Who doesn't love a library! The description by Bella Osborne is evocative, I just loved it. Thomas Harris is a teenage boy coming up to do his GCSE exams & he thinks he's an invisible boy. He finds himself at the local library where he is looking at romantic novels to get some ideas to impress a girl. On his way home, he helps Maggie when she is mugged for her handbag. A friendship develops & their lives change. I loved this book. Such an enriching story, so many ups & downs but a happy ending. Recommended read, along with all of Bella Osborne books.

An interesting story told from the perspective of two different people, Tom and Maggie and the library needing to be saved.

Both characters are of different ages and have different lives but both are lonely and troubled. They find a lovely friendship which helps them through.

I found this book quite different to Bella’s previous books but still enjoyable

The synopsis reads Two different generations brought together to save the local library. But this book is so much more than this, community spirit prevails in this tale. We meet Tom a teenager who is struggling at the beginning of his exams, his home life with his drunken dad is unbearable and Maggie a 72 year old managing alone on her farm. They form an unlikely friendship but by the end save themselves and each other. The vivid description of the local library reminded me of my own childhood sitting in the designated children's area with my head in a book while my mum looked for her own. The book shows what a valuable service the library provides which in the day and age of ereaders is something special and not to be dismissed. In a village it is a lifeline to many people.
Needless to say I loved this book, I read it in two hours and the world could have ended and I would not have known. Many thanks to Netgalley and Aria books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

The Library is a touching and thought provoking story of how Tom, a troubled, misfit teenager, and fiercely independent, 72 year old feminist farmer Maggie, forge a friendship which offers each of them salvation when it is most needed in their lives, and also acts as a catalyst for a campaign to save their local library from threatened closure.

Bella Osborne's novel is an ultimately uplifting, feel-good read, which has both light and shade. It has delicious moments of comedy and humour, but does not shy away from broaching more serious issues such as alcoholism, bereavement and loss, grief, rural isolation, loneliness and bullying, all of which are handled with appropriate sensitivity.

The story has a dual perspective narrative with alternate chapters devoted to Tom and Maggie - Tom's story is told in the first person, whilst Maggie's is in the third person. Their characters are well drawn, and I was especially fond of Maggie who is wise, independent, resourceful, kind, helpful, and never afraid to say what she thinks in any situation - a woman whose personality and traits have been developed after a lifetime's experience, not always good. Meanwhile, the much younger Tom still has a great deal to learn about life and himself. He lacks confidence, is socially awkward, and is experiencing the combined traumas of GCSEs and first love, along with some very serious issues and challenges in his home life.

As a huge champion of libraries, books and reading, I loved the emphasis given to them in this novel, and the depiction of the local library as a real community resource, at the heart of the village, with so much to offer the local people, was really well done. Whilst the local authority procedure for reviewing and closing libraries, as portrayed in the novel, may not totally reflect real life, I was prepared to overlook that simply because of the emphasis on the importance of books and libraries and also because of the wonderful inter-generational friendship forged between Tom and Maggie, which is very reminiscent of Rosemary and Kate's in another "up-lit" fave novel of mine: The Lido by Libby Page, and The Library is a book which will appeal to other fans of The Lido too.

With thanks to Bella Osborne, Aria and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley. #netgalley

So much fun. I really enjoyed the character development in this book.

The premise of this book is fantastic and is the need of the hour. Young, clueless and lonely Tom is struggling with adolescent issues and with no one to turn to, he has retreated into a self made shell. Maggie, who has led a full life, now has to deal with loneliness and is struggling to find activities that fill up her time. Both meet at the public library and find strength with each other as they grow closer by the day. I wanted to love this book so much. The message of how you can find your family at the most unlikeliest of places was too important for me to not give a chance to. But I was not able to keep my interest about the characters alive for very long. It started out well and I was quite curious about Tom and Maggie's dark lives but as the story progresses both the characters failed to strike a chord within me. The writing became bland and I was struggling to find a reason to continue with the book. Unfortunately this was a DNF for me!

The Library is such a lovely read. A small Midlands library is central to so many people, but especially Tom and Maggie. I,loved the pairing of a teenage boy and a feisty elderly woman. Both have a need for each other and strike up a friendship, focusing around the library, where they met. I love that Tom sneak reads romances. I loved that many books mentioned by the characters I have read as well. I loved what the characters said about the importance of a library. There was nothing I didn’t like about this book. Maggie is a woman who has paid dearly for past mistakes and Tom just needs attention. Please don’t miss out on this remarkable book. It will make you smile, I promise,

Every stage of our life is hard, one harder than the other; all these depend on our surroundings and the choices we make along the way. The second chances of the second chances we are granted in life are all we need to rearrange our path and whether we are brave enough to take them or not. And last but not least is forgiveness, that's the greatest encouraging way to feel supported by the ones we love and hurt with our bad decisions, including ourselves.
-And that is what this book is about. I hope you have the chance to read it and enjoy it as much as I did.

With huge thanks to #Netgalley and #Aria&Aries for an ARC of #TheLibrary by #BellaOsborne, in return for an honest review.

Tom is invisible... He is 16, lives with his dad and doesn't have any real friends. No one notices him.
After a run-in with his father, Tom escapes to the safety of the local library, where he hopes he may see the girl he fancies, but ends up finding so much more.

Maggie is 72, she lives alone on her farm with only the chickens and sheep for company. Maggie is no little old lady, but she is lonely, and her Saturday trips to the library for book club, are a lifeline for her.

As Tom and Maggie leave the library that Saturday, something happens that makes their paths cross, and changes the direction of both their lives.

Saturday's at the library become routine for Tom and Maggie and their unexpected friendship begins to blossom. As news hits of the councils plans to close the library, can they work together to help save it? And maybe save each other too.

Tom pulled at my every maternal instinct from page one. This beautiful, thoughtful, vulnerable boy absolutely broke my heart because he deserved so much more than the life he had.
What was brilliant about Bella’s writing of Tom’s character, was that she never forgot he was a teenage boy, and made sure his character was peppered with all the usual traits of a sixteen year old.

Maggie was an absolute delight to read. Despite her own demons and secrets from her past, her day to day loneliness and advancing years, she was a feisty, can do, type of lady. Who would ride to anyone’s rescue on her tractor!

This book isn’t the usual funny romance many of us have grown to know and love from Bella Osborne. While it may not be a love story, it is a tale that is full of love of a different kind.
This book covers some serious issues, loneliness, bullying, grief and alcoholism. Bella writes with knowledge and empathy. The reader is dragged through some very raw reality, but the light balances the shade in this story.

In this book, Bella makes the very important point about how valuable our libraries are and how we all need to use them or risk losing them.

It’s fair to say I'm a fan of Bella’s writing and I almost didn't want to read anything other than the fabulously funny, feel-good romance stories that Bella Osborne is renowned for writing. However, being someone who has a terrible fear of missing out, there was no way I couldn’t have given this book a read. I’m so glad I did. It may be a slight change of direction for Bella’s writing, but her skill, humour and warmth still shine through.

So, just to clarify, I LOVED this book. Tom and Maggie were delightful, their story made me both laugh and cry.
As a whole this book is brutal and raw in places, but ultimately full of love and hope, friendship and family…. A heartwarming five stars from me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I picked this book up and set it down many times. Finally, at 20% of the way in, I had to abandon this book. I think it was well written, but I did have a difficult time with connecting with the characters.

Tom is an average teenage boy who likes romance novels but doesn’t want anyone to know about it. He has to deal with his alcoholic father who isn’t very nice or caring. Tom meets an elderly woman in the library and starts to have discussions with her about books. It just felt disjointed to me, although in reading others reviews people enjoyed this book overall.

Thank you Aria & Aries Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A huge thanks to Aria Aries for my e-ARC on exchange for an honest review

Trigger Warning : Grief/Loss of a parent

The Library follows two lonely people a sixteen year old boy and seventy two year old. Tom is a sixteen year old whose mother died and has to stay with his dad who shows no compassion to him and loves the bottle. While Margie stays on a farm by herself. These two meet when Tom goes to his local library to go through the romance section hoping to bump into his crush Farah but things don't go according to plan. Their friendship deepens when they try to save their library . This is my first Bella Osborne and I would read more

SUMMARY
Tom is invisible in his school and only has his Xbox friends , shy around girls and lives poorly with his alcoholic dad.

He visits the library after an incident happens and his Xbox is broken and there he is introduced to a world full of new places, stories,friends and an amazing old woman named Maggie who’d change his whole life.

EVALUATION
There’s so much reality into this book expressed in such a detailed way but still doesn’t come off as awkward or quirky.
It’s a lovable story but it also expresses a lot of serious life topics such as alcoholism, loneliness, friendship , family , honesty, love and life in general.

MY THOUGHTS;-
It’s my first book by Bella and honestly after reading the synopsis, I didn’t think I’ll enjoy the interaction of people with so much age difference
but Maan!! Did I love it?? ❤️

And actually what hooked me to the book was literally the very first sentence which started
“ I’m Tom Harris and I’m invisible
I mean not like invisible invisible.”

Isn’t that enough to hook you??
It is for me ….

I’d give this 4⭐️ because I love it also because It holds the most important virtue in life.

Perfect summer read. Tom and Maggie's relationship was a delight and the more serious story lines were managed beautifully. I loved it.

The Library from Bella Osbourne is the first book from the author I have read, and I adored this book about an unusual friendship between Tom who is a teenager and a 72-year-old woman called Maggie. Who met at a library that is being threatened with closure.
Tom is 16 and lives with his abusive alcoholic father. His mother died. Maggie is 72 spritely woman who lives on her own on a farm. Maggie befriends Tom and lets him stay on the farm. A break from his father. Hoping that his dad will come to realise he has a problem and get help.
While Maggie has secrets of her own. She gave up her baby years ago and now grown up he doesn’t want anything to do with her. The pair seem to help each other and get over their problems and also, they devise a plan to save the library.
Thank you, Aria, for a copy of ‘The Library’. I loved this emotional though-provoking story about a library. It is also a realistic account of what happens in families today. It had a great storyline and likeable well-loved characters. I can’t wait to read more from the author. I will be looking at her other books that she has written.

Tom is an invisible teenager, not popular at school, few friends and a bit of a loner. After a row with his alcoholic dad he resorts to seeking solace in the library where he meets Maggie, a pensioner with a feisty character who lives alone on a farm outside of town. Maggie takes him under her wing and together they fight the impending closure of the library, a place that brought them their great friendship. The story isn't without tears as they learn each others secrets. An absolutely beautiful, heart warming story that made me cry more than once!

3.8 Stars
Tom is a shy, introverted 16 years old with confidence issues. He prefers being invisible and not noticed by anyone as he goes about his day-to-day work (at school and outside). His relationship with his drunkard father is strained, and Tom spends more time with his Xbox and memories of his dead mother.
Maggie is a 72 years old widow with a fixed routine. She is happy or so convinced herself. She has a farm to run and a book club to attend. Idle time is the bane of her life, and Maggie finds ways to take up tasks that swallow hours of her day.
Tom’s subsequent entry into the village’s library and a chance meeting with Maggie change both their lives. How can a 16yo teen and a 72yo woman become friends? But they do in their own unique way. The news of the library being forcefully closed scares them and a few others who love the library.
They vow to find a way to prevent the library from being closed. As they continue the fight, Maggie and Tom help each other with their lives.
The story is narrated in dual POV in alternate chapters. Tom’s is in the first person, while Maggie’s goes in the third person. This helped see the story from both perspectives.
Though the title suggests that the book has more to do with the library, it uses the old village library more as a connecting factor. The book is about Tom and Maggie becoming friends and tackling the issues in their lives. It’s about loneliness, friendship, self-confidence, and more.
While some of it was interesting and touching to read, it felt as if the themes were used to create a plausible situation for the lead characters. In a way, alcohol addiction was dealt with slightly better than bullying. This led to the library almost going out of focus in the second half. Of course, the story comes back on track. But somehow, it felt like too many topics were being packed into the story, and neither of them got the space they deserve.
That said, the overall story is sweet and heartwarming. As a fan of happy endings, I love how this ended (though it does come across as a neatly tied package). Still, a happy ending makes the book a happy one, at least for me.
Maggie is a fab character, and I was rooting for her throughout the story. Who wouldn’t want someone like her on their side? Tom’s character arc is neat and promising. He’s still a teen, but a better one for sure. Tom’s father and Farah are intriguing, though they could have had a better character arc. Others characters have potential but not enough space.
Surprisingly, yoga plays a not-so-small role in the book. There is mention of meditation, chanting, and inner self. But then, it felt more like any other aerobics session. The more I read, the more I understand how yoga has been alienated and distanced from its roots in Hinduism and is treated as some sort of exotic form of exercise. It’s an intense process of spiritual alignment and needs to be treated with more respect than a simple twisting of arms and legs to increase strength..
The book takes its own sweet time to progress in the beginning. It’s almost 400 pages, and the start is quite slow. It picks up pace later on only to go off track with other themes in focus. All said and done, the author managed to rein it in during the last 20% of the book.
To sum up, The Library is a book about friendship between two unlikely people and how a place like a library can bring people together. The reference to various books was nice to read. Good that I have most of them on my TBR.
Thank you, NetGalley and Aria & Aries, for the ARC.

I think it would have been easier to connect with both characters if they were both first person, instead of Maggie's chapters being third person. I liked the common thread of saving the library but it was an obvious backdrop for the larger story - I would have liked for it to be more prominent in the story.

This book reminded me how lucky I am to have a Mum who use to take me and my sister to our local library regularly as children.

I binged The Library and found both protagonist stories equally compelling. This heartwarming story centres around Maggie who is in her 70s and Tom just 16 but a chance encounter at The Library starts a beautiful friendship. The Library is in trouble but so are the patrons.

All the characters were well developed and I felt that they all had more story in them and hopefully Bella Osborne will have the opportunity to explore them in future books. I would recommend The Library to anyone who needs a heartwarming story about a different type of relationship.

Full review: https://pjsandbooks.wordpress.com/thelibrary

Wow what a read! Community spirit fighting for a library, alcoholism, the wonderful relationship between a teenage boy and an ageing hippy, cute farm animals and a shared love of reading!
The library is a truly heartwarming read that follows the relationship between Tom a teenage boy living a miserable existence with his alcoholic father after the death of his mum and the eccentric, outgoing elderly Maggie! Maggie is Tom’s fairy godmother/saviour who provides him with a country home, good home cooked food and a sense of belonging and being cared for, this unlikely relationship blossoms and provides a much needed balm for both of them as they grow, develop, flourish and benefit from the relationship! Who would have thought such a mutually beneficial relationship across the age gap could reap such dividends and it all started with the love of books and reading!
A great read for anyone that loves books/reading and s happy ever after.
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

I love Bellas style and she didn’t disappoint again. Another great read with well thought out characters.