The Words Between Us is a book you want to read slowly. Not just so you can savor every word, but so you can learn from it. Once again Bartels weaves a tale that speaks to your heart, challenges you, and takes up all your time.

I received a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Interesting story. I enjoyed the past and present timelines and the love story, but I didn’t like how one part of the story was not resolved. Maybe there will be a sequel? This was just ok for me.

This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it. thanks for letting me have an advance copy. I'm new to this author.

Enticing, inviting cover art. An intriguing story w/ well developed, quirky characters. Well crafted. Five stars.

The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels is a story told both in the past and the present. I loved the idea of this book and I really wanted to like it. Unfortunately, I found it really hard to get into this story. Some of the characters just were not very likeable and the ending was not satisfying. I do not recommend this book. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

With a cover like that, how could I, a book lover, not read The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels?

Though Robin Windsor feels safe in her quaint used bookstore in River City, Michigan, it is only a matter of time before her past finds her. She begins receiving books from a long-ago friend, and her past and her present intertwine for a story of sweet friendship, family secrets, and the powerful effect of words.

Another superb book from Bartels, The Words Between Us is an emotional, thought-provoking read. The characters bring the struggle, the drama, the mystery to life, and it is so well done. I recommend it.

I I really enjoyed this book and how Bartels slowly unfolds the main character's life. I always love novels about books, and this one doesn't not disappoint.

The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels
Robin Windsor is a fourteen-year-old girl who has lost both of her high profile parents to prison. She is sent to live with her estranged grandmother and eccentric parrot in a house trailer at the edge of a cemetery. She adjusts to the change remarkably well, perhaps due to the unique friendship she strikes up with Peter Flynt. They both love books and he reads them and passes them along to her. The books play a prominent part in her life, and re-surface at a critical point in her later life.
This book had lots that I loved: a bookstore, quirky characters (including a temperamental parrot), an art prize project, and the setting in a Michigan city. The captivating plot switched between the past and present, but that only added to the story’s suspense. I also loved the development of the characters, and learning what had shaped them. The unique parts of the plot added to my fascination, such as Robin’s parents being in prison, and her “lost years” spent at Lake Superior. The book’s resolution was satisfying.
My disappointments were few. The book ended too quickly and I wanted to see more of Robin’s spiritual journey. The author left some questions unanswered, so perhaps there might be a sequel. I would definitely read it!
Erin Bartels was a new author to me, but I plan to check out any other books she has written. I am grateful to the publisher for the free digital copy in exchange for this, my honest review.

Erin Bartels has written a beautiful and delightful story in her novel The Words Between Us. This story is about a woman who is running from her past. Book devotees will absolutely love this story because it’s about a strong bond of friendship built through the reading and sharing of books. The author tells a wonderful story and does an excellent job of switching back and forth between the present and the past (remembering the teenage years). It’s about pulling apart the pieces of life and putting them back together again. This is a sweet and easy warm-fuzzy story that readers will thoroughly enjoy!

Genre: contemporary, romance, mystery, Christian
Publisher: Revell
Publication date: September 3, 2019
Number of pages: 358

I started reading THE WORDS BETWEEN US months ago and was quickly pulled into the story of 30-something year old Robin Windsor who lives each day under an alias, hiding her true identity as the daughter of a now disgraced and imprisoned U.S. Senator. But then I stopped reading because frankly I had an obligation to get a different book read by a certain date. And then somehow Bartels' book got shoved to the bottom of the pile of never ending books until now. I quickly reread the first third of the book, enjoying it as much the second time as the first. Robin's time as a young teen, hiding out with a grandmother she'd never met, and the book-centered relationship she develops with Peter Flynt, a high school senior are my favorite parts of the book. Years later those same books she and Peter shared and the poems she wrote for him resurface, playing an important role in her ability to cope with her father's impending execution. As much as I liked Bartels writing style, the character Robin, and the attention to great literature and wonderful Lake Superior, the actual plot left me dissatisfied. Revealing why would mean revealing spoilers, and I won't do that. While I would love to give Bartels a strong 5 and highly recommend her novel, I am giving it a weak 4. I received an ecopy of this title from Netgalley. All opinions are mine.


NOTE: I HAVE REVIEWED THIS TITLE ON AMAZON AND CHRISTIAN BOOKS AND FACEBOOK I no longer have an active blog.

I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

This book was so much more than I expected. I saw books on the cover and thought, "Oh, I want to read that!", expecting it to take place in a bookstore and be a nice read.

It's so much more than that. Yes, there is a bookstore: that's all I was right about. Here are the elements I was not expecting out of a (what I thought would be) a fluffy read: a dying bookstore, a dual timeline, a grandmother that doesn't know what nurture is, convict parents. Oh, and let's not forget the crazy parrot.

That list is an odd mix - but trust me - they combine into a compelling story. At times it seems hard to believe, and yet, we see it in real life all the time. To see Robin grow and finally face the truth about her parents and their crimes is gripping. This isn't a thriller but it definitely had some plot twists that would rival the best of that genre. Subtly woven throughout the story is the theme of forgiveness in addition to facing your demons and taking risks.

*Note: after reading this book, I flipped to the back cover and realized that I had read another Erin Bartels' book earlier in the year that also landed on my "best of" list for the year. This author is now on my radar and I look forward to reading more of her work.

The Words Between Us is a dual timeline, coming of age novel. The characters are well developed and the story is well written. I really liked this book. I will read more books by this new to me author

Circumstances take Robin Windsor to the home of her never-before-met Grandmother in Michigan. It’s the town where her mother grew up and Robin needs help since both parents are in jail. Having grown-up in well-to-do circumstances, Robin surprisingly adjusts well to the modest means of living with her grandmother. Robin is enrolled in school under an assumed name that she keeps for most of her adult life, to the date that the novel begins. She also spins a tale for her high school self that she’s actually living with a distant cousin; she doesn’t want anyone to associate her with her parents’ crimes.
NOTE: This book jumps from modern day to the time she lived with her grandmother. It is easy to follow with the time jumps.
On a high school trip to visit her incarcerated mother, Robin learns of a secret bounty and she suffers yet another big blow. Friend Peter, with whom she shares a deep love of reading the classics, tries to be there for her. Robin’s pain is great and she lashes out, possibly severing another relationship.

A great book from Erin Bartels. I’ve never read a book by this author before and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the story. The characters were well thought out and the story was well paced.

The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels is basically a story of a woman hiding from her past. It was a story that I didn't particularly care for, though it was well written and the characters were developed it's just that the characters at least to me were unlikable including the main Character and if I don't like the main character or at least understand why he or she is the way she is it means I'm not going to like the book.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

A satisfying read about confronting your past and embracing your future.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book! Such a wonderful message, words are so much more than letters on a page and even the briefest note can have a impact on others. Excellent story.

I loved this story. I don’t usually love stories that offer a dual timeline but this one was very well done and the flow still felt very natural. I loved the story of the books that they passed back and forth and the importance of our words. I loved that this was a book about books, and the ways in which books can help us grieve and deal. I really enjoyed the poems that Robin put inside each book as well. I also felt that the supporting characters were well done as well. Overall I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend picking it up.

The Words between Us
A Novel

by Erin Bartels

Revell

Christian

Pub Date 03 Sep 2019

I am reviewing a copy of The Words Between Us through Revell and Netgalley:

Robin Windsor has lived most of her life under assumed name, trying to run away from who she discovered her Father was. She thought she had finally found a safe place, a Sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore just up the street from the marina in River City, Michigan. But the store is struggling and the past is never far from there.

After receiving an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her Fathers scheduled execution Robin is thrown back to the long-lost summer she met Peter Flynt, the perfect boy who ruined everything. That book a first edition of The Catcher in the Rye is soon followed by other books she and Peter shared nearly twenty years ago. One book arrives in the mail each day. But why would Peter be making contact after all these years? And why does she have a sinking feeling that she’s about to be exposed all over again?

The Words Between Us shows us that the words we say, the words we read and the words we write have more power than we could imagine.

I find The Words Between Us to worthy of five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

The Words Between Us is like a love letter to words and classic literature and its truly unique from much of the modern fiction books that exist just now, particularly in the Christian Fiction market. It is a fascinating read and would be a great read for anyone who really enjoys classic literature or is looking for a modern novel, even if they aren’t a fan of Christian Fiction. This is one of those novels that I think can be a great segue for conversation, but it has hope attached in the layers. I love the fact that the characters journeys are layered and not everything ends with a bow, but it does end with hope.