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fseely's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Antisemitism, and Suicide
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, War, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Death of parent
emilyhooie22's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The title drew me in but the story kept me reading and crying as well. I listened to this audiobook while working out or cleaning or relaxing. But I'll never forget walking around the neighborhood crying as Ashlyn, Ethan, Belle, and Hemi, and all the wonderful characters found answers for long awaited questions. Each character background broke my heart, but in the end all their heartaches were worth what they found to love in the end. đđ
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent
book_reader_lover's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have not read a book so beautifully written in a long time. Davis wrote a heartfelt book. Her writing is engrossing, effective and heartfelt in The Echo of Old Books.
Ashlyn can feel the Echo of Old Books when she holds them. It's a gift she discovered at age 12. She owns the bookstore An Unlikely Story. One day she gets a call from her friend, Kevin, who has just gotten a box of books in. Ashlyn picks one of the books up and gets nothing, until she opens the book. There's no author, copyright, or publisher in the book. She's never heard of the book, but something draws her to it. Soon, another book appears with the same thing just a different title. Ashlyn is soon on the hunt to figure out who wrote them and what happened in their lives.
Part mystery, part love story, but a whole lot of descriptive beautiful writing. There are flawed characters with great character development. I have never read Barbara Davis before, but know I want to read all her books, especially if they are all beautiful and well written, as The Echo of Old Books is. I highly recommend this book!
đ Happy Reading đ
#carlislepubliclibrary #lonokecountylibrarysystem #barbaradavis #theechoofoldbooks #readaway2024
Ashlyn can feel the Echo of Old Books when she holds them. It's a gift she discovered at age 12. She owns the bookstore An Unlikely Story. One day she gets a call from her friend, Kevin, who has just gotten a box of books in. Ashlyn picks one of the books up and gets nothing, until she opens the book. There's no author, copyright, or publisher in the book. She's never heard of the book, but something draws her to it. Soon, another book appears with the same thing just a different title. Ashlyn is soon on the hunt to figure out who wrote them and what happened in their lives.
Part mystery, part love story, but a whole lot of descriptive beautiful writing. There are flawed characters with great character development. I have never read Barbara Davis before, but know I want to read all her books, especially if they are all beautiful and well written, as The Echo of Old Books is. I highly recommend this book!
đ Happy Reading đ
#carlislepubliclibrary #lonokecountylibrarysystem #barbaradavis #theechoofoldbooks #readaway2024
Content Warnings
Minor: Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, War, Cancer, Confinement, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide
shaybunchanumbers's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I definitely enjoyed The Echos of Old Books more than I thought I would. The well placed reveals of tragedies and other charactersâ backstories were so well done and left me on my seat. I know I audibly gasped at Heleneâs heritage reveal. I closed the book with a smile on my face and am excited to watch my friendsâ reactions reading it, too.
The book describes itself as a mystery genre but the only mystery that really existed in it were the real names of Hemi and Belle (one of whom didnât last very long) and how such a misunderstanding occurred in the first place. But, even that, wasnât really a mystery.
The book describes itself as a mystery genre but the only mystery that really existed in it were the real names of Hemi and Belle (one of whom didnât last very long) and how such a misunderstanding occurred in the first place. But, even that, wasnât really a mystery.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Death of parent, and Mental illness
whiskeywoman79's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Historical Fiction / Fiction / Romance / Mystery / Magical Realism
ââ.5 /5
TW: Suicide, death after childbirth, toxic family relationships, WW2 racial divide, cheating
I wanted to love this book. I loved the concept. The dual timeline was okay. A bit annoying but I thought the idea that books could hold a magical energy would make up for that. It didn't.
I wanted to pull for at least one of the characters but I am not sure I liked any of them. Except for Ethan, I guess I did like him. I felt like Ashlyn's (current-day FMC) character is intrusive and overwhelming. Her so-called gift to feel the echoes in books was never explored beyond the first few chapters, although it was once mentioned later in the story when giving an explanation. Belle and Hemi (past timeline MMC and FMC) were both genuinely awful. One had no issue cheating and the other had ulterior motives.
I get Ashlyn's curiosity and the want to research but as the reader, I just keep going back to the thought "Finish reading the books FIRST!" I had visceral feelings about the fact that she was asking questions of people whose lives and history could have been affected by the story without knowing what the story was, or at the very least knowing the information available at her fingertips first.
For it being over 400 pages I feel underwhelmed and the ending left much to be desired.
ââ.5 /5
TW: Suicide, death after childbirth, toxic family relationships, WW2 racial divide, cheating
I wanted to love this book. I loved the concept. The dual timeline was okay. A bit annoying but I thought the idea that books could hold a magical energy would make up for that. It didn't.
I wanted to pull for at least one of the characters but I am not sure I liked any of them. Except for Ethan, I guess I did like him. I felt like Ashlyn's (current-day FMC) character is intrusive and overwhelming. Her so-called gift to feel the echoes in books was never explored beyond the first few chapters, although it was once mentioned later in the story when giving an explanation. Belle and Hemi (past timeline MMC and FMC) were both genuinely awful. One had no issue cheating and the other had ulterior motives.
I get Ashlyn's curiosity and the want to research but as the reader, I just keep going back to the thought "Finish reading the books FIRST!" I had visceral feelings about the fact that she was asking questions of people whose lives and history could have been affected by the story without knowing what the story was, or at the very least knowing the information available at her fingertips first.
For it being over 400 pages I feel underwhelmed and the ending left much to be desired.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Minor: War and Child death
jennswan's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Antisemitism
readtomea97's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Beautiful story.. I felt so many emotions reading this book, and got really invested in their story. I normally donât like love stories initiated by affairs, but this one made sense in terms of an arranged marriage that you never wanted to begin with. I loved Ashlynâs journey, seeing Belle come to terms with the truth, and just how everything wrapped up in the end. Barbara has a new fan out me! âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Racism, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Self harm
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
courtnetto's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I really wanted this book to be one I enjoyed but it just felt so slow getting into it, although I did like the premise of it as it was interesting and not something that is often spoken about. Ashlyn owns a used book store and is able to experience feelings of the authors just through touching the book.
However, she finds two books that she becomes curious about and begins to research these (using her librarian friend) to work out who wrote them and who to.
Eventually she meets Ethan, who is the nephew of one of the authors of the books (which are actually letters to each other which were not to be seen by other people) and starts grilling him about these books when heâs already told her that he has no idea what they are. Only for them to then ending up falling in love through reading these books together - although why does it take Ashlyn (an avid reader) so long to finish these books/letters?
However, I did enjoy the letter perspectives of the book and seeing how both Belle and Hemi wrote different things. I feel like it could have been written in less pages and not dragged out for as long as it was.
Donât think I would read this again anytime soon.
However, she finds two books that she becomes curious about and begins to research these (using her librarian friend) to work out who wrote them and who to.
Eventually she meets Ethan, who is the nephew of one of the authors of the books (which are actually letters to each other which were not to be seen by other people) and starts grilling him about these books when heâs already told her that he has no idea what they are. Only for them to then ending up falling in love through reading these books together - although why does it take Ashlyn (an avid reader) so long to finish these books/letters?
However, I did enjoy the letter perspectives of the book and seeing how both Belle and Hemi wrote different things. I feel like it could have been written in less pages and not dragged out for as long as it was.
Donât think I would read this again anytime soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Cancer
tiiiger35's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book had so much more depth to it than I expected. The dual timelines were interwoven so beautifully giving the story a consistent fluidity. As a highly sensitive person, I was drawn to Ashlynnâs gift as a book empath. What she considered a curse, became the very thing to change her life for the better.
This story is about more than romance, it deals with grief, heartbreak, remorse & survival. It also has some darker undertones surrounding; suicide, anti-semitism & the factions of Nazi supporters building in America during WW2.
Itâs been a long time since Iâve felt the need to highlight so many quotes. I felt as if the words had been plucked from my own mind at times.
This is definitely a new favourite of mines that Iâll be recommending to my friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, and Emotional abuse
Minor: War, Cancer, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Abandonment
sdt0087's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Grief, War, Antisemitism, Suicide, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization