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The secrets of paper and ink / Lindsay Harrel.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Nashville, Tennessee : Thomas Nelson, [2019]Description: pages cmISBN:
  • 9780718075729 (paperback) :
DDC classification:
  • 813/.6 23
Summary: "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 fiance, 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. More than 150 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"-- Provided by publisher.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Shelving location Call number Status Notes Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Phillipsburg Free Public Library Adult Fiction Adult Fiction FIC HARREL Available pap.ed. 36748002429738
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:



Brought together across time by a love of story, three women in England fight to defy expectations, dream new dreams, and welcome love into their lives.

As a counselor, Sophia Barrett is trained to help people cope with their burdens. But when she meets a new patient whose troubles mirror her own, she realizes she hasn't dealt with the pain of her recent past. After making a snap decision to get away for the summer, Sophia moves overseas to an apartment above a charming bookstore in Cornwall, England. She is hopeful she will find peace there surrounded by her favorite thing: great literature.

Bookstore owner Ginny Rose is desperate to save her business without asking for help from a husband who's decided to take a break from their marriage. Ginny never imagined she'd be solely responsible for keeping afloat her husband's dream, but the unexpected friendship with her new renter has her feeling more optimistic. Between the two of them--and Ginny's brother-in-law, William--the bookstore might stand a chance.

Then Sophia finds a notebook in the bookstore that contains journal entries from Emily Fairfax, a governess who lived in Cornwall more than 150 years ago. Sophia learns that Emily harbored a secret passion for becoming an authoress--as well as a deep love for her childhood friend, Edward, whose station she dared not dream to touch.

Eager to know more of Emily's story, Sophia goes on a quest--dragging Ginny and William with her--to discover the heart of the woman behind the beautiful entries. Soon Ginny's need to save the bookstore becomes more than a way to save her marriage, and Sophia finds new purpose of her own. Together they find that sometimes both heartache and hope can reach across the centuries.

"A historical mystery and sweet modern day story entwine to offer a message of healing, hope and second chances set in charming Cornwall." --Rachel Linden, author of The Enlightenment of Bees

"In a delightful weaving of past and present, Lindsay Harrel creates authentic characters around a moving story that both inspires and encourages. The Secrets of Paper and Ink is about broken people, second chances, hope, and--my personal favorite--the incredible power of story." --Heidi Chiavaroli, Carol award-winning author of Freedom's Ring and The Hidden Side

"In The Secrets of Paper and Ink, Lindsay Harrel explores the power of love--and how it influences us to make choices that bless others, as well as ourselves. Or sometimes, we can do just the opposite and make choices that harm us and others--all the while calling it love. Harrel pens an honest, true-to-life novel that's woven through with the Truth that offers hope when our decisions--or the decisions of the ones we love--wreck our dreams for happily ever after." --Beth K. Vogt, Christy-award winning author

"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 fiance, 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. More than 150 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"-- Provided by publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Harrel (The Heart Between Us) intertwines the lives of two American strangers and a 19thcentury governess in this uplifting tale set in Cornwall, England. In the present day, Sophia Barrett continues to grieve a year after the death of her fiancée. After suffering repeated breakdowns, she moves from Phoenix to Cornwall, a place she discovered because many of her favorite classic books are set there. She rents a loft above a small bookstore owned by American expat Ginny Rose. Though Ginny's husband has recently abandoned her, and the bookstore is on the brink of bankruptcy, Ginny maintains hope for her marriage and her business. As the women work to salvage the bookstore, they discover a notebook from the 19th century. Filled with Emily Fairfax's hopes and dreams of entering society and finding love, the journal sends Sophia in search of the rest of Emily's story. Aided by Ginny's brotherinlaw William and inspired by Emily, Sophia and Ginny get the store in order and summon the courage to overcome the hurt of their broken relationships, heal, and pursue their own aspirations. The pace lags a bit as Harrell begins the book with long backstories for her trio of heroines. However, readers who stick with it will eventually discover a charming story about finding one's voice after letting go of the past. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Harrel's third novel (after The Heart between Us, 2018) weaves together the stories of three women facing vastly different challenges who ultimately find freedom through their journeys and their Christian faith. Sophia is a therapist struggling to do the work that she loves after the sudden death of her abusive fiancé. Ginny is grappling with the pain of being abandoned by her husband while also trying to hold together the bookstore that they ran together. When Sophia takes up residence in the apartment above the bookstore, she discovers a journal from Emily Fairfax, an English governess from the 1850s who holds some secrets of her own. Sophia and Ginny become fast friends as they look into the mystery of Emily while helping each other work through their painful pasts. Set in Cornwall, this book interlaces the voices and time periods of the women as they rotate narrating chapters, creating an engaging story perfect for readers who enjoy strong women of faith, budding romantic relationships, and historical and contemporary English settings.--Margaret Howard Copyright 2019 Booklist
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