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The Echo of Old Books

A Novel

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The Echo of Old Books

By: Barbara Davis
Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Steve West, Sarah Zimmerman
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About this listen

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.

©2023 Barbara Davis (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Magic Magical Realism Mystery Fantasy Heartfelt

Critic Reviews

“[The] dueling timelines, packed with twists and turns, should appeal to fans of Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.”—Booklist

“The author’s ability to present two different, but related, heartbreaking stories inside her own novel and keep all the voices distinct is so impressive. The fascinating characters and the beauty of the writing pull the reader in…Highly recommended.”—Historical Novels Review

“Delightful! …very satisfying. Barbara Davis endings usually are!”—Midwest Book Review
All stars
Most relevant  
Loved the different voices, who captured the calm nature of the book. Raw, emotional highs and lows. Devastatingly real family and relationship roller-coasters. Loved the concept, the magic, the hope and the characters.

Emotional life story

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The characters were warm and relatable even though they had tough circumstances in their lives

I loved the story that unfolded in this book

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Loved everything about this book, the characters became so real and beautifully read by all performers.

Wonderful

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So enjoyed this title, I like the different stories and timelines intertwined, well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Would recommend!

Couldn’t stop listening!

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I was absolutely hooked from the start to finish of this beautiful story within a story. I didn’t want it to end. The characters and their stories live with you. Utterly gorgeous.

Beguilingly beautiful

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Absolutely loved this one, the storyline between the characters past and present was extremely well executed and written

Best for 2025

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WOW, just beautiful written and sadly so true for many.
Narrators did and outstanding job bring this book to life, all did a brilliant job

Echo

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I was hooked right from the beginning. Listening to this audio text took me through so many emotions - sad, intrigued, shocked, happy, outraged, relieved - connecting to all of the characters in this well written and performed story. Thank you.

Thoroughly enjoyed

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A classy and epic story of 2 star crossed lovers. I felt I was listening to a true story. No spoilers here but I highly recommend this fabulous book.

What a story WOW

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Not for me which is a shame as the description sounded interesting, but the book isn't.

Boring

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