What a beautiful and uplifting book! Lovely genuine characters, if at first their age gap feels odd. However, this book blends the characters and makes a lovely read.

Thanks to Aria and NetGalley for the ARC!

The Library was sweet and heartwarming, it felt like a hug from a friend. Tom and Maggie's friendship seems so unexpected but eventually you can't imagine a world where there friendship doesn't exist.

I really enjoyed how the story was told from each of their points of view and their voices were distinct throughout.

This story isnt fast paced but you wouldn't want it to be. It was a peek into daily lives as well as bigger community life and was quite enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria Fiction for a free digital copy.

This book is a DELIGHT. I requested it on Netgalley on a whim and it worked its way into my favorite books of the year so far. It's not my usual genre, but it's so heartwarming that I couldn't put it down. 

Tom is a 16 year old boy being raised by his alcoholic father after his mom years ago. He likes a girl, but doesn't know how to talk to her. He seeks guidance at his local public library in the romance section. There he meets Maggie, a 72 year old independent lady, who frequents the library weekly for book club and runs her own farm. When the library is threatened to be closed, it propels these acquaintances into an unlikely friendship. These two form a bond that goes beyond what you would expect, but it's because they are both what the other needs. 

If you love sincere characters that are sweet but not too much so, you will enjoy this book that is not just about a library, but about finding your family and where you belong. 

Content Warning: Alcoholism, Death of a Parent, Bullying

This was a sweet story about a young man and an older women who grow an incredible friendship and work together to save their town library. While some of the story ideas were typical, the characters are lovely and it's a sweet, enjoyable story. Tom is a great protagonist, and Maggie is a wonderful, energetic, but flawed character. I would recommend this book.

First class read. I cried and I laughed and I could not get enough of the heart warming relationship portrayed between the two main characters. This is an amazing read. Thoroughly enjoyable but also thought provoking and very moving. I could not put his book down! Highly recommended. Must read book!

Thank you Netgalley

3.5⭐️ This was such a cute read! While I know the plot was about saving the library it was very drawn out and that part of the story did not feel very important. The characters are amazing and what makes the book a fun read is their relationship. You just fall in love with them.

The Library by Bella Osborne is an engaging story about family, friendship, and community.

Set in a small English village, the threatened closure of the local library makes unexpected allies, and friends, of 16 year old high school student Tom, and 72 year old widow and small holder, Maggie. Maggie, restless and lonely, is intrigued by the young man who slinks into the library and tries to hide his romance novel selections. Tom, sad and alone, is impressed by Maggie’s right hook, and her delicious cooking.

Tom is such a forlorn character, and Osborne’s characterisation of a self-conscious, awkward and troubled teenage boy is very good. Since his mother’s death, Tom’s father has spiralled into alcoholism. Money is tight, and Tom’s dad is expecting that his son will leave school and get a factory job, ignoring his son’s hopes of attending University. Essentially friendless, his visits to the library are prompted by a need to escape his father’s moods, and a desire to learn more about girls so he can speak to his crush, Farah.

Maggie is a great character, independent, feisty, and nurturing. Since her husband’s death, Maggie has generally been content to attend to her small holding where she raises goats for their wool, with the weekly book club meeting at the library her only regular social activity. Tom’s vulnerability as he furtively browses the romance shelves, and his brave attempt to thwart her mugging, captures her interest, and when she finds herself in need of help at the farm, she is pleased that Tom offers to give her a hand.

The connection that forms between Maggie and Tom is a delight, and warmth and humour offsets the serious subjects Osborne explores in The Library which include addiction, grief, bullying, and social isolation. The threatened closure of the library is almost incidental to the plot though Osborne uses it to draw attention to the value of libraries within communities.

A moving and ultimately uplifting story The Library is a lovely, satisfying read.

Loved, loved, loved! It's heartwarming, poignant at times and I loved the characters.
A multilayered plot that made me root for the characters and think.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I absolutely adored this story. It's not my average kind of read but I was completely sucked into Compton Mallow and I loved every minute. I related to both Tom and Maggie and I think it shows that young people can be lonely to and need company just as older folk do. Maggie and Tom had such a pure, sweet friendship and you could tell they loved each other like grandma and grandson and my heart could've burst. I loved all the mentions of popular books and authors and laughed out loud at Tom becoming a bookworm via romance novels. Libraries are so important to communities, I work in that sector so I can really feel their pain at the possibility of it being shut down. I can't recommend this more, it's moving and uplifting and heartbreaking and fun all at the same time. Thank you for the arc!

I loved Tom and Maggie’s friendship and how everything in this wasn’t always black and white - especially when it came to feelings. The characters weren’t all perfect which was nice to read: they all had things they were hiding or flaws that weren’t revealed straight away.

There was a real sense of community in this book, and the friendships formed within the community, which I loved.

I would love to read more about Tom and Maggie, especially in the Furrow’s Cross/farm setting. I really enjoyed these scenes!

Would love to read more about Tom and Maggie - especially in the Furrow’s Cross/farm setting

I only had one issue with this book and they weren’t even that big. Some parts seemed to be resolved pretty quickly which was a shame.

I also wish the epilogue was longer, mostly so that I could spend more time with these characters! This was a lovely read and I’m looking forward to reading more from Bella Osborne!

After meeting in the local library an unlikely friendship starts up between Maggie who is a pensioner and Tom who is a teenager about to start his GCSE's.
A lovely story told from both sides, was sorry when it ended I really enjoyed it

This was not at all what I was expecting to read from Bella Osborne. I love her books and she writes romance so well and I found myself waiting for some romance to occur within this book at every turn of the page. However, this book goes for different relationships - those of friendships between a most unusual band of individuals brought together by a book group and a library.
I did like this book, but nowhere near as much as I have enjoyed Bella’s previous books. It passed the time, and did give me a smile or two, and rugged at my heart at times when the young main character faced difficult and upsetting experiences. But on the whole just wasn’t for me.

Such a sweet book! Just what I needed. Has all the feels and is a quick charming read. The characters will stay in my mind.

This was a wonderful book about a lonely teenage boy and a lonely, elderly woman and the beautiful friendship that grows between them. Their friendship grows when they find out that the local library might be closed. As they work together on a plan to save th e library they get to know each other well and from their friendship comes a better life for them both. Maggie is a pensioner that spends a lot of time in the library and with her book club just to be around other people. She has grown weary of living alone and of not having anyone to share her life with. So, the time she spends at the library is very important to her. Toms Mom died when he was little and on of his fondest memories of her is going to the library with her. All Tom does is stay at home and play video games. He has no friends and no social life. His father has a drinking problem and one evening he breaks Toms game console. Tom gets so bored that he wanders into the library one day and when asked if he needed help he told the librarian that he wanted to get some books for his Mom and that she liked romances. He goes home with a pile of books that he has no intention of reading. He becomes so bored without his games that he starts reading the books and before he realizes what’s happening, he has an addiction of sorts to the books that he thinks his Mom would have liked. As Tom discovers books such as those by Jane Austen, the Brontes, and even Jojo Moyes and many others it is a delight to see how much he enjoys them and what he will read next. It is wonderful to read a book that describes how the magic of books have the power to forge friendships and change lives for the better. I loved this book and recommend it highly.

This is a really enjoyable book. While the thing that brings the characters together is the library, it is much more about the relationships between the main characters. The two main characters are a teenage boy struggling with an alcoholic father and a widowed senior. It's a beautiful story about how their friendship grows as they deal with life's challenges and also try to save their local library. It's told in alternating chapters from each of their perspectives. A really enjoyable, sweet read but not without some difficult challenges they each face. Well worth a read!

LOVED it!!!! Bella Osborne's books make me happy and this one was no exception. It was beautifully written. Maggie and Tom were perfect for each other and exactly what each other needed. I loved their friendship. Tom and his love of romance novels was amazing. I can't blame him because I also enjoy them. I laughed out loud about Avon, honestly I was glad it was makeup because I feared it was drugs or burglary. The Xbox scene was so sad and scary and I felt bad for Tom. His home life was miserable and I can't imagine what would have happened if Tom never met Maggie. It's hard to believe Maggie was in her seventies. She was such a strong lady and thought nothing of driving her tractor into town. I can't say enough wonderful things about the book.

Definitely recommend the book. Loved the story, characters and writing style. The story was full of friendship, love, grief, sadness, forgiveness and so much more. I felt like I was right there with Tom, through all his ups and downs. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Love the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Aria & Aries through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Oh I loved this book!!! If you are a book lover you can only love this book! And I really love Bella Osborne books in general, she is a really good author with a very nice writing style! But to be honest I wasn't expecting this story in this book. It was really unique to read a friendship story between an older lady and a teenager. So refreshing and adorable! Although I liked that a lot, at times it was a bit too "Teenager" to my liking. I prefer more adults book but it's ok from time to time so it didn't bother me too much! I can't wait to read another book by Bella Osborne!!!

This is a very enjoyable and heartwarming story about a sixteen year old boy and a seventy two year old woman who meet at the local library and accidentally become friends.

Maggie still runs a small farm and lives on her own. She attends the library for its Book Group where she gets to talk to people - a rare event in her everyday life. Tom is wishing he could get to know how to approach girls, especially Farah, and he visits the library to borrow romantic novels which he thinks will help him learn. Maggie is lonely and misses having someone to cook and care for. Tom lives with an alcoholic father and needs someone to look after him. Serendipity brings them together at this time, and when the library is threatened with closure Maggie, Tom and Farah all get involved in the efforts to save it.

This is a charming story about friendship and caring for others. It is easy to become attached to the character of Maggie who is extremely feisty for her age, still staying up all night to help deliver lambs and punching people in the face when her bag is snatched in town. She has a secret though and it is a sad one. Tom is likeable too and it is hard to watch him having to deal with his father's alcoholic excesses. Fortunately there is still a happy ending.

A really enjoyable read, nicely written, happy/sad, and containing some lovely literary references.

I always love books where the setting is in a library. This is the story of an unusual friendship and a fight to save the local library. I was rooting for both of the main characters to find happiness. This was a quick read and I recommend.

An unlikely friendship forms between a sixteen-year-old boy, Tom, and a seventy-two-year-old woman, Maggie, as they rally the community to save their local library.

The premise of the book is wonderful. The centre of the book is the library, a place where different members of the community gather and find solace from the world beyond its walls. For Maggie, it was a place for her to be social as she lived alone on her farm and for Tom, he was able to tap into a love of reading, away from his alcoholic father at home and a bully at school.

The Library is easy to ready and I enjoyed the writing. However, I did feel like the novel dragged at points and could have been trimmed. I found myself skimming some pages and the plot was lost for a while in the middle. Some of the issues addressed were surprisingly heavy, especially when comparing it to the synopsis and book cover art. Also, I didn't find Tom to be a likable character. Maggie, however, was an all-star.

Actual rating - 3.5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.