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The Echo of Old Books: A Novel

By Barbara Davis

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A novel about the magical lure of books and summoning the courage to rewrite our stories by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Keeper of Happy Endings and The Last of the Moon Girls.

Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer's affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books' previous owners--an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.

With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers' tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story--and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.

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413 pages

Average rating: 7.75

231 RATINGS

12 REVIEWS

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Nora Lea

Aug 11, 2024

The Echo of Old Books is a tale of Four Tragedies with happy endings. The story folds together the bitter and the sweet into a saga that begins in mystery, middles in anger and ends in hope while it puts the readers, both of the story and within the story, through a wringer of emotions, keeping them turning the pages of not just the book in hand, but of the two mysterious books within. It all begins with Hemi and Belle and the two seemingly anonymous, most likely privately published books, that hold their separate perspectives on their clearly doomed, inevitably tragic WW2-era romance. But those little books are only the beginning of the web that has been woven. A web that catches rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer within its sticky strands. At first, she isnared by the emotions that she can feel pouring off the pages. And then by the mystery of how these two books came to be.

AnneMercer

Jul 04, 2024

9/10 stars

This was an interesting storyline or I should say 3 storylines in one. I did find myself rooting for one over the other two as each chapter began so I think that is why it is not a full 10 in my rating. It was a good read overall and it kept my attention but I think, without giving any spoilers, I was very excited by the main character’s talent in the beginning and very disappointed that it played such a very small role in the story. I would have liked to see this interesting and rarely seen talent have been portrayed and explored as the main theme of the story and it really just turned into another book that brought you back and forth in time with a small who done it or in this case who done somebody wrong. It was still a good read but started out with so much more potential to be unique. I would recommend this for a personal or book club read.

Caro72

May 31, 2024

9/10 stars

Loved this. Intriguing and intwined, I liked the characters. It kept me guessing till the end.

Hobbit

Apr 15, 2024

1/10 star

Not impressed at all. Unable to finish, I kept falling asleep.

estudits

Apr 05, 2024

This book was so profound for me I found myself inclined to write my first review after reading 60+ others in the last couple of years. The heartache and romance is undeniably touching, with the prolific variation in narration and storytelling allowing a fresh take on multiple perspectives following along with the plot line. Barbara Davis is incredibly talented and remarkably creative for this astounding piece of work. This book deserves to be made into film, and if it ever is, The Notebook will have a fierce competitor for a fan favorite romance.