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.

I did not finish this one, could not get into the characters at all and found it quite dull. Cute story concept but that’s about it

I cannot resist a romance centered around the book industry, and Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson does not disappoint! A sweet story with realistic characters makes for a delightful read.

This was a heartwarming read and I truly loved the story.

I must say that I'm a sucker for books about books, so this one was right by my alley. I also liked this book because it was relatable in every single way. Not only is Nora struggling with a job she doesn't enjoy but she is coming to terms with the fact that her life is passing and she is stuck in a low-paying job that has not provided her with the opportunity to grow professionally. I feel that every professional in their mid-twenties can easily relate to this in one way or another.

Nora is in the field she wants to work for, but she hasn't been able to take the next step to achieve her dream. She is frustrated with the choices she has made, and she blames herself for not taking risks. So, she sees the new job as her opportunity to finally take a risk and find her own happiness. However, she fails to understand the consequences her actions could potentially have, and she ignores the ethical dilemma presented in front of her when she gets offered the position.

I found the struggles she goes through relatable, and I could understand why she ends up making the choices she makes. She is a likable character despite her very obvious characters flaws, and I found her charming.

One thing I truly liked about the book is that the love story is not the main story line. In fact, Nora and Andrew's relationship slowly progresses but the focus remain on Norah's internal struggles with her two competing jobs. I liked how the plot gave Norah room to grown without the pressure of a relationship with Andrew. I liked how their friendship slowly progresses from acquaintances to friends to confidants, and I enjoyed getting to know both of the characters in a more informal setting that throwing together in a relationship just for the sake of keeping the plot moving.

Overall, I truly enjoyed the book. It was a great story!

What a good story. I loved Nora and Andrew together. I thought the banter back and forth between the two was something magical. I know that Nora was working her way through something big and that is why I didn't really feel this was romance.

This books dealt with depression in a big way. Do I think Nora made some good decisions, NOT AT ALL. all the manipulation and lying was something else. I had to keep reminding myself that Nora was really going through some major life changes, some drama, and lots of mental struggles.

This wasn't what I was expecting so I think it was a 3.5 star book for me.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I know a book isn’t my favorite when I keep forgetting to pick it up again. This was that kind of book. The premise is soooo cute. And the title even more so. But the execution just left me wanting. Literally the best parts (and the parts that kept me reading) were the quilt dialogue between Andrew and Nora. That’s it. The rest actually seem painfully slow. Like, I knew the ending from page 3…..no surprising twists or anything. And not in the cute Sophie Kindella or dramatic Nicholas Sparks predictable-but-enjoyable way. This was just slow and expected. The title was really the best part of the book.

Although I am not the target audience for this book, I enjoyed it alot. Finding yourself is what we used to call it and this book describes it perfectly!

Must Love Books is the case of “looks like a rom-com but 100% isn’t”. Because I went in with that thought process, I was a bit disappointed. The book deeply discusses mental health particularly depression and suicidal thoughts. The author did a good job talking about these real-life struggles. While it was a beautiful story of self-discovery and gaining things in life you didn’t think of, Nora was a character I grew frustrated with and it was hard to relate to her actions. The romance aspect of this book also fell flat (maybe because of the lies) but I did love Andrew as a hero.

I had a hard time reading this book due to the mental health issues. It was not a light fun RomCom read. I did finish the book but it is not one that I would recommend as a fun RomCom.

Nora thought she had her dream job until she realized: dream jobs don't exist. A hopeful story about one woman's downward spiral. Get story of self discovery and getting what you didn't realize you wanted.

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

I thought after seeing the cover for this book that I would be reading a romance, so I was a little disappointed. But I still really enjoyed where this story took me.

3.5 stars

Meet Nora Hughes. Five years ago, she was an ambitious graduate with an English degree, hopeful that her first job as an Editorial Assistant at the long-standing business book publisher would launch her career into publishing - and into her favorite genre, fiction. Five years later, however, Nora is still at Parsons, and while the job was bearable before, with friendly coworkers and encouraging bosses, she is now among the few left after a long spurt of layovers. More work, less pay, and even less career fulfillment. Nora struggles to find her true calling in life with help from an unexpected job offer and a goofy, young, charismatic author.

I enjoyed the author's writing style and thought the voice of the book itself was wonderful. Robinson did a fantastic job making sure I felt everything Nora was feeling and understood each of those feelings. The writing was descriptive while also being very easy to read and relate to. I do love the key aspect of self-discovery in this novel as well.

However, while I did understand Nora's feelings, and her battle with depression and suicidal thoughts, I found her a frustrating character to root for. I felt so much anxiety and misunderstanding surrounding Nora's relationship with her romantic interest, Andrew. How much lying and deceit Nora accomplished while trying to plan out Andrew's professional life for her own gain was frustrating. While I understand the circumstances and think that the situation was very realistic because Nora was truly stretched thin on every penny she made, I don't think it's realistic that Andrew and Nora could build a truly successful relationship based on this. She knowingly lead Andrew on while also thinking things like "He doesn't deserve this" but then performing actions moments later that contradicted this. These moments in the book made me very frustrated.

Overall, I gave this one three stars. I was able to fly through the book quickly, and I do think writing was great and the story was good. I just felt a little too much frustration with the book to give it more than three stars.

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.