Must Love Books is a well-crafted novel that will speak to many in the current adult generation. What makes this book such a draw and unique is its exploration of millennial disillusionment with the workforce. Many in this group were told by those who came before us that work would give us fulfillment and should encompass our identity; however, through Nora's journey, we quickly see the lies and toxicity in this. Nora's reactions and ruminations are so relatable and the subplot of her relationship with Anthony was also another source of reading pleasure. The book ends perfectly--realistic and unwavering in its truth.

Nora works works for Parsons Press as an editorial assistant with the hopes of using that position as a stepping stone to her Ultimate Dream Job. When Parsons begins making cutbacks, and letting people go, Nora’s workload ends up increasing dramatically. She is now doing the job of three people, and was just told that her pay was going to be reduced. Worried she won’t be able to pay for her apartment she starts searching for second job opportunities. Weber, a competitor Publishing house is looking for freelance workers to bring new authors over to sign with them. When Nora meets Andrew Santos, a handsome author the Parsons is scmoozing, she finds herself caught between Parsons and Weber and her own romantic feelings for him.

I really enjoyed the inside look at Publishing this book gave. This is definitely a book for people who enjoy books. The romance was cute and sweet, and the conflict was definitely troublesome! I enjoyed the self discovery that Nora went through to find herself and what truely makes her happy. I liked how she was finally able to admit that she had a problem (suicidal thoughts) and reached out to a friend who was more than willing to help and give insightful advice.

Must Love Books is not considered a Romance, and not a light or fluffy read. It deals with some deep issues, and gives us some insight about realizing that sometimes your dreams have to be considered seriously and may not work out the way you plan in your head.

⚠️ TW: Suicidal thoughts and depression ⚠️

Thank you so much @netgalley and @bookmarked for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This one is out Jan 18, 2022 so if you love books then be sure to check it out!

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

#ninetysixthbookof2021 #arc

CW: suicidal ideation, anxiety and depression

This book is somewhat billed as a romance, but I would argue it’s more of a workplace drama with a little romance on the side, and the workplace story was definitely more interesting to me than the romance. It was also very anxiety producing for me. Reading about Nora’s career struggles was difficult for me at this time in my life. I also wish the book had delved a little deeper into her mental struggles, although I appreciate that it was presented very matter of factly. People struggle with anxiety and depression and I like that it’s becoming more mainstream to address those issues as commonplace, because they are. I think the title makes the book seem like a light read, and I don’t think it represents the story very well, although I understand why it was chosen.

Thank you to @netgalley and @bookmarked for the advance copy. (Pub date 1/18/22)

This story is more about self-discovery rather than a romance. Nora works as an editorial assistant for a business publisher that keeps cutting employees and loading more work onto the remaining people. She scrambles to make ends meet and ends up freelancing for a rival publisher without telling her full-time boss about the second job. It's also complicated by her relationship with one of the star authors at her original company, who is debating which publisher he should sign the next book contract with. Naturally, complications ensue. However, the focus stays primarily on Nora as she deals with her bad decisions and learns and grows from them. The secondary characters, including Andrew (the star author) are pretty two-dimensional and seem to exist only to highlight Nora's emotional state. As someone who has worked in publishing (for both trade and technical publishers), as well as in a bookstore, I think that the author has captured the nuts and bolts of how publishing works as well as the type of personality drawn toward it. This is a decent book, but nothing special.

Enjoyable book - especially for those who love books! Nora has her dream job - except the dream turns to a nightmare due to corporate dealings.
This book deals with finding yourself, battling depression, finding your "people" and personal growth. Good read for those dealing with these issues - and even those who think they have things all figured out!

Great book especially for book lovers. It was great with some twists and surprises with a little love mixed into it also. I loved the character development and the plot. Was at times slow and still a great read. Would love to have this be the start of a series to see what happens with Nora, her relationship with Andrew and her new career developments.

I respect the story that author Shauna Robinson has given us in Must Love books. Nora Hughes has been an editorial assistant for the last five years. Her dream job when she started, never lived up to what she hoped it would be.come. The story is laid out beautifully as we get to know Nora and the struggles she is having with her career, ultimately affecting her overall happiness. The plot is very believable and relatable for those in their 20’s who haven’t been fulfilled by there jobs or are questioning if they are in the right career. A behind the scenes look into the publishing world for book lovers, the author shows us a reasonable portrayal of the unglamorous side. Nora was easy to relate to and feel for in spite of several poor choices. I am particularly delighted at the romantic interest in this book. Their interactions felt true and there was a mutual support for each other that felt mature and encouraging. The ending was pitch perfect for me. It was at once hopeful with out minimizing what had transpired.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc. This is my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I think the premise of the book is enticing and promising. However the actual execution could’ve been better. I feel bad dnfing a book so early into it but I got 5 chapters in and I was still only 11%. Indicative of a long book and I am not a fan of long strung out books. Especially when the love interest has hardly even been introduced yet. The first five chapters was all background info and filler sentences that probably could’ve been packed into 1-2 chapters to save time. The main character is okay but I felt zero connection or relatability to her because she spent most of the first chapters complaining about her salary reduction. While, yeah, I agree that sucks she mainly <i>complained</i>. also the fact she purposely wanted to go get lunch with her friend because she knew she was gonna pay? I would at least offer….

Overall this book probably was going to be 3-4 stars and I think there’s people out there who’d really like it but it just wasn’t for me!

Well this book was a lot heavier than I anticipated! It had really good topics though regarding mental illness and racial issues and done very well.

Nora gets herself in a really difficult sticky situation, which makes life even harder for her. She was easy to relate to, and I loved how sarcastic she was. I really felt for her the whole book.

Andrew is an unexpected bright spot in the cloud that follows Nora. He was so wonderful and supportive and I instantly loved him. His banter with her was so great! Gah he was just ridiculously amazing.

It got a little repetitive at times, but it was still a very enjoyable read about someone in search of what they want in life.

TW- depression and mentions of suicide.

I should know better than to request books like this. It''s just too....cheesy for me. So slow and...vanilla.

It's cute and appeals to a group of people who want to read nice things while drinking hot chocolate, but...I need murder or something.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you Source Books for the ebook review copy.

Admittedly, the title and synopsis piqued my interest. Nora, an editorial assistant at Parsons Press, a publishing company, had very high hopes that this position would lead her to her dream job as an editor. Nora used to love books so much, but this job has sucked the life out of her. This job is nothing like she thought. With all the layoffs and the people who she enjoyed working with gone, Nora barely makes it from day to day and struggles to make ends meet.

I thought about 7 chapters in, I might not care enough to finish. But as I got to see Nora's struggles and watch her facade of "everything is fine" fade, I had to know what was going to happen to her. With Parsons cutting Nora's pay again but increasing her workload, her hopes for promotion rest solely on the signing of an up and coming author, Andrew Santos.

But Santos seems to like Nora and she enjoys the distraction of hanging out with him, not to mention she's also freelancing for another publishing company who she's told she's no longer employed by Parsons.

There were some relatable moments as I followed Nora's journey, this sort of trying to figure out how to navigate the years after college and your first real job. Accepting what people tell you instead of telling them what you want. Setting boundaries when you aren't sure how to do that when so many have been crossed.

This book was 🫖🫖🫖.5 tea cups.

Starting this book was not easy for me but at the same time made me feel understood and encourage to take the chances and keep following the dream that someday in my life I would find that job that allows me to be among books, recommend them and share the happiness they bring to my life with others. If I only could find the simplest words to let people know how many times a book has saved my life, if I only could, but I am not that strong. So if you love books and still think you have not found your place in this very twisted world, let me tell you something: Your place is there, where books are. 💚

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book!
.
The synopsis of this book struck me as right up my alley, but really what dragged me in was the title. Let's be honest, "must love books"? Yes, that might as well be the headline of my personal ad. That said, I felt like this book paled somewhat in what I wanted it to be. Nora and Andrew were interesting characters on their own, but together they seemed somewhat forced. Nora has so much going on and Robinson continues to pile things on in the final third of the novel. I would have loved to get a some in-depth analysis of her toward the beginning, so as to have a more complete picture of the character within the novel.
.
This is a wonderful debut for the author, and certainly a cathartic read for anyone finding themselves struggling with a dead end job and searching for where they might fit in the world. While classified as a romance, and the twists eventually find a happy ending, I would classify this one as a light and fluffy read. The lightness exists, but it is surrounded by some very deep and dark clouds.

While marketed more as a romance, this is more of a novel of self-discovery. Our main character, Nora, is in a dead end job and feels generally stuck in her life. She struggles to maintain her mental health, which under constant threat from a stressful job and trying to make ends meet. When she is put on a reduced salary, she starts a second job. The only problem is that the second job is clearly a conflict of interest at a competing publishing house. What ensues is a slow discovery of who she is, who she wants to be, and learning how to bridge the gap between them. Since this wasn't quite what I was expecting, it took me longer than usual to get through it. Once I settled into it, it truly was a lovely story.

Trigger Warning: This book deals with severe depression

Must Love Books is just everything you can ask for in a book about the positives and negatives of working in the publishing industry. The novel deals with such heavy topics of depression and how it affects everything and everyone around you, as well as economic challenges and job market issues.

The characters in Must Love Books are so unique and easy to understand. Nora and Andrew are so real, as are the surrounding characters. It was easy to see why one character would a make a certain choice. The story flowed well between being driven by plot and by the characters. I could see different aspects of myself in each of the characters and they all had such distinctive journeys that were a joy to be a part of.

If you are a reader and dream of working with books in any capacity, whether or not within the publishing industry, this is the book for you. If you are someone who feels that a lot of books with depressive characters don’t quite understand what it can be like from day to day, this is a story could feel seen in.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. *

This is a poignant and engrossing story about Nora’s journey of self-discovery, as she faces early career disappointments and depression. I thought the book was written so thoughtfully, without relying on cliches. There’s a romance, but it’s not the central plot (although it definitely was the engine that kept the book moving at an enjoyable pace). The deception Nora engages in made me deeply uncomfortable, and I felt the tension and apathy of her situation so well—some effective writing! I recommend this book for any reader of contemporary fiction, or romance with substance.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I picked up this book as it seemed to be made for me. First of all, it is about the love for books, something I relate to massively. The blurb made it sound like a lighthearted and fun read, which is definitely good for the heart once in a while. I went in with great expectations; this book did nothing but deliver on that front.

Must Love Books is the story of Nora Hughes, a passionate editorial assistant at Parsons Press. She finds herself in a bit of a pickle when her salary is cut… again. She begins to ask herself how she is going to afford rent while being assigned more and more tasks at work after fellow assistants and editors are laid off. The company she works for publishes nonfiction books. She works in the business books department, and she initially saw this as a temporary position which would have led her to her dream job of editing fiction books. She has been trying to leave Parsons without any luck, and while her bank account is looking emptier by the minute, her daily tasks increase together with the rejection emails in her personal inbox. She decides to really risk it by secretly freelancing for a competitor of Parsons, with the hope to get a much better paid and more rewarding full-time position with them after a few months. She plans to poach some Parsons authors to get in good standing with the other company. Everything seems to go somewhat okay until she meets Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author that everyone would publish, and she must decide what’s more important to her.

Must Love Books hooked me in from page one. Although it starts slow, it is easy to read with a compelling plot. I loved how romance, self-development and books are tangoing and making this book interesting as well as entertaining. As I said, romance finds its way in this book, but I see it as a nice addition rather than being the centre of the plot. In fact, Nora is at the centre of the plot. She is a well-developed character, with very relatable fears, hopes and dreams. This makes her a character that a lot of readers will resonate with. She has a complex and sometimes difficult relationship with herself and her life as it stands, which makes her even more interesting. I found myself rooting for Nora and all I wanted was for her to succeed and get out of the slump she was in. Must Love Books doesn’t shy away from dealing with the lows and does it in a way that is delicate and respectful – as if admitting that all of us can find ourselves in those types of situations and there’s nothing wrong with it. As she becomes stronger and more secure within herself throughout the book, I grew proud of her and enjoyed how she continually overcomes being dealt the worst of hands. I appreciated how books never lost their spark for Nora, even if her job tried really hard to ruin books for her. Most of all, I liked how Nora becomes a heroine throughout the book, in the likes of Keiko, the protagonist of Convenience Store Woman. Both women need to calibrate their idea of personal happiness to follow their own needs rather than what’s conventionally thought of as happiness. Both books deal with complex questions and dilemmas and both women come out the other side at the end.

The only reason why I am giving Must Love Books four rather than five stars is that, at points, Nora’s anxiety and paranoia surrounding lying about her double jobs was a bit too repetitive. The book doesn’t lose much because of it but I was getting irritated so I thought I’d mention it. Apart from that, this book is inspirational and uplifting. For this reason, I urge you to read this book if you think you would enjoy a story of a woman who takes her life into her own hands. Overall, I recommend this book if you are a fan of books about books, books about women, books about love, and lastly books about a protagonist finding their own happiness.

While the cover of the book did make me think this would be a lighthearted romance, I’m glad the book was more than that as it showed Nora dealing with depression and wondering can we really find everything we want out of a job. The book was a bit slow at times which made it tough for me to get in to, but overall I always like a book about books.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review...

Must love books was a great book about self discovery and knowing your worth. Nora is in a dead end job with a publishing compay she is not happy with. This book follows her on her journey of finding herself. With the help of her friends, old coworkers, and an up and coming author in the publishing company nora learns what she wants with her life. Happiness and to be surrounded by books, and not just self-help books that are what she deals with currently.

I really enjoyed Nora as a character, even thoguh at times she seemed very pessamistic she was well rounded for the most part. watching her relationships with her friends, always keeping everyone at arms length and seeing the friendship with Author Andrew Santos blossom really showed a lot of complexity.

My only negatve about the book is it did start off slow. it wasnt until about half way through that the development becomes apparent.

All in all this was a great book.

such an enchanting and captivating read. Any book lover will have a grand time reading this story and falling into the book world.