The Echo of Old Books: A Novel

This book really touched my heart. It is a book that has really made an impression on me. I love a book about books. This tale is predominantly told from 3 POV’s. We have Ashlyn in the present, she owns a rare book shop that was gifted to her by the owner. IT was a place of solace for her as she was coping with a tragic childhood. When she touches old books she feels emotions from them. One day books are dropped off and she is itching to read them especially as they both start off with “How could you do it?” She quickly realises they are from a couple that were once together. She senses that each version is not the whole story. The puzzling thing is who are the authors? There are no names and it piques Ashlyn’s curiosity. In the not too distant past we have two people, Belle who is from a well to do family, a father who only cared about appearances whilst he cozied up to people who he could help him get to where he wanted to get in society. A mother she adored who was broken and sent away and an older sister who toed the line and despised the fact that Belle would challenge it. Hemi is a struggling writer come journalist who happened to be in the right place at the right time. He stumbles upon a much older woman ahead of her time who inherited her family’s newspaper business and she uses the paper to bring down anyone including the high and mighty to expose their failings and more. When Hemi meets Belle he does not have two pennies to rub together. He is charming and to him he is investigating a story about Belle’s family. But their attraction is undeniable. Trouble is Belle is engaged to a man her father has chosen….. Ashlyn wants to find out their real names and feels it in her bones that there is unfinished business between the pair. Her investigations take her to the man who dropped off the books. While Ashlyn is so busy trying to get to the bottom of things another story is playing out right in front of her eyes. This story is about love, betrayal and sacrifices, I absolutely loved it.

I loved this book. I enjoyed the story of Ashlyn and her rare book store meeting Ethan who, like her, was lost... I totally appreciate the idea of psychometry, as one of the characters in my own murder mystery series also has this gift. Reading the alternative takes on what happened to Hemi and Belle was intriguing and superbly paced. A clever device that wasn't abused. Connecting each story was a joy and I have to say that I had tears in my eyes during the last few pages, as is acceptable for all true romantics.

I read this for my local book club and it’s absolutely amazing. Such a beautiful read! The owner of a book store stumbles across an unpublished but beautifully bound book. Said owner has a gift of being able to feel the emotions of a book and the owner/writer. This book is full of emotions and feelings and behind it is a love story from the 1940’s. The time flitting between the 40’s and 80’s is quite easy to keep track of and the descriptions for both times is spot on! It all unravels into a heart wrenching but wonderful tale of love, grief and forgiveness. I was absolutely blown away by this novel and would highly recommend. A little hefty for my usual reads and the writing was quite small in my copy so sometimes found it a little much. But wonderful all the same! 5 ⭐️

A brilliant story, beautifully written. I was hooked from the start with the mystery of the two books and it did not disappoint right the way through. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

Brilliant Christmas present for my mum

A duel time storyline . When Ashlyn comes in contact with books she is able to read so much more from the books then what is written inside A great read I loved most of the characters and enjoyed the storyline

This story was well written, it was slow in places but the final part of the book came together well and I enjoyed it

I quite enjoyed the 1940's love stories but given both books were supposed to be over 80 pages long there wasn't much detail. Added to that, I gather you're supposed to feel for both parties but all my sympathy was for the woman. Once the 1940s books ended I lost interest and I found the ending overly sweet. My other gripe is that the author has transported 2020's ideas of acceptable behaviour not just to the 1980s but also to the 1940s. It's a bit like Shakespeare in modern dress: it didn't work.