We are in the present (2010) in New York and meet Sarah Harper. She just left her husband and wanted to fly for Christmas to her sister. She is not looking forward to this and when she reads in an Irish newspaper that in Clare a motorway is moved due to local pressure to keep a fairy tree where it is, she boards a plane to the West Coast of Ireland. There she founds a dairy taking her back into the year 1911 where she learns about the live of Anna, a young farm girl and the arrival of an intriguing American visitor who is looking for stories, interactions of fairy stories. As usual back then many people spoke Irish hence he was looking for somebody to translate this into English for him and to guide him the way to the right person who has stories for him. So we learn more about the fairy seeing and interactions within the small town but also about Anna, her live and hopes.
On the other side we learn what happened to Sarah so she ended up in Ireland and how she learns to live with grieve and how she is sorting her live to start moving forward.

I really loved this book!
I like the way the story is told and for me it is perfectly done to have two different stories in two timelines. I really like how the stories get connected.
For me the author really caught the Irish flair here especially also about the old Ireland, how it was back then in small towns and also that she is not using here the friendly and cute looking versions of fairy, no instead she is using the ones which also can harm people that these are a magical species which you don´t want to cross in fear of what they are capable of.
At the beginning it was clear to me that something is not all right with Sarah but you did not know what happened to her, made her to the person she currently is. During the story when she is diving into Anna´s story and gets a grip on herself I start to like her.
Anna I liked right from the start. OK she is a bit naive but this is due to her young age and growing up in a small town. It is clear in what direction some part of the story will go but it was fine for me and I really liked how the author worked it out.
The magical touch in this story is for me really well done and I like how the paranormal is so wonderfully woven into the storyline.
So for me a really wonderful surprise how much I liked this story and I really need to check out other books of this author.

I really enjoyed this. It wasn’t some literal masterpiece. But it was a nice little read in between heavier books.

This was such a joy to read! A book about (antique) books! It's perfect for that rainy day read! It will warm your heart as you dive into antique books, folklore, and love.

The Story Collector by Evie Woods

A charming novel full of secrets and mystery from the best selling author. Ofv the Lost Bookshop. In a quiet village in Ireland, a mysterious local myth is about to change everything. With the taste for the magical in everyday life, Evie Wood’s latest novel is full of ordinary characters with extraordinary tales top tell.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the magic and tales of the fairies in this book. Since I have an Irish background , I liked all the history and scenes of Ireland. I recommend this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

I enjoyed this author's last book, The Lost Bookshop, enough to make me want to read this new story. I thought that some of the meandering storylines in The Lost Bookshop would be cleaned up in a new novel. This one was harder to read in so many ways.

There was no connection to either of the FMCs and the MMCs barely had any personality either. You know what's happened to the modern FMC (I think her name was Sarah but she was so forgettable) but the story takes almost the whole book to spell it out. There is no built up tension, only exhaustion at the constant hinting. We get it -- she has trauma and she likes to run, literally and figuratively.

The FMC in the past, Anna, is only slightly more interesting although the connection between the two women is tenuous at best. There's not even a local connection with Anna and one of the family members that Sarah meets. Anna's story ends abruptly (the whole book does) and I'm confused as to what I even just read. There's no emotion, no logical conclusion -- it just *ends*. You find out more of what happens to the "villains" than to the main characters you were supposed to spend the pages getting to know (except that there's no emotional pull).

I'm done with this author and I can't recommend this to anyone. The writing was dull and lifeless and it was honestly a waste of my reading time.

**Received an ARC, all opinions are my own**

The Story Collector was a good historical fiction and I did enjoy reading but overall I'm not sure I was the reader for the book. It was a bit slower than I was wanting at that moment. So it's a reader issue. I will be re-reading this one again but I love the concept.

I really enjoyed this book. After a life changing loss, Sarah makes a sudden decision and ends up in Ireland. While there she finds an old journal from a girl who lived in her rental house in the early 1900’s. You get to see Sarah struggle with her life while reading the journal. I loved the dual time lines and seeing Sarah get her life together.

This one started out promising for me. Get drunk and get on the wrong flight and end up in Ireland. Done. Ultimately, it was a bit of a miss for me. The parallel storylines seemed to go too into detail on Anna and I was left longing for more of Sarah. It was as if it was built up so much behind the scenes with meaning (and myth and fairytales) that I was left thinking, so what? The character progression could have been more developed, and there could have been more done with the mythical elements. I wanted more from the Story Collector himself.

The Story Collector
By: Evie Woods

5 Stars

Each time I pick up a book by this author, I get a sense of magic and history. Split between past and present, this presents a tale that not only captivates but intrigues. Sarah in 2011 battles with guilt and grief after a tragedy. She flees to Ireland and finds herself swept into the stories of the past. A mysterious diary with stories of a girl, Anna, from 1911. Annas story will change Sarah in ways she never thought possible.

This story was about fairies but also loss and grief. It shows the magic that comes from memories and healing. It presented a captivating story that was beautifully descriptive. As a descendent of Ireland, it has always been a place of wonder and magic that I hope to visit one day. This book was done well. It was filled with romance, history, and life. It presents a message that will break your heart and then will piece it back together. The characters are done well, and the magic is palpable. I have read two separate books now from this author, and she is a wonder as a storyteller.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

The Story Teller by Evie Woods was a delightful read with dual timelines set in Ireland. I loved both stories and the magical setting. The author does a great job of tying together the historical part of this book with a more modern storyline.

Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the advanced digital copy of the book.

I found the pacing to be slow, it seems as if everything really happens in the last 30% of the book. I was thoroughly invested in Anna's story. I enjoyed hearing the folklore of the fairies and would have enjoyed more focus on those stories.

Oh, Evie Woods. I will read your stories no matter the premise. The way Woods writes is like sipping a warm mug of tea on a cozy winter's morning. Woods always presents you with interesting POVs and the characters are always different so that jumps in time and place are easy to follow.

The Story Collector jumps back and forth between rural Ireland of the past and the present with a visitor from New York. Sarah escapes her life in New York and visits a tiny Irish village only to stumble on a diary from the past that will alter her world completely.

The side characters in this one are stellar and Woods is a great storyteller. I can't wait to see what she writers next.

Give me any book by Evie Woods. No matter the topic, the time period, the POV, and I want to read it. The way Woods crafts a story pulls me in like almost no other author does.

The characters are lovely, the switching between time periods is done without causing confusion. The magic realism is written so very well. Other than a small part in the middle where the stories seemed to stall for just a few pages, this book is everything one could want from the genre.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book although I did like The Lost Bookshop better. This book was slightly slower paced and I wanted t like it more. It just wasn't for me. Solid 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter/Harper Collins for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Practical Magic lovers - you are going to LOVE this one!

Have you ever felt like you wanted to escape reality for a little while and fly to another country? That’s exactly what Sarah does when she starts to feel like her life is falling apart. She jumps on a plane and flies to Ireland where she finds a cottage in Thornwood - little does she know it’s filled with other-worldly secrets.

The past & present are beautifully intertwined as we discover the pages of a 100 year old diary alongside Sarah as she reads stories documented by Anna from the early 1900s. Turns out Sarah’s life is just like Anna’s.

The storyline is enchanting leaving you on an emotional journey wishing nothing but the best for Sarah. I really loved this book!

Ireland just exudes a certain kind of magic! I adored how the feelings toward fairy folk were portrayed in this book. I found the dual past/present perspective to be intriguing and it kept me wanting more. Every character that was mentioned had a purpose and was significant to the plot. I hope the romance was stronger. I was left feeling a little let down by how quickly the story was progressed in both the past and the present. I did, however, feel that this book was authentic to Irish folklore and that I was fully drawn into the narrative. incredibly charming!

In this dual-timeline book, we follow two women's stories in the same Irish village--one reeling from a recent separation (Sarah) and one coming of age (Anna, 100 years earlier). American Sarah makes a spur-of-the-moment choice to travel to Ireland that leads her to find the Anna's diary. As we alternate between the two timelines, both women explore Irish fairy lore, what it means to cultivate good relationships, grief and longing, and how to come to terms with who they are and what they've lost.

I've read The Lost Bookshop by the same author and was looking forward to this new adventure. Sadly, this book didn't measure up. The pacing was slow, even though the modern-day action takes place over a relatively short time. So much good action and important things happen in the last 20-25% of the book that could have come sooner and led into more interesting storytelling! And the prologue set up an interesting idea of the story of the manor house family that then fizzled.

The titular "story collector" was a minor character and while the idea of the importance of collecting and recording stories was an interesting and valuable idea, it didn't drive the narrative so the title and this idea just felt unintegrated for me. The conceit of a diary to tell Anna's story didn't work for me either as the "diary entries" didn't read as an authentic first-person diary voice. I would have preferred those sections just be third-person as well, as "Anna" including exposition and backstory information in diary entries made them not read like diary entries. The information was necessary for the reader, but it didn't work to present them as if she'd write that in her private diary.

I found modern-day Sarah a hard character to care about from the outset. Instead of heading home for the holidays, she got blackout drunk, read an article, and bought a ticket to Ireland, then didn't understand why her family might be concerned and upset and just turned off her phone to hide from everyone and kept drinking. Within a few days of leaving her husband, she was ready to entertain the idea of a new romance with the implication that she had the tools to do it better this time? There were important pieces of Sarah's story that didn't come out until very late in the book that would have helped make her more understandable and sympathetic.

As with The Lost Bookshop, there were some minor characters I found very compelling, like Fe and Marcus. There were some excellent portions and some valuable ideas that I wish had been fleshed out more. I wanted to love this book and was disappointed.

What a fun Irish ride this was! If you like Irish folklore, women protagonists, and a sweet ending then this book is certainly for you! The author did a lovely job of differentiating the voice between the time periods and main characters. There was a great amount of fantasy and fun storytelling at play between the characters dealing with folklore. As the book unravelled, I was drawn in more and more.

I absolutely adored this book!

I really enjoyed both the past and present storylines, though the past was my favorite. I found the characters well-developed. Anna and Harold were my favorites, but I liked Sarah too. The magical elements were beautifully woven into the story. The writing painted a clear picture in my mind as I read. I loved the folklore and fairy stories that were included. The romance in the present storyline felt a little fast, but it made that plot line more interesting.

This is my first Evie Woods novel, and I am very much looking forward to reading more from her!

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter/Harper Collins for this digital ARC!

I felt some frustration with the main character, and I don’t love jumping back and forth in time during the story, but by the end I loved both stories and wanted to hear more about both of them.