“To entry hall of the library was as beautiful as any cathedral, and Nina had looked around and realized she would never run out of things to read, and that certainly filled her with peace and satisfaction.”



This book is so messy. Totally the opposite to its heroine – Nina Hill. Nina is a selfproclamated book worm, trivia nerd, introvert, and (surprise, surprise) she works in a bookstore. She has her own world put in full order – no surprises allowed. She plans everything – from what she is going to eat during the week down to the time period she is planning to do nothing.
“Surely her purpose in life wasn’t simply to read as many books as possible?”
I can decide whether I liked the book or not. Yes, I’m joking. Point me a bookworm who won’t like a book about other bookworms.
“It also meant she thought of books as medication and sanctuary and the source of all good things.”
The story ranges over so many topics:
• Nina living without a father
• Her unknown father died and left her with a big and noisy new family
• Nina is living without a mom, too – her wanderlust mother is away during all her childhood
• Tom
• Her anxiety
None of them is fully unfolded. The plot is jumping around and got me lost from time to time. I picked up the book from where I stopped the previous day and after a page or two I started to ask myself – is she the one without a mom, with a new family and keen on trivia. It is not structured well and needs more editing. Also, it has a strange way of narrating and I struggled with it in the beginning. It is so wordy and overloaded with events.
I didn’t fall from Nina or relate to her. Although I’m a book worm as well, I’m more misanthropic like Lydia (one of her many new relatives, sorry I can’t say which exactly – I got lost at the beginning. I always have time for my friends and family. I don’t plan every step and I always have time to unexpected adventures. I liked Tom, Peter, and Archie, tho. They are super fun and give their best to knock Nina out of her shell and her comfort zone.
“As her good friend Leah once said, she wasn’t mean; she was painfully accurate”
The family drama is too much. The book would be perfectly fine without it. Anyway – there isn’t so many pages and time to fully develop this storyline and it feels unfinished. For me – better without it.
More effort should be put into her development as a person. She is in her late 20ties but she kind of discovered herself, stepped out of her comfort zone, because of Tom. I didn’t see much of him as well. But I wanted to. Because he is charming and forced by love. Instead of bubbling around different topics, I would like to focus on their relationship and how it would involve. Is she willing to change her lifestyle because of him and to make concessions because of him? Speaking of this – I wanted to know how things will turn out with her new family members.
The book is witty and funny light summer read. Although it is quite overflooded with events, I enjoyed it. It is crying for a sequel.
“Shelf space was always a problem for the dedicated booklover.”

Get comfy in your favourite reading corner and get ready to delve into the charming world of Nina Hill. Her life seems to be perfect, it’s organised and what she's comfortable with but sometimes the bumps in life take you to places that make you re-evaluate everything.

Escape into Nina’s meandering life for a few hours and it will make you happy. For book lovers, everywhere!

I loved this book! Nina works in a book shop, is part of a trivia team and lives with a cat named Phil. She like she likes her own company and so is shocked when the father she never knew dies, leaving her with a plethora of sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews. Plus, she quite fancies a member of an enemy trivia team-will she have to talk to him?! The horror! Filled with loads of pop culture and literary references, this is a great read for anyone who loves reading. It's funny, heart'warming with just a little bit of trial and tribulation thrown in. I couldn't put the book down. Brill.

A typical summer/holiday read. It is a lovely heartwarming book. The writing style is lovely and makes it an easy read.
If you want a feel good book then this is for you.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Headline Books for my eARC in exchange for my honest review

Abbi Waxman's creation, the book obsessed 29 year old Nina Lee Hill was an absolute joy for me to spend time with, particularly with the mass of literary and cultural references littered throughout this wonderful piece of contemporary fiction with all its comic humour. Set in the offbeat district of Larchmont, LA, Nina works at the independent bookstore, Knights, established in the 1940s. It's the best fit for Nina, an OCD over planner, so Monica from Friends is obviously her favourite character. Nina is smart, sarcastic, socially awkward and anxious for whom spontaneity and the unexpected throws her for a loop. Books are at the top of the list in her 5 perfect things, they are medication, sanctuary and the source of all good things, nothing has yet proven her wrong and it's little wonder libraries are her idea of heaven.

Her mom is a famous photographer and free spirit, she has never known her father, and she was bought up and loved by her nanny, Louise, and Khalil Gibran's The Prophet has the most apt saying that defines her, 'You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts' as she lives her life in her off the wall and exciting fictional universe. Amidst her busy, tightly scheduled life of Trivia nights with her team, Book 'Em Danno, numerous book clubs and reading, that are her weapons of self defence, Nina's life has an almighty spanner thrown in it. She discovers a father she never knew about has just died, she is in his will, and is struck numb when she realises she has a huge and disparate family right on her doorstep. Then there is Tom, a member of another Trivia team, a whizz on the subject of sport, Nina's weakest area, annoying, really not a suitable boyfriend for her, after all he is not a reader, but.....she just cannot stop thinking about him.

Nina struggles to accommodate the idea that life is what happens whilst she has been busy making other plans, and overcome her personal intrinsic belief that 'Books are safer than other people' (Neil Gaiman). Waxman writes a gloriously funny novel with a raft of fantastic characters that lit up my life as I read it. Nina is endearing, a sharp cookie who can wax lyrical on the most obscure of subjects, her brain is a veritable encylopaedia of facts and knowledge, it's just her emotional side that is a challenge and which she needs to work on. This is for all those book worms out there, especially for those for whom books are one the most perfect elements in an imperfect world, and for anyone else who enjoys well written contemporary fiction with oodles of warmth. Many thanks to Headline for an ARC.

What a wonderful book! This fresh and uplifting tale of bookshop retail assistant Nina finding a whole family she never knew existed after her estranged father dies has the perfect balance of humour and tenderness. I loved the mixed reception she got from her siblings and the geekiness of Nina and her quiz team friends. Nina is a heroine I was behind from the off and this book has definitely encouraged me to read more by Abbi Waxman.

It's a very good summer/holiday read that'll warm your heart. The writing is cute, funny. It's about family and books. Characters are very likeable. What can a book lover ask for?
Pick it up if you're looking for a nice, uplifting read.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really loved this book it is definitely the perfect story for a little bit of escapism! Great story and great characters!

A funny, touching read about family and books and living between the two. I really enjoyed this and would thoroughly recommend picking it up for a brilliant holiday read.

3 stars!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

The bookish life of Nina Hill is a quick, fluffy, romantic contemporary novel that sat middle of the road for me. It didn’t have any massive highs or terrible lows, but if your looking for a quick read with a bookish character I’d probably put this on the list of books I’d recommend.

The highlight for me was the characters in Nina’s new family who all felt distinct and were fun to read about particularly the interesting dynamics and messy family tree.

Overall the romance was cute, but nothing stand out. It was also a more minor part of the book than I thought but that wasn’t a major negative for me.

I’d potentially recommend this book, but only if the person was looking for something specific were this fit the bill.

Nina Hill works in a bookshop in a quirky area of Los Angeles. She's happy with her life, with its pub quiz fixtures, cinema trips and plenty of time scheduled for reading. In fact, Nina prefers books to people and is quite content sharing her life with Phil, her cat. However, her life changes forever when she gets the news that her absent father has died, leaving her a bequest and a big, complicated family to deal with. A handsome quiz rival further pushes Nina to question her attitude to life.

This was a jolly, light-hearted book - although Nina suffers from anxiety, it's not all doom and gloom and there is the sense that nothing truly awful will happen. It's cosy, escapist fiction and I think it should be appreciated as such - I enjoyed it, read it quickly and it left me feeling happy. Surely then it's met its objectives!

If I wanted to criticise, I'd say that it's unrealistic: people have massive changes of heart, situations are rather too coincidental and the dialogue isn't like any conversation I've ever been in. However, I'd still maintain that it is cheerful and funny in places and lively. Worth a read if you need a boost of uncomplicated happiness.

I loved this book and would highly recommend it to all. It has a great story line, brilliant main characters and is a real page turner. I couldn't put this book down.

I wanted to love this book but I couldn't connect with Nina as a character and there are other better books about dysfunctional young women. Also I felt the ending was rushed and not worthy of the character.
Nina is happy working in a bookstore and taking part in trivia quizzes until she discovers she has a family. We follow her as she adjusts to her new status and tires dating too. A reasonable attempt at the topic but there are better books on the topic out there.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy in return for an honest review

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was a fairly easy read. Nina is an introvert who prefers reading books to spending time with people. She discovers that her father who she never knew has died and left behind a whole new family for her. It's not an unpleasant read but it didn't particularly grip me. I suspect other readers will find Nina to be a very relatable character but it just wasn't really for me.