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.
Book Group Meeting:
JAN 29 @ 5:00pm PST / 8:00pm EST
Day(s)
:
Hour(s)
:
Minute(s)
:
Second(s)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/brendanovaksbookgroup/
or on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/brendanovaksbookgroup/
2026 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.
2026 Book Group Schedule
January 2026
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY by Sarah McCoy
Meeting: Thursday, JAN 29 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
February 2026
AND THE CROWD WENT WILD
by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Meeting: Thursday, FEB 26 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
March 2026
SERVED HIM RIGHT
by Lisa Unger
Meeting: Thursday, MAR 26 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
April 2026
MEET ME IN ITALY
by Brenda Novak
Meeting: Thursday, APR 30 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
May 2026
THE LAST LADY B
by Eloisa James
Meeting: Thursday, MAY 28 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
June 2026
THE SHIPPERS
by Katherine Center
Meeting: Thursday, JUN 25 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
July 2026
THE BOOK TOUR
by Emily Ohanjanians
Meeting: Thursday, JUL 30 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
August 2026
THE ONE WHO WALKED AWAY
by Karen Rose
Meeting: Thursday, AUG 27 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
September 2026
MOTHER DAUGHTER
SISTER STRANGER
by Hank Philippi Ryan
Meeting: Thursday, SEP 24 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
October 2026
A HARD LUCK CHRISTMAS
by Brenda Novak
Meeting: Thursday, OCT 29 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
November 2026
THE DUKE & I by Julia Quinn
Meeting: Thursday, NOV 19 at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET
December 2026
A DATE WITH SANTA
by Debbie Macomber
Meeting: Thursday, DEC 10 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. In 2026, it’ll be on Thursday, December 10th. 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 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!
2026 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 earn your FREE 2026 reading challenge enamel pin—you can start at any time and earn your pin while supplies last. You can even earn past pins (we’ve been doing them since 2020).
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, 2027.
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.
