The Echo of Old Books: A Novel

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He said all truly good writing—fiction or nonfiction—has a heartbeat, a life force that comes from the writer, like an invisible cord connecting them to the reader. Without it, the work is dead on arrival.” Ashlyn Greer owns a rare book store where she both restores and sells rare books. She also has a "gift" where she can feel echoes of feelings from the people who have owned a book previously. This is called psychometry. When she is given two book with no author and no way to tell who wrote them she is intrigued. Even more so when she opens the book and feels strong anguish coming from both books. She has to find out where these books came from and who wrote them. She wants to know the story. This is kind of a timeslip story, and it’s also more than a bit of a treasure hunt story. And appropriately, it’s the timeslip, the story within the books themselves, that grabs both Ashlyn and the reader first. So the story of Belle and Hemi dominates the early parts of the narrative in a way that is both clever and absorbing. What a wonderful story, actually it is two full stories! History lovers will really enjoy these two tales that are woven together perfectly by Barbara Davis. The characters were really well developed and the writing was superb! This will not be my last Barbara Davis book! Books are feelings,” he replied simply. “They exist to make us feel. To connect us to what’s inside, sometimes to things we don’t even know are there.”

At first I was very confused as to what was going on, but when I figured it out, I couldn't put the book down. people’s lives were defined not by the scars they acquired but by what lay on the other side of those scars, by what’s done with the life they have left.” Books are feelings,” he replied simply. “They exist to make us feel. To connect us to what’s inside, sometimes to things we don’t even know are there. It only makes sense that some of what we feel when we’re reading would . . . rub off.” The Echo of Old Books was absolutely the right book at the right time for this reader, with its combination of historical mystery, tragic romance and historical ambiance both in Belle and Hemi’s 1941 and Ashlyn and Ethan’s “present day” of 1984. She had learned only recently the power of forgiveness, and had come to understand that the choice to forgive was as much about self-healing as about absolving another of their guilt.”

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To read a book is to take a journey, to travel into a vast unknown, to hear the voices of angels both living and dead. —Ashlyn Greer, The Care & Feeding of Old Books” Rare book dealer Ashlyn Greer has a deep love for books that goes well beyond the mere smell of aged paper and leather. There’s something magical about them that only she can sense—the lingering emotions left by their previous owners. It’s as if these books possess an emotional fingerprint that she alone can decipher. The present-day story takes place in New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 1984 where the mysterious books are found by Ashlyn. Then the story jumps to 1954 Massachusetts and London where the books were first created. And then finally 1941 New York where the story told in the mysterious books actually took place. Money has a way of sparing the haves the kinds of trials the have-nots grapple with on a daily basis.” Her search takes her to an intrepid librarian who ferrets out much of the historical data with a twinkle in her eye and a spring in her step. But the real treasure trove of information comes from Ethan Manning, who brought the books – along with many other considerably more mundane works – from his late father’s library to the used bookstore where Ashlyn first encountered Remembering Belle and Belle’s response in Forever, and Other Stories.

Barbara Davis has written a powerful book here. It's deeply moving, heartwrenching, and a million other roiling emotions graffitied onto the carcasses of trees. And now my heart. I loved learning about psychometry, seeing the parallelism between rebinding and healing emotional wounds, being reminded that forgiveness is more about one’s own healing than anything to do with the other person and that our wounds/scars hold significance for us.There was so much wrapped into this book. It was one of those books that you SIGH a content sigh at the end and say well.. that was amazing and wonderful. 🥰 On top of the love story unfolding between Belle and Hemi, there is also the love story unfolding by the present-day characters Ashlyn and Ethan. Or is it a love story? You’ll need to read this book to know the answer to that! The Echo Of Old Books – What I Disliked The book begins with a bit of mystery regarding exactly what the books are and where they came from. Davis has made sure to give her readers a ‘twofer’ - two love stories within one book - each a compelling romance on its own. She also explores family drama, lies, betrayals and secrets, and reminds us that it’s never too late to change.

The number of lives we are capable of living is limited only by the number of books we choose to read.”She is drawn into the sorrowful hearts of Hemi and Belle, wherever they may be, whoever they were. Driven by her determination to unravel the truth behind their ill-fated love story, Ashlyn delves deeper into their words, following a trail of shattered promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. Books are the quietest and most constant friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient teachers. —Charles W. Eliot And their own searing, scarring pasts. The more we learn about both couples, the more we hope for HEAs all around – no matter how impossible that might seem. We become invested in both stories every bit as much as Ashlyn does Belle’s. Give a Kindle Unlimited Subscription– What’s not to love about Unlimited Books! A gift subscription to Kindle Unlimited is a thoughtful gift that your favorite readers will love and appreciate.

If someone, somewhere, was interested in a subject, no matter how obscure, there was a book about it. And if there was a book about it, someone, somewhere, wanted to read it. Her job was to connect the two, and it was one she took very seriously. She’d”

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