I found the summary of this book intriguing and it definitely proved to be so. I found it engaging and it drew me in. I read it over the course of two days and enjoyed every minute of it. .

This is the story of Tom–a lonely young man with a challenging family/home situation, and Maggie–an older woman with her own difficult past, who are brought together by their local library. It is an intergenerational friendship that brings healing and companionship into both their lives. Maggie is outspoken, confident and bold, knowledgeable and determined. Tom is quiet and withdrawn, lonely and fairly isolated. Their interactions and eventual friendship give Tom the support and advice he needs at this pivotal time in his life. It gives Maggie a companion and a link to a long ago loss she holds deep. Tom's presence in her life fills a void that loss has left in her. Together they also affect the lives of those around them and their community as a whole.

This is a warm, engaging book. A hug in written form. I enjoyed the alternating third person POVs and getting into Tom and Maggie's heads. It is a book that focuses on found family, personal growth, loss, grief, relationships, responsibility, candor, and forgiveness.

I really liked both Tom and Maggie. They are flawed, messy people who are making an effort and that is a big part of their charm.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
4.5 stars




My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Many thanks to Netgalley/Publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this cute little read.. a book about books?! I am sold!

I especially loved the friendship between Maggie and Tom, despite the differences in age, I thought this was beautifully written.

Bella Osborne is slowly becoming a fave of mine as I cannot seem to put her work down..!

What I was looking for: I am always interested in books about books and readers

Conclusion: Bella Osborne has a very engaging writing style. The whole book has alternating POV, the teenage boy Tom in first person and the 72-year-old Maggie in third person. Due to this choice, i.e. Tom’s view being the only one in first person, it felt like Tom was the main main character with Maggie close being a close second. Tom’s character develops a lot during the book, due to external and internal motivation, while Maggie’s development is a quieter one. Shortly, I was worried this book would become too depressing for me, with all the problems being heaped on Tom. But luckily, this was only short-lived and things soon looked better again (without being totally unrealistic). Maybe it is from her background as a romance novelist but I really, really enjoyed the positive outlook at the end of the book. It was uplifting without unrealistically solving every problem, tying up every lose end. Though I am not close in character or family situation with either characters, I could still identify with both – I remembered being a teenager myself and I hope to be a little like Maggie when I am her age.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. So much so in fact, that I could hardly put it down. Highly recommend.

Heartbreaking and heartwarming. This was what I like to call a literary comfort read. It’s perfect for when you need some hope for humanity, which I know I have needed a lot of during the pandemic, but you’re unwilling to sacrifice good writing, this is for you. And if you’re a book lover and/or a library lover specifically, you’ll love this even more. A great cast of characters and a lovely book.

THE LIBRARY
BY: BELLA OSBORNE

This is a really heartwarming story about how sometimes special people come into our orbit and they become like honorary family to us. The connections that we make that make and the gift of friendship is so valuable to us we feel like our great friend's are family. This is such a sweet story that Tom who is a teenager and he meets Maggie who is in her seventies who lost her son and the two of them meet in the library that is due to close. I really felt this one is special because of the bond these two develop. It had a lot of depth and the problems that Tom has with his alcoholic father and Maggie sort of fills in to take the place of Tom's mother who died when he was eight. Maybe the more realistic way to describe Maggie is more accurate to say that she could be his Grandmother's age.

This one will stay with me for a long time because I just love a feel good story with lovable character's that are there for one another. Why are so many books this year about Libraries closing? I have noticed that is a theme or backdrop this year. It acts as a backdrop or background story and although it is always a sad thing when Libraries or a favorite bookstore closes because they bring such joy. That is not really what is so touching to me about this feel good novel with two souls that are having a hard time and by their wonderful ways in which they make each other's lives so much more richer is what kept me invested.

This is the first book that I have read by Bella Osborne but it makes me want to read more of what she writes in the future. This was just so good and I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend this to friend's and family for this sweet story.

Publication Date: December 22, 2021. Already Available Now!

Thank you to Net Galley, Bella Osborne and Aria Publishing for gifting me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheLibrary #BellaOsborne #NetGalley #AriaPublishing

I devoured this enchanting and absorbing tale, following teenager Tom and OAP Maggie, as they work together to save their local library in one sitting.

Tom is a lonely teenager with few friends and a difficult relationship with his father. Maggie is not your normal OAP, she knows how to look after both herself and her small farm, but she is lonely too and relies on her weekly library trips for human interaction.

This heart warming story of friendship and community spirit deals with some serious subjects and it does it well charting the effects grief, loneliness and addiction can have on individuals and those around them.

I was really invested in the characters and their stories and most definitely shed a year or two while reading.

I would whole heartedly recommend and will be looking out for further books from this author in the future.

An unlikely intergenerational friendship between a teen and a septuagenarian, neither of whom quite fit the stereotypes of their ages. They meet at the library and then work together to try to save it.

This is the first time I have read this author and really enjoyed it. Tom, lived with his dad who drank and didn't always pay the bills. He wanted Tom to get a job but Tom wished to go to the university after school. He started going to the library and made some friends. He started helping Maggie on her farm and she would feed him a meal. He then got a summer job on the farm connected to Maggie. He stayed at her house during the week and went home on weekends. They were trying to find ways to save the library. Did Tom make the scores to go to university and did they save the library.

I had to DNF this at 60%. I hate to DNF books, but this one was just too boring for me. I tried to stick with it as I'd heard a lot of amazing reviews, but there was nothing at all to attach me to the characters.

The author tried to fit too much into one book. Shaving off 100 pages and cutting out some of the unnecessary side plots may have made the novel more enjoyable. I was expecting a light, heart-warming read, and instead I was constantly being hit by darker themes throughout. Normally, that would be fine, but I didn't actually care enough about the characters to want to see them through the rough patches.

Overall, I found it a dull read that tried to be too many things at once. That being said, I have heard many great reviews. Not every book is for everyone, and hopefully that's the case for me with The Library.

One of my favourite reads of the year. Totally not what I expected.

I thought this book was going to be a light read with more humour than substance. I was wrong.

This book follows Tom, a high school student who isn't great at school, or socializing or anything in particular except X-box. After a heated event at home, Tom is forced outside of his comfort zone (mostly due to boredom) and ends up at the local village library.

Maggie is a long time library user. A life long one. And she notices Tom bumbling around in the book stacks during her Saturday morning book club. Maggie lives alone on a rural fsrm and is so solidly independent all the time. It's when a village crime takes place, a throws Maggie and Tom together, that Maggie starts to realize she might need a little more out of life.

This book warmed my heart. Book lovers understand the escapism and comfort books can bring. And how important spaces like libraries are for people to share knowledge and resources and enjoy as a community.

The story has the small town cozy feel of a light read, but it also deals with issues of addiction, child neglect, family conflicts and the ever pressing need to protect and advocate for safe community spaces.

I love it.

This book only deals with the library insofar as two people meet there that are very different, but develop a friendship: 16 year-old Tom, living with his alcoholic father and 72 year-old Maggie, being quite lonely on her farm. Yes, there´s the saving of the library, but it´s mostly about this relationship and the difficulties it entails.
It´s no easy book to read with the lacking communication between Tom and his father, the difficulties at school and with other people, but it´s so far realistic.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an rac ebook in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful book about an unlikely friendship between teenager Tom and pensioner Maggie. Tom deals with an alcoholic father and Maggie finds life hard without her husband. Tom likes his online gaming, but when his father breaks his gaming console, he is drawn to the local library. Maggie is fiercely independent, but lonely, trying to get through her days with tasks that take up as much time as possible.

The Library is a heart-warming and uplifting story in which the friendship between Tom and Maggie grows as they campaign to prevent their local library from closing. This book is for sure one of my favourites for 2021!

Thank you NetGalley and Aria & Aries for my free copy in exchange for my honest unedited review.

OMG This was the best book!!! Really didn’t think I would enjoy it so much, homelife wasn’t great for Tom so he decides to go into the library and just not be noticed, ends up being such a life changing moment for him (reminds me of my summers when the bookmobile would park in my driveway), he ended up finding everything he needed. Maggie’s life also changed dramatically when she met Tom, she offered him a place to stay and love, life lessons. This was a very sweet entertaining read. Definetly a must read!!!!

This was such a fun and heartwarming read, I have long loved libraries and it’s so nice to read books when they are based around the establishment. I really enjoyed

A beautiful story of a lovely inter-generational friendship and the binding power of books. A favourite book of those from Bella I've read so far.

Really enjoyed this book, could not put it down. Will definitely read more by this author. .

Thank you NetGalley, Bella Osborne and Aria & Aries for the copy of The Library. This is my personal review.
A book about two very unlikely people who become friends who are trying to save a library on the brink of closing but also about saving each other in their lives.
There are a lot of issues to deal with in this book and it can sometimes be too much for a person reading it who has some of the same issues.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone who loves a book that touches on a lot of subjects and does a very good job handling it in the story.

Tom is loner who lives with his alcoholic father. He likes a girl in his class, but doesn't know how to talk to her. He goes to the library thinking that if he reads a few romance books, he will learn something. When he gets to the library, there is a book group of older women. One takes a liking to him and they form a friendship. They gather forces when they learn the library is under threat of closure.
Great story of friendship, hope, and learning who you are.

A heart warming story about an unlikely friendship that springs over some romantic books and an awkward visit to the library. Tom is a shy teenager that no one seems to notice, not even his Dad who raises him alone. He accidently stumbles into the local library one day and meets Maggie a pensioner in her seventies that happily lives alone on a farm and seems content until Tom enters her life and reminds her of things she has been avoiding most of her adult life.
This book was the equivalent of a warm cup of cocoa perhaps with a dollop of rum. The story delves into some dark themes, yet keeps a light hearted touch and a warm uplifting mood.

Many thanks to Bella Osborne, Aria & Aries, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed it very much.

The Library is a full solid five star read for me.
Two lonely people trying to make their way through the world, one a teenage boy with an abusive alcoholic father and a deceased mother. The other a much older grandmotherly figure who spends her time trying to keep the library up and going. The two become very good friends helping each other in the hardships and troubles life brings, and their love for the library that becomes a second home for many people just like them. The library is their getaway, a place that feels like home, the regulars become like family, they can't lose the library, what will become of them, these lonely and broken patrons? I was cheering them on, I cried, I laughed, I felt like these were my people. I became so consumed in this story that it felt so real to me due to the authors amazing talent at writing characters that jump off the page and into your heart. I didn't want this book to end, I have serious book hangover and I miss the library and the characters!