3.75⭐

With elements of historical fiction, folklore magical realism and contemporary love story, The Story Collector by Evie Woods is a beautifully written novel.

Christmas Day, NYC, 2010: While waiting to board a flight to Boston to spend the holidays with her sister’s family, Sarah Harper is intrigued by a newspaper article on the ‘lore of a beautiful hawthorn tree in County Clare, Ireland. On an impulse, she decides to hop on a flight to Ireland and eventually ends up renting a cottage, Butler’s Cottage, in the same vicinity as the tree. Sarah is dealing with the collapse of her marriage and grieving a personal loss and hopes to find solace in the quiet setting of the cottage amid the beautiful surroundings. While exploring the area, she comes upon an old diary from 1910, belonging to Anne Butler. From Anne’s diary, Sarah not only learns about Anna’s family and her dreams and the history of Thornwood House, the ruins of which are still standing, and local folklore but she also gets to know about American researcher Harold Griffin-Krauss, who engaged Anna’s assistance to interact with locals for his thesis on the fairy faith in Celtic countries. As the narrative progresses, Sarah finds herself motivated to find out more about Anne and is inspired by her story to take stock of her own life and embark on a cathartic journey of healing and hope.

The prose is elegant and the author writes with compassion and emotional emotional depth and a keen sense of time and place, deftly weaving past and present timelines into an engaging narrative. I loved the vivid setting and appreciated how folklore and stories of na Daoine Maithe were incorporated into the narrative.

The present-day story is told from Sarah’s perspective, with Anne’s story revealed through her journal entries interspersed throughout the narrative. Both Sarah and Anne are well-fleshed-out characters and I enjoyed getting to know Harold (whose character was inspired by American anthropologist and writer W. Y. Evans-Wentz). I wish the narrative had included more stories from his research. The secondary characters were also well thought out and I loved how the author depicted life in a quiet Irish village one hundred years apart. I’ll admit that I enjoyed the past timeline more than Sarah’s story. The romantic track in the present timeline felt unnecessary and wasn’t entirely convincing. I wish we had gotten to know more about both Anne and Harold (I prefer showing to telling). The past timeline was rushed toward the end and left me with a few unanswered questions. However, I did like how the author brought everything together and the ending, though bittersweet, was satisfying.

This is my second Evie Woods novel (I also enjoyed The Lost Bookshop) and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's not just the cover of this book that it beautiful, it's a beautiful read too.
Alternating between 1911 and 2010 we follow the tale of Anna (1911) and Sarah (2010/11).
Two centuries, two women, and The Good People, the fairy community.
The author faithfully captures life in 1900s rural Ireland against the backdrop of British rule and the juxtaposition of life there in 2010, but has anything really changed?
A magical, mystical hug of a read. I am bereft now I have finished it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
5 stars book from me. Loved the plot and the stories in this book. Loved every single second reading it.

I was approved for both this and the US version simultaneously and sent both to my Kindle. This version was the prior book, which I read and LOVED. I tried to prove that to myself but waited too long and it had been archived. So my review is based on the US version.

Evie Woods wrote a stunning book with The Lost Bookshop and The Story Collector felt like she was trying too hard to recreate the same magic without the right ingredients. The dual timelines were not as seamless, the characters were not as charming, and it felt flat, especially considering I had JUST finished The Lost Bookshop.

It is still a very good book with a very good story but the proximity of reads was a mistake. I would still recommend this book but perhaps read it before reading The Lost Bookshop or a long while after The Lost Bookshop.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins Uk One More Chapter for the eARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

It's Christmas Day 2010 in New York City and Sarah needs to get away, her marriage to Jack is crumbling and her plan is to head back to her parents in Boston, instead she impulsively buys a ticket to Ireland and ends up staying in the village of Thornwood. A few days into her stay she discovers something in the old hawthorn tree which transports her back a century and into the life of Anna. In 1910 Anna meets a young American called Harold who has travelled to Ireland to research the fairy faith and she volunteers to help him talk to the locals and translate the stories from Irish to English but the events that follow will change her life forever.

The Story Collector is this author's latest book which is a mix of historical fiction, fantasy and magic. The story is told across two timelines, starting in 2010 and transporting back to a century earlier in alternating chapters. In each of the timelines we learn about the fairies (The Good People) and what a force of nature they are when needed! Both Sarah and Anna are struggling to come to terms with their personal grief and, while their stories are totally different they are linked together through the discoveries made and, of course, the fairies. I loved the friendship that developed between Anna and Harold and was hoping it would go further. The author weaves these stories so intricately and seamlessly that they flow from one to the other effortlessly and, even though I don't normally read historical fiction, I was totally hooked and loved the depth and authenticity of the many characters within each timeline. This is the first book I've read by Woods but it certainly won't be the last.

I'd like to thank HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.

Evie Woods is a masterful storyteller. This historical fiction tale features the folklore of fairies of Ireland. Told through the past and present, we learn how the events from long ago comes alive when a long-lost diary is found in the hollow of a tree. I was transported to the lush landscape of Ireland and it history of superstitions for a historical mystery bit romance story.

Can't wait for what Woods writes next!

Thank you, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter | One More Chapter

The Story Collector by Evie Woods is a historical mystery/fantasy novel.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Harper Collins, Once More Chapter and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions):
Sarah Harper is, somewhat amicably, leaving her husband and heading to New York to live with her sister.  While at the airport, she grabs an Irish newspaper showing a "fairy tree" that had traffic re-routed.  She changes her mind.  The next thing she knows, she wakes up in Ireland.

Sarah ends up renting small cottage.  She finds the 100 year old diary of a young girl named Anna, and becomes immersed in her story.  Sarah also becomes immersed in the country folklore that still exists in the area.


My Opinions:
Although I'm not a "historical fiction", nor a "romance" reader, I have read something by this author before, (The Lost Bookshop), and really enjoyed it, so reading this book was an easy decision.

This book was about more than romance and history.  It was about magic, and grieving, and second chances.  I loved the Irish folklore.

The book was told through two timelines.  Relatively current - Sarah in 2011,   and through Anna's diary, which was written in 1911.  This worked really well, and I was captivated by both stories -- probably the early one a little more.

The characters were all interesting, had depth, and a I cheered on Anna and Harold.  I liked Oren, but had some problems with Sarah -- drinking can't be used as a solution to grief, and I didn't like the fact that the author used it as such.  Sarah was an alcoholic, but there was never any mention of getting help.  Anna had strength, and although Sarah should have had strength and confidence, she let her ex and grief take it all away.  So, I had problems with Sarah, and that's probably why this isn't a five star review.

Not everything turned out as I had liked, but everything turned out "real".

So, overall, this was a really entertaining read, and I will watch for more from this author!

BOOK: THE STORY COLLECTOR
AUTHOR: EVIE WOODS
PUB DATE: JULY 2024
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REVIEW- 4.5 stars
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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I had high expectations for this book because I've read and loved one of her books. Fortunately, I was not disappointed although I liked The Lost Bookshop better. I liked this book, although it was a bit slow in the beginning.
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The book was narrated in two women's pov, Sarah and Anna. Sarah(set in 2010) was late 20s- early 30s, facing a meltdown at home in New York with her husband when she took a flight to Ireland and Anna, an 18 year old commoner living in a village in Ireland. Anna's pov was from a diary Sarah was reading. I loved the dual timeline and how past and present merged together.
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I really enjoyed reading about The Good People, the fairies of Ireland. The story started from something mundane to something interesting, and I enjoyed the suspense. Anna was an assistant to a 'Story Collector', and she was an excellent one! She was smart and knew a lot about the fairies. That was beautiful to read. I enjoyed reading snippets from her life, her family, and the reality of a feudal system, especially from a 'commoner'. Anna's family was very nice.
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I liked that Sarah was able to rediscover herself. It was something she needed, and I'm glad about that. Sarah also took us through the County of Clare (the village). She even stayed in Anna's old cottage! There was a little bit of romance between her and a widowed father. I'm glad that she got a better ending.
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I liked this book, it's was informative and interesting. The storyline, the characters, and the setting were perfect. But, I didn't like the ending , it was bittersweet. I would have liked an overall happy ending, but considering the circumstances, it would have been impossible.
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This book was totally worth the read. You should try it!
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I have mixed feelings about this book, whilst I enjoyed it , very much actually, for me it didn’t have the magical appeal of The Lost Bookshop. That said it was a lovely story with good characters and very well written.

An interesting dual time zone story, with Sarah in the modern day and Anna a century before, all set in rural Ireland.
I thought switching between the two time zones worked well, with the common denominator a small cottage in rural Ireland. Using Anna's diary we follow her on her exploits whilst she guides an American academic in the local area in his search for stories of the hidden folk. With several unexplainable incidents both back then and now to keep the reader guessing it makes you wonder if there is more to life than you can just see and touch. With a touch of romance to counterbalance some of the darker parts of the story I did enjoy this book.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

I'd like to thank the publisher for this eARC Netgalley.

This was my second book by Evie Woods, and I had high hopes going into this one, after loving The Lost Bookshop so much. I found myself struggling to finish this book, or to even get interested in the characters and what was going on in their lives. I think everything just fell kind of flat for me, and that's a huge bummer. I managed to start and finish 4 other books while trying to work through this one, but I finished it so I could write a review properly.

Such a good read! Escape back to Ireland in the early 1900's to a small Irish town that has long rumored to be a site of a Fairy Village. Jump to the present where a young woman, trying to escape her past, on impulse., catches a plane to Ireland on Christmas eve. Arriving in the same village, she secures housing in a cottage where she finds a diary of a young woman who had lived there in the past. Combined stories of both women make this book a fascinating read. Highly recommendable.

Kudos to Evie Woods, author of The Lost Bookshop, for her new release, The Story Collector!

In “Thornwood House,” which serves as a prologue, Woods sets the scene for the story that follows. Buying land in 1882 to build a stately home as a wedding gift for his wife, Lord Hawley, an Englishman, paid no heed to the local Western Ireland seeress’s warnings about revenge “The Good People” would take upon anyone so much as scarring the property’s ancient hawthorn tree—a purported fairy tree. Down came the tree, and within a few years, the Seeress’s warnings began coming true.

On Christmas Day more than a century later and an ocean away, Sarah’s purchases from the airport’s Emerald Isle Gift Shop result in her impetuous flight to Shannon, Ireland despite already having a ticket in hand to Boston where she planned to live temporarily with her sister after having walked out of a failed marriage earlier that day. With no room for Sarah at the Shannon airport hotel, the man at the hotel desk finds her finds her a place at Butler’s cottage in the nearby village of Thornwood. The owner’s father, Brian Sweeney, informs her that the place is named after its long-ago owners. In answer to Sarah’s question about a nearby hill, Sweeney translates its Irish name as “hill of the fairies.” Before the night is over, Sarah finds herself reading a hundred-year-old diary, opening on Saint Stephen’s Day, 1910.

From this point on, the novel becomes a dual-timeline narration, divided between Sarah’s experiences in Thornwood and the contents of the diary, in which Anna Butler writes a story so detailed and vivid that it not only capture’s Sarah’s attention but seems to take on a life of its own as Anna, a book-loving farmer’s daughter, describes her work with Harold Griffin-Kraus, who has arrived to interview the locals, collecting their stories about Irish fairies.

Bit by bit, readers come to know Sarah and Anna, who have more in common than one might expect. Along with the two women, they also come to know Harold Griffin-Kraus, his folklore research strategies, and an assortment of locals from both time periods.

In her acknowledgments, Woods explains, “I wrote this book as a love letter to old Ireland, our ancient beliefs, traditions and folklore.” Other readers quite possibly will find themselves as engrossed in these old beliefs as I was although, admittedly, half my ancestry is Celtic. Woods also reveals that she based Harold Griffin-Kraus on a real folklorist with a different but similar name..

Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter/HarperCollins for an advance reader egalley of this highly recommended new novel by Irish writer Evie Woods.

Thank you to @netgalley and One More Chapter (HarperCollins UK) for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to see Evie Woods writing another dual-timeline Irish novel after the Lost Bookshop, and they did not disappoint. I don’t think I’ve ever read dual timelines written so beautifully. They are subtly linked in little ways beyond the obvious which I adore. All of the characters are well written and lovable. The plots are interesting and move at a great pace without being overly intense giving nice cozy vibes. And I love that the 1911 plotline doesn’t end the way you’d assume.

The author is masterful at winding real historical places and events into a charming book laced with just a hint of magic. And I’m desperate to return to Ireland with ever page. So yes, I’m in love with this book.

The Story Collector is the 2nd book I have read by Evie Woods. I love the storyline. Ireland, dual time-lines and fairies what’s not to love.

Sarah Harper is leaving her marriage and a tragedy that tore her and her husband apart. She is headed to her family in Boston from New York when she sees an article about a motorway in Ireland that was moved to save a Hawthorne tree that is home to the good people or fairies, the story intrigues her and she takes a unscheduled side trip to Ireland on Christmas Day of all days. Once in Ireland she discovers that she has nowhere to stay, Marcus a worker at a local hotel hooks her up with a cottage in the village of Thornwood. The cottage once owned by the Butler family is now rented out. While investigating the Hawthorne tree, Sarah finds the diary of Anna Butler dated before WWI. Anna was hired to help an American anthropologist who is traveling through England, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, the Isle of Man and of course Ireland to gather stories and first hand accounts of people’s interaction with fairies. The book is told through dual times, 2010 Sarah and 1910-1911 Anna, Both have unusal happenings that hint that the fairies may not be quite as much a myth as thought. Along the way Sarah and Anna have their lives irreparably changed.

This was a magical story with some drama and some heartache, but a lovely story.

Thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and the author for the chance to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! The Story Collector by Evie Woods is a tale of a woman, who after surviving heartbreak, takes a sudden leap of intoxicated faith and heads to Ireland. There, she meets people in a quaint small town who teach her how to heal and forgive herself for things that were out of her control. Though, I found the story a little hard to get into with the talk of fairies, I rather enjoyed it in the end. Sometimes life takes us on an unexpected journey that we follow blindly and which, in turn, helps us discover that we end up right where we were meant to be.

I was really looking forward to this book. The Lost Bookshop was one of my favorite reads, especially because it was a beautiful story with a little touch of magic. Since I read the first book through Netgalley I got an e-mail from the publisher, One More Chapter, with an invitation to also read this second book through Netgalley. Of course I didn't hesitate. I was therefore really excited to finally start reading this week.

When adding this book to Goodreads I discovered that this book was actually before the Lost Bookshop. I'm not entirely sure if the author has simply grown a lot since writing this book, but this book somehow didn't touch me as much as the Lost Bookshop did. I can't really explain why. I think the main issue lies with the characters. I especially had issues connecting with Sarah, the American girl ending up in Ireland after divorcing her husband.

Does that mean I didn't enjoy this book at all? No, of course not. I really loved the magic in this book. I especially loved how we can never know for sure if things are really magical or not. There are a lot of rumors, some weird things are going on and there are clearly moments not making complete sense and yet, it's hard to know for sure how trustworthy the narrators of this story are. Emotions are strong, but they can also be deceiving after all.

I was however not entirely convinced of the two stories really coming together. There are of course quite some similarities between these two ladies. Both are dealing with heavy emotions, both have some mysterious experiences and there is something going on with traveling tickets. However, the final link between those two stories feels a little missing. As if there is no true moment where the past and the present really meet.

Maybe my expectations were simply too high, because it's still a well written book. I just think The Lost Bookshop was a lot better.

Sarah, reeling under the pain of a recent separation, decides on a whim to fly to Ireland instead of to her family in Boston. She finds herself renting a cottage in Thornwood, a tiny village known for fairy activity, where she unearths a hundred year old diary, of a former resident, Anna.

Told from both Sara's POV in 2011 and through Anna's diary in 1911, we learn the history and secrets of Thornwood and the tales of the Fair Folk are woven throughout. Stories within stories within stories. And through these stories Sarah finds healing and finds herself once more.

This was a delightful, heartwarming read, full of warmth and magic, grief and solace, the mischief of fairies, and, ultimately, healing. Anna's story centres around the collection of fairy stories and anecdotes with a visiting scholar and the impact the fairies have on her; Sarah's story centres around healing and moving forward.

There are some trigger warnings for readers that should be flagged - attempted SA, child loss, animal cruelty, suicide, murder. Some of these are within the fairy stories themselves, but readers should be aware of them.

~Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

I read the Lost Bookshop last year and loved it. So when I saw the@author had brought out another book, I couldn’t wait to search for it!! 📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕. The Story Collector is a dual time storyline (personally I love a dual time). This book was just lovely,magical and I devoured it. Definitely becoming a fan of this author. 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷. #thestorycollector #eviewoodsthelostbookshop #eviewoods #ireland #irelandreading #netgalley

This is a dual-timeline story that alternates between the two timelines. The book begins with Sarah Harper leaving her husband on Christmas after their marriage implodes. Her plan is to hop on a plane to her sister's house, but she gets drunk at the airport waiting for her plane, changes plans because of an article she read in a newspaper, and wakes up in Ireland, completely bumfuzzled as to how she got there. Her sister is mad at her because she spent the day getting everything ready for her, and her husband has been waiting at the airport for her. Everyone thinks she is having a breakdown, but she assures them she just needs some time away to regroup and think. She decides to do just that and she rests a cottage for a few weeks. At the cottage she discovers a diary from 1910, belonging to someone named Anna. This is where the second timeline comes in at. The diary tells about how Anna, a young farm girl, volunteers to help an intriguing American visitor, Harold Griffin-Krauss, translate 'fairy stories' from Irish to English. They travel around Thornwood Village together, collecting personal accounts of interactions and sightings of the fae. Sarah becomes fascinated by all of the folklore and superstition and decides to start sketching pictures of the fairies in the stories she is reading about.

I love this author's books. She never fails to draw me in and keep me captivated. I loved all of the stories about the fae, and enjoyed the dual timeline and the way the two tied together. When Sarah finally broke down and confessed what had happened to break up her marriage with her husband, I will admit I shed a tear or two for her. Whether you are a fan of fantasy fiction or just love fiction, I think you will love this book regardless. I highly recommend it!