When the library posts a flyer for a writing competition, Hattie, Avril, Stuart and Will join together to write a novella, each contributing a chapter at a time. They start as strangers, with their own set of problems & insecurities, but by the end, they become friends and confidantes. The chapters alternate between the main storyline, and the chapters they write for the writing competition. I found myself rushing through those chapters, because I didn't enjoy them anywhere nearly as much as I did the main storyline. The book was very slow paced, and several of the characters felt one-dimensional. I did like that everyone ended up with a happy ending to their storyline, though. I really enjoyed this author's previous book, so I was disappointed that this one didn't rise to the same level.

Prepare to be charmed!

In The Story Tellers, readers follow four people, each from different walks of life who despite vast differences, have all sought refuge inside the local library. When the spunky eldest of the four, Hattie, decides she would like to enter a group writing contest, their lives begin to converge in surprising and heartfelt ways. Together they are tasked with writing a novella, each tackling a single chapter before handing it onto the next writer. As the story inside the story evolves, it becomes clear that art is in fact imitating life....and readers are treated to some seriously nuanced and satisfying characters and friendships!!

There's no denying it, The Story Tellers is viscerally charming! It's not hyperbole when I say I smiled almost the eternity of the story! Even in it's more serious moments there's a lightness and humor that offers comfort through the tougher themes. With a strong emphasis on community and belonging and the importance of storytelling, this quiet and quirky story might just steal your heart, It surely stole mine!

A lovely, warm tale of finding out what is important, of coming to terms with the past and making a new future. And it's got a library and stories and some great characters.

The Storytellers by Sue Heath is a warm hug of a book about second chances and unlikely friendships. Three patrons and one staff member of a library form an unlikely, but surprisingly effective, writers group and enter a competition to create a collaborative novella and in the process become more like family than friends to one another.
Hattie is widowed and not so much mourning her overbearing husband as revelling in her new found freedom and thinking about what might have been if she had made some different choices all those years ago, Avril has recently quit her job as a hairdresser but is not sure what she wants to do instead, and is haunted by questions about the mother who died when she was a young child. Stuart is recently retired and finding it difficult to adjust, especially since his wife seems to be more interested in painting artistic nudes of the local butcher than spending time with him and Will is nursing a broken heart after he and his girlfriend moved home only for her to dump him and start seeing someone else, and as if that was not bad enough she is now a regional boss for the library he works in. It is hard to imagine this group of people coming together to create a cohesive story let alone see them becoming like family to one another, but that is the magic of this book. Without characters as well crafted and believable as these this book could have felt a bit to saccharine, but there is enough complexity to keep you interested and I certainly found myself rooting for them and feeling their heartbreaks almost as much as their victories. The use of the book within the book to mirror each of the character's inner struggles was really effective, especially since it allowed the reader to understand what was going on at the same pace as it was revealed to the other characters. If you need a little joy and comfort in your life, this is a book I would highly recommend picking up.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A beautiful story about the power of stories, of friendship and of memories.
The Storytellers is a gorgeous story from Sue Heath @zarastoneley
Hattie, Will, Avril and Stuart are missing something when they come together for the writing competition. An eclectic bunch, the library and their lives weave together seamlessly like each chapter they write.

I really like the concept of this book. Following four people and their struggles and then seeing them come together to write one book. I felt like reading a book inside a book was so creative and I loved it.

Happy release day to Sue Heath for her new novel The Storytellers!

Last year I read and loved Sue Heath's novel The Secret Ingredient. It was one of only 3 books that I gave a rating of 5/5 to, so I have been keeping an eye out for a new book by her. I was very excited when I saw the cover and read the description!

The Storytellers is another delightful read about found community, about the power of storytelling and so much more. The book is centred around the local library, where a group of come together to write a short story for a local competition. The rules are simple. Each part of the story must be clearly written by different contributors but come together as a complete story. And the prize? A party with the mayor!

Hattie first comes to the library as she wants to learn to use the computer. She has recently been widowed after many years of unhappy marriage and now she wants to find the man she believes she was in love with many years before.

Will is the librarian who has moved back to town to look after his dad. He is only in town for a while and hopes to go back to his real job running a bookshop. Things are a bit complicated for Will as his ex girlfriend is also his boss and she is now going out with a man that Will dislikes intensely.

Avril has quit her job and is now searching for what the future might bring. She is also trying to find out anything about her mother who died when she was very young. Her father remarried and Avril doesn't really get along with her stepmother or her two stepsisters.

Stuart has recently retired and is at something of a loose end. He has a happy marriage although his wife is often very busy with all her different hobbies. Stuart has to get out of the house on Thursdays as he doesn't want to catch an eyeful when his wife is hosting her life drawing art class.

Given that each of our characters are at different places in their lives it makes sense that their sections are all very different, and each of them work through their own issues in their sections of the story. It is a bit of a concern that Hattie does tend to want dead bodies to keep on turning up in her sections!

You couldn't help but cheer the characters on as they wrote their story, willing them on with the hope that they would win the prize. More importantly though, I willed them on as they built bonds with each other, and as they began to help each other.

There were so many great quotes about life and books in this novel, and it was full of humour too. I often found myself smiling for pages afterwards as I read including a particular passage about the local butcher that just had me laughing and smiling for ages.

This is a book that I can see myself rereading if I need a pick me up. At least until the next Sue Heath book comes out anyway!

This was one of the books I nominated for 20 Books of Winter. I am also sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, British Isles Friday hosted at Joy's Book Blog and the Bookish Books challenge hosted at Bloggin' Bout Books.

Rating 4.5/5

I got an invitation in my email to download a digital review copy from this book through Netgalley and didn't hesitate. A book about a library group writing a story together? I had to read this!

This book was everything I hoped it would be. This is not an action-packed book. This is not the kind of book that will move you to the edge of your seat. It's the kind of book making you look at your own life, making you reflect on your own wishes and longings and dreams. It's the kind of book that makes you think about the kind of story you'd write and the parts of yourself you'd put into that story. Either to help yourself accept them or to learn to let things go.

In this book we follow four completely different characters, all in different phases of their lives. They all have something to figure out. They all have choices to make. Due to fate (and a persistent older lady) they come together to write a story for a competition. Not only do we watch them become friends throughout the book, despite their age differences, but we only see their inner thoughts bleeding into their story, while they tackle the personal issues they're dealing with.

What I liked most about this book is that it's about real people and that they learn very important life lessons along the way. This book is not about people radically changing everything and all of a sudden becoming the happiest people on earth. It's about people looking at themselves and their lives. It's about people confronting their fears. It's about people looking in the mirror and realizing that you messed up and made mistakes.

It's a relatively small story, but with a huge emotional impact!

Four strangers join forces to compete in a library writing competition - Hattie who is trying to find her past, Stuart who needs to understand himself, Avril who needs to decide what to do with her life, and librarian Will who is biding his time before returning to Cambridge. Writing alternate chapters of a story, they discover themselves and wonderful friendships.

Beautifully written, emotive, full of journeys of self-discovery. I really liked the move between the different characters telling their stories, with the interspersal of the short story they were writing together. The subtle differences in their writing styles were cleverly shown, and I loved how the story was adjusted slightly by each character, depending on their own lives and the messages they wanted to get across. A gorgeous book.

I liked reading about the different characters and their personalities. I liked the library and the writing competition idea too. A winner for me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

Thank you to netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read a copy of this book for my review. I quite liked the concept of this book, it's a story within a story. We are introduced to a group of individuals who's paths may never have crossed had they not found themselves hanging out in a library for their own personal reasons then go on to join forces to enter a writing competition. I loved the mix of personalities and finding out their back stories.

A writing contest flier posted at a local library becomes the catalyst for fast friendships and more.

This is my second read by Sue Heath and I have absolutely loved both of them.

Are you looking forward a heartwarming read with people who are working through real problems in realistic ways? Here are five things I thought made this read amazing:

👵Hattie - She may be in her 80's, but she is ready to find a lost love and take a chance on winning the contest. Her little dog Nutmeg is a constant companion -- even in the library. Shhh!
👨Will - A young librarian with few friends after moving for a family medical crisis. His thoughtful care for patron Hattie is just the beginning of a journey.
👩Avril - A young woman with a career crisis and the need to hide out for the day. Her visit to the library is at just the right time to make her a part of the team.
👨‍🦲Stuart - He has too much time on his hands after retiring and a few regrets. Helping write a story will be therapeutic and even brings him closer to wife Jo.
📖The novella - These four team up to write about the themes of LOVE, LOYALTY, and LIES. As they take turns writing chapters, the reader gets a bonus book inside a book. Amazing!

In my seven years working at my local branch, I observed the community support and found family that can be found inside a local library. When is the last time you visited your neighborhood library?

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review. This title will be available on August 1, 2025.

Thank you to HarperCollins, One More Chapter for this ARC! I adored this book and the concept a library having a writing competition where these strangers formed a group to write a book together. It definitely felt nostalgic to my childhood days where my friends and I would do the "one sentence per person" to create a story. This was such a fun light-hearted fiction read!

The local library is hosting a writing competition and one of the newest members decides that herself the librarian and another two memebers are writing a book.
Hattie is newly widowed and is living her life for once with no restrictions, Will is the librarian who is not impressed at being railroaded into this venture, Stuart is retired and looking something to fill his time and finally Avril who only called into the library to return a book she found in a cafe.
They work together writing chapters and eventually forming a book but they also discover that they have opened up a whole new world.
Loved this story brilliantly and cleverly written.

What a nice story about a group of people who meet in the library. They enter a writing competition and write a novella that mirrors their life. I liked the unlikely group of characters. It just shows how books can bring people together.

The Storytellers by Sue Heath is an endearing story with diverse characters who ultimately work together and find the best of themselves. Each have their own back story and their connections deepen when they decide to enter a writing competition at their local library.

Libraries hold a very special place for me. It is in the local library that we meet Hattie who is a cantankerous 87 year old widow, Avril who is a hairdresser and has quit her job to find more meaning in her life, Stuart is struggling with being newly retired, and Will the librarian who has left his home and business to be nearer to his aging parents. The characters are very relatable. You find yourself rooting for them. The growing connections between the characters is touching in how they support each other not just in their writing but in life.

This novel is all about friendship, moving forward, and sharing interests which can give support and purpose. I loved all the characters and how they developed through their shared love of books and storytelling, The conclusion shows how powerful and transformative friendships can be regardless of age or background.

This novel is charming. It is a heartwarming read about loss, resilience, connection, determination and unlikely friendships. The story is written from different points of view and it becomes a story within a story – which I might add is tied together beautifully at it’s conclusion. It left me feeling happy and hopeful.

I would like to thank Sue Heath, Harper Collins UK, One Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

April has given up her job and is deciding what she wants to do with her life. She hasn’t told anyone she has left her job so needs to find something to do with her days until she decides what she wants to do. She decides to visit the local library where she meets Stuart, Hattie and Will. A flyer for a writing competition draws the, together as they all try and work through their problems and move forward.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I usually love stories set in libraries and book shops but this was so boring that it never held my attention. The pacing was so slow. The best part was the friendship between Will and Hattie. Other than that, I didn't care about any of them or even what happened with the competition. This one was definitely not for me.

It was ok, not really for me. I didn't really care for the characters or what happened to them. I appreciate the early access an best of luck to the author.

4 charming stars

I am often drawn to books set in bookstores and libraries. This one delivers! I enjoyed this delightful story, and I need to read more books like this.

There are wonderful characters in this one. Hattie, a widow finding her way after the death of her controlling husband. Avril, a young woman who recently quit her job, but hasn’t told her family yet. Stuart, a recent retiree, is at loose ends. And Will, currently a librarian, wants to return to his bookshop in Cambridge.

Avril and Hattie stumble upon the library and soon find a refuge. Hattie notices a flyer for a competition for library patrons to contribute chapters to a short story. Each writer should build on what the previous writer has contributed.

These four very different people pull together, and as readers, we are treated to a story within a story. I thought this part was also done very well, as a notebook with the story was passed back and forth between them. I enjoyed reading what each character contributed and watching them all grow through the process. They were searching for something, and this was an interesting way to show the journey.

I enjoyed my first book by this author and will definitely look out for her new books.