This story is proof that books and stories are the perfect tonic. Not only can they bring unexpected people together but they can put light onto your own lives.

A truly heartwarming story about 4 people from different generations of life who enter a novella writing contest at their local library. It's told from the perspectives of each character where we learn about their lives both past and present and the hurdles they are individually facing.

I adored all the characters they complimented each other so well and I loved seeing their friendship blossom.

The bonus is we got a story inside a story and I was just as curious about the novella they were writing as I was about the book itself.

So powerful and emotive, like a big cuddle if im honest.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC.

Four strangers come together to participate in a library writing competition and,in the process, become friends, help each other heal, and learn about their place in the world. The story is Immediately heart warming- sharing the significance of libraries and connection through books and a free community space. Will, Hattie, Avril, and Stuart all touch on being in different places in life, but growing and becoming more grounded through the power of community and writing. This book inspires you to write; with stories as a metaphor for life, a blank page, starting over. There’s also a bit of mystery woven throughout the multiple points of view and it makes for the perfect page turner.

This was a very interesting concept for a story. I thought it was well written and I enjoyed the character development throughout. I enjoyed the competition aspect of it which helped each character on their life path. My only critique would be that it was a little choppy. I understand the different POVs throughout for our story plus the story they are writing but I feel like if I read the story they wrote straight through, it would've been a little disconnected. Overall, it was a cute story.

A wholesome story that explores the idea that writing is a form of therapy.

The chances of these four individuals meeting were very unlikely, until a library and a writing competition brings them together. (For all my fellow readers out there, that will grab your attention!) Four people looking to mend their minds and their hearts, hurt and/or broken for various reasons. Putting yourself out there, meeting new people and taking risks is what binds these characters together, no matter their age or gender.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK for the advanced copy via NetGalley. These opinions are entirely my own and not based on the final copy. While I found the story got off to a scattered start and at times the dialogue read a little unnatural, as a whole, this story is super sweet and a call to action to be kind, take chances and tap in to the power of community.

This was such a wonderful read. It’s not a book packed with action or wild twists—and that’s exactly what made it so special. The story was simple, but the characters were full of heart.

I didn’t keep turning the pages because of the plot—I kept reading because I completely fell in love with the people in it. I just wanted to spend more and more time with them... especially Hattie.

This book felt like a cozy blanket—comforting, gentle, and full of charm. If you love character-driven stories with heart, this one’s worth picking up.

A delightful weekend read. A story within a story as told by a group who are committed to entering a writing competition at their local library. Will , the library assistant; Hattie, who had lost her controlling husband and ventures into the library in search of help in finding an old friend; Stuart, who has recently retired and is still finding out what to do in retirement and Avril; who has quit her job as a hairdresser and is not sure what to do next. They begin writing chapters for the competition and in doing so they learn they need each other as much as the writing competition. It is a story of letting go of the past and embracing life and moving forward.
An uplifting read !

A wonderful story inside a story of letting go of the past and finding our path.

4.75⭐️

Pub Date 8/1/25

#thestorytellers
#sueheath
#netgalley
#findingyourpath

An enjoyable gentle read with strong characters. Set in a small town Cheshire, an unlikely group of people get together to enter a competition run by libraries in the area. Apart from following the lives of the four writers, the short novella is also included in the stages as it evolves. Different, light read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this heart-warming story of 4 strangers coming together to enter a library writing competition. Hattie, Avril, Stuart, and Will and their own personal stories came together beautifully. A perfect escape read about life's journeys and friendship. Many thanks to the publisher, author and netGalley for an early e-copy. 5 stars.

I always gravitate toward books set in libraries, so The Storytellers instantly appealed to me. The local library setting—with its books, coffee, and sense of community—was heart warming, and I enjoyed seeing how the writing competition brought together such a mismatched group: Hattie, Avril, Stuart, and librarian Will.

Will, with his “twinkle in his eye that suggested he might have a wicked sense of humour under that librarian outer shell,” was a particular favourite. (Why are librarians always portrayed as boring and quiet? How rude!)

I also really appreciated the age representation. It was refreshing to see Hattie, a genuinely elderly character at 87, portrayed with spirit, intelligence, and warmth—rather than the recent trend of calling 60-year-olds old and frumpy (I’m 51, so yes, that grates).

Avril’s journey into reading and writing was beautiful, and I liked the “found family” vibe that formed between the characters. There was also a lovely thread of therapeutic connection through shared creativity.

Where it lost me a little was the story within the story—the one the group wrote for the competition. That part felt unnecessarily wordy and slowed things down for me. I found myself more invested in the real lives of the characters, especially side characters like Lisa and Lucy, who I wanted more from.

Still, this was a heart warming, quietly powerful read about stories, healing, and friendship.

3.5 stars (rounded up for setting, community spirit, and a library full of life.)

This book is for everyone who enjoys reading and books. A group of people meet in a library, each with their own personal life story , Their connections grow as they decide to enter a writing competition, each writing their own part to make a final story.

The characters are so diverse, Hattie an 87 year old widow, Avril who is trying to find more about her past , Stuart struggling with retirement and Will the librarian who has left his home and business to be nearer to his aging parents.

This novel is all about friendship, moving forward, and sharing interests which can give support and purpose. A really heartwarming read, I loved all the characters and how they developed through their shared love of books and storytelling,

I liked the idea of this story with the writing competition and the story within a story. I have read a couple of books lately set in and around the local library and wonder if it's becoming an overused trope. It's an okay book, although a bit twee for me. I did like Hattie's character. With thanks for the e-ARC to read and review.

4.5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this book.

I love when a book really gives us a glimpse into people’s lives and motivations. When it accurately represents how nuanced people are, how they can have the best of intentions but still be misled or mistaken in their actions. How pursuing something that they think will make them happy may actually just open the way for a different type of happiness to come in a completely unexpected way. How nobody is one dimensional with purely good or bad motivations, but merely human with flaws and faults of their own. And how people who we wouldn’t normally expect to have anything in common with can actually end up becoming a big part of our lives, and adding value to our existence.

This book expressed all of those things, introducing us to four characters who stumble into a friendship and camaraderie that they would never have expected. Who start out wanting one thing, and actually end up finding satisfaction and contentment with something slightly different. The characters are really well written, and the pacing and development of their relationships is well done.

I will happily look out for more books from the author!

I always like the idea of a story within s story, and this one was very pleasant.
It's mainly just a lovely cosy read.
We have our main characters, all of whom are having some sort of issues in life, and through writing and talking, they make ways forwards.
The less central characters seem to fall short s bit. For me anyway.
Lucy and Lisa particularly.
Overall though, it will leave you feeling good.

A lovely feel good read, not that only that but also highlights the importance of libraries!

Hattie, Will, Stu and Avril are brought together by a writing competition, they have to take it in turns to write chapters.

Through the writing, started by Hattie who wants to write a crime novel, we are taken into the four authors lives, but also in the way the story they are telling twists and turns with each person.

Really enjoyed it and highly recommended

PS. Visit your local library, use it or lose it!

I love books that are set in a library and this one is a lovely read. Will is a library assistant covering maternity leave until his parents are well enough for him to move back to Cambridge to his bookshop. People use the library for different reasons, Avril is hiding there from her stepmother who will critique her for quitting her job. Stuart has retired and his wife Jo is always busy so he goes to the library to read his newspaper. And Hattie, who in her eighties and has just lost her husband is there to use the computer to trace the man she has loved since she was a teenager and for the coffee and biscuits.
Hattie sees a poster for a writing completion. It's a group project so she gets the others to agree to it and they form a writers' group.
This is such a good read, no sex, no violence, no swearing, I loved Hattie she was such fun. All the characters were people you would like to have a cup of tea with. The story that was being written by the group made this a bit like two books in one. Loved it.

Such a heartwarming read that shows the connection words can bring, written and spoken. A group of people brought together as they are brought out of the loneliness of facing their issues alone, everything is surmountable with support and a good cuppa with a slice of cake

This is the 1st Sue heath book i've read but i loved it i stayed up most of the night because i was just gripped by the story. The storytelling and the desrciptions of thebcharacters is great you feel like you could be friends with all of them love how they all came together shared their stories as they went along finding new informatoon and building on their own life..
it really makes you want to sit down and write or go to a library and see if any friendships can be made...

Our local libraries are wonderful places and this is where Hattie, Avril, Stuart and the librarian Will meet. Initially, for Hattie and Avril it’s a place of retreat but it becomes so much more - way more. Hattie is trying to find something she’s lost whereas Avril is hoping to secure a happier future, whilst recently retired Stuart is looking for something to occupy his time. They come together in order to enter a writing competition.

This is a lovely, well written and welcome change from my usual genre which takes me on a wonderful journey. This is a novel about connections, losses, moving forward and unlikely friendships which has a heartwarming end result. It’s a story (or stories) within a story which works really well and I enjoy the creativity. The characters are really likeable and each has an interesting past and present to follow. It’s very easy to read with the added bonus of some chuckles, usually courtesy of Hattie. I love the growing bond and trust that grows between them, they help each other in many ways and in addition, cooperate to produce their story which centres around Eliza.

It ends on a positive note, clearly demonstrating the power of unlikely friendships and whatever your age, coming to terms with the past and moving forwards. I like all the characters but Hattie grows to occupy a special place in my heart. A feel good read and one I can recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, One More Chapter for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

A real feel good read. A group of four very different people meet at a library and decide to enter a joint writing competition. They appear to be a disparate band, Hattie an 87 yr old recently bereaved lady, Stuart a recently retired former high flyer, Avril, a young girl trying to find out what her mother was like ( she died when Avril was a child) and Jake who had returned to his home town with his then girlfriend to look after his parents and his girlfriend left him. Together they form a tentative writing group to enter a local competition writing a joint novella. Hattie is a real personality and even has her dog, Nutmeg, hidden in her shopping trolley so he doesn't get left alone! As individuals they all have their challenges but sharing the writing of the story for the competition brings them together.. A gentle, enjoyable read. Thanks to the author, NetGalley and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.