I enjoyed The Seaside Library, even if some of what happened felt a bit stilted to me. I enjoyed the three best friends getting back together - but also a bit disappointed with the direction things went to rather quickly after that.
Novak still writes very well, but I prefer stories with two protagonists - or with two couples.

Thinking "The Seaside Library" was just another summer romance story, I found myself pleasantly surprised to find that it was so much more! This book deals with long-time friendships and what a person would do to protect a friend. And although there was a sprinkling of romance, there was also a mystery. And a few twists and turns that kept me turning those pages! Did he really do it? If not him, then who?

As always, Brenda Novak has created great, complex characters. I'd love to see more of them in future books and learn more about the private detective, Warner Williams, and also Detective Livingston.

This is the story of 3 friends that have been keeping a secret for 20 years. Now it appears to be unraveling. I enjoyed the characters and the story line and would recommend this book for anyone who wants a happily ever after book. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Ive been waiting for this book for months, since i follow the her. Shes one of my favorite authors!

I got an advanced readers copy from netgalley.

This was a little different from her usual beach reads, and i absolutely LOVED it.

It did take me a minute to get into it, it was a little repetitive in the beginning once I got a few chapters in, i could NOT put it down!

Since i own quite a few of her signed books i will also be picking up this one as well, it was that good of a read!

Three best friends all connected to a 20 year mystery of a 13 year old girls mysterious disappearance. What actually happened to her?

‘The Seaside Library’, by Brenda Novak, was an easy to read beach novel on the fictitious island of Mariners off the coast of New York. The book combines romance, friendship and a twenty year old murder mystery. Although I enjoyed this book, it was not one of my favorite Brenda Novak books. However, Ms. Novak will continue to remain one of my favorite authors.

Disclaimer: I was sent a free book and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

I was excited to read another book by Brenda Noval. She is an excellent writer and has a way of pulling her reads in from page one.

This book was no different in that as soon as I began reading it I wanted to know more about Ariana and her friends. More importantly, I wanted to know their secret. Brenda is very good at weaving a story, especially one with past secrets sprinkled with romance. She has a distinct way of giving you just a small bit of teasers with each page that makes you want to turn the page to see where it goes.

This story begins when long-time friends Ariana, Cam, and Ivy reunite after 20 years. The reunion is overshadowed by the discovery of a body belonging to a young girl who went missing years before. Though their friend Cam was the main suspect in the girl's disappearance the secret they keep is even worst. As the detectives dig further into the mystery of Emily's disappearance more secrets are uncovered. The friends begin to question the choices. their feelings and whether their loyalty to each other may have been built on a lie.

I really love the setting of this story. It takes place on an island. Brenda does a great job describing the scenery and how quickly the weather can change. At times the ominous description of the weather matched the storyline.

The characters were well written at times I wanted to give them all big hugs and tell them everything would be okay. I enjoyed watching the characters grow, change and come to terms with their feelings. I enjoyed how well the storyline and characters were entwined with one another. I will say I wanted to slap or shake Melanie and tell her to grow.

Overall this book was really good and it begs the question would you lie for a friend?

The Seaside Library by Brenda Novak
Due out April 11 2023

I read every Brenda Novak book. So, of course, this was no exception. However, I don’t feel the title fits the story. But that being said, I still loved it!

It is a suspenseful read with some romance. The story of three best friends that have kept a secret for 20 years.

Ivy stayed on the island to run her families, Seaside library.
Cam stayed on the island and became a talented architect.
Ivy left the island to work in the publishing industry in New York.

When Ivy king back to the island to help her grandmother. The 20 year old mystery, coincidentally starts to unfold. I enjoy the suspense, and how the mystery was solved.

Do you think you could lie for your best friend?
I highly recommend this book!

I want to thank NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest review.

Brenda Novak is one heck of an Author. I love her books and have read them all. This is a standalone. Ivy, Ariana and Cam grew up together. They are hiding a huge secret from when they were teenagers and a young girl disappeared. This book is part mystery with some romance. It is so good. I barely ate or slept while reading it. I highly recommend you read this book. You won’t regret it. Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

Would you lie for a friend? This is a story of three friends who did everything together but when one friend is thought to have killed someone the other two friends supply a must-needed alibi. Years go past and then a body is discovered, and everyone is back in the limelight, especially the friend they supplied the alibi for. The story takes place twenty-five years after the murder and the struggle the friends have wondering if they did the right thing sometimes worrying if they believe their friend had nothing to do with the death. The story is told by all three friends and the deceased's sister. Interesting story, not a lot of action but has a good story with likable characters. The whole book is about figuring out who did kill the twelve-year-old girl. It wasn't hard to figure out who the killer was but I enjoyed following the twists and turns of the relationship between three friends. Three isn't always easy when it comes to best friends. Thank you NetGalley and publisher Harlequin Trade for this E-ARC I do recommend this book Brenda Novak is an excellent writer and all of her books are a good choice.

Don't be deceived by the beachy cover photo or the title - The Seaside Library is actually a murder mystery with just a sprinkle of romance.

When Cam, Ariana and Ivy, best friends growing up together on a small island near Nantucket, were 16 years old a young tourist girl went missing on the island. Cam was the prime suspect but no charges were laid as Ariana and Ivy provided him with an alibi. The three friends drifted apart after that incident but twenty years later they are reunited when Ariana returns to the island where Cam and Ivy still live hoping to resolve her guilt about what happened the night of the disappearance as well as her unrequited feelings for Cam who is now married with a young child. At the same time, new evidence is uncovered in the disappearance and the three are soon caught up in a police investigation where suspicion once again falls on Cam.

The Seaside Library is an okay read but I didn't think it was on par with other Brenda Novak novels that I have read in terms of pacing, plot, or character development so I was a bit disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I have been a huge fan of Ms. Novak books for years and although she's known mostly for her contemporary romance or her Romance/Suspense in my humble opinion is just as good in some cases better. In this story we meet three friends Cam, Ivy and Arianna. All three have been friends since middle school throughout high school.
The three of them were thick as thieves even more after a young girl goes missing and their dear friend Cam is accuse of not only being the last person to see her alive but possible have murdered her. Arianna and Ivy knew without a doubt he did not and form a bound tell the police he was with them when the crime occurred. Twenty years later Ivy is still on Mariners island tended to her family history by running the towns library. Cam is a star architect on the island as well and Arianna left them and their friendship and never returned. Since the accusation the friends were never close again and continue living their separate life. The case of the missing girl shows back in the news marking the twenty years and her family especially her sister is out for blood pertaining to still saying Cam was the killer. As Arianna makes her way back to the island to visit grandmother and her friends all the past of what they kept from the police seems to unraveling and will take all their energy and fight to survive their friendship and possible far worse. I truly enjoy Ms. Novak's romance suspense and this was no different.

Eh ... not what I was expecting when I requested this book. I really didn't care for the characters. I didn't care for the story. I get it - they made a mistake as teenagers. I didn't need it drilled into my head every chapter - every conversation. I found myself skimming large sections just to move on to something new.

Not the worst I've read, but on the list of one of the most "eh" that I've read.

Thank you #netgalley and #Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA

A teenage Cam is a prime suspect when a young girl goes missing. His friends, Ariana and Ivy, know he wouldn't hurt anyone, and they promise to protect him. Now, 20 years later, Ariana returns to town as new evidence emerges on the case.

The Seaside Library by Brenda Novak is a good page-turning mystery. I was actually glad it was more mystery than romance. I agree that the cover can be misleading on the type of book it is.

The action unfolded at a reasonably good pace and held my interest. I thought the story was okay, and the author's writing style was interesting.

#TheSeasideLibrary #NetGalley @HarperCollins

Before Covid I had never read a book by Ms. Novak. I started with One Perfect Summer and just kept going, also reading Summer on the Island, The Bookstore on the Beach, and When I Found You. All of these were enjoyable women’s fiction titles; each had a good setting storyline and characters. So, of course, I was eager to read this new book by the author.

The story takes place in a seaside community. Three friends grew up there. Ivy stayed and runs the library. Cam stayed; he became a talented architect. Ariana worked in New York in the publishing industry; she comes back to spend time with her grandmother.

The three all know of a tragic event that occurred when they were in high school. A girl went missing. What will be stirred up as events from the past spill into the present?

This book is a bit more of a mystery but retains many elements of the author’s talent for writing women’s fiction. I enjoyed this novel but did think that it had a bit of a slow start.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Meh. I was expecting a summer romance based off the cover, but that was not the case with this book. It was far more mystery than summer romance

More Mystery Than Romance. This is apparently Novak's 75 book, and while I've only read a handful of those prior books - mostly a few of her most recent ones - this seems to be a bit of a departure from her usual style. At least in my own experience with her, she tends to write more women's fiction/ romance blends... and this is pretty far from that. This is more of a Catherine McKenzie / Kimberly Belle / Leah Mercer style mystery that also includes a romance than the more usual Novak style, though still set in an idyllic small town island. It is specifically because the title and cover don't really match the overall tone and substance of the tale told here that it lost a star for me, and admittedly this is something that can easily be corrected in the nearly five months between when I write this review and the book's actual publication date.

For what it actually is, this story is pretty solid and well told - if you like your mysteries to also include a romance, you're going to love this book. If you enjoy a tale that meets all known RWA criteria for being a "romance book" but the story is more about the mystery than the romance, you're going to enjoy this book. But if you're looking for more of a "classic Novak" women's fiction/ drama on an island... eh, read this book and see what you think. I personally think it is a bit darker than her usual and thus is a fairly significant departure, but again, I've only read her last few books. For all I know this is where she built her fan base and is *returning* to this rather than this being an entirely new thing for her. Again, what she does do here, she does in fact do quite well indeed, so there is that at least.

Overall this was an excellent tale that was told well - it just doesn't match its title (which has only the most tangential of connections to the tale) or cover imagery. Very much recommended.

Upon opening this book, I knew I was going to be in for a treat because Brenda Novak's books have always been page turners and full of wonderful surprises. This suspenseful book delivered that experience and more. There was a quote in the book that I have highlighted and have written in my journal about books being bigger than the universe. The quote resonated with me so profoundly since I have always been a voracious reader and I feel that the quote precisely described why I am so addicted to reading. I connected with the characters Ivy, Ariana and Cam. They were down to earth people who had to deal with a horrible tragedy that occurred twenty years in the past. The past came to haunt them and their friendship was tested to the limits. The close-knit community on Mariners Island needed closure on this horrible tragedy and forced some of them to turn against the others. The ending was shocking. This is definitely a must read for those that enjoy suspense!

A mystery from 20 years ago and three friends who lied to protect. This is a who done it mixed with the cost of friendship, the tension it causes and many teases about who is guilty. Add in a little romance to sweeten the plot.

I really wanted to like this book as it falls in my favorite genres of romance and suspense. However, it fell flat to me because it was too far fetched and a bit slow. I give it 3/5 stars. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I love a good escape novel and Brenda Novak does them so well. This is a spectacular book to cozy up with with when you want a touch of small town romance!