This was my first Brenda Novak book and I absolutely loved it. The title of the book is a bit misleading, as it's not so much about banned books as it is about two sisters - Gia and Margot. Gia returns home to a town she left almost 20 years ago because of a SA by her teacher. Margot is dealing with an abusive husband (every way but physical). While Gia was the main focus of the book, I found myself really drawn to Margot's story. I couldn't put this book down and finished it in 3 hours. The way the book ended, gave me hope that maybe a book for Margot could be on the way. I'll be keeping an eye out for it, and will most definitely be reading more books by Ms. Novak.

Gia’s life was changed forever by her teacher and she left her hometown to escape the stares and whispers. But when her mother is dying, Gia must return to help her sister who is also in trouble too. The author tells a realistic story of what happens after and how secrets can destroy a family.

I was lured by the title of this book but drawn in by the writing and the nearly instant connection to the characters. The multiple points of view are enjoyable to read as the reader gets a glimpse into the characters thoughts. The author changes the POV well chapter by chapter.
I found this book fairly predictable throughout-that is, until the ending. Novak does well with resolving the issues and problems in an appropriate and satisfying way for the reader.
This book is a quick and enjoyable read.

Gia returns to her hometown when he mother is dying, a place she has avoided since accusing her high school English test if molesting her. The trial splits the small town and her return 17 years later shows this is still very current in the town's thoughts. But Cormac, his son, begins to see that what he believes as truth might not be. An interesting read, but themes of mental abuse and molestation are central and many not be for all readers.

This was an easy book to read. It was enjoyable and emotional. A lot happens in this book, which makes the ending feel rushed. I felt the ending was presented in a pretty bow quickly. Other than the ending, it was a good book that should have been longer, with the ending more thought out.

A bit of a mystery, who’s telling the truth; and a bit of romance. Multi-layered plot, righting wrongs, and healing. Realistic characters and domestic setting. I liked the characters, especially the direct and feisty Gia, and Cormac was such a stand up guy. Part mystery (who’s telling the truth) and bit of romance. Highly recommend.

I could have sworn I posted this review months ago, but I’m not seeing it anywhere. Somehow, I can’t even find my lovely, flowing, original document. These were my notes from the time- arranged in a semi-coherent manner. My apologies for the lateness.

Three stars at current, with a few fixes, it could easily jump to a four star review.

Formatting difficult, medium typos, but one glaring editing flaw (Hart/Evans)
The story was good, but challenged by pacing issues
After reading the whole book, I’m going to assume that TBBC is the first of an upcoming series. While others have noted the title is misleading, I’m of the belief that it is a working title based on the basis of this series.
Book Club was not as prevalent as I would have expected
Too many characters appear and fall off later in the story- Sammie and Ruth, Louisa and Edith, etc.
The epilogue is what really pushed this idea, with a hint of Margot’s story coming soon.
More of a Women’s Fiction than a romance novel- which I enjoyed. There is certainly some romance, but the more compelling storylines give credence to being a WF.
Would consider sharing with the ladies at the library, if- and only if- it had better editing.

I received a copy of The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak via Netgalley in exchange for an honest, yet very overdue review.
I could have sworn I posted this review months ago, but I’m not seeing it anywhere. Somehow, I can’t even find my lovely, flowing, original document. These were my notes from the time- arranged in a semi-coherent manner. My apologies for the lateness.

Three stars at current, with a few fixes, it could easily jump to a four star review.

Formatting difficult, medium typos, but one glaring editing flaw (Hart/Evans)
The story was good, but challenged by pacing issues
After reading the whole book, I’m going to assume that TBBC is the first of an upcoming series. While others have noted the title is misleading, I’m of the belief that it is a working title based on the basis of this series.
Book Club was not as prevalent as I would have expected
Too many characters appear and fall off later in the story- Sammie and Ruth, Louisa and Edith, etc.
The epilogue is what really pushed this idea, with a hint of Margot’s story coming soon.
More of a Women’s Fiction than a romance novel- which I enjoyed. There is certainly some romance, but the more compelling storylines give credence to being a WF.
Would consider sharing with the ladies at the library, if- and only if- it had better editing.

I received a copy of The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak via Netgalley in exchange for an honest, yet very overdue review.

Thank you NetGalleyfor sharing this ARCwith me. Well to start off thisbookwasnotwhat I expected but I really liked it. It had some sad things, l po beans some down- right frightening thi gs. The characters were real and believable. So mucheasgoing on in this book I really recommend it

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
The title of this book grabbed my attention, but really the title is more of an aside in the book than the heart of the book which covers abusive controlling relationships and power differentials in teacher-student relationships. I appreciate the author tackling some topics that shouldn't be controversial, but seem to be at times. I really had a hard time putting this book down. I wanted to find out what happened to the characters. I also appreciated that some of the characters were able to admit when they had been wrong and made mistakes in the past.

OK, first of all what I liked: I appreciated the characters and their depth, including the villains—with a few exceptions most of the characters were very multifaceted. The story itself was super engaging and a real page-turner.

What I didn’t like: some parts seemed underdeveloped and rushed, particularly transitions in relationships. Also, unless I was missing some deeper nuances, it seemed a missed opportunity to pull in the themes of some of the banned books into the storyline.

Overall, I really liked the story—it was intriguing. I just wish some parts of it were fleshed out more. And that there was more of a point to the banned books component of the story other than to illustrate the main female character’s strength and personality.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and MIRA for the opportunity to review this ARC. I was given this ARC free of charge, but the review opinions I express here are my own.

⏰ I read it in a few days
🌶️intimate but not over the top
🏷️ trigger warning: sexual assault, victim shaming
#ContemporaryRomance
#SmallTownRomance
#LateBloomersLove
#AFreshChanceAtLove
#NetGalley
#bookstagram
#MIRApublishing

When I saw the cover I thought it would be those book club girlies getting together at a local coffee shop when i started reading I was not prepared what Brenda Novak had prepared Gia molested by her English teacher and the hometown against her due to the fact Gia left town after graduation high school . Margot having the prefect life turning out that her husband is abusive and controlling person and the fear of her losing her kids because of his connection in the society. Their mother is battling with cancer Margot asks Gia to come home and help her with the care of her mother and Gia feels the stares of the local when arriving. Margot finally has the courage to leave her husband forever.

Favorite Quote

Living in such a warm, gorgeous place, with so much to do and see, was the perfect antidote to the miserable years she'd spent trying to make Sheldon happy and losing her own happiness in the process. "I'm me again," she said to herself in the mirror. She was scared she'd live to regret what she'd done, was afraid she wouldn't be able to provide a life as good."

Thank you NetGalley for the advance reading

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
This was the first book I have read by Brenda Novak writes and I cant wait to read more! The first chapter went a little slow for me, and I put it down. After reading a little more, I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I would be up reading until two in the morning, without realizing! I loved the characters, especially Gia and Cormac. After a scandal Gia’s senior year in high school she moves away for college. When her mother is diagnosed with cancer, her sister begs her to come home to help care for her, She returns to the small town she left years ago, with the same rude and gossipy people. The town vet is the most forgiving. I love the constant banter between Gia and her violent brother in law. I highly recommend this book. I wish it would have gone on to see how Gia and her sisters futures play out. Can't wait to read another book by Brenda Novak.

The Banned Books Club by Brenda Novak is an achingly beautiful, but extremely sad and lovely and the same time, realistic story of a woman who was molested as a young girl by her favorite English teacher.
When she came forward, he was convicted but the people in the small town did not believe her. She went to college and never came back.

Nevertheless his life and that of his family, tainted by the episode, was never the same. He was fired from his teaching position and took and lost a number of menial jobs and turned to alcohol. His wife divorced him.

Now, 17 years later, the girl, now a woman, Gia, comes back from her job running a wilderness adventure company in Coeur D’Alene Idaho because her mother is dying from cancer. Her sister Margot wants Gia to help take care of their mother Ida and help their father Leo.

The situation is complicated by the fact that Margot takes her two young sons and runs away from her horrible and verbally abusive husband Sheldon without telling anyone where she has gone. She has drained their joint checking and savings accounts so has plenty of money to get started somewhere else.

While home Gia restarts the Banned Books Club she used to run.

The town reacts by spreading rumors about Gia and the teacher’s son Cormac who now lives next door to her and decides she was telling the truth and his upset family and Dad.

Also Margot’s husband Sheldon threatens Gia who won’t tell him where Margot is although she really doesn’t know.

And Gia surprisingly begins to get involved romantically with Cormac.

What will happen next will surprise you. Read this incredible story to find out.

Yes, the new Brenda Novak book!!!! And it’s a book about books! As I expected, it was fabulous! Pick this one up!

Let’s jump into this by saying the the title of this book is so VERY misleading. Despite it having an actual ‘banned book club’, it’s not the focus of the story. My guess is that the themes in the story are supposed to make it eligible to be banned ? I’m not too sure, that’s just my take.
The plot itself was really good and for the most part, I really enjoyed it! The characters are well written (although some are downright insufferable), I found myself rooting for the two main sisters and wanting to protect them.
Here’s where I had the issues. Within a single chapter, it jumps multiple POV’s with no clear distinction of whose viewpoint we’re reading. I’m talking between one paragraph to the next it changing who’s viewpoint we’re getting. It made for an awkward read sometimes and for people who aren’t used to reading a book with multiple POV’s, this book might be too confusing. If the author just threw in the name of whose viewpoint we were getting before it changed, everything else can stay the same style wise.
Spoiler time ‼️ If you don’t want spoilers, don’t read past this ‼️

When the main character was 17, she was SA’d by her English teacher which is one of the main focal points of the story. She’s now 35? And has pretty much healed and moved past that time of her life which is great. My issue is mainly with the fact that she proceeds to sleep and get together with the English teachers son???? I don’t know, that just doesn’t sit right with me at all. I was disturbed a bit by that, I could never get with my assaulters family but that’s just me.

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Another great story from Brenda Novak. I thought the book would be more about banned books given the title, but she surprised me by addressing sexual harrassment/violence and how it has a ripple effect for all of the people around the accused and the accuser. This story has strong emotions in it, however in the end, forgiveness and empathy are the two that come out on top. I highly recommend this read as it kept my interest from beginning to end.

This book was not at all what I expected. I expected it to focus on a banned book club which given the situation with banned books currently in this country would have been very timely. However, the banned book club was such a minor portion of this story. But the rest of the storyline was unexpected and enjoyable. From the way the story started, and I don't want to give it away, I was definitely not expecting the romance pairing! Brenda Novak did a great job of handling issues of abuse, both mental and physical and showing the repercussions for all involved. And how the damage extends beyond the victim.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!

What a great romcom!! I enjoyed this book so much. A first for me by this author but will not be my last! Wow!! So good!! I loved the characters and they worked so well together.

I only read the first five pages, because in the first few pages, there was domestic violence / abuse in the book. There was no trigger warning!! I was hoping to read a fun, casual book before bed, and I did not want to read about domestic violence. I am a domestic violence survivor and a therapist, working with domestic violence survivors, so I want to be mentally prepared and purposely choose when I read about this. One in three people have experienced abuse in a relationship! Trigger warnings are essential!!
I don't know how to give this an accurate star rating since I chose not to continue reading it, so I will choose three since it is in the middle.

I thought the first couple chapters where slow, it was hard to get started reading, but once I got in a flow, I couldn’t put the book down. I was anxious to finish it, and could not put it down. Brenda Novak has another winner.