I loved this so much! My only complaint would be that I feel like the title is misleading. It didn't really feel like it fit what the story was actually about- and I think Novak could have delved more into that aspect of things or picked a different title. I had all the feels for the two sisters and their situations. This book handled both the spousal abuse and sexual abuse well.

Gia left home almost 2 decades ago to get away from the people in her town who blamed her for ruining the life of everyone's favorite teacher. But now that her mom is dying, her sister Margot, who stayed behind, is begging for Gia to come help and give her a break. Among the things Gia doesn't know is that Margot is planning on running away from her controlling, emotionally abusive husband.

I'll be honest. I think the title was really misleading for what the book wound up being. I understand some of the reasoning, but having the book named after the book club Gia started in high school, and then barely talking about the club, not having them DISCUSS more than 2 banned books at any length, and not seeing or meeting any of the members past the two best friends and the eventual love interest was disappointing.

TRIGGERS ABOUND in this book. There's Gia's molestation CONSTANTLY discussed, a spouse getting aggressive, running away, so much gaslighting, and a few other things. Be careful with yourself.

This really becomes a book about how abused people should flee abusers, and how people who get abused don't get believed. I'm glad Gia and Margot dealt with their abuse and their abusers, but Gia really comes off saintly by the end of it all, with all the crap she takes from the townsfolk. And the police are so effing ineffectual, it's astounding. I get that small towns are often like that. It's just...

I did NOT anticipate the storylines I got from a book called The Banned Book Club. This is not about a book club. At all.

This is my first Brenda Novak book, but I'm not really all that impressed.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

3 stars.

Firstly, it's important to note that this book has very little to do with "banned books" and the book club doesn't meet as often as the title would lead you to believe. It was also full of family drama and structured with multiple POVs, which I'm not a fan of unless it's part of a fantasy/sci-fi book or a book with a much more complicated and/or epic scope. Essentially, I find multi-POV a strange choice for a contemporary story centering family drama, some mystery, and some romance. I found that it took me out of the story and that it wasn't always easy to distinguish voices between characters, which would have been less confusing if the character names were telegraphed at the beginning of each POV switch. I also REALLY REALLY did not expect this to be an exploration of a 17-year-old's trauma (particularly SA). And I REALLY did not like the path that her healing took, in terms of who she decided to get with (I won't say more for fear of spoiling the plot).

That being said, this book did have its enjoyable moments, particularly in the dynamics between family members, but overall these aspects of the book weren't strong enough to overshadow my issues with the story and its execution. This one wasn't for me, unfortunately!

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, & MIRA for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Someone picking up this book expecting to read about banned books will be disappointed as that is not a central theme of this novel. What Brenda Novak does deliver with THE BANNED BOOKS CLUB is a tightly woven narrative of two sisters; each fighting to reclaim her life.

Gia Rossi left town a decade ago after a scandal that divided her small town. She’s back to spend time with and care for her dying mother, but that puts her back in close proximity with people who want nothing more than for her to stay gone. Margot is a young mother of two living under the thumb of an emotionally abusive husband. She knows running away is the only option she has to free herself and her children from his abuse before he becomes dangerous.

I was engrossed in this story from the beginning. Ms. Novak writes sympathetic female characters. I appreciated the redemption arc and wanted to see justice served to the male characters who used position and power for their own benefit. There was a romance component, but it took a backseat to the overriding theme of the courage displayed by Gia and Margot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

I have to jump on the bandwagon and say that the title of this book is extremely misleading. The book club and its members are not a large part of the story. It felt very much like the title was used as a way to just draw in the BookTok/Bookstagram girls and it obviously worked. But then the stoey was anything but book club content.
There are two main storylines in the novel. One is about Gia, a woman coming home to help care for her dying mother while facing her teacher whom she accused of sexual misconduct . The other storyline is about Gia’s younger sister Margot, who is trying to escape an abusive marriage. The two stories overlap in chapters which can make it hard to keep up with.
Overall this was just an okay read to me. It felt like perhaps the author would have benefited from choosing one story and sticking with it, and perhaps adding more book club content.
I received a ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.

A scandal involving sexual misconduct and a teacher drove and kept Gia away from her hometown, friends, and family for years, but her mother’s illness and her sister’s persistence brings her reluctantly back. A few members of her Banned Books Club are all the ties Gia has maintained outside her immediate family. But with her return, Gia is forced to face the things she’s avoided and realizes her sister is hiding secrets of her own.

I was not a fan of the stiff dialogue and writing style in this book. I gave it a few chapters to see if it became more natural, and then decided to DNF.

I expected the Banned Books theme or the Bookclub itself to be a more central part of the book, but the title appears to be a bit misleading as it’s more of a loose tie of characters from what I could tell, though as I DNF’d it may take on a more integral role later in the book.

Trigger warnings: SA, DV, emotional abuse

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was much heavier than I expected! The emphasis was less on the banned books and more on the group that was brought together with those books. I really enjoyed how the characters interacted and how they found their voices in different ways.

I was very thrilled to get a netgalley ecopy of this book. It was all over instagram and i was really hoping for a physical copy but this was great. This book was a story of family and how they function. And as expected - there is some romance. Gia must return to her homeown to help her sister care for her sick mother. Gia left home and never wanted to look back but she can't abandon her mother and it is time to reconcile with her sisiter. But her old trouble just seem to follow her. I always like Brenda Novak books and this one was good.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Gia and Cormac. They have known each other each other for all their lives. Something happened to Gia when she was a teenager and it involved Cormac’s father. They went to college and started their lives. Gia’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and not expected to live long. Gia’s sister ask her to come home and help with her mother. She comes home but her sister disappeared with her children. Gia and Cormac start getting to know each other. They each have issues but together they work them out and fall in love.

I really enjoyed this book. Very lovely story and cute characters.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my copy

The title of this book is misleading. Yes, there is a banned book club however, it has very little to do with the story. I found that to be disappointing.

There are two main storylines in the novel. One is about Gia, a woman coming home to help care for her dying mother while facing her childhood trauma and the stigma the town has against her. The other storyline is about Gia’s younger sister Margot, who is trying to escape an abusive marriage. The format of the book has the stories overlap within the same chapters, without smooth transitions. This made it more difficult to follow.

The writing style for this book made it read like a middle grade novel- even though the topics addressed were very much adult issues. It was choppy without the character and plot development that could have made it so much more. The ideas were good and I liked the overall stories, but I found myself skimming through instead of becoming immersed into the book. It was disappointing.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an eARC of #TheBannedBooksClub in exchange for an honest review. -2.5 stars rounded up

A story about forgiveness, family, friendship, and finding love where it's least expected -- The Banned Books Club has a bit of everything you might want. Novak delivers once again!

I thoroughly enjoyed this women's fiction novel featuring family drama concerning two sisters, both facing changes in their lives. It's not so much about banned books, although the club is a way of introducing many of the friends and secondary characters. Recommended.

First, this did keep my interest. Anyone looking for an engaging read with some mystery, some tension, far from daily reality, may enjoy this. However, please note that this book has almost nothing to do with books, despite the title. It’s a crime-adjacent family saga, with a bit of (disappointing) romance. That said, it Thank you, NetGalley, for the arc.

I love that this came out just prior to Banned Book week. It was a good conversation starter for my high school seniors. The book was beautifully written and I really enjoyed all the characters!!

A digital copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Parts of this book really kept me engaged. I couldn't put the book down at the beginning when I was trying to figure out if Mr. Hart or Gia was telling the truth. It was also interesting to see how everyone acted when the truth came out. But honestly, this felt like it should have been three different books: One about what happened with Gia and Mr. Hart, one about Margot and Sheldon, and one about the book club. And honestly, there wasn't enough detail about the book club for it to have its own book, which seriously makes me question the title. Barely anything was said about the Banned Book Club. There were no flashbacks to when Mia was in high school, showing her and Mr. Hart's interactions when it was being created. There were also about two lines about the two actual club meetings that took place before some sort of drama happened. The title definitely made me think the book club would be a bigger part of the story, which was disappointing. And as for the other two story lines, there was very little crossover. It felt like it would have been much better if they were each their own stories. I enjoyed each of the plots, but not together. I also felt the book has a lot of internal dialogue and not enough description. It definitely made it an easy read, but without a lot of detail, it lacked some substance I wanted.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed parts of this book, but don't think all of the plots worked together as intended.

Brenda Novak is an auto-read author for me, and this book was another excellent story. Gia Rossi loved to read and when she was just a teenager, she started "The Banned Books Club" where she and her friends would read and discuss books that had been banned over the years for various reasons. She loved English and admired her teacher, Mr. Hart. When he became predatory towards her, she told the principal in order to get out of his class. He was charged and convicted, lost his job and his wife. Many people in town did not believe Gia, so she moved away for college and never returned, until now. Her sister called to tell her that her mother's cancer was advanced and that Gia needed to come home and see her, as well as help with her care in her last days. Gia agrees with trepidation. Meanwhile, what she doesn't know is that Margot is planning to leave her husband when Gia gets there. What will Gia's reception in town be? What is going to happen to Margot? Will the Banned Books Club get together while she is there?

There was a lot happening in this book, yet it is all realistic. My heart broke for the seventeen year old Gia and what happened to her. She is a strong woman, one who stood up for herself and did what was right. Mr. Hart, on the other hand, is a lying you know what. I can't believe he stayed in town. His children also made Gia's life terrible, but they believe their father. The storylines of spousal abuse (verbal), fear, family, friendship, moving one, selfishness/narcissism, dying family members and more were all well presented and tied together so well. There is a romance, but boy is that a sticky situation that must be kept secret for various reasons, but I did like the way it turned out. When the author adds some suspense near the end, it brought this book up to 5 stars easily. This is a story that grabbed me from the start and didn't let go until a satisfying conclusion.

While the title leads readers to assume this is a story about a banned books club, the story really centers itself around one extended family's drama, growth, and romances. Gia returns to her hometown after a scandal digs up some complex relationships and past traumas involving her family. The characters are well-written and the story is told through multiple perspectives, which is a storytelling device I enjoy. Some of the content is serious but it's handled with care and sincerity.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I honestly expected a story about a book club and got so much more. The story revolves around Gia and all the relationships she has to navigate when she returns to her hometown to help with her sick mother. It was a very engaging read as I couldn’t put the book down once I stated.

I enjoyed The Banned Books Club, though the title is slightly misleading. It's less about banned books and more about how Gia's past haunts her when she returns home after being away for years. The club she started in high school is still going, but the real focus is on the emotional journey she goes through with her family and the fallout from the accusations she made against her former teacher.

The story hooked me, especially as it dove into the dynamics between Gia’s family and the unresolved trauma from her past. Margot’s side of the story had me worried for her the whole time, and I kept wondering how everything would be resolved, especially with her controlling husband. The romance was a bit messy, but that’s what made it feel more real.

There were a lot of emotional and suspenseful moments that had me on edge, but I flew through this book in a day! It kept me engaged, though I would have loved more closure on some storylines, especially between Margot and Max, or Gia and Cormac. Overall, this was a gripping read, with plenty of heart and drama. 3.5/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA, and Brenda Novak for the ARC!