Published by Thomas NelsonDate Published: 26 February, 2019
Pages: 336
Genres: Christian Fiction, Contemporary
Format: Paperback
Source: Harper Collins (Thomas Nelson)
Purchase: Amazon~ B&N~ Walmart~Book Depository
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Lindsay Harrel presents a powerful story of healing, forgiveness, and finding the courage to write your own story.
A year after the death of her abusive fiancé, domestic violence counselor Sophia Barrett finds returning to work too painful. She escapes to Cornwall, England--a place she's learned to love through the words of her favorite author--and finds a place to stay with the requirement that she help out in the bookstore underneath the room she's renting. Given her love of all things literary, it seems like the perfect place to find peace.
Ginny Rose is an American living in Cornwall, sure that if she saves the bookstore she co-owns with her husband then she can save her marriage as well. Fighting to keep the first place she feels like she belongs, she brainstorms with her brother-in-law, William, and Sophia to try to keep the charming bookstore afloat.
Two hundred years before, governess Emily Fairfax knew two things for certain: she wanted to be a published author, and she was in love with her childhood best friend. But he was a wealthy heir and well out of her league. Sophia discovers Emily's journals, and she and William embark on a mission to find out more about this mysterious and determined woman, all the while getting closer to each other as they get closer to the truth.
The lives of the three women intertwine as each learns the power she has over the story of her life.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Author/Harper Collins (Thomas Nelson) and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.
My first Lindsay Harrel novel and most definitely will not be my last! She has a beautiful talent for creating characters that will make you feel like family, and a plot line that is full of faith and hope.
I wasn’t sure what I would gain from this book, at first. It’s got emotional triggers, as someone who has gone through the emotional domestic abuse in the past. But, the way Harrel weaved the pain and heartache, the hope and faith, together, she created a novel that completely engulfed me. I loved that. I gained more than just a new author to read. I gained friends in the characters, I gained knowledge of letting go of the past and moving forward.
Sophia and William were two characters that will forever be with me. As they work together to save Ginny’s bookstore, as Sophia reads the words of Emily Fairfax through her journal entries, I was pulled into the sweeping novel and wasn’t set free until the last page was reached. The plot line was unique and absolutely breathtaking!
If you are looking for a tenderly written, powerfully moving novel, then grab this one up. It’s emotional, it’s hopeful, it’s definitely one to recommend to all. Five stars, two thumbs and hats off to an author whom will be on my auto buy list from now on! Well done, Lindsay Harrel. Well done!
About Lindsay Harrel
Lindsay Harrel is a lifelong book nerd who lives in Arizona with her young family and two golden retrievers in serious need of training. She’s held a variety of writing and editing jobs over the years and now juggles stay-at-home mommyhood with writing novels. When she’s not writing or chasing after her children, Lindsay enjoys making a fool of herself at Zumba, curling up with anything by Jane Austen, and savoring sour candy one piece at a time.
I must read this after reading your review!
I think you’ll enjoy it too.
Great review! It’s always nice to find characters that will stay with you long after you’ve finished the book.
Thank you! And I agree. I love the ones that stay long after.