Welcome to Brenda Novak’s Book Group
Est. 2016
Welcome to my online book group (you can follow along here or for more of a community, join us on Facebook and/or Instagram. Each month, I feature a fabulous book that we read as a group. Then we discuss it with the author on the last Thursday of the month via a Facebook and Instagram live video at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET. If I have a new release, my book is our featured read.
If you want a signed copy of each of the books we feature, subscribe to the Brenda Novak Book Boxes or buy a box here and there as they appeal to you. The book boxes are merely a fun option; they’re not required to participate.
FEB 27 @ 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/brendanovaksbookgroup/
or on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/brendanovaksbookgroup/
2025 Reading Challenge Card and Bookmark
The book group reads coincide with the challenge reads! Get a printed challenge card and matching bookmark featuring our monthly reads and book group meeting dates for just $5, or download one for free to help you follow along.
When you’ve finished the monthly read, record the fact that you read it on my website by the 15th of the following month for a chance to win a $100 gift card to The Brenda Novak Store:
Free Reads
If you just joined, the following information will bring you up to speed very quickly. And just to welcome you to the group, I’m offering you three FREE stories you can download from right here:
FINDING OUR FOREVER is the first book in my open-ended contemporary romance series Silver Springs. These books are set in a picturesque small town (fictional) in Southern California which has been modeled very loosely on Ojai—a place where even the hardest hearts can learn to love again.
WHEN WE TOUCH is the first book in my Whiskey Creek Series. Although this is a contemporary series, it’s set in a “gold country” town similar to those near Sacramento, CA where gold was discovered in January of 1848. These books can be read as stand alone novels, but for maximum enjoyment, it’s always better to read them in order.
BLOOD IN, BLOOD OUT — A Bulletproof Short Story (Bulletproof Book 1.5), was first published in Love is Murder, an anthology of short stories edited by NYT bestselling author Sandra Brown in 2012. Note: This story places between book one (Inside) and book two (In Seconds) of the Bulletproof trilogy.
FINDING OUR FOREVER is the first book in my open-ended contemporary romance series Silver Springs. These books are set in a picturesque small town (fictional) in Southern California which has been modeled very loosely on Ojai—a place where even the hardest hearts can learn to love again.
WHEN WE TOUCH is the first book in my Whiskey Creek Series. Although this is a contemporary series, it’s set in a “gold country” town similar to those near Sacramento, CA where gold was discovered in January of 1848. These books can be read as stand alone novels, but for maximum enjoyment, it’s always better to read them in order.
BLOOD IN, BLOOD OUT — A Bulletproof Short Story (Bulletproof Book 1.5), was first published in Love is Murder, an anthology of short stories edited by NYT bestselling author Sandra Brown in 2012. Note: This story places between book one (Inside) and book two (In Seconds) of the Bulletproof trilogy.
2025 Book Group Schedule
January 2025
EDDIE WINSTON IS LOOKING FOR LOVE by Marianne Cronin
Meeting: Thursday, JAN 30 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
February 2025
LAST TWILIGHT IN PARIS by Pam Jenoff
Meeting: Thursday, FEB 27 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
March 2025
THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND by Patti Callahan Henry
Meeting: Thursday, MAR 27 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
April 2025
THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MIRA by Sonali Dev
Meeting: Thursday, APR 24 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
May 2025
THE PAGE TURNER by Violet Shipman
Meeting: Thursday, MAY 29 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
June 2025
THE SUMMER THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING by Brenda Novak
Meeting: Thursday, JUN 26 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
July 2025
THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN by Marie Bostwick
Meeting: Thursday, JUL at 31 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
August 2025
A SUMMER FOR THE BOOKS by Michelle Lindo-Rice
Meeting: Thursday, AUG 28 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
September 2025
THE STOLEN LIFE OF COLETTE MARCEAU by Kristin Harmel
Meeting: Thursday, SEP 25 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
October 2025
OUT OF THE WOODS by Gregg Olsen
Meeting: Thursday, OCT 30 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
November 2025
THE LADY ON ESPLANADE by Karen White
Meeting: Thursday, NOV 20 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
December 2025
A MERRY LITTLE LIE by Sarah Morgan
Meeting: Thursday, DEC 11 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
Book Group Meetings
We have an online meeting on Facebook and Instagram on the last Thursday of every month (except for November and December; due to the holidays, those meetings are earlier in the month) in which we discuss our featured book with the author. It will be a live video on Facebook and Instagram at the same time every month (5:00 p.m. Pacific Time/6:00 p.m. Mountain Time/7:00 Central Time 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time).
Want to submit a question for the author or come on one of the lives to ask your question? Watch for the post where we ask you to submit your questions and/or offer this opportunity!
Brenda Novak Book Boxes
These are monthly book boxes I curate and ship to your home! What’s inside? The contents are different every month, but I can tell you this—they will contain an autographed copy of our featured book, typically four items (depending on the value of each item) and a surprise item that you won’t know about until you receive the box. We sell out every month, so grab yours early on The Brenda Novak Store. Or, better yet, get a subscription and automatically get one every month so you don’t miss a thing. The book boxes are merely a fun option; they’re not required to participate in the group.
The book boxes ship the first week of every month (provided we’ve received all the items we need to pack and ship them).
Want early access to see what will be inside the book boxes each month? Sign up for my newsletter and be sure to click where it asks if you’d like to subscribe to the book box newsletter, as well.
Annual Online Christmas Party
In December I throw a huge Online Christmas Party (which doubles as our December Book Group Meeting) every holiday season. This year, it’ll be on Thursday, December 11th. I give away FIFTY presents via raffle tickets that go in December’s Brenda Novak Book Boxes and in our Christmas Party Packages! There are also giveaways for live viewers, games, recipes and other fun stuff!
Game Night
Watch for a game (if we have one) on Tuesday nights. The first Tuesday of the month is always Bingo! Get your FREE Bingo card by emailing store@brendanovak.com or get a Bingo Kit that includes a laminated BN Bingo card, markers, pens and a bag signed by Bingo Ted shipped to you.
BN Book Buddies Program
If you sign up for this program, you’ll be assigned a book group member to be your book buddy for four months. This is a great way to get to know other members of the group, especially because we try to pair people by state so they have some chance of meeting in person (if they want to). You’ll simply connect through Messenger to share your love of reading, discuss the featured book we’re reading, remind each other of book group meetings/other book group events, keep each other accountable for reading goals, make book recommendations, etc. Sign up here:
Book Group Merch
We have mugs, shirts, sweatshirts and more! Check out all the darling merch options on The Brenda Novak Store.
Brenda Novak 50+ Books Award
Anyone who has read more than fifty of my books (no matter how long it has taken) will receive this lovely, crystal, commemorative pin. In order to receive your pin, download this list of my titles, mark off the books you’ve read and scan/take pictures of the list and email it to news@brendanovak.com. (If you’d like to snail mail it instead, you can send it to: Brenda Novak, P.O. Box 3781, Citrus Heights, CA 95611).
Autographed Copies
I write contemporary romance—like my Whiskey Creek Series and Silver Springs Series. I also write Women’s Fiction—like THE BANNED BOOKS CLUB, TOURIST SEASON, etc. and romantic Suspense—like my Evelyn Talbot Series and Last Stand Series. I’ve done less historicals, but I do them, too. My very first book—OF NOBLE BIRTH—was a historical romance. If you enjoy my work and would like to start collecting autographed copies, I have some of my backlist available in print on The Brenda Novak Store.
Brenda Novak’s Bookstream
I renovated a vintage Airstream into a traveling bookstore and pulled it around the US for two months when THE SEASIDE LIBRARY came out in 2023. I only have one release this year—THE SUMMER THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING—which will come out on June 3rd. I might take it on the road again—or just do periodic events with it in Sacramento. So if you’re local, watch for the announcements about those events!
2025 Reading Challenge
The book group reads coincide with the challenge reads!
To have a chance at winning the monthly giveaway (a $100 gift card to The Brenda Novak Store—you have to record that you finished our monthly read by the 15th of the following month.
To be entered into the GRAND PRIZE (a dedication in one of my upcoming novels)—you can start that year’s reads at any time, but you have to complete them all by January 15, 2026.
Get a printed challenge card and matching bookmark featuring our monthly reads and book group meeting dates for just $5, or download one for free to help you follow along.
