The Forgotten

Echoes from the Past, Book 2

De: Irina Shapiro

Narrado por: Wendy Wolfson

Some secrets span centuries. Some loves transcend death.

Dunwich, 1346. Petra’s world shattered the day the Church took her beloved Avery, forcing him into holy orders and leaving her to face a brutal arranged marriage. Twelve years later, Petra is a widow struggling to care for her three children when Father Avery returns. But religious hysteria is sweeping through their crumbling port town, and when Petra’s son’s violent seizures mark him as cursed, can she turn to the only man she ever loved for help, or will a terrible secret she hid condemn them all?

Present day. Quinn Allenby’s psychic ability to see into the past through touch feels more like a curse when skeletal remains are discovered near medieval Dunwich. The woman and child are buried face-down in unmarked graves, an iron cross between them. It’s an unheard-of practice, and Quinn knows she must uncover their story.

As Quinn witnesses Petra’s desperate fight for survival, she faces an impossible choice of her own—one that will reshape her future and teach her that sometimes the greatest love requires the greatest sacrifice…

An epic story of passion, betrayal, and the timeless power of love to triumph over tragedy, that will captivate fans of Diana Gabaldon, Barbara Erskine, and Susanna Kearsley.

©2017 Irina Shapiro (P)2018 Irina Shapiro

Woeful

Expected a mystery, but this more of an unraveling of woeful events. Narration was good.

Not as good as the first book, but worth the read.

A good book, but I found Petra to be a little too naive to be believable. Women in those times were keenly aware of how precarious their lives were and it seems unlikely that someone in Petra's situation would have taken so many careless risks. Quinn's story was really the main focus for me this go around. Quinn's character is exceptional in that the author created a woman who is as fragile as she is strong. Allowing the heroine to be so obviously flawed allows for a deeper connection to the reader. As always the historical details are brilliant, and the narrator did an excellent job. I will continue the series in hopes that some of the future characters can hold a candle to James and Elise.

Poignant!

This was a poignant story that just about broke my heart. Yes, Petra makes some poor choices because of love, but don’t we all. Unfortunately her choices, and the era she lived in, led to her demise and that of her son. Mind you she wasn’t the only one to blame, however you will have to listen to get the full story. It is a tragedy nonetheless. We do learn more about Quinn and Gabe and there is a huge twist in their lives as well. Another wonderfully written story that left me wanting to move on to the next book in the series! Once again Wendy Wolfson does an exceptional job with the narration. I received a free copy of this audiobook and have voluntarily provided an unbiased review.

Moving

This is the second book in the Echoes from the Past Series, it's a very well written book in which the author weaves together two tales one set in 2014 and one set in 1346. Quinn's gift is needed to try and identify two bodies discovered buried face down in unconsecrated ground, a fate reserved for someone who has committed a great sin.

In 2014 - Quinn's story picks up where we left her at the end of The Lovers, the first book in this series, some things are working out perfectly whilst others are falling apart. Her engagement to Gabe is like a dream come true but the question of her parentage still troubles her. Gabe and she have to deal with the consequences of a tragic accident which necessitates their plans being changed and them taking on a new role neither of them was prepared for.

1346 - Petra is newly widowed her late husband was an abusive man who provided for their family but the marriage was far from happy. She’s forced to take a position as a companion to provide for her son and two young daughters as well as her mother. Petra’s mother urges her to remarry, but Petra's experience with men has left her wary of committing herself again. In her youth she loved a man who left her pregnant and alone, forcing her to marry a man who she didn't love to hide her pregnancy.

There is lots more I could tell you but that would involve spoilers which I don't want to give so I will just say that the story is moving. The characters are very well-drawn and the descriptions given by the author paints a vivid picture of the time Petra lived in.

The narration by Wendy Wolfson is excellent, her timing and delivery could not be improved upon as she brings the characters to life for us.

I was given this audiobook as a gift and am voluntarily writing my review.

Shapiro has done it again!

In 2014, Dr. Quinn Allenby’s life is falling into place in some aspects and falling apart in others. While her engagement to Gabe is like living in a dream and her newly forged relationship with her birth mother is off to a timid, yet warm start, the hunt for her biological father is still on and each candidate leaves something to be desired. But it’s not only her uncertain parentage that leaves her feeling uneasy. An accident leaves Gabe with a series of obstacles and trials that forces her to put her needs on the back burner to support him and take on a new role she wasn’t prepared for.

Despite the whirlwind of her personal life, she needs to keep working on the Echoes from the Past television series. It brings her to a pair of skeletons, a woman and a young boy who had been buried face down in unholy ground. Whatever their crimes had been, it had been bad enough to cast shame over them for all eternity. Quinn has to use her gifts to find out who they were in life and how they ended up in the makeshift graves.

In 1346, Petra has just buried her husband, who was a good provider, but an abusive man who had no kindness in his heart. She’s left to care for her son and two young daughters alone and she takes a position as a companion to a sharp, old woman she once served in her youth. Petra’s mother pushes her to remarry, but Petra had only loved one man in her youth, and he had left her pregnant and alone, leaving her to marry in haste to hide her growing belly. An eligible man now wants to marry her, but the reappearance of her first love clouds her mind and before long she’ll need to choose between a man she doesn’t love who can offer her the world, or the man she’s always loved that she can never be with, the father of her only son.

Both Quinn and Petra are strong women who want to follow their hearts and find they true paths, but when their roads intersect in two different times, Quinn finds that Petra’s tale may be too much to bear.

Shapiro has done it again. I listened to this book every spare minute and couldn’t get enough. When I was in Quinn’s car, driving through Scotland, I worried about Petra. And when I was following Petra to market in her seaside village, I wondered what Quinn was up to. It’s easy to get lost in the characters since you’re inserted so firmly into their minds. It also makes their tragedies more painful, but that’s what makes a story stick with you.

At times, I wanted to shake Petra for her choices. As a historian, I understood firmly what her life would be like without a good husband and I wanted to push her into her wealthy suitor’s arms so she could finally have some peace. I wanted her son to get a good apprenticeship and her daughters have high dowries so they might pick their husbands. But she was in love, and although I didn’t want her to suffer for it, I knew she had to live her life her own way.

This book is perfect for mystery lovers, history fans, people that want some thrills with their romance, peppered with dramatics. I’m waiting with baited breath for book three in audiobook, but since the book itself is already on Amazon, I might just jump the gun.

You will not forget this listen

Book 2 in the series. Even though I haven’t listen to book 1 this still is a great story .
I really like the two different time periods hundreds of years apart , that touching things will bring you to see what happened during that time period past and present together. The Present day is about a woman named Quinn who is gifted with seeing the past . Once Quinn touches an object she connects to Gabe and that is when everything falls into place

The narrator Wendy was good. Her voice is clear and strong

Well worth the listen!!!

I love it when the narrator does an amazing job with an equally amazing book! It is a complete win-win.
Irina does it again with her genius way of blending the past with the present in an intriguing tale.
I just love ALL her books and will listen to them all!

Pumped for the next book!

I love the attention to detail and the vivid descriptions that Ms. Shapiro provides for her readers. I committed to the characters and without giving any spoilers can't wait to see if Gabe's Mother's prediction comes true.

An excellent sequel

This book deals with different characters from the past than the last book, however the modern characters are still here and trudging on, best they can. I enjoyed this book.

The Forgotten

I thoroughly enjoyed the style of this story. We follow two storylines, one from the past and one from the present. They are linked together by Quinn’s gift of being able to see into the past. Such an interesting concept!

Both the author and narrator did a top notch job and I look forward to their next release!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.