A beautiful story with wonderful characters and great character development. A story of loss and feeling lost. Of finding your tribe / book club, and being found. Of finding your voice and being the voice of "the mission". A story of being supported and of being supportive. This heartwarming story has the emotional aspects of several important and relevant daily issues... Grief, ADHD, etc. The silent book club has a goal of highlighting these issues and helping others. Thoughtful, emotional, touching.

I found the overt and constant mention of ADHD quite off-putting. An initial mention to set the stage for Frank's goals with the book club would've made sense; but repeatedly seeing that acronym looming in paragraph after paragraph turned the story into an activist piece instead of an enlightening and enjoyable story. Unfortunately this colored my entire experience with this ARC.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5/5. I really enjoyed reading this author's previous work, The Memory Library, so I was very grateful to receive this ARC from NetGalley. This book was a story about grief, community, healing, and mental health. The main character, Grace, is struggling to manage her grief after the loss of her husband. She previously was fairly introverted and relied on her husband for social interactions. Grace's daughter and grandson urge her to join her late husband's bookclub to meet more people who share a connection.

Grace begins to explore her grief, connect with others, and we learn more about the stories of the other bookclub members along the way. My one thing that I thought was a bit overdone was the constant references to ADHD and the different ways that it can be displayed. I appreciate what the author is trying to do by bringing more awareness to neurodivergent individuals, but it was a bit much and broke some of the flow of the story. This book was uplifting while it touched on heavy topics. I loved all of the different book recommendations and references throughout (love that she shouts out Anxious People by Fredrik Backman especially) and want a bookclub cat like Earnest.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK, and the author for this ARC copy.

Thanks NetGalley. I loved this book. The characters were believable and storyline just right. Fried and loneliness is an awful thing to experience but it was wonderful how graces husband understood this. It is so essential that one carries on with life without feeling guilt

A wonderful book about people who love books, which makes it perfect for book lovers. It shows that impact that a book can have on people along with the impact that people can have, it does deal with hard hitting topics such as grief and mental health but in a really empathetic way. I went into this book not knowing what to expect and found that I really enjoyed it.

A lovely, warm story of grief, loss, family and learning to live again. There was a fabulous cast of relatable characters in this well written tale. As a late diagnosed neurodivergent person, I did appreciate the authors portrayal of ADHD but after a while it did feel a little clunky and overdone. That said it was accurate and it was nice to see a positive portrayal of strengths as well as the frustrations.

The main themes of this story are grief, ADHD, mental health, and acceptance, but despite the seriousness of these issues the overall story was positive and hopeful. I liked that they were dealt with sensitively. I particularly love how she doesn't show us her characters' personalities immediately but slowly draws them out throughout the story. Our first impressions of people in real life aren't always an accurate reflection of who they really are and I thought the author translated this well into the story. The idea of a silent book club appeals to me and I liked how the members became a found family for each other thanks to Grace bringing them all closer to each other, and that they became a second family for Grace and her own family. This is the second book I have read by Kate Storey and I will be looking out for her next one!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Avon and Kate Storey for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is the ultimate cozy read for spring time. I can honestly say that it felt like receiving a warm hug. The best thing about it is how it targets many different age ranges, as it explores the lives of the old and young through the eyes of our protagonist, Grace.

Grace is grieving the loss of her wonderful husband Frank, and this book explores the depth of grief at the heart of its narrative. Before he passed, Frank created a book club with the owner of a local bookshop, Books En Parade. This story navigates how Grace reconnects to Frank through the legacy of this book club and stops it from falling apart by connecting with the wider community through the themes of grief and mental health. It definitely encapsulates the theme of found family.

I absolutely love pieces of writing that focus on breaking the fourth wall of adoring books. Some of my favourite reads have been about how a book can affect a reader and the profound feelings that can stem from the words on a page. Storey’s way of writing is so eloquent and there were many sentences that I had to go back and re-read, as I was so stunned at how beautiful the wording was.

I just adore how simple the narrative was and yet how effective. Each character had their own personality that shines through the page - particularly Earnest! ‘The Forgotten Book Club’ is a vital read for those that wish to learn more about ADHD, as this is a very present thread throughout the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and it was the perfect pick me up! I would definitely recommend it to anyone that feels like they need a heartwarming story.

This was a lovely, gentle, uplifting novel exploring mental health, depression, grief, and ADHD which I received a copy of. The story features Grace (70) a quiet widow of a year, who lacks a social life, whose world without her beloved husband has shrunk to the "rain spattered glass walls" of her home, with each day a "chasm of time without him", which she has no choice "but to fill by going on long lonely walks". Through a book club which Frank set up ( a silent book club which at first is overwhelming daunting in its silence), Grace slowly becomes more social and finds a purpose and focus and expansion to her life.
This book begins filled with melancholy, illustrating how easy it is to become without noticing ur how insular, content and overreliant we can become within a relationship, that when one half is no more, the overwhelming loneliness, lack of focus and interaction with the outside world it is possible to experience. But in the book, there is hope and an expanding beyond isolation so that Grace doesn't "die of a broken heart" once the initial sympathy and condolences ebb away.

Grace was married to Frank for forty six years and when he suddenly dies of a heart attack and her world falls apart and on the anniversary of his passing Grace knows she has to get on with life without him and she has no idea how? Frank was an avid reader, the house is full of his books and her daughter Rosie and grandson Jude suggest she should join her late husband’s book club.

Grace arrives at the Book En Parade, the bookshop where Frank held his meetings and it’s not at all what she’s expecting. The members are a variety of ages and they start reading for an hour, it’s a silent club and everyone picks something different. She feels out of place, the quietness is odd and what it's like being home on her own and she decides to leave and Annie asks her to stay and she's happy to meet Frank’s Gracie and so are the others. Grace and group decide they want to ensure Frank’s love of reading and legacy lives on, boost the numbers which have dwindled since he passed away and all the need is to come up with a plan and they do.

I received a copy of The Forgotten Book Club by Kate Storey from Avon Books UK and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The narrative includes two of the things I love, reading and books and despite being an avid reader I find the thought of joining a book club daunting, and many people do for various reasons and obviously I’m not the only one.

A story full of diverse characters and age groups, and about loss and grief, friends and forming new relationships, second chances and helping others and giving them a hand up and it covers topics such as depression, anxiety and ADHD and Grace discovering what she's capable of and she's more than she imagined.

The perfect choice for readers and book lovers and I've added a few to my long want to read list as many are mentioned throughout and why Frank read and recommended them and five stars from me.

I'm an avid reader, I read any and everything because I love to learn and can absorb a story through words and pages. My husband is not a recreational reader. his interests are very targeted and he reads only a few books a year, but he understands why I always have a book or reader with me. The differences in the characters was very real to me, Kate Storey could have been writing about my life.
When Grace's husband dies, her grief is overwhelming. She cannot move past the fact that he is no longer by her side everyday. While she is not an avid reader, her grandson suggests she may find solace in joining her husband's book club. What she discovers is not so much a club as a "circle" where readers enjoy each other's company as they read silently. Grace will come to understand the family of people her husband shared this small piece of his life with. This could have been every avid reader's story told through the eyes and voice of Grace. I enjoyed this book not only for the story but for the pieces of myself I see in many of the characters. A beautiful read that I'll gladly give 5 stars.

Grace is grieving the death of her husband, Frank. Her daughter and grandson encourage her to visit Frank's old book club. Grace is unsure at first, but the club soon becomes very important to her.
This is a lovely story about friendship, grief, and neurodiversity. The book club is made up of a variety of interesting characters, each with their own struggles going on in the background. As Grace gets to know them, she understands just how life-changing Frank's book club can be.

There is a huge focus on ADHD throughout this book and I thought it was handled really sensitively.
I also loved all the book references, this is a love letter to readers everywhere!

I really expected to love this book based on the synopsis but in the end it was just okay. I might borrow it from the library but I wouldn’t spend money on it.

What a lovely comforting story covering grief, loss, mental health, ADHD, friendship, families & the importance of friends. One I'm already thinking of who I'll be buying for as well as recommending to my book club!

I loved Kate Storey's book The Memory Library and was excited to be approved for the arc of her new book The forgotten Book club.
This book was a very sweet story that I wasn't sure how it would play out when it first started. I was so glad that Grace went to check out the silent book club that her deceased husband started. It was the best thing she could do to help her deal with the grief, start seeing happiness in her life, bring her closer to her daughter and grandson and open her heart to new and fabulous friends. I have already sent a copy to my mom.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

A simple and heart-warming story of discovering joy and friendships after loss, with added themes of loneliness and mental health this story touches on the very heart of human emotion and how unexpected life can be, with a beautiful message of community and how the simple act of reading can change your whole view on life.

i loved everything about The Forgotten Book Club, it's heartbreakingly beautiful with a steady gentleness which melts the heart. The characters are wonderful, an eclectic mix of personalities which bring their own magic to the story, I adore the simplistic story of how Grace finds life again after the death of her husband by joining a book club, a decision that opens her heart and her eyes to possibilities and adds love and firm friendship to her life once more, it's a truly gorgeous story and I can't recommend this enough and will definitely be re-read many times!

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

Grace has been a widow for a year. Encouraged by her daughter and grandson, Grace finally has the courage to enter the study that her husband Frank had spent many hours reading. Surrounded by his books, journals and notes, she remembers that Frank loved going to a book club.

Grace decides to join the book club and soon discovers the book club is a silent book club, where members read in silence and spend a short time discussing what they are reading. Gradually, Grace starts to make new friends, who help her discover the love of reading.

This was about grief, ADHD, secrets and reading. I loved the descriptions of books and authors throughout the novel and the way Grace discovers her husband’s secret.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher Avon a Division of HarperCollins for a chance to review this E-Book. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this book. The story of loss and moving forward was very well written. I liked the inclusion of ADHD but did feel it was over emphasised in some places and took a bit away from the story. Overall a lovely read.