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This book was interesting and honestly not quite what I expected. I really liked how important encouraging friendships were in this book and I loved the MC's backstory. It really added depth of character and drew me in. The main focus of this book is not the plot, but the characters. I would go as far to say that the plot was weak. Nothing seemed to happen but the characters pushed the novel forward in incredible ways. It was very interesting to see the development of Robin throughout the novel as she conquered old fears and insecurities.
The writing was poetic and intricate but still understandable.
Also, for those of you who care, the quality of the physical book is phenomenal with the textured cover.
Rating: 4 Stars
Content: 4 Stars
*I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required. ( )

Review of The Words Between Us: Weird. While I liked this book it ended weirdly, too fast, and there was no real conclusion. Until the end though it was a nice story filled with sadness, brokenness, hurt, and lies, that leads to breaking and hope. There was little Christian content which was disappointing, and there was a divorced man that remarried, three side characters that cheated on their spouses, the main character witnessed some violence, and talk of murder. The bookstore side of the story was really cute and I loved everything about it, and Dawt Pi was such a sweet character. And the poetry was a wonderful touch.

Rating: 2 stars.

Recommendation: 16/19 up for content.

Verse: John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (King James Version.)

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Revell in exchange for my honest review - all the thoughts are my own. ( )

Review coming.... ( )

The Words Between Us was a random pick off the public library shelf. I am happy to read anything about books and bookshops so this was a fit. Author Erin Bartels pulled me in immediately with her story of Robin Dickinson née Windsor who has spent much of her teenage and young adult life hiding from her past as her disgraced father awaits execution as a traitor. When she returns to her adopted hometown that she had fled when her grandmother died, she opens a bookshop and begins to build a small community with old and new friends. Then, books from her past begin to arrive and she finds that she can't escape the truth.

I loved this book. It switches between Robin's past and present in River City with the two lines of narration integrating seamlessly to tell the full story. I did figure out one major twist before she did but didn't mind.

Robin spends a lot of time thinking about what brings life to both creatures and books. I had been watching figure skating and thinking about Yeats' line: How can we tell the dancer from the dance? What is that "thing" that makes something greater: it happens in figure skating sometimes when the skater seems to connect with the music and ice and movement so perfectly it takes your breath away. For Robin, she considers the difference between books that last and those that don't:

"I know why some books live on forever while others struggle for breath, forgotten on shelves and in basements. The authors of these books...might have told rollicking good tales and sketched out characters who who were fun for 400 pages but they hadn't bled. They hadn't cut themselves open and given up part of themselves that they would dearly miss. They hadn't lost anything in the writing" (pp. 315 - 316). ( )

The cover and the way this book began really drew me in. A book about books set in a bookstore, classic titles cleverly woven into the plot - The Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace, Animal Farm, The Things They Carried, The Great Gatsby - and a long lost love. Naturally I expected it to continue in that vein and, for the most part, it did. What I didn’t expect were the affirmations of faith and the devout Christianity of one character I wish had been more prominent in the storyline. When I bought the ebook I didn’t know it was published by an independent Christian publishing company and I was impressed by how well it blended characters from all walks of life – including one you could say walked on the wild side - together for an emotionally uplifting story about love and forgiveness. ( )