Two different generations. Two unusual people. Thrown together to save their local library.

Tom is a teenager and blends into the background of life. After a row with his dad, and facing an unhappy future at the dog food factory, he escapes to the library. Tom unwittingly ends up with a bagful of romance novels and comes under the suspicion of Maggie.

Maggie is a pensioner and has been happily alone for ten years, at least that’s what she tells herself. When Tom comes to her rescue a friendship develops that could change her life. As Maggie helps Tom to stand up for himself, Tom helps Maggie realise the mistakes of her past don’t have to define her future.

They each set out to prove that the library isn’t just about books – it’s the heart of their community.

Together they discover some things are worth fighting for.

An Absolute Delight to Read!

An absolutely superb read – touching, tender and so very true-to-life!

Tom is a bit of a loner; it’s just him and his Dad and they struggle through week to week. The height of his father’s ambitions for his is to secure a job in the dog food factory but Tom has other ideas. Seeking sanctuary in the library after a row over his future, Tom ends up with a bag of romance books which piques the interest of Maggie, there for her weekly book club meeting. Maggie keeps busy and tries not to class herself as lonely. When Tom comes to her rescue, an unlikely friendship begins.

This is a truly lovely tale, but there is more than a bit of truth between the pages. Tom’s life is more common than we would like to think and Maggie – like a lot of the elderly – hides her loneliness as she doesn’t want to be seen as a burden. The tentative relationship between these two is a joy to behold; both have something to give in return to what they take from their closeness. It’s not all plain sailing though, and Bella Osborne has wonderful insights into both ends of the age spectrum and everything inbetween. With a hint of social commentary, this is a beautifully written and very enjoyable novel – and one I enjoyed very much. An absolute delight to read and one I’m happy to highly recommend and give all five sparkling stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

Tags: women’s fiction

• Format: ebook, paperback, audiobook
• Size: 271 pages
• Publisher: Aria
• Publication Date: 02 September 2021
• Book Links:
• https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57684794
• https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Bella_Osborne_The_Library?id=6lAHEAAAQBAJ
• https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-library-bella-osborne/1139158222
• https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-library-9781801100489/9781801100489
• https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/fiction-poetry/the-library,bella-osborne-9781801100489
• https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-library-of-lost-souls-1
• https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/the-library-of-lost-souls/bella-osborne/paperback/9781801100489.html
• https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-library/bella-osborne/978180110048
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Library-Bella-Osborne-ebook/dp/B08MV6XWMW

Author Details

I’ve been jotting down my stories for as far back as I can remember… well that’s not exactly true. I remember writing a story when I was about nine and I was in Mrs Hurran’s class. The story was about a thief who stole the crown jewels but then didn’t know what to do with them. It went on for pages and pages, in my spiders dance handwriting, so my teacher typed it up and pinned it to the classroom wall. It was a proud day!

Somehow life took over, I got a sensible job and the writing remained a hobby which other people puzzled over and which I adored.

Over the years there have been dalliances into poetry, short stories and five unfinished novels. But I decided that 2013 would be the year that was going to change. I joined the Romantic Novelists Association New Writer Scheme which gave me a deadline to chase – a full length novel had to be completed and submitted  for review by 31st August. I beat the deadline by a month!

In 2014 I secured a two book contract with Harper Impulse, part of the HarperCollins Group, and my first novel ‘It Started at Sunset Cottage’ was published in ebook format on 12th February 2015 and paperback on 23rd April 2015. It went on to be shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon New Writers’ Award and the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year 2016.

​My second book ‘A Family Holiday’ was published Summer 2016 and was shortlisted for RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year 2017.

In 2016 I moved to Avon, which is also part of the wonderful HarperCollins family, to write bestsellers Escape to Willow Cottage and Coming Home to Ottercombe Bay. My books are released in four digital instalments ahead of the whole story being published a few months later. My fifth novel ‘A Walk in Wildflower Park’ was published in June 2019 and was shortlisted for the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year!

2021 will see the publication of two novels: a romantic comedy The Promise of Summer and a bookclub read The Library.

In my spare time I love to read, cook with my daughter, plan holidays and rehabilitate rescue hedgehogs.

• Website: https://www.bellaosborne.com/
• Twitter: @osborne_bella
• Facebook: @BellaOsborneAuthor
• Instagram: @bellaosborneauthor