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!

Another amazing book which sums up
Why library’s are so important to our communities. These two main characters need each other, but they would have never met if it wasn’t for the library. The poor boy is at a cross roads, he’s seen so much pain in his life. The women is trying to get by even when things get hard. Together they are amazing- helping each other along the way.

“Dog are awesome. They don't care if you're clever or not; they just like to hang out with you”

Tom Harris is a Sixteen year old who lives with his alcoholic dad. His mother died when he was eight. He is a awkward kid who is bullied at school and does not have a lot of friends. One day he goes to a library where he went with his mother when he was a kid. He discovers that he enjoys reading romance novels.

Maggie Mann is a Seventy-two year old women who lives alone on a farm. She goes to the same library for a book club which is her only way to interact with people once a week.

Tom and Maggie meet in this library and join hands in saving the library which might close in a few months time.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Library by Bella Osborne.

Tom is a teen boy with an alcoholic father who can be mean when he drinks. Desperate for an escape, and a connection to his mother, Tom seeks refuge in the local library. There he finds romance novels that his mother would have loved, as well as Maggie, an elderly library worker who is intrigued by this odd young man reading romance novels.

From there begins a tentative friendship between the two. Maggie finds joy in Tom's company and willingness to help around the farm, and Tom loves Maggie's softness and delicious food. But not all is well in either's world, and their adversities can either make or break their fragile friendship.

Oh this was as sweet as candy, in a good way! I, of course, loved all of the literary references and the quirky/cozy library setting. I also surprised myself at how much I loved this friendship. The author did such a good job making it genuine, not overly saccharine or manipulative. I totally bought it, and felt it. This was a heartwarming read, perfect for the holiday.

101% the story of the ‘awkward teenager’ and ‘quirky old lady’, but at the same time so much more.
I read this on the train home and luckily the train was quite because when I say I cried, I mean it. As in, tears streaming down my face. And then, the next second, I was laughing.

A couple things I liked:
- Easy to read
- I loved the storylines of saving the library
- I really enjoyed the character development in both Tom and Maddie. There was more character development in Tom but that makes sense, seeing that he is the teenager in the story and Maddie is older.
- The epilogue was really good, nice little twist.
- It was really clear when perspective switched between characters.

What did I like less:
- Bit predictable at times. Even though there some plot twists that I didn’t expect, in the end I knew that everything would be alright.
- Chapters were a little short. I understand that this is because of the switching perspective, but still they were really really short.
- Tom and Maddie are both written from different points of view. Tom is first person, Maddie is third person. I found this a bit confusing at times.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review..

I'm honestly not into "chick-lit," which this book could be classified, but I absolutely loved it. It's the story of Tom, the son of an alcoholic father, and his friendship with an elderly woman named Maggie. The two find one another due to their love of books and their relationship changes both their lives. My first by this author but I'll soon be looking for more!