This was a very enjoyable book. The swap between Anna in 1911 living in the cottage and Sarah living in the cottage in 2010 was easy to follow.

I have posted a review on Goodreads.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper360 for this ARC! "The Story Collector" by Evie Woods is a charming novel that blends historical fiction, folklore, and a contemporary love story. Set in both present-day Ireland and 1910, the story follows Sarah Harper, who, while dealing with personal loss, is drawn to the magical lore of an ancient hawthorn tree. Renting a cottage near the tree, she discovers an old diary that intertwines her fate with Anne Butler's life from a century ago. The novel beautifully weaves past and present, capturing the magic of Irish folklore and the healing power of stories. With elegant prose and well-developed characters, it is an enchanting read that leaves a lasting impression.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for allowing me an advanced copy of this book to review. As with The Lost Bookshop, I fell completely in love with the author’s world. This cozy book flows seamlessly between the two main characters and their timelines and the Irish winter makes for a beautiful backdrop to the tale! I have one “if only” and that is that I would have LOVED to have found out there was some sort of familial tie between Harold and Sarah - being that they are both American and ended up at the same cottage 100 years apart! I am looking forward to sharing this with friends and revisiting again in the future!

3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars.

I’m a sucker for a book set in Ireland. This is set with two alternating POV’s. Anna a young woman in the early 1900’s and Sarah a hundred years later (2011). Sarah – dealing with grief goes to Ireland on a whim and ends up in Ireland staying in a cottage that used to be Anna’s. Sarah finds Anna’s diary and we get to see both girls finding themselves while dealing with grief. The setting is lush with a little magical realism in the form of Irish folklore.
Thank you to Harper360 and Netgalley for the advanced review copy.

This is such a beautiful novel about loss, maturity, fantasy, and dreams. The collection of stories and the dual timelines are so beautiful. You can feel the pain the first few chapters, and throughout the story you can feel the wounds heal. The duality of Sarah along with the Story Collector and their relationship to each other centuries apart was perfect. I cried at least three times reading this book.

I could not get through this. DNF at 37%.

This book moved soo slow. The premise seemed semi interesting but I’m almost 40% in and I still don’t see her purpose for any of this. Maybe if I was listening to it I would have had an easier time getting through it but it’s just too slow for me right now.

I might one day come back but for now I am unable to finish it.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️

*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

This was a quaint story about a grieving mother, Sarah, traveling to Ireland and exploring the countryside while discovering herself. She finds a diary of a young woman, Anna, who was alive 100 years prior. In this quaint Irish village, Sarah learns there is a deep belief in fairies and starts to feel the mystical around her.

This book was labeled as historical fiction and romance but the romance was minimal. Although Anna's storyline takes place in 1910, there isn't much to indicate the past. The story was very slow and it didn't hold my interest for very long. I was hoping the slow pace would lead to a big twist/ connection between the two timelines, but the ending was just as slow as the beginning. The descriptions of Ireland and the fairy stories were fun but I might have DNF'd if I didn't need to write a review for NetGalley.

This cozy little book has me dreaming of winter.

2011: Sarah Harper is supposed to be going home for the holidays to Boston after recently separating from her husband, but in a booze-induced impulsive moment, she boards a plane for Ireland instead. Initially she panics at her hasty decision, but as she spends more time in her quiet cottage in the small village of Thornwood, she realizes this “layover” might be the best path forward. With the help of several locals, and a very old diary, Sarah finds her way back to herself.

1911: Anna Butler dreams of a bigger life than the one she leads on her family’s farm in Thornwood. When tasked to help scholar Harold with his research of Celtic folklore, she jumps at the chance to step away from her mundane chores and help. Anna is friendly with almost all the locals and knows the language and is determined to do her best to help Harold learn about the Fey and what they represent to the Irish people.

Though tenuous at times, the connection between the two women and the mythical is an underlying current throughout the whole novel. Both women are in a state of self discovery and though tragedy shapes their paths, they find ways to move forward. The Story Collector is a sweet piece of magical realism that will inspire readers to sit by a fire, have a cup of tea, and dream of mythical guides in their lives.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper 360, and of course the author Evie Woods for the copy of the book. The Story Collector is out on August 13th! All opinions are my own.

This dual timeline book set in Ireland gives a glimpse into the lives of two young women. Sarah is a woman from 2010 who is searching to find herself after her recent breakup with her husband. She leaves her life with him in New York City and boards a plane to stay with her sister in Boston ... but she doesn't quite end up in Boston. The other main character, Anna, is from one hundred years earlier in Thornwood, Ireland. Sarah learns about Anna from a diary she finds near the home where Anna lived in 1910. The two stories are magically woven together with threads of faerie stories from the past and the present. Irish folklore is written so wonderfully and vividly in this charming story, the characters are beautifully captured and you really get to know them well through the author's wonderful descriptions and narratives. Make yourself a nice cuppa, snuggle into a comfy chair, and get to know these two young women and the others in this delightful story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the re-released arc! This is such a charming little story. The details intertwined with the characters and their stories is purely magical! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was my second Evie Woods book, and I’ve enjoyed them both!

This is a sweet if rather predictable romance about Irish life and folklore, about why women need to warn one another about predators, how family ties are both good and bad, and how "happily ever after" endings come in more than one shape and form. There's some good Irish history going on in the novel to give readers context, and the settings and characters are well-developed and interesting.

A feel good story told in two timelines about letting go of grief and learning to live again. Good characters and rather predictable storyline.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins/One More Chapter for the ARC to read and review.

I read The Lost Bookshop by Evie Gaughan and loved it. So when I saw the Story Collector I knew I had to read it.
The story follows 2 timelines, 100 years apart. In the present day timeline we follow Sarah as she navigates loss and grief, traveling to Ireland on a whim. Once arriving to Ireland and settling in she finds a diary. Anne Butler’s diary and now we come to the past timeline.
Following Sarah and Anne’s story we learn about love, loss and the fae of Ireland.
This story was so heartwarming and just what I needed to read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Story Collector by Evie Woods

✨Historical fiction
✨Duel timelines
✨Romance
✨Magic
✨Irish folklore
✨Grief and loss

In the present day, Sarah is grieving over the end of her marriage.

One hundred years ago, Anna volunteers to help an American visitor translate fairy stories from Irish to English.
The author has a way of painting Ireland so beautifully in the reader's mind! Another 5-star read from Evie Woods!

Thank you, Net Galley and Harper 360 for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Featuring the stories of two women, Anna in 1911 and Sarah in 2011.
On an impulse, Sarah boards a plane to Ireland rather than to her siter's family in Boston. While exploring
the area, she comes across Anna's diary which causes her to seek out more information on Anna and her
family .Anna's life is forever changed when she assists a writer about the myths and lore of her community. As
Sarah learns what happened to Anna, she examines her own life and regains interest in pursuing her artistic career.
Life in an Irish village, full of the magical stories passed down.
#TheStoryCollector #Harper360 #NetGalley

Travel to Ireland to discover a land of fairies. Evie Woods has written a novel full of mystery, love and magic. Set in two time periods, the transitions are seamless. This is a delightful book for a weekend read to get away.

Sarah is at a crossroads in her life. She is dealing with a grief of a tragedy that has ended her marriage. On a whim she decides that she is no longer going to go home but travel to Ireland instead. Once there she finds a place thanks to the kindness of strangers. There she finds a journal written 100 years prior that tells the story of an American man who comes to collect stories of fairies or the Good People. As Sarah reads about Anna’s adventure in collecting these stories she finds the healing she needed to start to deal with her grief.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a sweet story that had some twists and turns but it was a very human story as well. It dives into how we deal with grief and the belief of another world can help us cope but also hold us back. I like the aspect of someone going and collecting these oral histories that often become lost to time. It brought out the magic of what you think when you think about an Irish countryside and was a great summer read. This story was beautifully written and I found myself sucked in every time I picked up the book.

3 1/2 Stars
This all comes together too nicely. I enjoyed the historical section of the book - Anna's diary - but less so the modern period. The romance between her and the Irishman seems contrived and without basis and the book would have been more successful without it, and everything wraps up too nicely in the end.

Sarah is at the airport flying to move in with her sister as she is leaving her husband. She is entranced by a newspaper article of a hawthorn tree being saved by Irish residents and finds herself boarding a plane to Ireland. It’s the Christmas season and the inn is full but she is put up in a small peat cottage. Sarah is still coping with the loss of her baby several years ago. She makes her way through the day, then drinks to sleep, wakes and runs, then tries to sleep again. In her first night in the cottage, she gets up to run yet again but the weather won’t allow it. Instead, she’s drawn to a tree where she finds an old diary in a hollow. The diary is written by a young girl, Anna, who grew up in this cottage. Anna tells the story of an American who comes to her village to hear stories of the faeries and to record them for posterity. This was a good story which you’re quickly drawn into.

This book alternates between Sarah's story (modern day) and Anna's story (found in an old journal) and speaks with compassion about the way that life doesn't always turn out the way one plans or hopes. And throw some Irish fairy stories into the mix!

I truly enjoyed this book! There is some language, and some very heavy topics (divorce, death of a spouse, loss of a child) making this one most suitable for adult readers.

My favorite parts of this story were the portions of Anna's diary, which recounts her time helping an American scholar search out stories of the Good Folk. Anna's story in the diary actually felt more well developed than Sarah's. Sarah's story took several twists that I didn't feel were fleshed out in a way that made sense.

Overall, an enjoyable read!

I received a free ARC from netgalley, all opinions are my own!