Naomi Weisman is a Canadian-Australian and mother of three who loves to Ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
Every once in a while, a novel finds its way into my hands that reminds me exactly why I love being part of a book club—why stories matter, why they linger, and why they invite us not just to read, but to feel. The Echo of Old Books was that book for me.
Barbara Davis sweeps us into a world where books breathe, bruise, and remember. Ashlyn Greer, our protagonist, is a rare-book dealer with an extraordinary gift: she can sense the emotional imprints left behind by previous owners. As someone who has always believed, deep down, that books are living things—quiet keepers of everyone who has ever touched them—this premise instantly hooked me.
When two unpublished manuscripts land in Ashlyn’s hands, she’s drawn into a long-buried love story that had me turning pages later than I care to admit. The intertwined narratives—Ashlyn’s present-day search for truth and Belle and Hemi’s doomed 1941 romance—create a story that feels lush, layered, and deeply human.
One of the elements that fascinated me most was Ashlyn’s psychometric intuition. The idea that emotions can live inside objects—especially beloved books—made me think about empathy, intuition, and the emotional histories we carry without fully realizing it. Her gift is poignant but heavy, echoing how emotional inheritance often works within families and relationships.
The dual timelines felt seamless to me. I loved the rhythm of moving from Ashlyn’s quieter present to Hemi and Belle’s charged and heartbreaking past. With each shift, Davis nudges us to consider what gets passed down through the ages: love, secrets, trauma, silence, hope. It’s impossible not to reflect on our own stories in the process.
While The Echo of Old Books is anchored in romance, it doesn’t shy away from its darker undercurrents. The 1940s storyline touches on anti-Semitism, the misuse of power, and the suffocating expectations placed on young women. These threads don’t overshadow the story—they deepen it. They remind us that love stories forged in difficult times often carry the greatest emotional weight.
Ashlyn’s own healing—through her inherited bookstore, her tentative connection with Ethan, and the lingering echoes she can’t quite escape—felt grounded and real. Davis shines in showing that love can be deeply redemptive, but only when it’s paired with truth.
For me, this novel was a beautiful blend: part historical love story, part contemporary mystery, part gentle modern romance. And the literary sleuthing around those mysterious manuscripts added a twisty pleasure I didn’t expect. It gave me that irresistible “just one more chapter” feeling that makes reading such a joy.
If you love historical fiction, literary mystery, or stories with a whisper of magical realism, The Echo of Old Books is an absolute treasure. It’s a story about love found and lost, about the narratives we inherit, and about how the truths we uncover—whether in old pages or in ourselves—seem to arrive exactly when we’re ready for them.
⭐⭐⭐⭐Nomi’s Verdict:
A beautifully woven, emotionally resonant novel that reminds us of the alchemy between reader and story. Highly recommended.
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