Review & Giveaway: The Seaside Library by Brenda Novak

The Seaside Library by Brenda Novak

Publication Date: April 11th 2023 by MIRA

Pages: 400

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Mariners Island is an idyllic summer retreat like Nantucket. Three best friends, Ivy, Ariana, and Cam are year-rounders, staying when the summer crowd goes home. Their lives change at sixteen when a twelve-year-old girl goes missing and Cam is supposedly the last person seen with her. When it’s apparent Cam will be the prime suspect Ivy and Ariana lie to give him an alibi because they’re sure he couldn’t have done anything to hurt this girl. Twenty years they’ve stuck by their story, Ariana leaving for college soon after, staying away for the most part. Now the girl’s remains have been discovered and Ivy and Ariana question if they did the right thing.

From the cover, The Seaside Library looks like a breezy beach read, but it’s more of a serious story. It’s a cold case mystery, a story of friendship and of unrequited love.

Ariana has loved Cam since they were teenagers, but he skipped from girl to girl and never gave any sign that he was interested in her. Granted Ariana never let Cam or even Ivy know that she loved him, but part of the reason she’s stayed away is because she felt too much for him, and those feelings just come rushing back the moment they connect again.

The other reason was the guilt she felt from lying to the police and everyone else about the true timeline of the night the girl went missing. Ivy has also struggled with her decision, but they felt Cam would’ve been unjustly accused and railroaded into a conviction if they didn’t give him an alibi.

Slowly the truth of that night comes out, what actually happened. There were some twists I guessed, others I didn’t. I wanted all three to find happiness. I wanted the truth to come out so they could all move on from the events of that night and justice for the little girl.

The Seaside Library grabbed my attention from the first page, and I didn’t want to stop reading! I needed to know how it all turned out, so I ended up reading it in one sitting!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

There are secrets that bring friends together, and others that drive them apart…

Mariners Island is barely ten miles long, but when Ivy, Ariana and Cam were teenagers, it was their whole world. Beyond the pristine beaches and iconic lighthouse lies the beautiful old library that belongs to Ivy’s family. While that bound Ivy to the island as an adult, Ariana could not leave Mariners behind fast enough. The town holds too many… memories . Not only her unrequited feelings for Cam, but the tragedy that left a scar on the community.

When a young girl went missing, a teenage Cam was unthinkably the prime suspect. Ariana and Ivy knew he couldn’t have hurt anyone, and they promised to protect him—even if it meant lying on his behalf.

Now, twenty years later, Ariana returns to Mariners just as new evidence emerges on the case, calling into question everything the three friends thought they knew—and everyone they thought they could trust. What really happened that night? Over the course of one eventful summer, Ariana, Ivy and Cam will learn the truth—about their pasts, their futures and the ties that still bind them as closely as the pages of a book…

 

A couple of weeks back I was able to attend the launch party for Brenda Novak's newest: The Seaside Library and I bought a paperback copy of The Seaside Library signed by the author to give away to one reader. The giveaway is open to US Residents only. Fill out the out the rafflecopter for a chance to win! Good luck!

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