With the abundance of booked themed stories being released nowadays this one was a DNF for me. A hard to like main character and couple. There were better other options.

Who doesn’t love a good book about books? A cute read, but I wasn’t in LOVE with the Nora. I wanted to YELL at her for more than half the books to get up and CHANGE her dead-end situation.

I wanted to love this book and couldn’t. It dragged. It took me so many more days than it should have. I would get so annoyed with Nora as a main character or as an adult that I’d put it down and play games on my phone instead. The emptiness that was this character and constant struggle to just behave like a compassionate friend to anyone was exhausting for me. She would sugarcoat the concepts of love and passion and suicide, it just felt detached from reality and like there could have been so much greatness to this book. I really wanted to shake Andrew Santos and tell him to ask Beth out on a date.

I generally love, LOVE books about books; unfortunately, this book fell short for me. Maybe that was on me for expecting a rom-com, not a book about the protagonist being situationally depressed.

TW: depression and suicidal ideation.

Publishing assistant Nora Hughes is underpaid and overworked, which is not what she expected when she was hired five years ago and thought of working in publishing. Overworked may even be underselling it, she's doing the work of a million people with all the layoffs in the office, and on top of it all, there is no career progression in sight. She's unhappy, she's broke, and she's over it.

But then she meets Andrew., a successful author. The two become unlikely friends when she is tasked with convincing him to resign his contract... at a publishing company she has grown to resent.

Does she do the job she's been paid to do and sign with the publishing company, or does she freelance and take him elsewhere?

Must Love Books
Shauna Robinson

Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Review

This book was so deep and ao realistic, when I first saw the cover and the blurb I expected a RomCom but this book was that and so much more! I loved how the author has brushed on so many important topics that are yet grey areas in writing.

Nora is an editorial assistant and she's good at what she does, her once dream job is now feeling boring and she feels stagnant, she comes to the conclusion that she only loved the people whom she worked with and not the job itself! When a freelancing opportunity knows on her door she grabs it with both hands while forgetting that it's kinda illegal, to make things even messier she falls in love! With whom you may ask and to that I say GRAB YOUR COPY and READ IT YOURSELF!! 😜

A well written book that has all of the fun elements but with realism sprinkled for good measure! The way the characters evolve is beautiful, the plot is steady and developing till the climax, the themes are relevant and addresses the current age and the written style is just impeccable!!

The cutest rom com read, especially for lovers of books and otherwise ! The love story at the heart of it is witty, charming and so special :)

Must Love Books is a great story about trying to find fulfillment in life. After her job was eliminated, Nora tries to figure out what her next steps are, not only in her job, but also just in life. I think everyone can relate to Nora and has had to take a step back and look into their own lives to make sure they feel fulfilled. I really enjoyed this book!

Lovely feel good story, gave me Sophie Kinsella vibes which I love. A genuine and well written story.

I really appreciated Nora's struggle to pursue her dreams in this book. I did find the mental health aspect of the story to come on a little late in the narrative. It was a surprisingly dark addition that didn't appear until about 30-40% of the way through the book. If you love books about books and don't mind your protagonist dealing with hard things, this is for you.

When I picked out this book, I expected it to be lighthearted based on the title and cover, but my predictions were far from accurate. I really wanted to love this book, but I could not connect with the protagonist, Nora. I spent too long waiting for Nora to evolve into a better version of herself.

Super cute book. Loved the diversity, the characters, and it was just well rounded. Would def read more by this author in the future

I was expecting a rom con something funny and light
This was not the book
This is a story of a woman that is struggling in the storm of depression and some win many looses and the struggle of the people that loves her
This could have been more the author tried and did not succeeded. In making this nice and bubbly neither heat wrenching and tears narration
3 stars overrated

A little more serious than I was expecting. I was looking for more RomCom and this felt more RomDram. I did enjoy the inclusion of bipoc characters and the unlikely romance of it.

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the views and opinions expressed in this review are purely my own and not associate with any brand.

This was a fun book. Great for anyone who loves book. Shauna Robinson wrote a fantastic book. Her writing was excellent. The story compelling and the characters were relatable. Overall great story!

A brilliant debut novel by Shauna Robinson!

This cutesy cover doesn't do this book justice, although I truly love it!

I feel like Nora is every 20 something out there in the world right now. She chose a career based on something she loves - books! But the career turns out to not be what she expected and corporate America is eating up all her happiness.

Add to that, significant mental health issues, isolation from friends and family and a fear of having any type of real, committed relationship and I could describe every 18-29 year old I know today.

This story is completely relevant to our current society and would be a perfect woman's fiction read for all of our younger generations.

How do you balance what you love with what you do to survive? What happens when you find out that what you have been chasing doesn't make you happy? I think Robinson has hit the nail on the head with this one!

I love the peek behind the curtains of the publishing world, something we all probably assume is really glamorous and fun, and finding that it's just like any other corporate business.

I love the male counterpart, Andrew, and how open he is for Nora.

But most of all, I loved that Nora was a hot mess, as most of us are, and that we get to see her arc as she tries to put the pieces of her life together to make a new, happier puzzle.

I loved everything about this one and can't wait for Robinson's next book!

Thank you to #Sourcebooks for this gifted book. I will really treasure this one!

This was a quick read about a young woman trying to find herself while tripping down her career path. Holding on tightly to her love for books and the relationships she had developed with some friends along the way she still begins to find her way to a workable future after a near disastrous episode. If you understand a love for books, book stores, libraries, etc. read this you'll love Nora and her journey!

Nora Hughes always dreamed of working with books, and on paper, it would look like she's living that dream. However, the reality of her situation is that she is nearly five years into a seemingly dead-end job as an editorial assistant at a dying business book publisher. Nora begins to question her trajectory as her already unfulfilling job becomes untenable. After she is given a pay cut to her already meager salary Nora decides to risk it all with some ethically dubious business practices. Nora's life seems to be coming apart at the seams and all is wrong in the world except her newfound infatuation with a charming author who just might be the answer to all her problems. I loved this book, especially the way the author described Nora's bouts with mental illness. I was rooting for Nora all the way through and found the book to not only be a brilliant work of fiction but a hopeful guide for anyone wishing to hit reset on their life.

Disclosure : I received a free egalley of this book through Netgalley. My review is my honest opinion.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the gifted ebook of Must Love Books! All opinions in this review are my own.

I quickly connected to Nora as a character. I appreciated reading a book about someone who tried out their dream and realized it wasn't for them. Normally when you read books about characters trying to figure out what they want in life, they are much younger, so Nora was a refreshing change.

While there is an element of romance in Must Love Books, I wouldn't categorize it as a romance overall. It was more about Nora finding herself and what she wants rather than a partner.

"MUST LOVE BOOKS" and I did love this book. I really liked this and couldn't put it down. Go and read this book today. you will love books as well.

4.5 Stars

In Must Love Books, Nora’s life is not going how she planned. She’s always loved books, and publishing seemed like the perfect job. Now, five years in, she’s still just an undervalued assistant stuck doing more administrative work than actual book-related work. When a new wave of budget cuts hurts Nora’s already low salary, she takes a freelance position with a competing publishing house in order to make ends meet. It’s not ideal, and weighs heavily on Nora, but at least she can pay her rent. Then she gets to know author Andrew Santos. He might be the one to turn everything around if she plays her cards right. But Nora wasn’t counting on falling for Andrew in the process, and the person she thought might save her could just be the one to send her tumbling over the edge.

I was excited to read Must Love Books; the premise seemed like something I could easily relate to, and I thought it would be an enjoyable read. Thankfully I wasn’t wrong (and maybe I related to this book more than I anticipated), but this book was definitely darker and went deeper than I envisioned it would. Nora is such a lost soul, and my heart ached for her so many times while reading. I think what Nora went through is all too common, especially after the last few years, and many readers will be able to relate to her need to reevaluate her career and redefine her life.

In the process of trying to figure out her life, many of Nora’s thoughts do get dark. If thoughts and discussions about ending one’s life are triggering for you as a reader, please be cautious when reading this book. While some of the people closest to Nora are happy, sunshine characters, I can’t even call Nora a grumpy character; she’s too far gone for even that. Nora is all the hardest parts of Millennial culture (career dissatisfaction, financial insecurity, mental imbalances) all rolled into one, and Must Love Books is her journey to not only face her problems head on, but also find ways to make her life worth living again on her terms.

I have to applaud author Shauna Robinson for including such wonderful social commentary in this book, and not shying away from any of it. Our main character, Nora, is biracial and Robinson effortlessly brings Nora’s experiences into the conversation multiple times. I was really glad to see several discussions on the lack of representation in the publishing industry, both from Nora (who is half Black) and her romantic interest Andrew (who is Filipino).

With closed door romance, Must Love Books was able to really focus on Nora and her journey. While Nora’s job was the catalyst for that journey, so much factored into her story and watching it all play out on the page was at times both heartbreaking and beautiful to read. Must Love Books might not be for anyone looking for a light, quick read. But if you’re looking for a heartfelt story about overcoming, I highly recommend Nora’s journey in Must Love Books.