real rating 3.5
This book was slightly unexpected. I liked how the author portrays real-life struggles and mental health issues. What Nora was going through was real, honest, raw, and -I know that for many- relatable.
The romance is obviously, not the main topic, which is fine. I really appreciate the fact that Nora knew she needed time to have a stable, healthy relationship because many romance books picture love as the answer to everything. And even though love certainly helps, it doesn't solve mental health issues. However, I did find the romance a bit flat and unexciting. I think it could've been a bit better.
Nora was a great character. I could totally sympathize with her about her struggles and life crisis. And I loved the fantastic growth she had. But I did find her a tiny bit annoying at some point. As for Andrew, I loved him. He was terrific, pure gold.

I wanted to love this more than I did - while the writing is engaging and I did feel sympathy for Nora (the protagonist), I didn't love the relationship between her and Andrew, and her lies felt a bit forced. I wanted a more realistic decription of the mental health issues that she goes/is going through. I might reread this to see if my opinion changes, but overall I'm looking forward to trying a different book from this author.

I really wanted to like this book. It has so much of the elements that i usually love but i just really could not get into it. Maybe it was just the wrong time in life. I DNF around 50%

I enjoyed this book. Overall, the characters were well-developed, and the message of self-care and mental health is an important one. It dealt with the topic of depression in the day-to-day living of the main character, but was not a "heavy" read because of the way it was woven into the overall story which I found to be quite effective.

Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love books about books and chick lit. I tagged this as a coming of age in that the MC is still growing in adulthood and coming to terms with her true “adult career.” I could see the ethical issues of moonlighting in the same field coming from a mile away. Cute, light read with some more realistic real world problems.

✨Book Review✨
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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Must Love Books is a book that I would highly recommend. Nora works as an editorial assistant at a company that mistreats her and devalues her on a regular basis. When they cut her pay, she can no longer make ends meet and is forced to find another job. She just so happens to find this job at a competing publishing house. All the while, she is assigned to signing author Andrew Santos, but where will she sign him? Is she just using him since she will gain from his success? Will this fact come between their blooming relationship?
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This book did a wonderful job balancing deep topics such as race and depression, with witty banter and light romance, all while taking Nora on a journey to find herself. If you like more mature coming of age books, this one will be for you. This book is really not a romance, but Nora and Andrew's relationship was one of my favorite parts of this story.

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson promises to pack a powerful punch, but unfortunately falls short of the mark. While I normally LOVE career-focused fiction about professional women (in fact, these types of stories are some of my favorite to read because I love learning about different industries), Must Love Books failed to grab my attention almost immediately. I kept waiting for it to get better, and when it hadn't by the halfway mark, I just didn't care anymore, although I did drag my feet to finish the book. I think part of the problem with this novel is that it gives too much of the technical, mundane details of working a publishing job, instead of painting the industry in an intriguing way. Unfortunately, this book was just "ok" to me, and is not something that I can enthusiastically recommend to others.

I thought this book would be a romance by the cover, but it was so much more. It provided a realistic picture of mental health issues, but not in a textbook kind of way. And despite that, the story was fun and I enjoyed it very much.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

[TRIGGER WARNINGS: Depression, racism, suicidal thoughts].

Must Love Books is a heartwarming, cleverly written book about Nora who works in the publishing world of books. But it's not all Nira was hoping it would be and she longs to find a spark of happiness and joy within her life.
This book tackles some serious topics such as depression and suicidal thoughts and even racism, but does them in a great way. I am going through similar feelings as Nora right now with feeling no spark in my life and suffering with depression and this book was a calming read for me to make me feel I'm not alone.
There are some romantic elements in this book which was great to mix up the story a little and I loved the romantic atmosphere between Nora and Andrew too.
If you love books about books and light romance you'll enjoy this read.

Must Love Books by Sauna Robinson follows Nora who thought when she landed an editorial assistant position at Parsons Press, it was her first step towards The Dream Job. Because, honestly, is there anything dreamier than making books for a living? But after five years of lunch orders, finicky authors, and per my last emails, Nora has come to one grand conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist. With her life spiraling and the Parsons staff sinking, Nora gets hit with even worse news. Parsons is cutting her already unlivable salary. Unable to afford her rent and without even the novels she once loved as a comfort, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet…and maybe poach some Parsons' authors along the way. But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author no one can afford to lose is thrown into the mix, Nora has to decide where her loyalties lie. Her new Dream Job, ever-optimistic Andrew, or...herself and her future.

I don't think this book is the most memorable book I've ever read but it was an enjoyable read in the moment. I related to the main characters career and life uncertainty and of course her love of books.

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

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, but I had a hard time with the main characters toward the middle, especially Nora. I also wish the ending was a bit different. It was a decent read but not one I will go out of my way to recommend.

Nora is an editorial assistant who has stayed way too long in her position. She feels stuck in every aspect of her life. Work, personal, financial and most importantly, mental health wise. When anyone is in a bad place they aren’t always capable of making the best decisions for themselves. Rather than being proactive and job hunting as so many of her colleagues have done, she just sits, waits and stews and internally complains to herself and does a lot of “woe is me” thinking. Then in another blow her salary gets cut and increase her workload. She has rent to pay so takes an under the table job with a competitor and winds up both lying and disappointing everyone including herself again and again. It wasn’t at all what I was anticipating when I read the blurb. It did end on an up note, but it was a hard listen getting there.

I enjoyed Must Love Books for the most part, and I’m very glad I read it. However, it was a bit slow for the first half of the book. Nora has a terrible job, and her frustration and depression with her life are very evident during the first half of the book. But, it did pick up and I liked that Nora started looking at her job, and her life in a much better light. Must Love Books is a good look at what it’s like to find out your dream job, is not a dream at all, and it’s time to re-evaluate your life and make some tough decisions.

I loved the plotline and Nora's struggle for keeping up with her life. her two jobs and her relationship with her friends. The title made me think it would be a regular, sweet rom-com but it focussed more on Nora's struggle with her profession and her mental health. The author highlights some really heavy topics like suicide and depression. The writing is simple and easy-going. I loved how the author didn't magically fix all of Nora's problems at the end. Instead, she gave her an opening to a better life and an opportunity to make amends.
Although I would have liked more scenes with Nora and Beth and their friendship, I liked her relationship with Andrew. Overall, it was a thought-provoking book and I really enjoyed it.

I liked the beginning of Must Love Books and loved the cover art. I found Nora to be annoying as the story went on and found her difficult to relate to since she complained a lot. I thought the overall story and subject matter was interesting so I did read the whole book to see what happened. It might just have been the wrong place, wrong time book when I read it.

Thank you to Shauna Robinson, SourceBooks Landmark, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Must Love Books is a debut novel featuring the publishing world. The novel is not a book that focuses on the romantic life of the main character. Instead it focuses on the growth of her mindset. Nora sees the slow erosion of her dream and she is beginning to feel a disconnect with books and with her work. As the book progresses, she realises that she has to change - not only her mindset but also where she is in her life. The novel veers away from the man being the saviour that makes her happy. Instead, she follows a path that eventually leads her to follow through on her realisations and create her own happiness.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.

Must Love Books was an adorable book and I certainly enjoyed reading this by the pool on my vacation to Las Vegas. I immediately became a fan of Shauna Robinson’s writing. Must Love Books was a wonderful debut and I will continue to support Shauna Robinson future work. Thank you NetGalley for giving the opportunity to read an amazing book.

This book was really well written. It was a quick read for me because I just couldn't put it down. I found that the main characters were loveable and relatable and I wish I could give them a bug hug. I adored this book!

Even as an adult, when we think we are certain of our career, we still shouldn’t settle. Great book about resiliency and asking for help when you need it.

Highly recommend.

Okay this isn’t the story I was expecting it to be. I thought this was going to be a light fluffy romance, and the story isn’t that. While it’s marked as a romance, I think it’s more of a women’s lit with a sprinkle of romance. It’s definitely a slow burn book though, with the main character Nora, having lots of storm clouds in her life. I liked Nora though and found myself rooting for her, and the life she wants and I liked how the book ended.