I am not too much into romance, but this was a well-written story. The author did a good job with the characters, and I especially lived the library scenes!

I have been murdered by this book. I did not see that coming. It took me forever to get invested in this story, which is very unusual. Okay, that is only half true. I was very invested in the historical section. The modern section took me almost half the book to be interested in. I just didn't want to leave Sadie behind. I absolutely adore Pepper's books for mostly one reason: They make me feel like I'm in my mountains again, and I love that Blue Ridge feel. And she even added Biltmore to this book, which of course makes it all the better. We used to go to Biltmore a lot and so every room she was describing had some sort of picture in my head. Reading about places that you know really helps with the whole hallucination thing. <small jest> I'm just gonna say, y'all, I'd be down with marrying Oliver myself. Or Max, if it came down to it. Isn't it every girl's dream to find a man who's equally obsessed with books as she is? I will say that the conflict is more circumstance driven than villain driven, most of the time, and I kind of liked not having a bad guy in my face the whole time. And after I was fully invested in the story, I couldn't put it down. By the end, my emotions were wrapped in a little ball of OH MY GOODNESS. And can we take a minute and appreciate the WWI setting instead of WWII? I think I can really recommend this one, even with my initial disinterest. (Part of the problem is also that I've been reading a lot of fairytales recently, so I had to switch my mood back to real world fiction and I wasn't ready.)

The Biltmore and nearby neighborhood of Biltmore Village are the primary settings for this history story with a modern day twist. We meet a great granddaughter of the main character in present time and she is looking for the deed to the family bookstore. From the 1916-1920 time period, the main character was the library maid at the Biltmore. In that role she was able to enjoy library resources. One of her jobs was to anticipate the reading preferences of the Biltmore guests and make those books “appear” in the second floor, guest living room. She was fantastic at that task. One visitor, though, looked past her job as the maid and drew her into conversations about the books. You will read about them as the “goblin” and the “fairy”. Of course there’s a love story with such a fairy tale beginning.

Recently a Biltmore visitor, I was excited for the setting. The library was my personal, favorite room of the mansion and I was tickled to know exactly the spaces to which they refer in the story.

I found the story interesting, well told, and I loved the setting. I will look for more from Basham and also the Doors to the Past series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. The dual timeline tale works well, skipping between the story of Sadie at the Biltmore Estate in 1915, to Asheville in the present with Clara’s quest to find the deed to Blackwell Bookshop. This book was fabulous! Probably the best I’ve read all year.

I love Pepper Basham’s writing! I will definitely be reading more books from her.
While split/duel timelines are NOT my favorite, I enjoyed this story. I enjoyed Clara’s scavenger hunt into the past and especially the historical story and the interactions between Sadie and Oliver. Again, Pepper’s storytelling drew me in and made me actually enjoy the split timeline, despite my usual dislike.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this story to read and review. I was not asked to write a positive one.

As is normal for Pepper Basham, this story is wonderfully written! I love dual time lines. They are my current favorite type of story and a well written one is hard to beat! I loved the romance and the way the two stories tied together. Another great story from Pepper Basham!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Clara Blackwell helps her mother manage a 100 year old family bookshop in Asheville, North Carolina. The bookshop is struggling to survive and it takes everything she has to keep it going. But when Clara discovers an old letter tucked away in a book, that has never been opened, she can’t wait to open the seal and read it. The letter takes her on an adventure of a lifetime. As Clara follows her heart and unwrap the mystery of the past, she is transported from the estates of the Vaderbilts to Derbyshire, England. As she uncovers the love story of her great-great grandmother and the only name in the letter, Oliver. The truth of her family’s past is revealed as well as the hope of her future. This captivating story of hope, past, present and future made this book unputdownable. I really enjoyed the plot twist and the detailed description of England made it a wonderful and much needed escape. I love the writing style of this author, it is both intriguing and entertaining and keeps your attention while rapidly turning the pages.

Thank you Pepper Basham for such a wonderful and amazing read. This entertaining and exciting story, definitely pulls at your heartstrings. This compelling story of love and secrets is amazing. The flow of the story reads as if it is a poem, a love letter. It is an absolute must read and I highly recommend this book.

Wonderful read. This is my first time reading this author. Enjoyable story for a first time reader.

What I think you should know:
Hope Between the Pages by Pepper Basham is a Christian Historical Fiction. Part of the Doors to the Past series it is a time slip novel set in Asheville North Carolina. The historical portion starts at the Biltmore Estate in 1915. The contemporary portion of the novel centers around a bookstore in Biltmore Village.

What you might need to know:
Be prepared with Kleenex , lots of Kleenex

What I think you should know:
This is a beautifully haunting story of love and loss. Growing up relatively close to Biltmore I am always intrigued by the magic surrounding the estate, so I was super excited to read this story. Basham weaves together the timelines seamlessly allowing the stories to meld perfectly together. Clara has been surrounded by love and books all of her life, with stories taking her a million places. I loved how she found her stepped out of her comfort zone to save her family legacy. Max was also a fascinating character. The Library Fairy and the Book Goblin, OH My Heart, their story gave me so many feelings. Oliver looked past the expectations of a person and saw what they really were. Sadie’s strength and love is beautiful, the lengths that she went to protect those she loved is inspiring. This book had me grinning, laughing and sobbing. I look forward to reading more books in the series and I will always choose to read more books by Basham.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celebrate Lit, this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own.

Hope Between the Pages
by Pepper Basham
Pub Date 01 Apr 2021 |
Barbour Publishing, Inc., Barbour Fiction
Christian | Historical Fiction | Romance


I am reviewing a copy of Hope Between the Pages through Barbour Publishing Inc, and Netgalley:



Clara Blackwell helps her ailing Mother manage a struggling one-hundred-year old family bookshop in Asheville, North Carolina, but the discovery of a forgotten letter opens a mystery of a long-lost romance and undiscovered inheritance which could save its future.



Clara finds herself having to step outside of her predictable world in order to embark on a journey that starts with only a name Oliver, the name she found in her great grandmothers letter. From the nearby grand estate of the Vanderbilts, to a hamlet in Derbyshire, England, Clara seeks to uncover truth about family and love that may lead to her own unexpected romance.



I give Hope Between the Pages five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

Hope Between the Pages by Pepper Basham is the second book in the Doors to the Past series, but it can be read as a stand-alone dual-time novel. Blackwell's independent small bookstore is struggling to survive, and it is now threatened by a legal dispute over ownership of the property on which the bookstore sits. Determined to find evidence of ownership by her grandmother Sadie, Clara finds a long-lost letter that starts her journey to discovering her grandmother's past. Sadie Blackwell worked as a librarian for the Vanderbilts at the Biltmore House. A male houseguest in need of a book starts leads t0 a friendship that develops into a romance that holds the key to finding the deed to the bookstore.

This split time frame book, is spectacular. It's not just the Blue Ridge Mountains, or the bookshop, it's everything. This book is indeed, filled with hope. It didn't waver on faith. It didn't fall short of romance, or characters to love. I have been to Biltmore, so having the library there as a setting in 1915, was such perfect thing for me. The 100 year old mystery, just wonderful! Sadie and Oliver, they are just amazing and Clara and Max were nice too.

This book is steeped in romance, but not the kind that I don't like. It's clean, and it's endearing. It has a pull that tugs on you past the last pages. I don't think my review can do this book justice, you just have to read it. I think a hardcopy might have to grace my bookshelves soon.

I have read so many rave reviews of this book and expected to love it, but I just really didn't at all. I absolutely hate spoilers, and I felt like the historical story of this book was completely spoiled from the first chapter of the contemporary story and continued to be spoiled as the book went on. Things were given away that kept me from allowing myself to really care about some of the characters in the historical story. I have no doubt that I would have absolutely loved the historical story if I could have read it on its own first, despite the fact that some of the characters are too good to be true, but the split-time format ruined it for me. I think maybe split-time stories just aren't my thing.

As for the contemporary story, I didn't enjoy it nearly as much. In my opinion, it moved much too slowly (and then much too fast), and I didn't really care about it until well past the halfway mark of the book. All it did was annoy me by interrupting and spoiling the story I was actually interested in. When the love interest is finally introduced, again well past the halfway point of the book, there wasn't nearly enough character development for me to care much about him and the few days they spent together weren't enough for me to believe there was really much to their relationship. Everything came together and resolved far too quickly to be believable for me, especially after it took so long for that story to get moving in the beginning.

Obviously, lots of people love this book, and there are a lot of great quotes, beautiful moments of faith and romance, and a lot of different elements that I have loved in other stories, but for me, those things didn't come together well in this book and the split-time format especially didn't work well for me. I commented to my husband at one point that I felt like I was being forced to read the first and last book in a series simultaneously and it was miserable.

I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book from NetGalley.

Uncover the Story Behind a One-Hundred-Year-Old Love Letter

Visit historic American landmarks through the Doors to the Past series. History and today collide in stories full of mystery, intrigue, faith, and romance.

Clara Blackwell helps her mother manage a struggling one-hundred-year old family bookshop in Asheville, North Carolina, but the discovery of a forgotten letter opens a mystery of a long-lost romance and undiscovered inheritance which could save its future. Forced to step outside of her predictable world, Clara embarks on an adventure with only the name Oliver as a hint of the man’s identity in her great-great-grandmother’s letter. From the nearby grand estate of the Vanderbilts, to a hamlet in Derbyshire, England, Clara seeks to uncover truth about family and love that may lead to her own unexpected romance.

My Thoughts: Ths was an amazing read; one that draws the reader in from the very start. This is a story for those who love a mystery and also believe that fairy tales can come true. A story that takes the reader on a course back in time. This is a story about accepting people for who they are, not social status, not money. There are lessons to be learned. One thing that I enjoyed was the way the book was written, some in the present, and then to Sadies past. Can fairy tales come true? A truly enjoyable and must-read book.

In this book, we have two stories separated by hundred years, In the first story( 1915) we can clearly see the elements we find in the Cinderella story. An orphan, the difficulties she and her family had to face due to lack of resources. A handsome and rich young man, this love story develops unexpectedly during Oliver's visit to the Biltmore state in Asheville North Carolina. What starts like simple and funny notes, suddenly changes the course of a lifetime. In this particular story, we have two young people from different classes, what seems an impossible love, we have a glimpse of hope and opportunity to love. However, although I understand the historical moment and also the precision Oliver to join the fight and serve his country. I would have like that the author would have given them more time together.

In the second story, we have Clara Balckwell, granddaughter of Sadie and we learn that her father was a fantasy writer and she has been taking care of her parents and for years and also their library, now she has to face a big thread, it seems that deed it’s not found and they can lose it after hundred years of ownership. I must say that this part of the story I honestly couldn’t find plausible, how is possible a document so important be lost for long and none saw it before the troubles start to happen.

In order to save her family’s business, she goes to England with the hope of finding the deed, there she meets Maxwell Weston the son of the owner of the Inn where was the Camden state. In this story, maybe I’m wrong; but for me was like Beauty and the beast. We have a woman who has put her life on hold for the love of her parent and a man how has physical and emotional wounds that have made him careful on how to let him in his life.

This story has many good elements, we can see that the author clearly loves her home state and did her research, and try to add many historical elements to the story, we have two fairy tales in the modern age with a twist and faith as glue. I’ll confess I will also have like to found the addition of Oliver and Maxwell's voices in the story, I think it will have made it richer. Overall, if you like good historical fiction, this book is a good choice.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free digital copy for review, all opinions are my own.

Admittedly when I decided to request this, I was not aware it was a Christian Romance.

As a lapsed Christian, I found it difficult to connect with the amount of faith the characters had. I also found the romance a little lackluster nor did I genuinely believe in the relationships between the main characters. It could largely be just a mis-match between the book and myself but I found myself forcing myself to finish the book.

That being said, it was a unique historical novel with a focus on books that I may have loved in a different setting.

3/5 stars - but this could largely be due to personal reasons rather than the quality of the book itself.

A masterpiece by Pepper Basham. Beautifully written. Engaging characters. Dual time novel. Seamlessly blending the past w/ the present. Five stars.

Hope Between the Pages
By Pepper Basham
4 stars

*Book Blurb: Uncover the Story Behind a One-Hundred-Year-Old Love Letter. Clara Blackwell helps her mother manage a struggling one-hundred-year old family bookshop in Asheville, North Carolina, but the discovery of a forgotten letter opens a mystery of a long-lost romance and undiscovered inheritance which could save its future. Forced to step outside of her predictable world, Clara embarks on an adventure with only the name Oliver as a hint of the man’s identity in her great-great-grandmother’s letter. From the nearby grand estate of the Vanderbilts, to a hamlet in Derbyshire, England, Clara seeks to uncover truth about family and love that may lead to her own unexpected romance.*

It's a reader's delight to have characters that adore books as much as you do. And bookshop stories are just like a warm hug.
I loved the historical aspect of this split time novel the best but that's just because I love history. The romance was sigh worthy and happy tear worthy. The theme of hope in adversity was inspiring.

Hope Between the Pages is Pepper D Basham’s wonderful addition to the Doors to the Past series. I thought this was a great read. I enjoy reading dual time line stories and this one will be among my favorites I have read to date. I loved it! I have always wanted to travel to the Biltmore and I want to even more now. The details of the book really made me feel as though I was right there with the characters.

Hope Between the Pages will be getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading clean historical fiction. As always, I look forward to reading more by Pepper D. Basham in the future. This one should not be missed.

This book was just ok for me. I was entertained enough that I finished it, but it took me a long time to get through.
I wish there had been less mention of all the classic books and more information on the characters themselves- why did no one know anything about the grandma until long after her death??
It was well written and I enjoyed the dual timeline. I also appreciated that it was clean and had plenty of historical details.