3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.*

I am actively making my way through page two of my NetGalley TBR, where I lost a number of titles because I didn't realize I HAD a page two. This title appealed to me for the premise: Ava is an engineer for STÄDA, an IKEA-like corporate giant. Ava makes boxes and is so committed to her brand that she speaks in STÄDA, noticing every item. It's clever and entertaining. Ava is also deeply damaged from surviving a car crash 5 years ago that killed her parents and her fiancee, Andie. Ava is surprisingly swept off her feet by the new CEO, and despite her own internal warnings, she ignores all of the red flags and embarks on a tricky relationship.

A really different domestic thriller, made unique by the STÄDA angle as well as a decidedly millennial slant.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

The set up is an office which is quite a common place to set up a story but this was a quirky satire and nothing like I have ever read so points for original writing and twists on what one might expect to read about and always surprising the reader with social commentary.

<i>She didn't ask anyone about their weekends, and she didn't particularly like it when anyone asked about hers. Her answer never changed, because her weekends, like her weekdays, were beautifully organized, uniform, and solitary. When she described them, whoever was listening would glaze over. Eventually her colleagues left her to do what she did best, which was to create useful household boxes from the six essential STÄDA materials: wood, metal, MDF, plastic, linen, and pulp board.
But a new employee had arrived at the Simple Tower and appeared to be disrupting this social contract.</i>

I was surprised and pleased by The Very Nice Box - it started well, if familiarly, with a woman who loves her job and her peaceful, organised to the nth degree existence, and doesn't want any more in her life than she already has. Slightly quirky, pleasant, not too taxing. But relatively quickly this book takes a bit of a left turn, and became something a little more nuanced and thoughtful. I have not read the two books this is supposed to remind one but there was a beautiful mix of sorrow and grief together and sense of hopefulness. The story was deep in areas it needed to be not brushing off sensitive topics which I very much appreciated.

I am very intrigued by that this author can do, I understand they might not be for everyone but I definitely enjoyed my time with it and made me ponder a lot.

Check content warnings before driving in.

THE VERY NICE BOX is satirical office fiction starring a woman who designs storage boxes for STÄDA, a trendy Brooklyn-based furniture company.

I read an excerpt of this title and was immediately drawn in by the authors' wry humor -- such a treat. What follows is a bit of a genre mash-up; this is office fiction with a romance, a satire with elements of suspense. It's a novel about navigating grief, as well as trying to answer the age-old question: Is he a douchebag, or not?

I found a great deal to enjoy in this debut, from subtle cultural critiques to sometimes snappy writing. I also really appreciated how sensitively the authors wrote a queer main character, as well as several minor characters. I'm not sure the novel quite stuck the landing, but that may come down to personal taste; I've seen others call the ending perfect.

Definitely a book that makes me hopeful for more from Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett, and one that I think would work incredibly well for a book club -- there's a ton to discuss, and I daresay THE VERY NICE BOX might just have something for everyone.

The Very Nice Box was a wild, inventive, hilarious, harrowing roller coaster ride. I enjoyed the imagination of the authors. The main character Ava was multi-dimensional, vivid and deeply endearing. Thank you Net Galley

Funny. Quirky. Lovely. Weird. Confusing. Heartwarming. I am full of adjectives! This book, to me, is most accurately described as An Experience. You go along for the quirky ride. You don’t always know where you are, or where you are going; but the ride is very enjoyable. I used to live in Brooklyn. This book is very Brooklyn (that’s a compliment) - and I know exactly where the IKEA — er, I mean STADA — of the book is standing, so that added to my enjoyment of the tale. I giggled and enjoyed and was sometimes confused but always related to the plight of the protagonist (who aptly wonders, during a day of training at work, “Am I in a cult?”).

A Very Nice Box is a very fun book. Go along for the ride!

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the ARC!

<i>She didn't ask anyone about their weekends, and she didn't particularly like it when anyone asked about hers. Her answer never changed, because her weekends, like her weekdays, were beautifully organized, uniform, and solitary. When she described them, whoever was listening would glaze over. Eventually her colleagues left her to do what she did best, which was to create useful household boxes from the six essential STÄDA materials: wood, metal, MDF, plastic, linen, and pulp board.
But a new employee had arrived at the Simple Tower and appeared to be disrupting this social contract.</i>

I was surprised and pleased by The Very Nice Box - it started well, if familiarly, with a woman who loves her job and her peaceful, organised to the nth degree existence, and doesn't want any more in her life than she already has. Slightly quirky, pleasant, not too taxing. But relatively quickly this book takes a bit of a left turn, and became something a little more nuanced and thoughtful.

This reminded me of a book I loved, Sourdough, and while I haven't read Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, I hear there's similarities to it too - but what I was most impressed by was the way this book married their upbeat, almost magical (but not quite) realism with a portrayal of grief and relationships that is complex, subtle, and well-drawn. I love that kind of book, but they do tend to be a little overly simple when it comes to emotion and human interaction. This kept all the good parts of this particular genre niche, while deepening the story in those areas.

I've complained before about abuse portrayed as though all abusers are monsters, because it's a whole lot more complicated than that. The Very Nice Box did an incredible job of making a complicated scenario realistically tricky to untangle, while keeping it readable and even enjoyable. I had a great time with this book, and I look forward to rereading it in the future.

I finished this book and I am not sure how to categorize what I read. There were definite elements of satire that I think was maybe satire about IKEA and just so many characters that are relatable if you have ever worked in an office. There was romance in multigender forms. There is even some mystery and suspense. It was such a mix of things. I think most of it tied in with the main character. Ava is just one of those one of a kind characters that live life by their own set of rules and has so many quirky habits and ways that they approach life. Through the book, you see her transform and open up after devastating losses. I struggled a bit with the end of the book. I can understand twists, but cannot understand making a character jekyl and hyde, especially in this type of book. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

‘Ava Simon designs storage boxes for STÄDA, a slick Brooklyn-based furniture company. She’s hard-working, obsessive, and heartbroken from a tragedy that killed her girlfriend and upended her life. It’s been years since she’s let anyone in.’

That is until she meets the young and magnetic Mat Putnam.

The storyline centers around Ava’s work, with heartbreaking flashback moments that unveil the past, as she tries to move forward when Mat enters her life and changes her world—for good or bad?

You will have to read the book. ;)

I will say, I Love the ending!

THE VERY NICE BOX is the first book that I’ve read by Laura Blackett & Eve Gleichman, and I can’t wait to read more.

Thank you, NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, for providing me with an eGalley in the request for an honest review.

A satirical look at an IKEA-type company and a product designer, Ava, who works there, this odd book did not work for me. Ava suffers a horrific loss and a romance with her new boss opens her up to coming out of the funk she's been in since that loss. Yet a certain plot point tweaks this seemingly fun and redemptive book of healing and growth into a thriller-type book that ends with little closure. Maybe I missed what I was supposed to get out of the send-ups of the IKEA-like company or the corp culture or the bro-culture that were intended, but I just ended up being underwhelmed at the end. Ava, after all the loss she suffered, wasn't redeemed or didn't really "grow." The rushed ending seems to indicate that she is finally open to loving and growing again, but it didn't feel earned. Overall, I was disappointed with this one.

This rating is not reflective of the book, quality of writing or quality of the story. I always have a never ending TBR and I had to cut this one in my fall stack. Hence the lower review because it was simply not one that appealed to me enough to make time for it. Which I think is a part of how successful a book is--does it go to the top of your TBR? this did not for me.

Ava Simon is an engineer who works for a company founded by a Swedish entrepreneur which focuses on the construction of storage units. I couldn’t help but think of IKEA, except every item is named with an adjective which vacillates between funny and annoying. For the past five years she has struggled to come to terms with the loss of her parents and fiancé in a hit-and-run car crash in which she was the sole survivor. She has walled out everything but her dog and her job, which she is very good at.

Enter Mat Putnam, a charismatic and energetic man who becomes her boss. He also becomes her live-in partner and lover. When he encourages her to attend one of his Good Guy meetings, an all-male self-help group that doesn’t actually help but justifies and congratulates their poor choices, she smells a rat and tries to extricate herself from the relationship. And that’s when the pace picks, I man page-turning picks up.

And this is where I say, avoiding spoiler alerts, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s quite original and I always love that in a book. I call it a novel novel, and this one was certainly novel. Don’t start it before bedtime.

I read a bit of this e-arc and some reviews and actually ended up purchasing a final print copy because I was so into the concept the writing.

I really enjoyed this quirky, intelligent and insightful tale of Ava Simon, a young and talented engineer who designs storage boxes for a trendy furniture company called Stada (an obvious but affectionate spoof of Ikea). She’s buried herself in her work since the loss in an accident of her partner for whom she still grieves. Then a new charismatic manager arrives at the company and turns her previously ordered world upside down. Well-paced, well-plotted and well-constructed, it’s a sharp satire on corporate culture, office politics and contemporary management initiatives, witty and amusing. But at the same time there are much darker themes at work here, especially in the working out of Ava and Mat’s relationship and her struggles with loss and trust. The ending is unpredictable (well, it was for me anyway) and satisfying. Clever, original and in turns funny and sad, it’s an inventive debut and one which I highly recommend.

I loved these characters and the writing kept me compulsively engaged. There aren't a lot of books like this one, and that's a sad thing.

Thoroughly enjoyable read. This story of corporate culture and individual growth reminded me of the tv show, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. Add to it a large serving of menace from a character who was too good to be true, and I was hooked from the very first page. One part brilliant social commentary, one part mystery starring a unique and very sympathetic young woman,, The Very Nice Box is a very nice read.

The protagonist, Ava, is reminiscent of several recent characters, such as Elanor Oliphant, where the main character has her quirks. Ava is a hard-working engineer who works for a company that has a very unique style of work that seems to suit her well. She delegates her workday into precise segments and is not happy when anything, especially social obligations, change her plans. She has a new boss who is charismatic and they develop a friendship and understanding. This book takes the reader in all different and sometimes unexpected directions.
Fun read.
#TheVeryNiceBox #Netgalley #Houghton Mifflin Harcourt #MarinarBooks

I finished this book with two main thoughts: Saying the romance takes a sharp turn is a huge understatement! And this reader who does not like romances truly loved this quirky book! And, I found my own bias. Ava is bi-sexual but leans towards being more attracted to women. When she begins her relationship with Max, not a woman, I immediately cringed and feared the whole "a good man can straighten her out" concept. That was on me! I was trying to impose my own ideas regarding sexuality on Ava. But once I got over myself, I really enjoyed Ava getting comfortable with her own emotions and coming out of her depression. I also loved the fun play on a certain Scandinavian homewares company with the naming of products produced by Ava's employer like Very Nice Box and Cozy Nesting Tables and Curious Leash and Curious Collar (for our canine friends when they aren't lounging in their Dreamy Dog Bed). This quirkiness brought a lightness to what could have been an incredibly heavy story.

Ava is an engineer for STÄDA (think IKEA if everything had English names). She's a hard-worker and a big fan of STÄDA products. After a tragic accident, she finds herself living a simple life with no friends while keeping a considerable distance from her coworkers until her new boss, Mat, walks into her life. Ava is totally focused on The Very Nice Box, her passion project and not even remotely interested in a relationship. However, vandals have been causing chaos in the wake of the construction of STÄDA's new building which has displaced a community garden. Ava is one of the vandals' most recent victims which leaves her without a car. Soon Ava is carpooling with Mat to work, and against Ava's better judgement, they fall in love. However, something isn't quite right with Mat.

I liked this book. Ava was a great character, and Mat was the epitome of a bro-man (yuck). The paranoid friend, Jaime, was also likable. My only complaint was that it was a slow burn, like a really slow burn. I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing happened. Then, I waited some more for something to happen, but nothing did. The ending was good, but it just took forever to get there.

What a truly interesting read. So much more and different than anticipated. Great writing, a witty smart romance/thriller with an interesting diverse cast of characters. Ava is stuck in mourning having lost all of those closest to her including the love of her life. She meets Mat, a seemingly great guy who swoops in to help Ava out of funk and find joy again when she needs it most. They work together at STADA, a fictitious hyper exaggerated version of IKEA, non traditional furniture names and all. It’s a weirdly compelling read. Loss, love, friends, real and dangerous, a shocking twist of a surprise stalker, both cyber and IRL, lies, illegalities, and so much more. I couldn’t put it down. I look forward to more by this truly creative author.

Well this was a fantastic debut! I loved Ava and Jamie, and what we learned about Andie. I absolutely hated Mat and Owen, which I think was the point. I was incredibly invested in finding out how and when Ava would stand up for herself and realize she deserved better. I really enjoyed the narration and the pace of the story that kept me flipping pages fast. I will definitely recommend this to other readers and particularly those who are a fan of Eleanor Oliphant.