })
+        } catch (err) {
+            logger.error(err);
+            this.sentry?.captureException(err);
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/ghost/recommendations/src/InMemoryRecommendationRepository.ts b/ghost/recommendations/src/InMemoryRecommendationRepository.ts
index 8c473080fc..0e3e07a008 100644
--- a/ghost/recommendations/src/InMemoryRecommendationRepository.ts
+++ b/ghost/recommendations/src/InMemoryRecommendationRepository.ts
@@ -3,54 +3,6 @@ import {RecommendationRepository} from "./RecommendationRepository";
 import {InMemoryRepository} from '@tryghost/in-memory-repository';
 
 export class InMemoryRecommendationRepository extends InMemoryRepository<string, Recommendation>  implements RecommendationRepository {
-    store: Recommendation[] = [
-        new Recommendation({
-            title: "She‘s A Beast",
-            reason: "She helped me get back into the gym after 8 years of chilling",
-            excerpt: "The Pragmatic Programmer is one of those rare tech books you’ll read, re-read, and read again over the years. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced practitioner, you’ll come away with fresh insights each and every time.",
-            featuredImage: "https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/image.png",
-            favicon: "https://www.shesabeast.co/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/08/transparent-icon-black-copy-gray-bar.png",
-            url: new URL("https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/"),
-            oneClickSubscribe: false
-        }),
-        new Recommendation({
-            title: "Lenny‘s Newsletter",
-            reason: "He knows his stuff about product management and gives away lots of content for free. Highly recommended!",
-            excerpt: "The Pragmatic Programmer is one of those rare tech books you’ll read, re-read, and read again over the years. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced practitioner, you’ll come away with fresh insights each and every time.",
-            featuredImage: "https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/image.png",
-            favicon: "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7cde267-8f9e-47fa-9aef-5be03bad95ed%2Fapple-touch-icon-1024x1024.png",
-            url: new URL("https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/"),
-            oneClickSubscribe: false
-        }),
-        new Recommendation({
-            title: "Clickhole",
-            reason: "Funny",
-            excerpt: "The Pragmatic Programmer is one of those rare tech books you’ll read, re-read, and read again over the years. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced practitioner, you’ll come away with fresh insights each and every time.",
-            featuredImage: "https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/image.png",
-            favicon: "https://clickhole.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-clickhole-icon-180x180.png",
-            url: new URL("https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/"),
-            oneClickSubscribe: false
-        }),
-        new Recommendation({
-            title: "The Verge",
-            reason: "Consistently best tech news, I read it every day!",
-            excerpt: "The Pragmatic Programmer is one of those rare tech books you’ll read, re-read, and read again over the years. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced practitioner, you’ll come away with fresh insights each and every time.",
-            featuredImage: "https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/image.png",
-            favicon: "https://www.theverge.com/icons/apple_touch_icon.png",
-            url: new URL("https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/"),
-            oneClickSubscribe: false
-        }),
-        new Recommendation({
-            title: "The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak",
-            reason: "On-the-ground war reporting from Ukraine.",
-            excerpt: "The Pragmatic Programmer is one of those rare tech books you’ll read, re-read, and read again over the years. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced practitioner, you’ll come away with fresh insights each and every time.",
-            featuredImage: "https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/image.png",
-            favicon: "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_96,h_96,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3f2b2ad-681f-45e1-9496-db80f45e853d_403x403.png",
-            url: new URL("https://www.thepragmaticprogrammer.com/"),
-            oneClickSubscribe: true
-        })
-    ];
-
     toPrimitive(entity: Recommendation): object {
         return entity;
     }
diff --git a/ghost/recommendations/src/Recommendation.ts b/ghost/recommendations/src/Recommendation.ts
index 512ae78549..bddf034092 100644
--- a/ghost/recommendations/src/Recommendation.ts
+++ b/ghost/recommendations/src/Recommendation.ts
@@ -1,24 +1,27 @@
 import ObjectId from "bson-objectid";
+import errors from "@tryghost/errors";
 
 export type AddRecommendation = {
     title: string
     reason: string|null
     excerpt: string|null // Fetched from the site meta data
-    featuredImage: string|null // Fetched from the site meta data
-    favicon: string|null // Fetched from the site meta data
+    featuredImage: URL|null // Fetched from the site meta data
+    favicon: URL|null // Fetched from the site meta data
     url: URL
     oneClickSubscribe: boolean
 }
 
 export type EditRecommendation = Partial<AddRecommendation>
+type RecommendationConstructorData = AddRecommendation & {id: string, createdAt: Date, updatedAt: Date|null}
+export type RecommendationCreateData = AddRecommendation & {id?: string, createdAt?: Date, updatedAt?: Date|null}
 
 export class Recommendation {
     id: string
     title: string
     reason: string|null
     excerpt: string|null // Fetched from the site meta data
-    featuredImage: string|null // Fetched from the site meta data
-    favicon: string|null // Fetched from the site meta data
+    featuredImage: URL|null // Fetched from the site meta data
+    favicon: URL|null // Fetched from the site meta data
     url: URL
     oneClickSubscribe: boolean
     createdAt: Date
@@ -30,8 +33,8 @@ export class Recommendation {
         return this.#deleted;
     }
 
-    constructor(data: {id?: string, title: string, reason: string|null, excerpt: string|null, featuredImage: string|null, favicon: string|null, url: URL, oneClickSubscribe: boolean, createdAt?: Date, updatedAt?: Date|null}) {
-        this.id = data.id ?? ObjectId().toString();
+    private constructor(data: RecommendationConstructorData) {
+        this.id = data.id;
         this.title = data.title;
         this.reason = data.reason;
         this.excerpt = data.excerpt;
@@ -39,19 +42,95 @@ export class Recommendation {
         this.favicon = data.favicon;
         this.url = data.url;
         this.oneClickSubscribe = data.oneClickSubscribe;
-        this.createdAt = data.createdAt ?? new Date();
-        this.createdAt.setMilliseconds(0);
-        this.updatedAt = data.updatedAt ?? null;
-        this.updatedAt?.setMilliseconds(0);
+        this.createdAt = data.createdAt;
+        this.updatedAt = data.updatedAt;
         this.#deleted = false;
     }
 
-    edit(properties: Partial<Recommendation>) {
-        Object.assign(this, properties);
-        this.createdAt.setMilliseconds(0);
+    static validate(properties: AddRecommendation) {
+        if (properties.url.protocol !== 'http:' && properties.url.protocol !== 'https:') {
+            throw new errors.ValidationError({
+                message: 'url must be a valid URL',
+            });
+        }
 
-        this.updatedAt = new Date();
-        this.updatedAt.setMilliseconds(0);
+        if (properties.featuredImage !== null) {
+            if (properties.featuredImage.protocol !== 'http:' && properties.featuredImage.protocol !== 'https:') {
+                throw new errors.ValidationError({
+                    message: 'Featured image must be a valid URL',
+                });
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (properties.favicon !== null) {
+            if (properties.favicon.protocol !== 'http:' && properties.favicon.protocol !== 'https:') {
+                throw new errors.ValidationError({
+                    message: 'Favicon must be a valid URL',
+                });
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (properties.title.length === 0) {
+            throw new errors.ValidationError({
+                message: 'Title must not be empty',
+            });
+        }
+
+        if (properties.title.length > 2000) {
+            throw new errors.ValidationError({
+                message: 'Title must be less than 2000 characters',
+            });
+        }
+
+        if (properties.reason && properties.reason.length > 2000) {
+            throw new errors.ValidationError({
+                message: 'Reason must be less than 2000 characters',
+            });
+        }
+
+        if (properties.excerpt && properties.excerpt.length > 2000) {
+            throw new errors.ValidationError({
+                message: 'Excerpt must be less than 2000 characters',
+            });
+        }
+    }
+
+    clean() {
+        if (this.reason !== null && this.reason.length === 0) {
+            this.reason = null;
+        }
+
+        this.createdAt.setMilliseconds(0);
+        this.updatedAt?.setMilliseconds(0);
+    }
+
+    static create(data: RecommendationCreateData) {
+        const id = data.id ?? ObjectId().toString();
+
+        const d = {
+            id,
+            title: data.title,
+            reason: data.reason,
+            excerpt: data.excerpt,
+            featuredImage: data.featuredImage,
+            favicon: data.favicon,
+            url: data.url,
+            oneClickSubscribe: data.oneClickSubscribe,
+            createdAt: data.createdAt ?? new Date(),
+            updatedAt: data.updatedAt ?? null,
+        };
+
+        this.validate(d);
+        const recommendation = new Recommendation(d);
+        recommendation.clean();
+        return recommendation;
+    }
+
+    edit(properties: EditRecommendation) {
+        Recommendation.validate({...this, ...properties});
+
+        Object.assign(this, properties);
+        this.clean();
     }
 
     delete() {
diff --git a/ghost/recommendations/src/RecommendationController.ts b/ghost/recommendations/src/RecommendationController.ts
index e2e0dea566..b085d1d5e2 100644
--- a/ghost/recommendations/src/RecommendationController.ts
+++ b/ghost/recommendations/src/RecommendationController.ts
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ export class RecommendationController {
         return id;
     }
 
-    #getFrameRecommendation(frame: Frame): Recommendation {
+    #getFrameRecommendation(frame: Frame): AddRecommendation {
         if (!frame.data || !frame.data.recommendations || !frame.data.recommendations[0]) {
             throw new errors.BadRequestError();
         }
@@ -85,12 +85,12 @@ export class RecommendationController {
             oneClickSubscribe: validateBoolean(recommendation, "one_click_subscribe", {required: false}) ?? false,
             reason: validateString(recommendation, "reason", {required: false}) ?? null,
             excerpt: validateString(recommendation, "excerpt", {required: false}) ?? null,
-            featuredImage: validateString(recommendation, "featured_image", {required: false}) ?? null,
-            favicon: validateString(recommendation, "favicon", {required: false}) ?? null,
+            featuredImage: validateURL(recommendation, "featured_image", {required: false}) ?? null,
+            favicon: validateURL(recommendation, "favicon", {required: false}) ?? null,
         };
 
         // Create a new recommendation
-        return new Recommendation(cleanedRecommendation);
+        return cleanedRecommendation;
     }
 
     #getFrameRecommendationEdit(frame: Frame): Partial<EditRecommendation> {
@@ -105,8 +105,8 @@ export class RecommendationController {
             oneClickSubscribe: validateBoolean(recommendation, "one_click_subscribe", {required: false}),
             reason: validateString(recommendation, "reason", {required: false}),
             excerpt: validateString(recommendation, "excerpt", {required: false}),
-            featuredImage: validateString(recommendation, "featured_image", {required: false}),
-            favicon: validateString(recommendation, "favicon", {required: false}),
+            featuredImage: validateURL(recommendation, "featured_image", {required: false}),
+            favicon: validateURL(recommendation, "favicon", {required: false}),
         };
 
         // Create a new recommendation
@@ -122,8 +122,8 @@ export class RecommendationController {
                     title: r.title,
                     reason: r.reason,
                     excerpt: r.excerpt,
-                    featured_image: r.featuredImage,
-                    favicon: r.favicon,
+                    featured_image: r.featuredImage?.toString() ?? null,
+                    favicon: r.favicon?.toString() ?? null,
                     url: r.url.toString(),
                     one_click_subscribe: r.oneClickSubscribe,
                     created_at: r.createdAt,
diff --git a/ghost/recommendations/src/RecommendationService.ts b/ghost/recommendations/src/RecommendationService.ts
index c540ee4987..c376c7b260 100644
--- a/ghost/recommendations/src/RecommendationService.ts
+++ b/ghost/recommendations/src/RecommendationService.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {Recommendation} from "./Recommendation";
+import {AddRecommendation, Recommendation} from "./Recommendation";
 import {RecommendationRepository} from "./RecommendationRepository";
 import {WellknownService} from "./WellknownService";
 import errors from "@tryghost/errors";
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ export class RecommendationService {
         await this.wellknownService.set(recommendations);
     }
 
-    sendMentionToRecommendation(recommendation: Recommendation) {
+    private sendMentionToRecommendation(recommendation: Recommendation) {
          this.mentionSendingService.sendAll({
             url: this.wellknownService.getURL(),
             links: [
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ export class RecommendationService {
         }).catch(console.error);
     }
 
-    async addRecommendation(recommendation: Recommendation) {
+    async addRecommendation(addRecommendation: AddRecommendation) {
+        const recommendation = Recommendation.create(addRecommendation);
         this.repository.save(recommendation);
         await this.updateWellknown();
 
diff --git a/ghost/recommendations/src/index.ts b/ghost/recommendations/src/index.ts
index 9ae03734fb..db9ac91301 100644
--- a/ghost/recommendations/src/index.ts
+++ b/ghost/recommendations/src/index.ts
@@ -4,3 +4,4 @@ export * from './RecommendationRepository';
 export * from './InMemoryRecommendationRepository';
 export * from './Recommendation';
 export * from './WellknownService';
+export * from './BookshelfRecommendationRepository';
diff --git a/ghost/recommendations/src/libraries.d.ts b/ghost/recommendations/src/libraries.d.ts
index 0c51d8d42e..30ebbde8f2 100644
--- a/ghost/recommendations/src/libraries.d.ts
+++ b/ghost/recommendations/src/libraries.d.ts
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 declare module '@tryghost/errors';
 declare module '@tryghost/tpl';
+declare module '@tryghost/logging';