The Secrets of Paper and Ink by Lindsay Harrel (Review)

Genre: Women's Fiction 
Publisher: Thomas Nelson 
Released: Feb. 26, 2019
319 pages

About the Book:

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.

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was my second time reading and I wasn't as hooked as I was the first time. While I really enjoyed the characters and following the journey they were on, I wish faith had played a larger role in the story.

Sophia has been struggling with mixed feelings after the death of her abusive fiancé. She is et to return to work after 3 months, but her first day back she realizes she is not ready and deciding she needs a change in scenery she makes the decision to go to Cornwall, England. When she arrives in England we meet Ginny, William and Emily. Sophia discovers an old journal at the bookstore that captures her attention and with the help of William she is able to not only discover who the writer was but quite a bit about her life. Along the way Sophia and William grow close. Can Sophia open herself up to the possibility of a new relationship after the hurt of the past? While each character captured my heart in a different way, it was Ginny’s circumstances that broke my heart. I was very pleased with the support she received from those she didn’t expect it from. I was very pleased with the ending we were given for each character. The story includes some difficult situations such as an abusive relationship, a husband’s abandonment, and a seemingly impossible dream the overall story was not depressing but rather I found it encouraging. The message I take away from it is that God is always there to help you navigate the hard times and rise above them.

Favourite Quotes: 

“We can have all the head knowledge in the world, but our hearts are often what leads us towards destruction - or healing.”

“All we have in life are the choices we make. We must make choices we can live with - and die with, if it comes to that.” 

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Other books from this author that I have reviewed:   

   

The Inn at Walker Beach
The Heart Between Us

One More Song to Sing