The Lost Manuscript is a romantic mystery. While I found the story line ok, I didn’t really connect to any of the characters. Ellora travels to England to search for a lost manuscript that her grandmother had been searching for before she disappeared. Helping her is her estranged husband and best friend.

One of the things I appreciate about this author most is her love for books and reading and knowledge and it comes across in every book I’ve read of hers so far. I did get lost in some of the history and timelines, but the overall story was really interesting. I thought I saw the bad guy coming and I don’t want to spoil it here but I wouldn’t say it was predictable. When you read a lot, you learn to expect the non-obvious at times. I did feel like some of the spiritual stuff was a but gorced in some of the chapters and it could’ve just been sprinkled in so if you’re not big on Christian storylines being pushed, you may not enjoy this, but I did enjoy that this was a clean read and I didn’t have to skim over any language or intimate scenes. Four stars from me.

So, I thought this book was slow moving and miserable in the beginning. And it honestly was. But it was all important stage setting for an absolutely wonderful story, and the deeper theme of grief, and how it changes and molds us and moves through life with us was so important for me to read. I finished my arc and immediately ran to purchase my own copy. I cannot wait to share this book with others.

Nicole Deese spoke so eloquently about so many issues that come to us alongside grief...difficulty in relationships, with concentration and motivation, anxiety and fear, and isolation. I have experienced some of these grief side effects, and have watched others experience them too. This book spoke well to what it looks like to have compassion for others as they walk through grief as well. It was not what I was expecting as I started reading, but it was so well done, and all through a lens of hope.

I loved this book!

I recieved a free eARC from netgalley, but all enthusiastic opinions are my own!

Ellora Lockwood is emptying her home as she prepares to sell. since the mysterious disappearance of her beloved Grandma June and separating from her husband, Alex, Then comes an invitation from Alex to teach history at a summer program at Alnwick Castle in England. He’s even found information about the location of a medieval manuscript that was her grandmother’s obsession before she vanished. Warily, Ellora accepts Alex’s offer. Surrounded by lush English countryside and captivating history, she pieces together clues about the manuscript’s whereabouts—and uncovers new questions. Could someone have been sabotaging her grandmother’s work? Anonymous threats lead Ellora to suspect she too may be in danger, but as she and Alex work together, she’s finding strength, new purpose and the courage to see this quest through, wherever it may lead.

I was drawn in to this book after the first few pages because I love books about books.. The author's descriptions of the English countryside make you feel like you are there. Her characters are very believable as they struggle with their emotions and relationship. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to be introduced to this author who I will read again!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to Review this book.
Beginning of the book takes place in Minnesota and the rest is in Alnwick Castle, England.
Ellora, a history professor , is packing up her home to sell and is heartbroken about her marriage ending with Alex, who is working in Alnwick. Her Beloved Grandmother June has mysteriously disappeared while searching for medieval manuscripts in Alnwick, England.
She gets a letter from Alex to come to Alnwick to teach a summer program at the castle and help her to look for her grandmother.
She takes his offer and once there , Her and Alex team up to search for her grandmother by the clues her grandmother has left her to find the lost manuscript. The castle is surrounded by beautiful English Countryside and tons of history. She meets the townsfolk who knew her grandmother and forms a bond with them.
There are threats against her to stop looking for the manuscript. No matter what danger she will be facing, Alex with be right beside her and she will find the strength, courage and purpose to see this through no matter what the cost .
This book was well written and kept my interest. Fascinating History around the Alnwick castle and I would encourage everyone to look it up.

The Lost Manuscript
By Mollie Rushmeyer
Pub day Aug 29th 2023

📚About
Professor Ellora Lockwood has had more than her fair share of losses; her parents, beloved grandmother, husband and unborn baby-that she didn’t know she always wanted. She feels abandoned and disappointed by people and lives with her hurt on her sleeve. She is invited to teach a summer program in England by her soon to be ex-husband. This opportunity would also offer her the chance to follow her grandmothers research for a rumored “Lost Manuscript” dating over 1200 old. She accepts and as she follows the clues left by her grandmother, she begins to open up to her husband, Alex and they are able to start the communicating over past hurts. BUT is the summer long enough to find the answers to her grandmother’s disappearance, the lost manuscript, heal her marriage AND restore her Faith?

💭 My thoughts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.5 stars
It was confusing, as first, to follow the back story of Ellora and Alex (maybe a prologue would help?). But as the story unfolded I found myself intrigued with the historical mystery, the underlying love story, and the quest for faith. I LOVE history but my least favorite time period is Middle Ages. This book may have changed my mind. The book was Indiana Jones-esqe in terms of the action and situations that the characters found themselves in. As far as characters, I found Ellora, a little whiny, weak and unforgiving in the beginning but as the story moved forward so did her character evolution. My favorite character was Alex, her husband. I felt like he was a very like-able, charming and understanding.

This is a book I stayed up until 3am to finish. It was THAT good. I HIGHLY recommend this book. I look forward to reading more from Mollie Rushmeyer.

Thank you NetGalley, Love Inspired Books At Harlequin, and Mollie Rushmeyer for allowing me to review this book.

These are all my own opinions.


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I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining novel. This is a great story of mystery, history, loss, forgiveness, redemption, and faith. I recommend the book.
Thank you Harlequin/love inspired Trade and net galley for this ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining novel. While the beginning is a tiny bit slow, I'm so glad I stuck with it. I especially admire how the author weaves the adventure/suspense narrative with the relationship story of a marriage and two people who have trouble communicating with each other. This makes for a compelling and layered reading experience. There's a little something for everyone. The author also does a wonderful job at evoking the story world so that the reader feels they are on the journey with the characters. I look forward to more from this author.

An atmospheric and satisfying read. Very recommendable. I fully respect the craft and skill of the author. Well-developed characters populate a carefully developed setting that almost works as its own character within this read. Easy to recommend to all historical fiction readers.

This was my first time reading a Mollie Rushmeyer book. I was intrigued by the title and synopsis. I enjoy the medieval time period as well as anything archeological. Getting to find something from the past would be amazing! Perhaps it’s all the Indiana Jones I watched in my youth. Since it was Christian fiction, I knew the subject matter would be PG at the most and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s nice reading something you can count on being clean. The search for the manuscript is a big part of the story of course, but it’s overshadowed by the relationship problems of the main characters. It was a predictable tale in many ways, though there was some surprise in the end. I found the main woman character to be a bit irritating and overly sensitive, but she has been traumatized so maybe I was being a bit harsh. It was an easy, predictable read. If you like Christian fiction with a bit of mystery, history, intrigue and romance this is for you.

"The Lost Manuscript" is a Christian...romantic suspense? One of the major themes was Ellora and Alex deciding if they had a future together. They're still attracted to each other, but Alex didn't want children because he worried he'd fail them (like he failed his brother) and Ellora had a miscarriage of their child (which Alex didn't know about) and felt abandoned by Alex when she needed him the most. She discovered she wanted children, and she certainly wanted a loved one who didn't choose other things over her, like her parents and even her grandmother. Basically, these two complex characters needed to decide if they'd fight for their marriage rather than letting past hurts tear them apart.

One of the 'mysteries' was what happened to Ellora's grandmother, who disappeared while tracking down a historically significant, lost manuscript. However, rather than trying to trace Grandma's movements, they launched their own search for the manuscript, finding new information while also coming across traces of Grandma's search. Someone else also wanted the manuscript, and Ellora received several threats. The search was also dangerous at times, adding some suspense. As I'd figured out where they ought to search about halfway through, it felt like they took a long time coming to the same conclusion. On the other hand, they did stay on Grandma's track and found out what had happened to her.

Ellora and Alex decided that they needed to make God the steady foundation of their marriage if it was going to have a chance (though they had some trouble figuring out how to do this). There was no sex or bad language. Frankly, I never became immersed in this story, but I enjoyed what the author was trying to do with it. I'm looking forward to reading her future novels and would recommend this one.

This very interesting story takes history Professor Ellora Lockwood from St. Cloud, Minnesota to Alnwick Castle in history-rich Alnwick, England. Alnwick holds many good memories for Ellora as well as much heartache as the now home of her soon-to-be ex-husband, Professor Alex Lockwood, and the place her grandmother, June, disappeared some ten months earlier as she searched for the fabled missing illuminated manuscript from medieval times. This quick-paced story leads Ellora, her best friend, Lanae, Alex, and his best friend, Oscar, on an adventurous search to find the manuscript that was the focus of the many years-long search and likely cause of disappearance for her grandmother. Danger seems to lurk around every corner as the group gets closer to finding the missing treasure and the answers to what happened to Grandma June. This is a wonderful story of mystery, history, searching, loss, forgiveness, redemption, and faith. I definitely recommend this book!
I received an advanced reader copy of this digital book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The List Manuscript was a delightful mystery. I felt it started a bit slow, but got better as I read. I would recommend to anyone who loves history, mystery and a bit of romance.

The Lost Manuscript by Mollie Rushmeyer is a contemporary romance lovers dream with a hunt for a hidden manuscript and a lost grandma. From the first chapter, Ellora is hunting for her grandmother, who has been looking for this manuscript her entire life. Right away, readers will be thrown into her world and the struggles that she has had with her soon-to-be ex-husband. As the story progresses, the mystery and the hunt for the manuscript takes center stage and drives the reader on a treasure hunt. However, the left unresolved feelings between Ellora and Alex do come to a head a number of times when they need to work together to solve a clue that grandma left behind. As for the descriptions of the setting, Rushmeyer does a wonderful job at drawing the setting in a way that the readers imagination can take flight and enjoy the passing scenery. The climactic moment near the end of the novel ties up the conflict with grandma and the manuscript. Was it satisfying? Personally, no. Yes, readers will know what happened, but I wanted a little more of a punch to the moment. The creation of Ellora and her pain was woven through the character’s journey. Readers will feel her internal conflict with her marriage and some unresolved issues. However, Alex was not as much as an open book as Ellora. Overall, The Lost Manuscript is a romance with a hunt for a hidden historical item.

I received a complimentary copy of The Lost Manuscript by Mollie Rushmeyer from Love Inspired Trade Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

Being a new to me author, I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading The Lost Manuscript. I was hooked from the start. Mollie Rushmeyer has an outstanding talent for drawing you in and holding you there. Alex and Ellie’s story brings up so many emotions and has you rooting for them to the end. It was very interesting to learn about the history of England and it was the perfect setting for this story. I will definitely be ready other books by this author.

What an enjoyable read - searching for a relic that was lost for hundreds of years! Ellora Lockwood and her husband Alex are estranged - she is selling their house in Minnesota while he is teaching in England.
Alex calls Ellora and asks her to come and teach medieval English history and help him to find her grandmother, who disappeared trying to locate a priceless manuscript. Her grandmother left her a letter that was mysteriously hidden under the floorboards of her office describing the illuminated manuscript and the fact that it may have been written by a woman - inside the letter was a mysterious key.
Ellnora's friend Lanae comes over and tells her she has been hired by Alex's school in England as an advisor, so after a few weeks, Ellora decides to take the position.
Ellnora goes to England, not knowing her life is in danger and that her feelings for Alex and his for her, are unresolved.

The Lost Manuscript by Mollie Rushmeyer is a wonderful book that is full of history, mystery, suspense, love, loss, hope, and the grace of forgiveness and second chances.

This is such a gorgeous, captivating, and heartwarming. I loved the cast of characters, and their individual paths that weave together and towards one another once more amongst the mystery that surrounds them within this novel.

I loved the elements of love, hope, faith, and promise. In a world that can be so dark and depressing, it was wonderful to read an uplifting and positive book.

The mystery and the historical details made such a great story even better. I really liked everything about it, to be honest.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and HARLEQUIN - Romance (U.S. & Canada), Love Inspired Trade for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 8/29/23.

I’m not an historian but I like history. This novel by Mollie Rushmeyer gives an inside look to the life of an academic historian on the thrilling, dangerous trail to a lost, illuminated manuscript.. As a young professor of history in Minnesota, Ellora (Ellie) is given the opportunity to return to England: to be reunited with an estranged husband, to follow in your missing grandmother’s footsteps searching for the manuscript and teach students at an estate with which she’s familiar. She suffered a personal loss in Minnesota and so the opportunity gives her relief from tragic reminders. For fans of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code or other fictional accounts of historical pursuits (like the National Treasure films), this novel will be enjoyed.

While on the search for the manuscript, an antagonist shadows Ellie and her husband, causing mishaps, accidents, and following through on death threats. You begin to wonder if all academic historians need combat pay to do their work. What’s so important about this manuscript that someone would risk murder and imprisonment to thwart and sabotage a rival’s discovery of an ancient relic? Is the manuscript a threat to the Christian faith? Is it so remarkable that it’s worth millions of dollars? These questions are answered at the end of the book. As I said, I’m not an historian so I wouldn’t know the professional worth of discovering some medieval document that allows Ellie’s grandmother to devote years to its pursuit and Ellie to renew and persist in her grandmother’s clues.

The characters struggle with making right choices for their career and their personal lives. We get a complete glimpse of their hesitations, waning confidence, renewed commitments, etc. Thus, we have a 360 degree view of the protagonists. And there’s just enough hints to suspect others of not being who they appear to be.

My own interest was fading in the middle of the book as the questions noted above were left unanswered. I had wished that more snippets of the historical background to the manuscript would have been shown along the way to know what an amazing artifact the manuscript may be, how it might or might not encourage or discourage faith, and why it might or might not be worth millions to the mysterious antagonist. As to the manuscript’s worth, the only clues were the outrageous efforts people were putting forth to find it.

I was confused as to the timing of several incidences in Ellie’s life. And I tried to track the chronology in case it was important. She keeps referring to her grandmother’s disappearance as “ten months ago” when it really was eleven months (or twelve as the story unfolds). At the start of the novel, Ellie’s first search for her grandmother was eleven to ten months ago with Grandma June being officially declared missing ten months ago. But how it fits with her husband’s, Alex’s, return to England, after a tragic event in Minnesota, is unclear. Were Alex and June in England together when she disappeared? Was June in England before Alex came? It’s not really resolved but the sequence might have led to different future paths or prevented June’s disappearance. Maybe.

This book was simply one of the best I've read this year. This book hooked me bt the second chapter and it would let me go until the very end. This book was so good. I will be talking about this book for awhile.
I just reviewed The Lost Manuscript by Mollie Rushmeyer. #TheLostManuscript #NetGalley

I finished an early copy of The Lost Manuscript, and just want to say WOW! I enjoyed every word. Rushmeyer has such a gift for writing intriguing stories with fascinating characters, with a faith thread that’s beautiful and full of hope. When I finished the story, I wanted more. As a huge fan of adventure twisted with romance and mystery, this book hit the mark. I had a hard time picking up another book after I finished for fear it wouldn't satisfy my reading desires as this book did. I hope you’ll give Mollie Rushmeyer’s books a try. Her debut, The Bookshop of Secrets was excellent, too. I received an early copy from Netgalley. Opinions are my own. 5+