I enjoyed the character growth as well as the exploration into the publishing industry and the mental heath rep. Thank you sourcebooks and netgalley for my copy.

Okay this one was so cute & I adored it! I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. Typically, I’m a romance-hater, but I really enjoyed this one

I always get excited when a book that's set in the publishing world enters my radar and this one was no exception! In the end though, I was frustrated with the main character, Nora, and how she handled problems and complaints in her life and how she treated people. I'd say that this book is more of watching the heroine embark on a journey to figure out what she really wants in life without much of a conclusion, along with a hint of romance. Overall, not my favorite.

“𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚑𝚘𝚠, 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗’𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎. 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢.”

Nora, an editorial assistant at a nonfiction publisher, is at a crossroads in her life and her career. Her job seemed like the Dream Job for a book nerd like her, but after five years, when her already unlivable salary gets cut, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet and maybe poach some authors, including the ever-optimistic and charming Andrew, a new nonfiction author that everyone is after.

Nora deals with a lot of really heavy feelings and struggles with keeping up with her life. The title and cover makes you think that it would be a regular, sweet rom-com but it is so much more, focussing more on Nora's struggle with her profession and her mental health. Robinson touches on some really heavy topics like suicide and depression with a very simple and easy writing style, which I found really well done as her writing felt personal and honest. I also liked how she didn't end up magically fixing all of Nora's problems at the end. Instead, choosing to give the story a more open ending, giving Nora an opportunity to have a chance at a better life and an opportunity to make amends.

I felt that this book had a good dose of realism. It isn't light-hearted and fluffy and I found it very honest and real. It's a story of making mistakes and learning from them. Truly a modern day story of self discovery and a good reminder to ask for help when you need it.

Overall I enjoyed this book, especially the glimpse into the publishing world. As someone who loves books, I found that part fascinating.

Note: Thank you to the publisher Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for giving me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm such a sucker for books about books. This one was a fun book to read, and I love Shauna Robinson's books. I liked following Nora's journey as she tries to figure out her next steps. While some of it was predictable -- working for the rival company while still being employed? -- I enjoyed seeing Nora navigate her career and her own life, figuring out what it is she wants for herself and her job.

If you like books about books, books that explore mental health and friendship, and about finding your own happiness, this one is a great choice.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for my eArc. All opinions are my own.

LOVED this book and felt myself rooting for Nora, which I don't always do with rom-com type books. Classic romance but I love any type of plot that includes books/publishing! It feels very meta in the best way. Not a life changing read but a fun chick lit book when you need a smile.

I couldn’t get into this one. Might pick it up another time, but right now it doesn’t seem to be catching my attention! I love reading books about books, so I’m sure that at the right time, I’ll love this!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Unfortunately, this was not for me. I was unable to get past the first few chapters. I believe this is just an issue of my taste not aligning with the story. I recommend others try it!

I really wanted to enjoy Must Love Books, as I enjoy reading books that take place in the publishing world. However; this novel had slow pacing and I found the characters to not be relatable. I was sadly not able to finish this novel.

Who doesn't love a book about books? This was a nice, easy read and Nora was a relatable character. I liked the chemistry between Nora and Andrew and enjoyed the interplay between them. Interspersed with all the romantic tension was actual life advice about finding one’s purpose and working towards what you really want out of life.

I really enjoyed this one!

This book had its' potential but something was missing. Don't know what, but something was. It had: bookish themes, new beginnings, women wrongs and rights, forced proximity, and much more. It should appeal to you as it did with me, but something was missing after I finished reading it. Don't know if it was the pace or the chemistry. But something was so kept that in mind if you pick up a copy.

An enjoyable romance, with good character development and engaging plot. I recommend it specially if you like romance books in general.

Who doesn't love a book about books???? This is a lovely "feel-good" novel.. perfect to read on a quiet Sunday afternoon. This book is meant to be a romance and there definitely is a spark that takes place between two characters, but that's really a very small part of this novel.. so don't pick it up if you are expecting a juicy nerdy romance read.

Maybe this was my fault, but I thought this would be a quick easy romance. This was not quick, easy, or a romance. There was no excitement or happiness in this book at all. I tried off and on for a couple months to finish this book and only made it 30% of the way through and DNF.

find some aspects of the plot to be somewhat predictable, and the pacing could have been improved in certain sections. Overall, I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves books and enjoys a sweet romance, but I think it falls just shy of being a truly standout novel in its genre

Must love Books wasn't what I expected it to be from the cover or the blurb.
I expected a light read, but it got very heavy in parts. That didn't put me off. It is well written, believable characters and moral dilemmas. Overall I enjoyed it.

BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: Must Love Books
AUTHOR: Shauna Robinson
FORMAT: eBook
RATING: DNF (did not finish)

MY THOUGHTS

I started this book and found that I had a lot of difficulty connecting to the story. I did not finish it, not for lack of quality of the book but more so that I felt it was a “right book wrong time” situation where I wasn’t in the right mindset for this one at this time! Hopefully will be picking it back up in the future!

Unfortunately this was more of a miss than a hit for me. The concept is cute and totally drew me in - a book about books! About bookish people?! Ever meta and fun! Sadly, it didn’t hold my interest, only the idea the book centred on. I’m still happy and thankful to have read this book.

This was a cute bookish themed book. I have always thought the publishing world seems glamorous. This book shows the "real" version of the world, and it's not as glamorous as it might seem. Parts of this cracked me up in the book, especially the parts that talked about authors. A lot of times we turn authors into celebrities, because they are, but they are also real people. and the character of Andrew really shows this clearly. I liked that part so much!

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a gifted e-copy of this book!

Must Love Books is the kind of literary romance we need more of. As much an exploration of the millennial coming of age as it is a tender portrait of chemistry and falling in love, Robinson's writing is lovely and refreshing. Read my interview with the author here: https://culturess.com/2022/01/18/author-shauna-robinson-must-love-books/

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.