I still don't really know how to give my opinion about this book, although I liked several aspects of it, especially Nora's relationship with depression being so well explored, I couldn't care enough about the book, it wasn't something I was interested in. Looking forward to reading again. The ending was really cool and concluded the story very well, I think the final 25% was my favorite of the entire book. I didn't think it was a bad book, but nothing very remarkable. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

A near death experience has Nora November re-evaluating her life decisions as she tries to track down the guy that got away and rectify past regrets. Moving, heartfelt and with AMAZING depression and anxiety rep, this book was great on audio and highly recommended for anyone who has struggled with life. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. Perfect for fans of authors like Rachel Lynn Soloman!

CW: suicide attempt, alcoholic side character, infant SIDS death (occurs off page in the past)

Nora November wakes up in the hospital after a NDE (Near Death Experience), where she drowned and was clinically dead for several minutes. Once Nora is out of her Physical Rehab facility, she decides to make a “reverse” bucket list. She has a list of all the items she wanted to do, but never made time for, and she wants to find Jack, the man she connected with during a robbery and hostage situation. Nora divides her life into Before and After the NDE. In the Before, she was miserable and depressed, working for her sadistic and narcissistic father’s law firm. In the After, she wants more meaning to her life. Nora has a lot of problems she has to work through, and there are times that her depression rears its ugly head again. We also get Jack’s story running parallel to Nora’s. He too is looking for a connection, and while he has dated, none of those women have the same spark he enjoyed with Nora. This is more Women’s Fiction, with a romantic aspect somewhat tacked on at the end. Nora’s character and growth throughout the book, was tough at times but worth the journey at the end. I loved Jake and the Senior thespians/gardeners, they were a light part of a story that could get pretty heavy. I will say that’ Nora’s family was pretty awful, and the treatment by her father made reading some parts of the story difficult. Overall a good read. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

A well written story of rebirth and learning to live life your way. Nora November has been fighting depression for years. Partially due to her stressful job, overbearing parents. Especially her father who she works for, in a area of law she hates. When she dies from a surfing accident and is brought back to life, she has an awakening. She will try to make amends to her sister Lacey and cousin Gus, who she let down too often to count. She wants to find and reconnect with the Corner Store Guy, who several months ago found a connection at robbery. Unfortunately she was too afraid to follow through and call him. And try to honor her Grandfather, the only person that ever believed in her.
Jack has often thought of Nora and the bizarre immediate connection between them. Still hoping she will call him and so disappointed that he lost her phone number. There hasn’t been any quite like her.
This story gives a good insight into the reality a person suffers with depression. A topic that finally is coming to light in today’s society. Love the missed almost encounters of Nora and Jack. As always never disappoint with the writings of #JuliaLondon. Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own and mine alone. #NiceWorkNoraNovember

After a near-death surfing accident, Nora takes inventory of her life and makes a lot of changes. She creates a reverse bucket list - and starts living again. She had an encounter years before with a mystery man during a corner store hostage situation and she regretted never contacting him again. That's one of the things on her list - and to revive the garden her grandfather left her. On her mission, she meets a host of colorful characters and finds herself. The story touches on depression and alcoholism. It's a really interesting storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This book was fabulous! It had just the right amount of light/encouragement and dark/understanding depression & mental health. I loved Nora's reverse bucket list and her perseverance despite encountering problems along the way. I loved the near misses with Jack and seeing life & death from Jack's perspective. I loved the honesty from those around Nora even when it hurt because ignoring things never solves them. Thanks to the author for a great introspective read!

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable. The plot is one that is engaging and I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

What if you were given a second chance at life? What would you do differently? Would you make the same choices? NICE WORK, NORA NOVEMBER explores these questions and more with compassion, empathy, and a touch of whimsy. Julia London's novel tackles some deep and painful topics with both gentleness and honesty as we witness Nora navigate life after a near death experience.

Nora November awakens in the hospital where she learns that she survived a near drowning. Before she regains consciousness, she has an otherworldly visit with her long dead family dog and deceased beloved grandfather. Nora begins to view her life as "before" and "after" and soon discovers she is not the same person. She uses her grandfather's advice to chart a new course for her life beginning with creating a reverse bucket list which includes pursuing activities and relationships she previously pushed aside. Nora is dealing with a lot - a career she hates, parents who find fault with every aspect of her being, mounting medical bills, and damaged relationships. She is also pining for Jack - the one who got away - who she believes may the be the only person who actually sees the real Nora,

Told from both Nora's and Jack's points of view, the book examines the affects of trauma and the long, often winding, road to healing. Ms. London gives the reader a raw look at depression, death, and emotional abuse. She surrounds Nora and Jack with a large supporting cast of characters; some are delightful, some are wary, and some are despicable. This book resonated with me as someone who evaluated and reordered priorities after a serious illness. The desire to make fundamental life changes and the difficulty in doing so, partly because of resistance from others, is accurately and poignantly depicted. It's easy to root for Nora to redefine herself and make lasting and profound changes in who and what she wants to be.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Focus, and Harper Muse for the opportunity to access an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to Harper Muse for the ARC!

THIS BOOK! If the song LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING by Tim McGraw was a book, it would be this book.

The moment that stopped Nora November on a dime was a NDE (near death experience, often abbreviated as such in the book), a surfing accident. When she wakes up and realizes how close she came to death, she decides it's time to really start living and makes what she calls a "reverse bucket list" of things she wants to do after she (almost, but technically kind of already) died.

Nora November is a name and a character I definitely won't forget. I went into this blind and was SO surprised by how DEEP this book was. The cover is fun and cutesy, but this book was rich and emotional in so many unexpected ways. It's not often that a romance/women's fiction book has a twist that shocks me (esp when my fav genre is thriller), but I did NOT see this coming!

In my opinion, the romance was a side-plot but it still was adorable, swoon-worthy and closed-door. Another side-plot had to do with some seriously toxic family drama (my fav), so with all that going on, I was never bored!

Like I said, this book dealt with HEAVY topics and contains a lot of content that could be very hard for some readers! Feel free to reach out to me for specific CW.

I definitely recommend for a thought-provoking and ultimately uplifting read!

This will be available on June 4th!

Heavy topics were present throughout the book, depression, addiction and suicide the tone in which it was written was very hopeful and optimistic. The romance was just the icing on the cake, Jack and Nora briefly met before the book starts and spend the entire book in Nora’s case searching for Jack via social media, tv news outlets, while Jack is wondering if Nora didn’t call him because she thinks he ghosted her. Nora working on her mental health, setting boundaries and completing her reverse bucket list and also repairing relationships she let down while she was depressed was the focus.

As someone who has persistent depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder and spent months in a deep depression this book was relatable, raw, real, heartbreaking, and heart healing.

I’m glad this book doesn’t have a switch flip where everything is immediately better or easy for Nora. The reality of the struggle is there. The exhaustion that comes with fighting to keep hope. But the joy in finding that hope. The desperation to grab hold of it.

The writing explains that feeling of being able to believe in hope and joy again. That there will be bad days where the pull to fall back into hopelessness is strong but now that you’ve experienced the breath of fresh air that hope gives you fight like hell to keep going.

The first chapter of this book describes Nora’s experience with afterlife/death/heaven…and I hope that’s what it is like. Full of the best memories, the people we love and reconnection with ourselves and the ones that went before us. This book gripped my heart from the beginning and didn’t let go until the end.

This was so heart warming. Nora November experiences a near death experience on the first page of this delightful novel. And then she decides to change her life to make it exactly what she wants it to be. She definitely does not have an easy time of it, and doesn’t have a whole lot of support at first. The characters are charming and very often elderly, former thespians. And it might take everything Nora has, but she will find a way to make her garden grow. I wanted a little more romance, but otherwise fantastic! I can see myself rereading this one when I need a mood lifter. 4.5 ⭐️ This opinion is entirely my own.

DNF at 35%

Unfortunately I am just not feeling this book. The writing is well done and quite honestly it could just be my mood right now.

Second chances. Nora's near death experience convinces her that things in her life must change,starting with her relationship with her (pretty awful) family. It also means that she wants to find Jack, a man she met during a hostage situation. Jack offers his own perspective throughout Nora's journey but they don't meet until the end. I liked this for the mix of Nora's quest for happiness and the rom com aspect, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good storytelling.

What if you could do your life all over again? Would you do things the same or would old patterns be too hard to overcome? Enter Nora November who has come back from the dead. She struggles with the constant disfunction of her family. Can she break free? Can she find the guy she met during a robbery? Can she bring Grandpa's garden back to life? Can she make amends for the times she failed her sister and cousin? Can she struggle through crippling anxiety? All will be answered if you read this novel. Beautiful character development. Great story line. I couldn't put it down.

It's not really a review because I didn't finish this book. Not posting my review anywhere else.

I found the blurb, particularly the near death experience thing very intriguing, but sadly couldn't connect with the writing style or the main character. It didn't build intrigue or mystery I was expecting.

Here , I must admit that I am an impatient reader and can't continue if the book doesn't interest me by 3-4 chapters. If you are a patient reader, you might want to try this.

Nora November's story is before a traumatic event happened and after it happened. Sometimes, things happen, so it makes you stop and think about things. When she woke up from a coma, she knew she wasn't the same person she was before, but she kept feeling like she was failing everything. Her journey leads her to meet new people, new things she discovers she likes to do, and things she actually is good at. Instead of trying to live her life the way others think she should live it, she slowly sees that she has to be who she truly is. It was after she remembered the accident, that she stood up for herself, with her father. Her journey really is different from who she was before, and it is helping her become the person she is meant to be. Sometimes you have to give up the life that was planned and accept what life wants you to have.
I received an ARC from Harper Muse through NetGalley.

Unlike any previous Julia London books I’ve read, Nice Work Nora November still bears her stamp in the high quality of the writing, the excellent characterisation and the intriguing plot. Nora is, of course, the star of this story and she’s certainly got some challenges to overcome as she tries to fulfil the tasks she’s listed on her reverse bucket list. Stuck in a job she hates, facing massive medical bills and with parents who belittle her, it’s a wonder that Nora has any drive at all to bring joy into her life, but even when she’s feeling at her bleakest, she soldiers on. I loved watching her slowly discover the self confidence she’d had bled from her in her life before her near death experience. She's resilient, persistent and definitely a character to cheer for.
Nora is not a sole performer in this story however. There’s Jack, the corner store guy that she spends much of the story searching for. He adds plenty of interest as we see glimpses of his work life at a palliative care facility and his quirky notes to Nora in the community garden where they’ve each inherited a plot. I desperately wanted these two to find each other and loved Nora’s efforts. While these two are central to the story, thr supporting cast—self-centred characters like Nora’s thoroughly unpleasant father and thoroughly likeable characters like Nick from the garden centre and Catherine and Walter from the community garden—all add richness and depth to a story I couldn’t put down. This is definitely a keeper!

Trigger warnings for this book include: near death experience, death, infant loss, parental abuse, coma, hospice, cancer, suicide, depression, and anxiety.

When I write out all the trigger warnings it’s a wonder how I have a book 4 stars. Nora November is a mess. She was a depressed workaholic shell before a near death experience with a less than supportive, mostly neglectful and abusive family. Her twin brother died of SIDS and she has always felt inadequate with his loss and her father expecting her to fill the role of ‘son.’ Trying to start over and failing royally at many many things, Nora finally starts to find her feet and her new self in ‘the after.’

Told in a dual timeline between Nora and a guy she met in a corner store robbery, this is a coming of age tale. Nora November is finding herself.

'You can't grow the good stuff when the life is choked out by weeds'


It's a story about Nora who almost died. Like literally she was dead for a short amount of time and then came back to life. But her life 'Before' was not that perfect as somebody could think. But maybe life just gave her a second chance and it is finally time to do something good and just for herself, not for anybody else?


I honestly really enjoyed this one. I am, too, a people pleaser and i know how hard it is to do something only for yourself or just simply to say 'no' to others. It is very hard actually. But i know it's important do do so, because while giving everything to others, you slowly loose yourself and at the end youd don't even know who you really are... and it sucks.

The idea of reverse bucket list was such a nice thing to do! The fact that it took a literal death experience to finally stand up for herself is saying a lot. But i hope that every other people pleaser will think about themself and that maybe, just maybe, life is not just about making the others happy - it's about YOU being happy (Not that we don't have to be too selfish - just a little bit is good too!).

I did also enjoy the fact that her story was not the only one here, we also saw a bits of life from Jack, the guy she briefly met while being held hostage - they were sad parts, but i loved it.


I only wish we would get them to meet sooner, but it was a nice story anyway. It was more like journey for Nora than a romance story i think.



*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*