A Beleza dos Dias Simples

by Amy Matthews

Zoe Copeland e a filha adolescente, Florence, precisam de um recomeço. Sem meios para grandes voos, a jovem mãe arrisca tudo ao adquirir uma velha casa no Maine para restaurar, um autêntico diamante em bruto, cujo potencial está soterrado por décadas de camadas de lixo.
Enquanto Florence se apaixona de imediato pelo novo lar repleto de memórias alheias, Zoe sente-se intimidada face à quantidade absurda de tralha que ali encontra. Para piorar a situação, Jake, um vizinho mal-humorado, trata-a como se fosse louca por querer aquele pardieiro – embora a ajude tantas vezes que começa a parecer-lhe impossível viver sem ele.
À medida que as obras avançam e os segredos da antiga proprietária vêm à tona, a nova dona da casa não consegue evitar comparar a sua história à dela, perguntando-se até que ponto pode alguém construir um futuro sólido quando sente a ameaça do passado sempre à espreita.
Com o coração em jogo, conseguirá Zoe reconstruir a sua vida e, enfim, render-se ao amor?

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Autumn, Contemporary, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Book Club

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2026

Reviews

[Karren Sandercock]

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Zoe Copeland is a single mum of Florence, they live in a one bedroom apartment and she wants the security of owning their own home. Via research she has come up of a way of achieving her dream, buying a treasure house and she finds a cottage in a small seaside town of Oxeye, Maine. There is a catch, the house is run down, and full of junk and the gardens are over grown and gone wild.

They drive to have a look, Zoe needs to collect the key from Jake Abernathy, a grumpy man who owns the hardware store and Lobster Shack. Despite his and her misgivings Zoe buys the cottage and Florence is excited. The house is full clutch, her foster parents visit for a week, and they clear and clean enough space so she and Flo won’t catch any diseases and have somewhere to sleep.

The tale does have a dual timeline, its set in present time and back in the 1950’s when Oxeye was a popular holiday town and so was the nearby resort called Saint-Cyr and the cottage owner Marly was a teenager.

Slowly they make headway, Zoe discovers some diaries written by the elusive Marly and she tries to piece together what happened to her and how did she end up being a hoarder?

I received a copy of The Treasure House by Amy Matthews from Simon & Schuster Australia and NetGalley. The characters are wonderful and diverse, Zoe is a great mum, Flo is inquisitive eleven year old and Jake might be grumpy and he’s also a very attractive and hot single man.

A story that covers topics such as being a single parent, wanting to build a life and a home, being a foster kid, a child of an addict, inherited medical conditions, overcoming adversity, families come in many forms, taking risks and hope.

I felt so many emotions reading The Treasure House, from interest, concern (I cared what happened to the characters) and all while working out the mystery, secrets and history. I bawled my eyes out a couple of times, it was so engaging, meaningful, funny and heart-warming and I didn’t want it to end.

Five stars from me and a must read.

[Leslie Ann (lalasbookishlife)]

I couldn’t tell you the last time I stayed up to read…I’m normally in the bed by 9:30!
But I just couldn’t put this book down. It was such a sweet story. It has two timelines and I absolutely LOVED the one set in the 1950s/1960s. It takes place in Maine and is the perfect late summer/early fall or even Christmas read. It’s not a mystery, but it kept me guessing until the very end and when I made it to the last few chapters I was bawling.
Highly highly recommend! The Treasure House by Amy Matthew’s released 9/1!

[Angelie]

3.5 stars rounded up.

The Treasure House was a solid read. I enjoyed a lot about it. The two timeline storylines were both rich with complex broken people. There was depth in the characters, which I always love. The idea of a house full of treasures was fun and interesting. The romances were heartwarming for the most part. Some unexpected awkward spice for what seemed more like a cozy small-town escape.

I did find a few things a bit off-putting. The overuse of the word culch was one of them. But that's a minor annoyance. The other was how wise the pre-teen character of Flo was written. Like she carried the advice of a fifty-year-old, who had lived through some rough times, been in therapy for five years, and now provided selfless guidance to others.

Overall, I think it's a good escape read! I recommend.

[Bailey]

3.5

[Lisa Leone-campbell]

The Treasure House is truly an inspiring, charming, delightful well...treasure! An uplifting yet heartbreaking story set in a small town in Maine with beautiful scenic images of a seaside which feels so breathtaking as you read, you too want to live there. The plot involves two different families, their hardships and loves, their tragedies and accomplishments and wonderful quirky characters who are there to support.

All Zoe Copeland has ever dreamed of was owning a home of her own. Being able to have her own bedroom and one for her young daughter Flo. A single mother, like her own, she has desperately tried to right all the wrongs she has carried from her own childhood. She will not make those same mistakes with her daughter. She unfortunately was in and out of foster care until finally her own mother ended up in prison. But those buried memories sometimes resurface as she tries to lovingly parent the love of her life.

So, when a work friend mentioned she should look into treasure houses, she had no idea what those were. Come to find out it's not only a house which you can buy dirt cheap and needs a great deal of love and care, but it could actually fit into her budget.

She discovers a house in a sleepy town in Maine which overlooks the ocean and yes, is filled with what she likes to think of as treasures. Completely dilapidated, the handsome hardware store/lobster shop owner Jake tries to talk her out of the purchase, but something she sees, perhaps the over twenty ceramic cats, makes her feel like she could make this their home. So, with a very hesitant daughter in tow, she uproots them to this "fixer upper".

With the help of Jake and it seems his endless relatives, and the few full-time residents, Zoe and Flo begin to make their dream come true. But for Zoe, as she begins to look through all the "clutter" she wonders what happened to the owner she only knows as Marly. Jake seems to change the subject every time she brings up her name. Then she finds a box with old letters and begins to see the picture of a real person who loved and lost.

The treasure house holds so many secrets, but one thing is for sure, it was well-loved. But what happened?

The Treasure House is filled with warmth, mystery, life-lessons and hard choices. Most important it is packed with not only so many memories, but with so much love hopefully for generations to come.

Thank you #NetGalley #Dell #AmyMatthews #TheTreasureHouse for the advanced copy.

[Bridget]

This book took me completely by surprise! I had no expectations going into, didn’t even read the blurb, just knew that I loved the cover! So heartwarming. And Flo has got to be the wisest pre-teen I’ve ever known. It was complicated, it was messy but so so heartwarming. I cried at the end when Zoe was opening up about her past to everyone and it all came full circle. My heart melted.

[Cris]

Adorei este livro.

Não estava à espera de gostar tanto quanto gostei e acabou por ser uma das melhores surpresas dos últimos tempos.

Foi daquelas leituras que parecem um abraço quentinho. A história é extremamente aconchegante, as personagens conquistaram-me e dei por mim completamente envolvida nas suas vidas.

Gostei tanto da história como da forma como foi contada. A leitura foi viciante e só me apetecia continuar a ler mais um capítulo.

[Jaclyn]

Gilmore Girls, the prequel (changes made at the grandparent level)

[Allara (Lar)• ₊˚⊹ ✧]

4.5⭐️ 1🌶️

🚨Criminally under-hyped book alert🚨

I am blown away!! I picked this book up on a whim, stumbling across it knowing absolutely nothing about it, and I adored it. The writing was beautiful and the story had so much heart. I really didn’t want it to end, and when I finished, I sat in silence with my tissue box beside me, just absorbing all the emotions this story had brought out in me 🥹

Set in a cosy small town with the most perfect autumn backdrop, this is a story of fresh starts, second chances, mysterious pasts, and healing. All while finding yourself, home, and family, with a little love along the way 🍂

✨ Synopsis ✨
Zoe Copeland and her 11-year-old daughter, Florence, move to a rundown cottage in Maine hoping for a fresh start, but renovating the clutter-filled house proves more complicated than expected. As Zoe uncovers the story of the home’s former owner with help from Jake, a gruff but charming neighbour, she begins confronting her own past and discovering what it means to truly rebuild a life.

Review continued
Zoe grew up with an addict mother and spent time in foster care, so throughout the story we follow her as she strives to provide Flo with the stable childhood she never had. Zoe reminiscing about some of her childhood experiences absolutely broke my heart. I felt for her so much as she navigated single parenthood while simultaneously trying to heal from her own troubled upbringing.

The tension between Zoe and Jake made me so giddy. I loved watching him open up to reveal his tender and thoughtful side, and he even had some shy moments which always gets me!! I adored the way he was always there to help Zoe with whatever she needed 🥹

Flo was hilarious, and I loved her dynamic with Jake. The playfulness and humour she brought to the story were such a highlight.

I also really loved Marly, the former owner of the house, and the 1950s/60s flashback chapters from her youth spending summers at the cottage. She was hilarious and sassy, and I was completely invested in learning more about her story every time I reached one of her chapters. I cried so much at the end when everything finally came full circle 😭

After this book, I am honestly so excited to see what else Amy Matthews has in store. I was so impressed by the quality of the writing that I did a little research and was not at all surprised to discover that she is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing. I will absolutely be reading anything else she releases in the romance/contemporary fiction space 🫶🏼

[Jess Svajgert]

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: September 1, 2026

What a heartfelt gem! I requested this book on a whim because I was intrigued by the idea of a treasure house and wow, it delivered so much more. This was immediately captivating and I was so invested in these characters within a few pages of reading! There is so much love throughout this, showcasing the power of community and chosen family. Filled with strong, empowered women who go for what they want! This seamlessly blends a bit of mystery, trauma, romance, and whimsy all in one. Could not put this book down, loved it and the characters within!

[Becky]

Loved this book.....

Loved this dual time line book which mostly takes place in Maine.
Zoe, a single mom of daughter Flo, looking for a way to be able to better their lives with home ownership. She finds listings for "treasure houses" ( which was a new term for me) & goes on a hunt to Maine for "the" house.

The older content brings us back to the 50's & 60's & tells about the people who used the house each summer & their story.

As it goes, the 2 story lines connect at some point.

Wonderful, mostly very likeable characters. Some deep subjects but also love.


Thank you Penguin Random house for the advance copy of this book to read & give an honest review!

[Cori]

4.5 stars, rounded up

I sat down with this book hoping for an engaging, comfortable read, and this book gave me that and so, so much more. From the moment I met Zoe and Florence I was pulled into their story. I was completely unfamiliar with the concept of treasure houses so watched a few videos by one TikTok creator who bought a hoarder house. I love that this story was based on this concept and how it helped us gradually get to know characters in the book, especially Marly and Freddie.

Matthews did a beautiful job of developing each of the main characters in the book and letting each person’s story unfold throughout the book. Each of the characters eventually became a rich tapestry of a story in themselves, which made the whole story so much more satisfying. Zoe’s courage, Jake’s reticence, Florence’s boldness and Suní and Wayne’s love were palpable as the story built. I felt that the romance was a secondary storyline, despite the tension between Jake and Zoe. And I did feel that it had a sort of abrupt start.

And even better, this book hits on some deep topics without shying away. Child neglect, foster care, addiction, poverty, early-onset dementia and full-blown Alzheimer’s. The author does an incredible job of weaving them into the story without taking a preachy tone. The topics flow naturally with the storyline and each is addressed with gentleness and care without blame.

I read this book in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t bear to part with any of the characters and I absolutely had to know what was coming next. I laughed out loud. I cried. I cared so deeply about Zoe and Florence and their new life. The characters felt so real. Not one of them was perfect or too good. They had flaws and challenges and unlikable moments. And I loved them the more for it. This is a book I won’t hesitate to recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Treasure House.

[KBeansbook]

THIS IS AN ADVANCED READING COPY FROM NETGALLEY: due to be released to the public on September 1, 2026.
*This is one of the loveliest books I’ve read in a long time.*
Zoe, a single mother to Florence, “Flo”, works as a medical receptionist and is living in a large city with even larger rents. She shares a one bedroom with two twin beds with her daughter, who’s a pre-teen and it’s not exactly the life she wanted for her daughter. Zoe’s Dad, Tim had tried to live with them for roughly 10 months but was relieved to move out back onto campus where he and Zoe had been living prior to her pregnancy. She dropped out of her Junior year of college and got a job full time so that Tim could continue with school. When he graduated, he moved to Seattle on the other side of the country with his fiancé.
One day while on her lunch break with her colleagues, Zoe was looking at homes on a real estate as she typically did to pass the time. She would find her dream homes and imagine what it would be like to own one. Her colleague introduced her to “treasure homes”. These were homes that were full of junk, a previous hoarder would have lived there and these homes were being sold for song. At first Zoe thought this was a crazy idea until she found a darling old home in Oxeye, Maine that was a walk to the beach with a view of the ocean from the home. She decided to do something impulsive for once in her carefully structured life and had contacted the bank and bought the house.
Having grown up with an extreme addict, her mother was frequently in and out of jail. She was a prostitute and a horrific addict who Zoe watched OD several times. She was often left alone, rarely with food and the men her mother brought into their lives were as terrifying as she was and also addicts, She had gone through phases of drugs she would get herself addicted to, meth, cocaine, oxy and naturally alcohol. Meth was the worst drug for Zoe because her mother became so erratic and would be awake for days hallucinating and verbally abusive as well as emotionally mentally and physically negligent. The last time her mother was sent to jail and Zoe was put into another foster was when Zoe wrote a paper describing her vacation. She wrote about trying to make a box of Mac n cheese last for days. This would be her saving grace, as she would end up at Suni and Wayne’s house. The Overbecks had a daughter Ali and a son Lance and had taken in other foster kids as well. They’re foster child and Zoe’s foster sister Bethany had passed away that year and it was their first year without her. They’d all grieved the loss. Zoe had been loved by this family since she was 13 and they loved Flo as if she were their blood relation and granddaughter. They treated Zoe and Flo exactly as they had their own children and Zoe had their love and affection as one of the many reasons she has turned into the woman and mother she was. Her own mother Tina was still in jail for prostitution and possession. She wrote to Zoe, addressing it to the Overbecks because Zoe had wanted nothing to do with Tina nor did she visit her or want her to know where she lived. Tina didn’t even know about Flo. She’d planned to keep it that way.
Once she and Flo got to Oxeye, the hardware store owner was who she had been in contact with while the sale and purchase went through. She went down to the store that was a few doors down from their overflowing “treasure” house to get their keys. When Zoe laid eyes on Jake she had a real hard time removing them. He was not what she had pictured. He didn’t look like a nearly retired middle aged man with a belly. He was more of a six pack, muscular gorgeous specimen of a male who was her age or close to it. Everyone they met in their small little beach town was so friendly and extremely helpful it didn’t take long at all for Zoe and Flo to become close them all. Jake was especially helpful even if he was quite grumpy. But as time went on Zoe would learn the reason for his emotional ups and downs and we will learn, as readers the history of the home and how very loved it was,
The author interweaves in and out of present day with Zoe and Flo living there and from the 1950’s up until it is purchased by Zoe. The Orcutt family originally owned the home, the sisters, Betty and Sylvia’s parents had left the house to them. The two sisters, their children and their husbands spent their entire summers there. The husbands usually worked during the week back home and mainly spent their weekends in Oxeye with the exception of the few weeks they’d take vacation time. Aunt Betty’s girls, Priscilla and Sylvia , were stuck up snobs according to Marley. They always left her out and called her a pip squeak but the summer of 1953, and the summer of Freddie de Marche, she was nearly as tall as Sylvia and she had recently had to buy a bra. She was nearly 15 to their 17 and 18 years old. They weren’t that old even though they told her every day she was a pip squeak and excluded her from everything. Her own brothers were all older than her, Virgil, Paul and Bobby didn’t much like having her around either. Marley Orcutt was the youngest in her immediate family and in her extended family so she was often left out of all the fun things like the St Cyr club that the people who had a lot of money belonged to and stayed at instead of a house, like her family. There were dances and ice cream buffets and all kinds of activities to do like kayak, canoe and play tennis. That summer, Cilla had a boy she went to college with who was dating her and she was invited to go to lunch on their very first day to meet his parents. Everyone was in a tizzy, well all the women of the house were. Marley was envious and even more so when she saw Cilla’s date, Freddie. As the years pass, Marley and Fred become friends and when she learns he’s enlisted in the Army when she is 17 she tells him she loves him. He tells her he loves their friendship but he’s 22 and much too old for her. She vows to wait for him. He promises to write as a friend and always calls her “kid” or “short stuff” which frustrates her. True to his word, he writes and sends postcards everywhere he goes when he’s on leave. For four years, he continues to write but she’s been dealing with a very sick mother. A mother who’s inherited her mother’s illness, early onset dementia in her 40’s. Because Marley was so much younger than her brothers she is the only sibling at home going through it all with her father. She was finally hospitalized once she started leaving the house in the middle of night. The hospital her mother is in makes Marley feel sick to her stomach and her mother scares her when she is confused and acts like she’s still a baby singing lullabies to her or calling her the wrong name. Her Dad is struggling as well. She finally writes Freddie back after he has written to her because one of her cousins had told him the news about her mother. By this time, she is in her 20’s and has graduated college. She invited Fred to come visit her when he informed her he’d be staying a few doors down at her cousins house and she successfully seduces him. Every leave he spends at her house in Oxeye that the family has now given her because she knows they fear that she will be the next victim of the horrendous hereditary disease both her grandmother and mother have succumbed to. She soon finds herself pregnant but only tells her Dad. She doesn’t want to tell Fred because she feels he only sees her as a good time and doesn’t want him to resent her for getting pregnant and forcing his hand in marriage or giving up his career he loves in the Army. The family tells everyone she is engaged to a fellow in the Army and when Fred gets word he writes her telling her he’s an idiot and wished he had made it clear to her before her fiancé did. When she is extremely pregnant, nearly ready to give birth he shows up, proposes and hadn’t even known she was with child or that it was hers. He and Marley have a daughter they name Amber because the name of the book she was reading when she first met him was called “Forever Amber”. Amber becomes an unlucky woman in the family who inherits the horrid disease of early onset dementia. Amber is also Jake’s mother.
When Zoe’s mother shows up on the first Christmas they’re celebrating at their new house with her family, Suni, Wayne, Ali and Lance and his wife as well as Jake, Zoe is shocked to the core. She finds out her mother is out on good behavior early release and is accompanied by her new boyfriend who was her correctional officer while she was in custody. She’s also on parole which she is violating because she’s crossed several state lines without permission and her boyfriend illegally looked into Zoe’s social security information for her new address. Her mother is seemingly under the influence, the new boyfriend scares the hell out of both her and Flo and naturally their unannounced arrival caused an emotional upheaval since Flo had no idea that she had a grandmother let alone one that was an addict and a prostitute and had spent the majority of her mothers life in jail which is why she was in foster care and had Suni and Wayne as her surrogate(foster) parents.
Jake immediately springs to action, removing them from the premises, luring them away from the house and from Zoe and Flo with the promise of a free hotel room from his cousins hotel a town over and free breakfast at the hotel until everyone can have a discussion. Zoe doesn’t want her Tina or her boyfriend near her home or her family and Jake. She gets a call from Jake letting her know that her mother and her boyfriend have had a do not disturb sign on their door for days and when housekeeping does a welfare check they find glass pipes and drug paraphernalia all over the room and the room trashed. Zoe decided to visit her mother and fortunately the boyfriend was out, Zoe was certain he was meeting a dealer though her mother said he was meeting “Dave” whoever that was and how her mother knew someone in Maine, she didn’t want to know. She told her mother she was done with her, she wasn’t allowed at her home or around her daughter and as her mother verbally abuses her per usual blaming Zoe for all the poor choices and her ungratefulness towards Tina, as she rants about everything she gave up and lost because of Zoe, she doesn’t finish listening to her mother and walks away. She drives to the park in Camden, close to where the hotel was because she is hysterical and cannot drive. Jake calls a few minutes later and can tell she’s crying. He tells her to stay there and that he’ll be there as soon as possible. Suddenly there is a knock on her window and it isn’t Jake. It’s Marley, his grandmother whom she’s met briefly at Zoe’s and Jake’s nieces play. Marley invites her to her house just around the corner and begins to tell Zoe her story about her mother’s and daughter’s dementia at such young ages, about Freddie and their love story and how much love the home Zoe bought from Jake was absolutely full of love, much more love than the junk and trash that Zoe found it full of and had begun to see it as a sad and depressing tragic home and family story. This perspective also gave Zoe the insight she too needed to understand her own life and how full of love and affection hers was. The mother, Tina may not have been the one she had been wishing she was but Suni was the mother who filled her whole life with so much love joy acceptance and happiness that she realized all along she had pining for something she had already had. That sometimes the perspectives we hold on to and believe are ours aren’t necessarily the reality we are living.
The was an absolutely endearing story and I loved every bit of it and every character. The depths the author gave the characters and their complex interwoven lives and connections were just beautiful.
Thank you so very much to #NetGalley for this #ARC and to #AmyMatthews for sharing such a heartfelt and lovely story #TheTreasureHouse and to #PenguinRandomHouse.

[Joanne Ragona]

I have so much love for this book. I had never heard of a treasure house and love the whole concept. My mom was a saver so this book touched on many things that I could relate to. After my mom passed away in December I was going through her things and couldn’t believe the things she saved—every card given to her (Christmas cards too!) little pieces of paper with cute notes from her grandchildren, the little cards that come with flower deliveries, postcards, drawings, newspaper clippings and articles. If you gave it to her with intention, she dated it and she kept it. I thought she was crazy at first…but I understand. I understand the joy it gave her, the love she felt, the memories they sparked. They were her treasures and they made her smile. As with The Treasure House, “things” hold meaning. They bring us back to certain moments. They make us smile. They remind us of how much we are loved. These “treasures” are priceless.

This is the basis of this novel…a house full of “culch”(a fancy word for junk) but the reasons why open up a whole story. With the past meeting the present, Zoe Copeland will come to understand that not all stories are tragedies, not everyone leaves, and family are those who love you unconditionally, stand by you through every high and low and don’t necessarily have to share your blood.

I love the courage of Zoe and her fierce desire to make a home and a better life for her daughter Flo. She had a very traumatic childhood which leaves her determined to shield her past from her daughter. Flo is an absolute riot. She made me laugh out loud the entire book. She may only be 11 years old but she is wise beyond her years. And Jake Abernathy. He may have started out as a grump but I was head over heels for him very quickly.

This is a beautifully written and well crafted book. The story, the characters, the dual timeline all came together to create a poignant story about loneliness, addiction, family, starting over, and letting your heart open up to love. I adored everything about this book and the emotions it made me feel. It was touching, multi layered, witty and so heartfelt. A fantastic read.

“That house had so much treasure in it, a wealth of lives lived in its embrace; it did deserve love. And maybe so did I.”

[Jordyn’s Bookshelf]

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was so beautiful and heartwarming!

When I first picked this up, I thought it was going to be a simple story about a single mom and her daughter moving to a small town and fixing up their old, junk-filled house, but this story is so much more than that. This book made me cry multiple times, both sad and happy tears and was impossible to put down. At its core, The Treasure House is about motherhood, love, and dealing with abandonment, addiction, and grief. The story was so beautifully written and easy to become invested in. I loved every single character, especially Marly and Zoe. Each of the characters, even the supporting ones, were fully developed and felt like they each had their own lives outside of the main story.

I loved the dual timelines with Marly in the 1950s and Zoe in present day! I really enjoyed learning about Marly’s family and the history of the house as Zoe is sorting through the junk and putting the pieces of Marly’s story together at the same time. Without saying too much, I loved how their stories mirrored each other and how Zoe used her curiosity about Marly’s life and what happened to her as a way to approach the issues in her own life.

One thing I really admired, and think is a testament to Amy Matthews’ writing, is that this story discusses some very heavy topics, but it never feels too dark or gloomy. It had an overwhelming sense of hope that could be felt throughout the story. Another highlight of the story is the romance aspect. While love and romance are prominent themes in this story, it didn’t feel like a romance book, but I also felt invested in the relationships and was rooting for them.

I could go on and on about everything that I loved about this book, but I’ll finish with this: The Treasure House is a charming, heartwarming story filled with intriguing and tender moments that prove that it’s never too late to discover who you are and that starting over isn’t always a bad thing.

[Marti]

The Treasure House by Amy Matthews takes place on the coast of Maine in a very small town. The house that Zoe and her daughter Flo buy is a treasure house. It is full of stuff from the prior owner - really filled to the brim - with various found treasures, antiques, left overs and just stuff.

They discover the small town and a lot of the inhabitants knew or were related to the past owner. Many kick their time and energy to help empty the house and make it habitable. Jake, the owner of the hardware store and various other businesses, is the largest help of all. He continues to show up with the knowledge and tools to help them. Perhaps more importantly Zoe learns about the meaning of family and neighbors and what it means to really belong. She begins to recognize her attraction to Jake and learns about trusting another.

Then the unexpected happens and Zoe needs to face a difficult truth.
I really enjoyed The Treasure House and found the novel well written and full of life. The characters and the challenges of the novel certainly mirror life. The Treasure House by Amy Matthews is an awesome read!

[Kristin]

This book will transport you to Maine. I wish I could find a beach side treasure house!! A treasure house in this book is a house that has become a broken down junk house that needs a lot of work— a fixer upper. Zoe Copeland and her eleven-year-old daughter, Florence buy a coastal house in Maine. Florence was comedic relief in this book. Her quips had me laughing out loud- especially “black and white times” The treasure house they buy is filled with many memories of the past. As they clean it out and fix it up they learn the story of the past family who lived there. This part of the story swept me away!!

There’s also a grumpy neighbor and local handyman named Jake that helps a lot! I literally couldn’t put this book down and felt like I was there in this learning about these characters and house. Highly recommend.

[Anne Pascucci]

4.5* rounded up to 5 for Goodreads

I received an email invite from Netgalley for this book and I feel like it was almost perfect for me. Zoe is a single mom of Flo who is feeling the pinch of the economy and decides to buy a "junk house" at a discount in coastal Maine as an upgrade from her one bedroom apartment in Pittsburgh. Zoe is a former foster kid with a mom with addiction issues and never felt like anywhere was home. The house is filled to the brim with "treasures" and her foster parents/siblings and neighbors all chip in to help her clean it out and sell things.

The story flew by and did not seem like it was 400 pages. The house/town is it's own character. There is also a dual timeline set in the 50s/60s that tells the back story of the former owners. The vibes were so cozy and spanned a few seasons. I also appreciated the drawings in the front of the layout of the house. I love decluttering and coastal Maine settings, so I really enjoyed this one.

[Dina]

What a charming, cozy read, the perfect book to kick off fall!

Zoe takes a big leap of faith when she buys a hoarder house (aka a “Treasure House”) in a small town in Maine and moves there with her daughter. What follows is a delightful mix of small-town charm, quirky and lovable characters, unexpected treasures, and, of course, a swoony love interest.

I absolutely loved watching Zoe navigate this new chapter of her life. There’s something so comforting about a story centered on starting over, taking a chance on yourself, and finding unexpected community along the way. I found myself rooting for Zoe from beginning to end and was completely charmed by the warmth and heart of this story.

If you’re looking for a feel-good, cozy fall read with small-town vibes, lovable characters, and a little romance, add this one to your TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine | Dell for the advanced reader copy.

[Jenny]

DNF @ 21%. The premise of this novel was interesting—a woman purchases a ramshackle house for her and her daughter to fix up so they can finally have a place to call home—but after going on the house tour with them, I found it hard to believe that a woman with absolutely no experience could completely fix up what essentially is a rundown hoarder’s nest. I also found the dialogue to be corny, and the story was very slow moving. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, but it wasn’t holding my attention either.

[Victoria Morrison]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this wonderful ARC.

I love a good love story, and the love comes not only from romantic love but also familial love. The sense of belonging, and fighting for the life you want was such a beautiful theme throughout this story. The characters were beautifully written and I love a good throwback to the past to understand the present situation. They truly got lucky with this treasure house and maybe one day we will too.

[Kelly Anderson]

I had an ARC for this one. It was such a great book. A single parent, who had been through foster homes wanted to move to a place to provide stability to her daughter and a home. The house she bought had more clutter than she realised, but resulted in learning more about herself and the family that had previously lived there. I laughed and cried.

[Lynne Rekindledbooklover]

4.5⭐️

A sweet dual timeline Gilmore Girls-esque romance set in Maine. It was the perfect read for the start of autumn.

Grumpy Jake is very clearly modelled on Luke from Gilmore Girls and that was fine with me!

Although this is a cute story, be warned it does contain some heavy themes including addiction, foster care, dementia.

[Britt Johnson]

I really enjoyed. The characters were interesting and most were likable. The idea of a "treasure house" is intriguing.

[Linda Jean]

This book was absolutely beautiful.

[Jeanne Moore4]

4.5 Stars, rounded up
Thank you to NetGalley and Dell/Ballantine Publisher for a free advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story was absolutely adorable! I loved it!

Zoe is a single mom to pre-teen Flo, and they live in a shabby 1Br apartment in a big city. Zoe is struggling with their meager lifestyle but doesn't know how to leave her dead-end job and find a place they can truly call home. During lunch breaks, she and her co-workers scroll through real estate listings and dream of living in a beautiful home. One day, Zoe begins looking at listings for "treasure houses," which are houses filled with junk and needing maintenance, but being sold for a song. And a song is about all Zoe can afford.

Ultimately Zoe and Flo settle on a treasure house on the coast of Maine, an idyllic setting in a small town of about a dozen full-time residents. Providentially, a job opens up for Zoe in the local medical office. With the blessing of their chosen family, they take the plunge and move.

Of course, obstacles galore arise. The local handyman is surly and unwelcoming (though very young and attractive.) The house has multiple issues that must be fixed before they can even move in. But the space to call home in a beachside town is a balm and motivator for Zoe to keep going.

Ultimately, this story focuses on issues of found/chosen family and motherhood. Zoe comes from a broken home with a criminal, drug-addicted mother, and she is determined to not allow her daughter to experience what she did. After grappling with her mother as an adult, Zoe comes to accept her loving foster parents as her true parents and grandparents to Flo.

There is a 2nd timeline that is introduced after Zoe and Flo are settled in Maine, and it was a bit awkward to pick that story up mid-way through the book. That timeline explains the family dynamics of the previous owners of Zoe's house. That story mirrors Zoe's in the themes of motherhood.

The author, Amy Matthews, is skilled at writing dialogue, which moves the story along at a good pace. Her characters are well developed and nuanced. Even though this book clocks in at 400 pages, it is a quick and satisfying read.

Highly recommend and I can't wait to read more from this author!

[Susan Peterson]

The Treasure House is a lovely, heartwarming love story. Zoe’s life as a single mom and a former foster kid is complicated and hard, and when life comes crashing down one more time, she takes a chance on a new life in a new place. The new place comes with a fixer-upper of a house that is filled with junk and and a host of problems, but is also filled with treasures, memories, and hope. I received an advance reader copy of this book.

[Carmela Agatha Enriquez (agathafeelingg.reads)]

🎧 ALC REVIEW 🎧

Thank you @prhaudio for an early listening copy of The Treasure House by Amy Matthews. I received an advance listening copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Narrator/s: Eva Kaminsky
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Release date: September 1st, 2026

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

The Treasure House was such a heartfelt, emotional read about loss, family, memory, and the unexpected ways the past can find its way into the present.
The story begins with Zoe, a former foster child whose mother, Tina, was in and out of prison because of her drug addiction. Zoe never really had the chance to experience the stability of a permanent home growing up, so it was especially meaningful to see her as a single mom to her adorable daughter, Flo, as the two of them start a new chapter in Maine. When they purchase a “treasure house”; essentially a house filled with years’ worth of accumulated belongings, or “culch,” as I learned from this book, her grumpy new neighbor Jake thinks they’re absolutely nuts. But as Zoe and Flo begin sorting through the house’s treasures, they uncover a history that is far more meaningful than they could have imagined.
I really loved how Amy Matthews told this story through two timelines and POVs: Zoe in the present and Marly in the “black and white” times, as Flo adorably calls them. Marly’s family spent summers at the house, where she met Freddie de Marche, the boy who would become the love of her life. Through Marly’s chapters, we get to see how the house and its belongings became intertwined with generations of memories, love, grief, and loss.
One of the things that made this book so emotional for me was Zoe’s relationship with her mother. Zoe spent so much of her life wishing for Tina to be present and wanting the mother she never really had, even though Tina repeatedly chose drugs over getting clean for her daughter. It absolutely broke my heart watching Zoe come to terms with this and slowly realize that her foster parents, Suni and Wayne, had always been there for her and loved her unconditionally as their own daughter. That found-family aspect really got to me, and there were definitely moments where I was ugly crying.
I was equally invested in Marly’s story. Despite feeling overlooked and neglected compared to her older cousins while growing up, she found comfort and friendship with Freddie, which eventually blossomed into love. I also felt so much sadness surrounding Marly’s family history with dementia. Seeing how the condition affected her mother, Marly, and eventually her daughter Amber gave the “culch” an entirely different meaning. What initially looked like a house full of random objects and junk became a physical record of a life and, in many ways, evidence of what dementia was taking away.
I also really enjoyed the audiobook version of this book. The narrator had such a soothing voice, but still managed to bring so much life and personality to each of the characters. It made the emotional moments hit even harder and added another layer to an already moving story.
What I loved most about this book was how Matthews showed that life can bring devastating loss, but those losses can exist alongside some of our most beautiful memories. The treasure house wasn't really about the things inside it. it was about the people, stories, love, and memories attached to them.
There were a few moments where the pacing felt a little slow for me, and I found myself more emotionally invested in certain storylines than others, which kept this from being a full five stars. But overall, this was such a tender and moving story, and I loved the way the two timelines eventually came together.

[Sam Weidman]

Zoe Copeland wants to give her daughter Flo the best life she can, and that includes a space to call her own. The only problem is that housing is expensive, and Zoe can't afford much. She learns about "Treasure Houses" online and finds a cottage in Maine. Treasure houses are called as such due to them being full of "culch" and are sold with everything inside. The opportunity seems too good to be true, but Zoe takes a chance on the charming seaside cottage. She meets Jake, a grump who is native to the town, who reluctantly hands the keys over and thinks Zoe is in way over her head. Zoe and Flo embark on this new endeavor building relationships of all kinds, and while they begin to clear the cottage and make it home, it starts to reveal the truth behind the town and the people who live in it.

This book had an opening that immediately transplants you into Zoe's life. The author brought us with her on a regular day, and it set up the plot and our expectations by showing us rather than just telling. I was put directly into her life as a bystander and was rooting for our main character from the moment I met her.

Every conversation felt natural, and the banter between the characters was so entertaining to read. Flo's interactions with Jake were some of my favorites. Flo is only 11, but read slightly more mature which made perfect sense being she was an only child of a single mom. Flo never lost her childlike whimsy, but she was such a strong individual. Her personality really resonated with me on a personal level, and I felt like it reflected parts of my childhood back at me. Zoe's voice also felt so realistic for her backstory. She read as if she was a bit younger, not in an immature way, but rather the she had to grow and mature quickly due to her upbringing. Being a young single mom allowed her to bond with Flo on a deep level and they understood each other without needing words to communicate. The author wrote every character so exceptionally well. Every conversation and every decision made aligned with the backstory given to each character. Their motivations were always clear, and these felt truly like real people.

The romance element felt natural and inevitable. The way in which these characters resolved their insecurities without projecting onto each other felt mature. They communicated and respected boundaries and didn't push one another. This felt so fresh because a lot of romantic stories rely on miscommunication to create intrigue, but these characters had enough at stake to take it slow and listen to each other and truly build a stable foundation for their relationship to thrive.

I won't elaborate too much because I liked being surprised by the story, but I appreciated the dual timeline. It added so much depth to the story, We were finding out the truth in the present along side it happening in the past, and I find that always adds to the payoff in the end. The writing had me gripped and I found myself engrossed and not wanting to put the book down. I loved these characters and needed to live inside their stories.

I giggled, I cried, I grinned ear to ear. This was such a special book that had so many intrinsically human aspects that gave this book tangibility. This story will live with me for a long time.

I highly recommend, but always check trigger warnings for the heavier topics discussed in this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for an early copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Amanda]

I just turned the last page of The Treasure House and I wanted to cry, and I'm not someone that usually gets overly emotional. I wanted to cry because this was such a beautiful read, I wanted to cry because the ending just captured me so intensely, but mostly I wanted to cry because I'd finished and it meant leaving the characters I had fallen in love with behind.

Now I know I'm a broken record when I say this, but I'm going to say it again anyway.....I love a book with a dual timeline, it's my favourite style of reading, and once again I was completely mesmerised by the chapters of the past and they slowly entwined with the present.

Set across two different times, we follow single mum Zoe as she grapples with life in her tiny rented apartment in Pittsburgh, trying to do the best she can for her 12 year old daughter Flo, while never really seeming to be able to get ahead. Zoe then decides to take the almost unimaginable leap and buy a house of her own, hundreds of miles away in Maine, one her daughter can grow up in and safely call home. The catch, it's a Treasure House, a house you would see on a show like Hoarders. So full of junk from top to bottom that it feels like something only a bulldozer could fix.

Yet instead of a bulldozer, enter Jake. The grumpy "guy next door" who happens to run the hardware store, the lobster shack, the local camping grounds, oh and did I mention, he also happens to be quite good looking. I'm being flippant with this sentence, there's actually a lot to unpack here over the course of the book, his attachment to the small town, his attachment to those that live there, and his deep connection to Zoe's house. It adds a whole other layer of mystery to the story and its almost magical as it all starts to unfold, layer by layer.

The home itself is initially introduced as Marly's house, and while her exact connection, along with Jake’s, remains a mystery at first, the "Before" chapters open up a whole other world. We follow Marly during the 1950's and 60's as she spends family summers in Maine. Being significantly younger than her older cousins and brothers, you might expect her to be left on the sidelines, which is certainly how she feels, but Marly is an absolute riot. She is hysterical, wildly quick-witted, and has a sharp, sassy edge to her right from a young age (her initial blackmailing encounter with her cousin's boyfriend Frederick had me smiling throughout). Watching her grow from a fierce, sharp-tongued teenager into a woman of incredible strength and character completely stole the show for me. Her timeline brings so much spark, bite, and depth to the story. Honestly, these were my absolute favorite chapters, and I could gladly read an entire novel dedicated just to Marly.

Back to the present I have to give a special shout-out to Zoe's 12 year old daughter Flo. I adored her. She has such spirit and such life to her, she is an absolute force of nature who had me honestly laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

This is such a beautifully structured read and I'm so grateful to have been given the opportunity to read it. Super quick side note, I'm not one to normally flag triggers, so this is more of a self note - dementia plays a significant part in this story and speaking from personal experience watching my mum struggle, I really felt it was handled thoughtfully and carefully as a storyline, so I thank the author for that too.

A fabulous 5 star read and a huge thank you to Simon & Schuster, NetGalley and the author Amy Matthews for my copy.