A book about books is almost always a hit for me! I loved Karissa’s eagerness to start fresh in a new town, and the details of her new career in publishing were fun to read about- but it felt very glossy, like some of the realistic parts of life were smoothed over.
Incorporating Karissa’s new neighbors and the addition of the book club was a great way to work in more plot points, but I just couldn’t find myself invested.

Karissa’s life is turned upside down when she learns of her husband’s affair with her neighbor and best friend, Allegra. After getting a divorce she decides to move to a new town and start a new life with her 8 year old daughter. She finds a job with a publisher, working for Edward Elliot, a dashing boss. Her new neighbors offer the kind of solace she needs in the form of a book club. The story revolves around all of these people, the books they read and the kind of impact it has on their lives.


This is a lighthearted read, with some ups and downs in between. Their struggles are very real- there’s a woman who has been laid off, another who deals with grief and anxiety. The topic of widowhood, divorce and shared custody have been tastefully handled. It’s wonderful to read about stories where characters discover their true potential, while undergoing a process of healing.

Coming to the romance part- there are multiple love stories in the book, but only one of them was truly fleshed out. I do admit that storyline had me grinning ear-to-ear. It was that cute! Karissa’s attraction towards her boss felt very flat, though. I wish he had more personality, but instead was just described as brooding, but ‘kind’ all the time. Think Darcy meets Rochester.

The book also ran a little longer than needed, but it was a fairly good read.

I recommend this to someone who is looking for a
-story about female friendships and bonding.
-story based in publishing
-lighthearted, romantic storyline, with focus being on relationships.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Was really looking forward to this book but it fell a little short for me. I didn’t really relate to any of the characters and none of their stories were particularly interesting to me. Not a bad read, just not a page turner. Well written and I enjoyed the book club theme. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC of this book!

The Best Life Book Club was a DNF for me. The writing wasn't horribly bad, but the story failed to capture my interest. It just seemed so plain and boring. The title peeked my interest and reading about a book club would have been interesting but it felt like the story was dragging.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts due to be published May 7, 2024.
Karissa has just moved to Gig Harbor with nine-year-old Macy to get away from the town where her husband cheated on her with her former best friend. She has a new job with a small publishing company which is wonderful since she loves reading.
She soon meets her neighbors, Alice (who is grieving her late husband), and Margot (who recently not only got divorced, but laid off).
Needing a distraction, they decide to form a book club, along with Alice’s grouchy older sister, Josie.
I usually read thrillers, but every once in awhile stray from that genre, and I’m so glad I did.
The Best Life Book Club was a delight – I smiled a lot, laughed out loud, and cried in some places – what a fabulous book.
If you want something to make you smile long after you’ve finished reading – this book is for you – I absolutely loved it!

.#netgalley #SheilaRoberts #HarlequinTradePublishing #TheBestLifeBookClub

Four newfound friends explore life and relationships in their book club. While separately they are facing adversity, together they fuel each other to live their best lives. Filled with the author's renown charm, comedic timing and close-knit friendships, fans and first-time readers will delight in Roberts' antics.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of #TheBestLifeBookClub in exchange for an honest review. I'm a Sheila Roberts fan as her books always leave me wishing for another serving. Her latest novel, is perfect for taking the bite out of winter's chill or alongside a glass of wine to wind down the evening!

This book was heartwarming, and reminded me of the sweet magnolias show! Four women - all going through their own personal hurdles in their seasons of life, find solace in each other and friendship.

I did like the main plot line (there’s so many that I won’t go into detail) and I loved the ending because I am a sucker for an HEA (no matter how improbable it is LOL). What really made me rate 3 stars is the POVs- the pacing and the POV weren’t the best of flow, in my opinion and I had to keep double checking who’s POV I was on, which lessened the reading experience for me.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!
All thoughts and opinions are my own

I really enjoyed this book. For me it was a perfect combination of romance and female friendships. I really liked how each of the four women were at a different stage of their life, but still maintained friendships. The multiple POV format of this book kept me interested and entertained and helped me relate to all the characters better. What a cozy and fun read.

Book lovers are going to enjoy the literary references woven into this story about a book club being just what these women need! Karissa, Alice, Margot & Josie start a book club. Initially bonded over reading, the group quickly falls into the friendship category. Their first book club selection is a self-help book, setting the tone of personal growth. Each woman embarks on a personal journey towards a fresh start.

I wanted to love this much more than I did. My favorite parts were the book club and references to other books. I enjoyed the characters, but it switched point of view at unexpected times so it was hard to keep all straight. There were so many characters because you were reading about four women’s lives all on a self journey unrelated to any of the other women. I liked Karissa’s storyline the most.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review.
Releases on May 7, 2024.

“The Best Life Book Club” is a combination romance and women’s fiction book by Sheila Roberts. This book focuses on new beginnings, friendships, some romance, parenting, and dealing with all that life throws you - death, relationships, divorce, and trying to find strength in yourself. This book follows four women - Karissa (the main character), Alice (her neighbor), Margot (another neighbor), and Josie (Alice’s sister who lives near-by). With so many characters, the focus wasn’t evenly balanced amongst the characters, but each one got some time to “shine” in this book. The endings are a bit too nicely wrapped up (and I feel that Margot’s story mostly happened off-page once the app took center-stage), but I think the overall message was enjoyable. Each chapter begins with a quote from a book - which I found interesting. My one complaint is that with so many storylines, it was difficult (at least in the eARC I received) dealing with the POV switches - hopefully this will be addressed in the final edition as often there wasn’t a notation (or symbol) that the main character had switched. I did like seeing the maturity and growth of some of the characters in this book. I also liked the idea of the four of them working on their mystery book [that one I might actually read!].

This is such a cozy, light read focused on female friendships and leaning on community when times are hard. It's an easy read that feels comforting and enjoyable. Well done!

This reminded me a lot of the book The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore purely because of the heartwarming vibes and the book club elements.

Shelia Roberts is always a go to author for me and she once again doesn’t disappoint. While this wasn’t my favorite by her it still brought in all the elements that I love about her books. Book clubs always have their own personality and this one was a fun one to be a part of! Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy!

The following review was posted to my Goodreads account.

"The Best Life Book Club" takes readers on a delightful journey through the lives of four women in all different life stages. You get to enjoy evolving relationships, romantic entanglements and unexpected twists.

Despite navigating difficult themes such as grief, divorce, and adultery, the book manages to infuse humor into the narrative through the quirky dynamics between the characters. The humor serves as a refreshing element, offering moments of levity even in the face of challenging circumstances.

Each woman is at a different stage of motherhood and each story line will pull at your heart strings. One mom is moving her young daughter to a new elementary school post-divorce, another hasn’t talked to her daughter or seen grandchild for year, while another is continuing to deal with an judgmental mother still questioning all her 40 year old choices. If you are a mom or a daughter, odds are that one of these characters will resonate with you.

The books jumps between each women’s point of view, often times even within the same chapter. So if you are a fan of multiple viewpoints you’ll enjoy that part of the book.

Thank you NetGalley, the Harlequin Trade Publishing and Sheila Roberts for the ARC. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to read this!

I nominate this boo for your next bookclub. Funny, book exploring friendships, personal growth and relationships. I enjoyed the quotes with each chapter as well.

Sheila Roberts is a treasure and I absolutely love her books. The latest installment of her Moonlight Harbor series is wonderful.

I enjoyed this book! I love reading books about books and the book club was so fun. Also love a good second chance romance so that really drew me in. It took me a little while to get connected to the characters - I am not always a fan of multiple POV in these types of books as it can be harder to connect but I did get use to it. I enjoyed this and would recommend for the right person! It isn’t anything I will like think about for a long time but it was a fun pleasant read.

Sheila Roberts wrote quite a fun book with The Best Life Book Club.
Larissa - after being done wrong by her no good husband and former best friend-after finding a job at a small publishing house, meets and become friends with her new neighbors. The ladies of different generations and personalities decide to form a book club. As their friendships develop they also decide to try to write a revenge book. How fun? How many times have avid readers had an idea we thought would make a good book?
I enjoyed the characters as they each discover the next stage of their life.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #Mira publishers for giving me the opportunity to early read The Best Life Book Club.

Five starts from me!

“The Best Life Book Cub” by Sheila Roberts is a second chance type of novel, drawing on the popular theme of female bonding that takes place in a book club. I love this type of story and I was really looking forward to reading this. The story centers around Karissa (reeling from her husband deserting her for her best friend), Alice (a grieving widow who has developed a fear of driving), Alice’s sister Jo (a not-so-grieving widow who is on bad terms with her daughter) and Margot (recently laid off and trying to get her life back on track). Karissa moves to a charming new town, makes new friends, begins working for a small publishing house, and is immediately attracted to her boss.

The story was charming and as comforting as a nice cup of tea on a rainy afternoon. Yes, the outcomes for all these women’s troubles seemed to have been produced by effortless magic. Only in a fairy tale could someone experience such success with so little efforts and so little time. But that’s not to be unexpected in this type of novel.

However, there were some things that made it rather difficult to love this novel. First, the point of view shift between the four characters was abrupt and made it difficult to follow. Perhaps making a new chapter with each POV shift and labelling the chapter with the character’s name could solve the problem. I had to constantly go back to double check who was the character in focus, which was rather disrupting. The second issue (which is not the author’s fault, but probably due to it being an un-proofed digital ARC) was that in numerous places the paragraph spacing was off, which again disrupted the flow of reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC of this novel. My opinions are my own.

I could not stop reading. What proposes to be a light romance ends up being a book of realistic fiction. The characters keep the story moving quickly, so quickly that there is no real stopping place...just keep reading. The protagonist starts a book club...this starts the intermingling of the main characters who become quick friends...romance and friendship...careers...divorce...children...hope and wishful thinking...love...the recipe for a fun book. Although there are a few tear jerker moments, relating to adult children, the story is a light fun read. Who does not like reading about a book club? Book club "books" are some of my favorites, and this talented author does not disappoint. Curl up in a comfy chair. Grab a warm, cozy blanket. Enjoy a cup of steaming herbal tea with a delicious scone...be whisked away for an afternoon with THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB...thanks Netgalley.