4.5 stars

Wow, what a cute read!

Nina Hill’s whole life centers around books. She works in a quaint bookstore, runs book groups, reads voraciously and kills at trivia, and even schedules an evening every week where her planner says “nothing” but really that means reading. Nina’s life is quiet and content until she finds out the father she’s never known has passed away. Upon his death, Nina inherits an entire family of brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins she never knew existed, leading her introverted quiet life quickly into chaos.

I love that Nina is so relatable. She’s quirky and loves books and reading and staying home. She has anxiety. She doesn’t love change, but rather plans her day and lives in routine. She feels extremely real, and I think that’s part of what makes this book so great. It’s like slice of life, with a curveball thrown in, and that really appeals to me.

The writing was very fun! The story is told in third person, but it almost reads like a stream of consciousness at times, with Nina crafting the most weirdly interesting theories, or having conversations with her cat where she imagines the cat talking back. Everything and everyone are just really enjoyable to follow. The only thing I wanted more of were the trivia nights, because I LOVE trivia, so that’s mostly a personal preference, and maaaybe just a little more development in the romance. The romance between Nina and Tom was so sweet and cute, but I wanted to see more of them together, interacting. Their scenes were great, and I think more would have definitely added to the story.

Overall, this is such a sweet, adorable read that any booklover will enjoy and find relatable.

*Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

3.5 stars. Nina as a main character was very relatable at times which made her very fun to read about. I enjoyed all the book talk, trivia nights, and her old and new relationships. A fun read.

I must admit that for some reason, when I started this, I had a hard time getting into it, so I put it aside.  It was surprising to me that I couldn't get into it because it's about someone who loves books and works in a bookstore. Someone whose opinion I respect and who likes a lot of the same things as I mentioned how much she enjoyed it, so I picked it back up.  I'm happy I did.  Looking back, I'm not sure why it didn't click at first.  It was probably just a mood I was in at the time.

Nina Hill grew up as an only child to a single mom who was frequently away with her work. As a result, Nina was practically raised by her nanny, and she never knew who her Dad was.  She loves to read, so as an adult, she has her dream job working in an independent bookstore. Nina is smart, socially awkward, anxious, and a compulsive planner.  She doesn't like to be spontaneous, which would take her away from her scheduled trivia tournaments and book groups, and she enjoys living alone with her cat, Phil.  Her life turns upside down one day, though, when she finds out her Dad has died, she has been named in the will, and now she has an extensive family who is at odds with each other.  It's because her Dad had three different families.

This book has a delightful cast of characters.  Nina is surrounded by supportive co-workers and trivia team members, and the supporting characters are as captivating as  Nina.   I also enjoyed watching Nina's development as she struggles to deal with the new family and a potential love interest. She gradually manages to start taking steps outside her comfortable, structured life.  I also loved the trivia aspect.  We used to play a lot of trivia, and my daughter and her husband are still on a regular trivia team.  It was fun reading all the bits of trivia mentioned throughout the book.  Recommended for book lovers and people who like books with interesting characters and humor sprinkled throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review.

I feel like The Bookish Life of Nina Hill took the bookish community by the storm, and it looks like with time it’s getting more and more fans.
I completely understand why’s that: it has the main character Nina who is completely in love with books so it makes her relatable to so many book lovers all over the world.
With her geekiness and particular sense of humour it’s no wonder she got under the skin of so many readers.

So when it comes to objective side of me, as I already stated, I understand why this book is so big (and trust me when I say, I wish it becomes only bigger with time, and I hope it will be translated to many languages so people all over the world could read about Nina).
However, when it comes to subjective side of me, I have to admit that I did not click with Nina’s sense of humour, didn’t understand reasons behind her behaviour at time, and I also am not a fan of pub quizzes so therefore this novel wasn’t my favourite.

What immediately won me, when it comes to the story, is it’s interesting narration. It was the highlight of the book.
It reminds me of old movies and I could hear the narrator’s voice in my head while I was reading, imagining it’s movie adaptation.
I think this book should have it’s adaptation one day, and I bet the movie will be better then the book itself (yes, I know how rare that happens, but sometimes it does).

I liked the family aspect of the story the best. I enjoyed reading about Nina’s new family and how she got to know everyone, her ups and downs when it comes to certain family members and overall how she found her place in this new to her world.

Of course, everything book related was a pleasure to read, as one would assume would be to a hardcore book lover.

However, as I already stated, I didn’t click with Nina nor did I care about pub quizzes and that (big) aspect of her life, which made me like this book less.
I understand it is 100% “It’s not you, it’s me” case here, but it is what it is.
I also didn’t swoon over her love interest (who’s name I already forgot even though I finished this book recently, which speaks for itself (and also tells you that my memory suck)).

Overall, this book was enjoyable ride that I would recommend to book lovers and readers who like to read about geeky characters.

Nina Hill's life revolves around her bookstore job, a competitive trivia team, and spending time at home where she lives alone (usually reading). Even though she does have friends, her mother has always been MIA and she likes being on her own. But then in one fell swoop her life changes. First she founds out that her father, who she didn't even know existed, has passed away and she's thrust into a huge family that consists of brothers, sisters and more who all want to meet her. And then the "annoying trivia guy" Tom, turns out to be not so annoying and is actually quite cute and funny. It's a bit of a mess but she soon learns that it's the good kind of messy that brings her out of her shell. On the surface, I really liked the premise of the story and the parts with her family were particularly well done. It was certainly the part I connected to the most as she realized having siblings, nieces and nephews could actually be pretty great. The romance was sweet too, albeit not nearly as compelling as the family moments. But my biggest hurdle with the book was the writing style. There was just something very impersonal about it and the first half in particular felt slow going. It isn't until the second half that it hits its stride but even then, I still struggled with the overall tone. It's a cute book though and I'm glad I got to check it out, it's just not something that resonated with me in the long run.

The most wonderful book! It is hilarious and interesting and I loved every minute of it! I feel very akin to Nina, with her book love and her love of solitude and introverted-ness, and I wish I had her gift of memory. Finding a huge family she didn't know about and a man she really likes both send her carefully planned life into quite a tizzy. And what a ride it is! Comedic gold! It's definitely going on my all-time favorite list. And reread when a pick-me-up is needed. Highly recommended- this would be a fantastic beach read! Ms Waxman is a genius, so definitely read her other books too.

What a fun, fun summer read. If you are an introverted book collector you’ll find this story a hoot. I found the character of Nina so enjoyable as she struggled with her life choices and how to incorporate her newly found family. A good book club selection.

I’ve enjoyed Abbi Waxman’s other books, so thought I’d give this one a whirl. I basically enjoyed it, although it was a little hokey and predictable at times and tried just a little too hard to be heartwarming. I could generally relate to Nina, as a bookloving, trivia whiz introvert who learns she has a whole new family she never knew about. Some of her romantic blunders left me scratching my head though, and she was wound pretty tightly. If you want a quick easy fun read in the summertime, this book fits the bill.

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

“She thought of books as medication and sanctuary and the source of all good things.”

I read this for Salt Water Reads book club and I just wanted to crawl in to this story, help Nina stock the book shelves at work and join her at Trivia Night. This book is delightfully quirky and I adored Nina’s character. If you love books and the bookish life, this is one not to be missed. I love Abbi Waxman and can't wait to see what she writes next!

I wanted to like this book more than I did. At times sweet, it was just a little too quirky for me and the ending felt unearned.

I loved The Bookish Life of Nina Hill! The perfect read for a bookworm like myself. I loved all the references and the story line. I just wish it had been longer!

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was brilliantly witty and at times emotional. I enjoyed it 100%! It was small parts romance and bit of angst, but overall this book leaned more towards women's fiction. Without question, this novel will captivate you and make you laugh. If you're a fellow bookworm like myself and Nina Hill then this is a must read!

4 / 5 stars

This book was really great, the perfect light summer read for the dog days of August. Many things about the plot and characters were not strictly realistic (people don't just suddenly inherit a bunch of money from a father they never knew), but if you can set that aside, the premise serves as a great vehicle for a fun story filled with interesting characters and entertaining encounters. I loved that the entire story was an homage to those of us who love books, perhaps even a *smidge* too much. Nina was adorable and hilarious and, at times, quite ridiculous. I would like to be her new best friend. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. If fun,slightly offbeat, and light sounds like what you want right now, I highly recommend this one.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A delightfully clever, amusing, and sincere story filled with all sorts of bookish goodness.

THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL is a book lover’s dream. This wonderfully crafted story will bring the reader into a world of books, trivia, and family drama. Waxman gifted the book nerd inside of all of us with the sometimes quirky character of Nina Hill.

The thing I loved about this tale is the simple honesty and relatability of the main character. Maybe it is because I see a lot of myself in Nina, but I never once didn’t understand what her motives were. I just got it, and I loved reading a book that seemed to understand the uniqueness in this type of personality.

Sitting down with this book reminded me of the first time I experienced a Jane Austen novel. Through Waxman’s words, I was able to engage with the people I met. I was able to laugh at the sometimes dry sense of humor. But most importantly, understand the anxiety the main character experienced all the while cloaked in a writing style that seemed effortless.

This is a story for book nerds and trivia junkies alike. If you love sitting down with a completely enjoyable read, pick this one up. You will not be sorry.

PS. This is the first book I have ever been jealous of the lead’s love interests day job. ;)

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I must be honest, I had hard time with the style of writing on this one. I’m not a fan of 3rd person and I just couldn’t quite get invested in the story because of the way it was written. The writing was distracting and it took away from fully enjoying the story itself.
3⭐️ Because I did like Nina and some of the dynamics and settings in the book.

I am a lover of all things rom com and have really been enjoying the recent romantic comedies released this summer. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill fits right into my sweet spot- quirky but realistic characters, fun but endearing and realistic love story, and throw in pop culture references. This is a solid rom com. Nina works in a bookstore in a quaint area of LA (Larchmont, which I totally want to visit now) and lives a fairly solitary life, except for her weekly trivia nights at local bars. She learns that the father she's never known passed away and she suddenly has a huge family. I loved this book. It was a little slow to start, but once it got going, it was hard to put down. Fun, fluffy rom com- a perfect end of summer read for me. Can't wait to read Waxman's other work!

Nina Hill, die-hard bookworm and trivia champ, lives a relatively solitary life in Los Angeles surrounded by books both at home and at work. Her favorite friend is her cat Phil with whom she has two-sided conversations, a consequence of her over-active imagination and loneliness. It’s not difficult to see that her need for structure and extreme social anxiety are the result of abandonment, first by the father she never knew and then by her successful, globe-trotting mother who left parenting to a nanny. Her “anxiety was like her anti-superpower, the one that came out unbidden in a crisis.” So what’s she to do when, on the cusp of her 30th birthday, she learns that her father has died and left her an inheritance and a motley group of relatives? Add to the mix a trivia adversary, who occupies too much of her thoughts and whose presence seems to cancel out her anxiety, and her carefully constructed life starts pulling apart at the seams. Is the possibility of belonging and loving worth the risk or will she push everyone away to keep safe in her cocoon?

Waxman uses a third-person narrator who invites readers into Nina’s quirky, humorous thoughts and life accompanied by a cornucopia of wacky friends, family and the unique character of the City of LA. It’s a thoroughly engaging story with many LOL moments and a sweet romance, too. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

{ @berkleypub #partner }
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@abbiwaxman’s THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL kept a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. What a bookish delight!
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We meet ultra-introverted Nina Hill. She’s set in her ways and her routines. Every day she goes to work in a bookstore and loves nothing more than to come home to her beloved cat, Phil. She adores schedules, to-do lists, and day planners. But one day things go topsy-turvy when a lawyer contacts her about her father. She grew up as the daughter of a single mother who told her she didn’t know who her father was. We discover that her father was wealthy and included her in his will, but Nina wants nothing to do with her new family. Meanwhile, she is getting too much attention from an attractive man on her rival trivia team - Nina just wants to be left alone, thank you very much.
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Nina Hill is a crack up! She’s got a fun way about her with a fabulous sense of humor. She’s an endearing, bookish, imaginative, witty, and clever character that you’ll want to be friends with. YES, this book is somewhat predictable, but it is so in a good way because this character is meant to make you smile. Waxman writes the perfect story for every bookworm that includes entertaining and wonderfully colorful characters! It’s the perfect read for a day out in the sun! ★★★★½

why did I take so long to pick up this ARC? I mean this was a perfect book for me! I would like to apologize to the author for delaying the reading of her book.

I LOVE THIS BOOK! It’s hilarious and heart warming. The protagonist has ADHD but the writing is not making a joke about that or her quirks, it is generally funny. And it has references to so many books 😍😍 I had read the synopsis some time back but had completely forgotten. So I went in to this book knowing nothing and was pleasantly surprised.

Thank you so much for writing this book @abbiwaxman . I would give it 4.5 stars. It’s not a five star only because I can’t handle so many characters.

I wanted so badly to love this book and I went into it enjoying the plot, but sadly I ended up having to make myself finish this one. The plot was perfection, but the execution wasn't. The timing just didn't work for me at all. It was just so slow and honestly, I had no pull to keep me reading.