Tom doesn't want to be noticed and wants to go to university but his father wants him to get a job. He goes to the local library where he can be out of the way. Maggie is on her own and goes to the book club at the library. They meet and both their lives are changed

The Library by Bella Osborne is a sweet book about an unlikely pair who meet at the Library and work together to save it. I really enjoyed this book, and loved the characters and were rooting for them, and the Library during the entire book.

Tom is the son of an alcoholic father, and whose mother passed away when he was younger. Tom and his father co-exist in a grubby home where they live without any of the luxuries of life. Tom feels invisible to his father and classmates, until he sees Farah, a beautiful classmate who’s way out of his league, and is currently involved with one of his bullying classmates.

Tom goes to the local library to find romance novels so he can better understand his crush and find a way to get to know her better. While at the library, he catches the eye of Maggie, a 72-year-old recluse, who only leaves her home once a week to go to the book club at the library. Tom and Maggie form an unlikely friendship and when the library is threatened with closure, they work together to try and save the village library.

The characters of Tom and Maggie are very well developed and I found myself rooting for both of them during the entire book. I liked that Maggie knew how to get through to Tom and help him when his father couldn’t. Her farm, on the outskirts of the village is delightful, with sheep, lambs, and an ornery ram. I found I enjoyed this book much more than I expected, and I really liked the way Tom and Maggie’s relationship developed. The author made me care about these characters and the banter between Maggie and Tom was excellent, especially after they grew to care about each other.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story about a lovely relationship. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I've been looking forward to read The Library ever since I first heard about it, both because I love stories with a bookish element and because I like books with an older main character involved. I thought that this contemporary would be a perfect fit for me, but while there were definitely aspects of the story I liked, as a whole I ended up having mixed thoughts instead. It's not a bad read and I see why other people enjoyed the story better, but there were things that prevented me from enjoying the story to the fullest.

First of all, I have to stress that I still love the premise of the story with the two unlikely characters connecting and forming a friendship through the local library. The unlikely friendship between the sixteen-year-old Tom and seventy-two-year-old Maggie is rather sweet and I kind of wish the story would have just focused on their budding friendship instead of adding a whole bunch of heavy topics that distracted from it. Oh yes, this was probably the main issue I had with The Library: the story seems to be stuffed to the limit with heavy topics such as addiction, alcoholism, abuse and bullying... These side stories distracted considerably from the main plot of saving the library and I felt like the story wanted to do too much and as a result lacked cohesion. The whole home situation with Tom, the mugging, the secret Maggie hides, the unrequited love between Tom and Farrah, the bullying... Instead of adding dept, it mostly felt like the story was trying to hard.

Like I said, I did like the parts about the library and how they plan to save it; there are lots of bookish references and I liked how they kept popping up. The friendship between Tom and Maggie is rather sweet and I really liked reading about their time on the farm with all the animals. The story is told with the help of a dual POV structure, switching between Tom and Maggie to hear both sides of the story. It's a good way to tell this story and that wasn't what bothered me; it's mostly the many different side stories and elements that were a thorn in my side and this made it a lot harder to connect to the characters as a result. This is definitely a case of 'less is more'... And I think I would have enjoyed The Library a lot better if it had just focused on saving the library and the friendship between Tom and Maggie (or at least halved the amount of extra elements).

Genre: General Fiction | Domestic Fiction

Release Date: Expected 2nd September 2021

Publisher: Aria & Aires

CW: Alcoholism, Muggings, Graphic Farm Scenes, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Adoption.


Maggie is used to being alone, she's even grown to like it sometimes or so she tells herself. After ten years, it's just the way things are. She's been getting by with just her farm and books in the local library for company - until a quiet teenage boy walks in and leaves with a bag full of romance novels. A boy who thinks she's funny. Not funny for an old woman, just funny.

Tom escapes to the library too, to get away from his strained home life with his Dad and bleak future he has planned for him - until he catches the attention of a seventy-two year old librarian named Maggie, who for some reason, he trusts.

They may seem like the most unlikely friends, but for some reason they seem to be the only person can really talk to these days - so when the library needs help they have to come together for more than just the books, but the community they've built there and more importantly for themselves.

First of all, I love books about books. So of course I had to pick this up. Osborne perfectly captured the magical effects that books can really have on people and the communities they can create.

This was a beautiful story about loneliness and friendship, and the desperation we can feel sometimes to have a real connection with another human. Maggie and Tom may have been unlikely friends - but their friendship was a pleasure to watch grow from casual talk about books to truly caring and loving one another no matter what. We heard from both characters points of views, both brilliantly written and giving us a full sense of what each character has been through and how they think. Tom was annoying and emotional, and every bit of a sixteen-year old as he should be, and Maggie was a fiery former Hippie who I desperately wanted to be my friend.

Now, this isn't just a cute story about a group of friends banding together to save the library - we see Tom struggle with his Fathers alcohol abuse and his refusal to let him go to college, their struggles with money and their toxic relationship. There's very uncomfortably graphic scenes on Maggies farm that if you're squeamish you might want to skip. The dark side to this novel took me by surprise a little bit, but the warmth and light that seeped out of the rest of the story more than made up for it.


RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Bella Osborne, Aria + Aires and Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

70 year old Maggie and 16 year old Tm form an unlikely alliance trying to save their local library. What develops is a beautiful friendship due to them both experiencing heartbreak and loss.

A lovely heartwarming story.

What do you get when a 70+ year old Maggie meets Tom who is only 16 years old at a library? A heartwarming story about a wonderful friendship. They hit it off and Maggie sort of “rescued” Tom from an abusive, alcoholic dad. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

What a delightful read this was. The depiction of Tom’s father was only a bit too real. My one complaint would be Christine the librarian who basically did nothing to help, out of fear. How disappointing.

Enjoyed reading about everyone else in the small town and surrounding. Would love to read more about the library patrons.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.
A lovely melding of two generations, heartwarming and engaging.

Very enjoyable story! It will hard for readers not to feel compassion for both Tom and Maggie. Both were experiencing hard break in their lives. Some hard subjects such as death, loneliness, bullying and alcoholism are shared in a very realistic way. Saving the library is just one part in this well written novel. This book would also be a great addition to a YA collection. Recommended!

The story of teenager Tom and pensioner Maggie who unite in their quest to save the local library from closure. What develops is an unlikely friendship between two lonely people and how they help each other through turbulent times.

A lovely heartwarming story which was a delightful entertaining read.

What a breath of fresh air this book is. Well written totally engaging throughout. Tom lonely and grieving decides to go to the library there he meets lonely Maggie a friendship blooms after Tom trys to save her from a mugger, but gets punched for his troubles. Tom's homelife isn't the best, Dad Paul is struggling with the loss of his wife, money troubles and the dreaded drink push Tom to the limit. A can not recommend this book enough it was a really good read.

First, I would like to thank Bella Osborne, Aria publishing, and Netgalley for the chance to read this book before it is officially published.

Tom & Maggies strike up an unlikely friendship when Tom walks into his local library to get some romance novels in order to "research" how to get a girl to like him back. Tom is an only child with a single father after his mother passed away when Tom was young. His father has started struggling, with work, finances, and has taken up drinking. Maggie is a single widow who has no children living with her. She has also struggle with things in the past and strives to make things better. After a few weeks of getting to know each other, Tom & Maggie, & their friends, need to figure out a way to save the library from being consolidated. While trying to save the library, Tom & Maggie must figure out a way to save themselves & their friendship when things get really rocky.

The Library was a sweet book about building friendships across generations. Tom & Maggie were both lost when they met each other & needed the reassurance that they weren't invisible. I loved seeing the friendship bloom within this unlikely duo. At times, the story felt a little dragged out & monotonous, but then there were moments when it came alive. I loved the shout outs to the popular authors. As a Sophie Kinsella fan, it was awesome seeing her stories mentioned. The same with Nicholas Sparks. I enjoyed watching Tom grow from a bit of a brat to someone who understood that life didn't revolve around him. Maggie was not perfect, & while she didn't ever say she was, Tom held her on this pedestal, until that came crashing down. I liked seeing them rebuild their relationship after that as well. This was a good story and one I would recommend.

This book is AMAZING!!!! Probably one of my favourite books this year. I loved how 2 generations came together to save their library, and I’d be lying If I said that I didn’t cry……lots!!! It’s such a moving story which reminded me of The Lido by Libby Page. I can’t gush about this book enough!! It was incredible

Aww, that was lovely! Such a wholesome story, I really enjoyed it.

This certainly was an unlikely friendship, and Tom and Maggie formed a great bond.

This is the main focus of the book: the development of their friendship, and the character growth it sets off. Yes, there is a library they're trying to save, a father-son relationship, past tragedies, bullies and teen crushes; but these are all side plots/elements.

I liked the characters for the most part. Loved Tom's growth, but I did also find him annoying sometimes. Yes, he's 16 y.o., so bound to be a bit more extreme in his reactions, but I thought he never really tried to understand those around him, and he was very entitled sometimes.
Maggie was precious and I loved her!

The writing was pleasant and straight forward, but I didn't really like that the narration changed from 1st person (Tom's chapters) to 3rd person (Maggie's chapters). I think it should have been 1st person for Maggie as well, because a lot of it was very introspective (a bit too much telling, actually). Also wish the tense for Tom's chapters would have been more consistent. It changed from present to past too often.

That being said, I thought the author really captured the distinct voices of a teenage boy vs a 70-y.o. woman.

Pleasant, light book (despite some heavy themes) that I would definitely recommend.

This has been another completely surprising read I picked it up thinking it will be heartwarming and charming and all the things that library centred books normally are and it is all of those things but incredibly, it’s a lot more and I find myself wanting to call it a bit of a revelation (although that seems like a pretty strong word to use.) It’s the kind of book that could just give hope to someone who is running out. I absolutely loved it.

This was a beautiful story, I was totally hooked from the beginning and enjoyed it far more than I expected to.
It's a book about books, about found family, about alcoholism, about community and there's lambs.
The characters were great, believable, lovable and interesting.
My only real niggle is that it was all a bit idealised but I think that's the nature of a heart warming cosy read and it was quite nice to escape the reality of the world for a while!

I'll definitely be rereading this when I'm in the mood for a quick heart warming story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free E-ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I loved The Library so much! I was hesitant about the friendship between Tom and Maggie because I had never read a story with their sort of friendship before (between a teenage boy and an older woman). But I was blown away by how touching I found their relationship. I was like a breath of fresh air after reading so many fluffy rom-coms this summer. And I valued the depth of their stories. I thought the book handled their grief very well and I was pleased that they leaned on each other throughout the book. Tom’s voice was especially appealing to me. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times at his sarcastic observations. Maggie’s voice was interesting as well, however I could have done without the longer farming descriptions.

The premise of the book overall was also very sweet: a teenage boy reading romance novels and being afraid to talk to girls. How cute is that?! The Library even references some of my favorite modern romance titles, which was a fun bookish surprise! If you like books about books, then this one is definitely for you!

A gentle story, deep issues, humor and characters to love….all centered around a library and farm life. What’s not to love? No shocking twists…just a thoroughly enjoyable, multilayered feel-good read.

A sweet tale of two lonely people who connect in their local village library. I particularly liked Maggie, a seventy something widow who spends the week on her farm with her sheep and catches the bus for the highlight of her week - book club. Maggie is spunky and glorious. I would love to meet someone like her and pull her into the family. Tom is harder to connect with and I have a 16 year old girl. His home life is tough and he is so awkward and shy. I did love the growing connection between him and Maggie.
Although the book had some darkness, the author seemed to sugar coat it all so it never felt real. Alcoholism and bullying for the Disney audience maybe? It was like she was afraid to really go down that heavy route so jumped a scene or never pushed the dialogue.
It was worth a read and everyone should fall in love with Maggie.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC. 3.5 stars for this one.

This is a story of Tom, the teenager, and Maggie, the mature lady, who meet via the local library. Each of them have holes in the lives which the other fills for them in the best way. There are ups and downs, and the book touches on a number of sensitive topics along the way.

I really warmed to the main characters and enjoyed seeing how their relationship unfolded. I felt the highs and the lows with them, and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Each time I came to put the book down, I couldn’t wait to get back to it

It’s a great read for any time of the year and I fully recommend

Copy provided by Aria & Aries and Netgalley.