This is a book that just didn't take my interest, didn't draw me in and didn't keep me wanting more.

It is the book style of the moment and one that does somewhat annoy me, It is slightly whinging in tone and and not at all like I thought it would be a better read than what it was. A bit slow, a bit dull and a bit boring.

Sorry to say it just didn't do it for me.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you so much.

I have to start saying that this book is more serious that I expected, when I read the synopsis I thought this book will be a rom - com/ existential crisis/ something like that book, but was more different, more mature and even though it wasn’t what I expected I like it, but I didn’t love it at all.
Here we met Nora, the last bookish assistant standing on Parsons Press, overworking, underpaid who cuestion herself if the “dream job” really exists.

Even though it wasn’t I expected as I said, I liked how Nora discovered that even though we choose what we want to do the rest of our life, and even we have a dream job on our minds, we have to open our minds and eyes to see that out there, there are more things that we can do, that we can love to do, and even the path to find it won’t be easy, we have to start little by little. Because we have options. Always.

Some points that I didn’t like about the book were that at some parts it felt quite slow. Nora needed to talk more, she had a best friend and a roommate - that disappeared after being mentioned - for around five years ahead and she couldn’t talk about all the pressure she felt? I know some people are more open than others to talk about their problems, but this is inconsistent because when she started to see what she wanted to do with her life she asked for help from people who she barely spoke to.
The lies. But in the end I think Nora has a good development.

Coming back to the good things, I liked Andrew. I think he is a good character, the story isn’t about him but he had charisma. He is so enjoyable, sweet and funny that it’s impossible that you don’t love him. The perfect love interest that left me wanting more romance in this story.

⭐️⭐️/5

Alright, here’s the thing. I never and I mean NEVER dnfed a book. But as I continued reading over the years, I realised that there are too many books to read! And that it makes no sense in forcing yourself to continue reading a book you’re not enjoying! So I DNFed this book.

Now, I’m not saying you won’t like it just because I didn’t. Here’s the description because it really is good!
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The Bookish Life of Nina Hill meets Younger in a heartfelt debut following a young woman who discovers she'll have to ditch the "dream job" and write her own story to find her happy ending.

Meet Nora Hughes—the overworked, underpaid, last bookish assistant standing. At least for now.

When Nora 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. Parson's 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 Parson's 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.
🍁

Why I didn’t like:
⭐️The book was too slow for my liking. So slow, I couldn’t even make out who was the second lead in the book!
⭐️It was more of a woman’s fiction than a romance and no, it wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the arc.

There were some good moments and it gave me a lot of knowledge on the publishing world and I liked the main character’s personality but to be honest, it just didn’t fit with me.

I’m not trying to be rude but it’s really tough for me to scramble the good points. So I won’t be tagging the author or the ARC provider😚

TWs: suicidal thoughts, depression

I wish I had known going in that this isn't really a romance book, because that's what I was expecting when I started it. Our main character, Nora, is a mid-20s biracial Black woman struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts while working in the publishing industry. As someone who has struggled with both of those things and also went through a career transition (from "I've wanted to be a teacher my entire life" to being a librarian), I hugely related to Nora. She feels very untethered and jaded after 5 years of working at a publisher as an editorial assistant for business books, and everything in her life starts falling apart in a way that triggers her mental health issues. Again, all of this hit home for me, and I thought that the author did a great job of handling Nora's depression without making the book depressing to read.

It wasn't a 5-star read for me because, unfortunately, I went into it expecting more of a romance, and so I was pretty disappointed to realize that the romance isn't the focus of the book. Andrew and Nora have such cute banter but because so much of the book was focused on Nora figuring herself out, the romance couldn't be front and center. I respect that, and it was a great book, but it didn't read like a romance to me and that's what I was hoping for at the time.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of this book. I have to admit, I requested this book expecting a heartfelt rom-com, but this is not that. It is much more.
The title and the description of the book sounded like an almost typical lovey dovey book - girl has a great job, meets a guy, they fight and then they live happily ever after. However, it is not like that at all. The depth of the book pleasantly surprised me. I loved Nora, the main character and I loved the way she is described, like a real woman, and not like a character. She struggles, she makes mistakes, she has good days and bad days. I liked her and Santos dynamic, and I liked that by the end, everything isn't wrapped up in a pretty little bow for the readers. We see that actions have consequences, even though some things Nora does are warranted. I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it.

Our female protagonist is in a rut. She is very unhappy with her workplace, her salary, struggling with the pay cuts, overwhelmed with extra responsibility, and overall feeling unappreciated. She is struggling with relatable issues and questions many (if not all of us have)
- what is my dream job
- should I quit
- is this the right career path for me

I like the book setting. We get behind the scene look of a publishing house. As someone who loves books and anything about them, I found that part fascinating.
The writing was excellent too. This is a debut novel. Congratulations to the author. In my opinion, she did well.

I was definitely drawn to the cover and the title. However, I didn't expect a lack of romance- which is my thing. The book is centered around our female protagonist and her job. As a result, we go and her self-discovery journey of finding what makes her happy, comfortable, and content.

The readers I would recommend this book to are the ones who enjoy woman fiction books centered around career and thought-provoking introspective themes.


3,5⭐

The cover art grabbed me immediately along with the book description and I was so excited to read this one!

At some point though reading this was a like lukewarm cup of my favorite tea, all of my favorite elements were there but not quite at the right. temperature. The pacing was slow, the conflict felt tepid at best, along with the romance.

Listen I LOVED a diverse central couple, frank discussion of unahppiness and being stuck in your life and career without being melodramatic...but alas the story never felt like it was driving anywhere at all. I think perhaps the cover had me thinking it was a romcom, but instead was more of a quarter life crisis discovery of self journey.

The writing its self was actaully quite good I constantly felt like I was truly listening to Nora's inner monologue as she struggled to find herself and what she really wanted from life. It aslo was well written in the sense that her mental health struggles were so relatable, I saw my own search to find meaning and purpose as an adult in my own dream career.

A good book, but certainly not the romance I thought I was reading.

i super wanted to love this book but i also super feel like this bookstore trope is waaaaay overdone right now. maybe i've read too many of them recently but i didn't like this one. sorry dude.

Must Love Books is the story of starting over that we all fear the most — leaving our job, changing our career, and starting anew. Shauna Robinson writes from the heart as Nora struggles through at her current job, makes her way at her new job, and ultimately identifies that neither are right for her.
I love how Robinson tackled a subject that so many of us deal with, but are scared to confront. And did so with some laughs, tears, and a touch of romance.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of Must Love Books. Thank you to the author, Shauna Robinson, publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this inspiring novel prior to publication.

The title and cover of this book is definitely what drew me in and it did not disappoint!!

I haven't read many books with bookish themes, so I was excited for this to be my first. It was a cute, light hearted read with likeable characters, and amazing development.

The beginning was quite slow which nearly did discourage me but I'm glad I persevered. For someone who struggled with finding the right career path, it told the story correctly.

Such a sweet and charming story! I had a great time with this book. Lovely characters and heartwarming moments.

Realistically this book deserves 3.5 stars but I couldn’t bring myself to round up. The story line was interesting but poorly executed. I went into this book knowing nothing and genuinely wasn’t sure if there was a romance subplot within the book until I was 25% into the book. I think this book would have hit home if the plot had more depth. I truly thought the characters were developed well but the plot was lacking. Nora is likable and her struggle is relatable to many. I have a natural love for any books that write about authors/publishers/readers. That’s the reason I am rating 3.5 stars.

Must Love Books is Nora’s story, an editorial assistant who has worked at Parsons Press for the past five years. With people coming and going from her current job, it propels her to change her career. Parsons Press specializes in Nonfiction, but Norah’s passion lies in the Fiction genre. When she was a little girl, she dreamed of publishing; however, her real-life experiences have jaded her dreams of where her career is. Being a woman of color (a minority) in publishing, layoffs, and low pay at Parsons has taken a toll on her mentally, and she wonders if she made the right career choice.

I really appreciated this story and the author’s writing because it gives a realistic view of publishing and some of the day-to-day tasks as an editorial assistant. Nora paints a portrait for readers that publishing is not all that it seems on the surface showcasing the highlights of what she loves but other tasks she finds tedious. In the book, there are many discussions surrounding race, diversity, salaries, and overall a realistic portrait of work life. When Nora meets Andrew, things change, and that simple spark in their conversation quickly turns into a flirty banter that starts to turn into something deeper.

I really felt like I could connect to Nora about her struggles with life and her career. For someone who has experienced burnout personally, I could relate to her feelings of frustration with her career and life. Nora wants to be more financially secure, wants a better job, and is unsure how to better herself. Slowly, she learns to open up about her feelings, which strengthens her bond with Andrew. I like the flirting between the two and the openness of their conversations.

She couldn’t deny that Parsons’s approach of publishing broad, easily marketable books was smart from a business perspective. But knowing that Andrew wasn’t swayed by the company logic made her feel like she wasn’t alone in seeing more than marketability in books.

Most of all, I really appreciated the ending of this book and how realistic it is. It reminds us that life is full of changes and that sometimes we need to look within to make those changes for ourselves. I think the author put her heart into this book, and inserting her experiences in publishing gave the book greater depth. Rather than this novel being a flat-out romance novel, I like that there was a romance plot but that it mainly focused on navigating through a work-life balance and that the road to a career isn’t always clear cut.

The title pulled me into this book. I began reading thinking it would be a fluffy romance with books thrown in for fun. It was so much more. Nora is trying to make ends meet at a job that she thought was her dream... but now isn't so sure. As she gets to know an author that her company is trying to publish a book for, she starts to ask herself what she really wants and tries to figure out how to get there.

The last 20% of the book was very impactful. I empathized with Nora and the difficulties she was having and loved how the ending was written. The author did a wonderful job writing a 3-dimensional character who is struggling with mental health and other tough life changes.

* I received a copy of this for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *

Honestly, I found this super underwhelming. Both of the main characters felt one note to me. And they fell in love... under false pretenses, but also without too many interactions? It was just strange to me. I wasn't completely satisfied with the end either. I don't know, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you for my early review copy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I believe this book will be a huge bestseller.

What a charming, enjoyable read this was! It was less fluffy tan I anticipated, but I see that as a good thing. The perfect weekend read! Recommended!

Nora has been working at Parsons Press as an editorial assistant for five years. When she started she felt that it was the right job for her to fulfill her dreams. However, she is feeling drained after several of her favorite coworkers were laid off and her best friend got a job somewhere else. She is overworked, underpaid, and her untreated mental health issues have been taking control of her head lately. But then, she is offered a position as a freelancer for a rival editorial, which could give her the money she needs as long as she leaves out the fact that she would be working for both at the same time. And, she meets the author Andrew Santos, who is charming and funny, so he could be a great boyfriend... or a great connection to use as a step forward in her career.

Reading this book was such a journey! When I chose it, I was expecting a romantic comedy that was cheesy and easy to read, but it was so much more.

This, however, started as a rather negative thing. At the beginning of the story, I felt overwhelmed because Nora's attitude was too much for me. I understood her mental health issues, but she seemed too comfortable with them. She complained too much and I found myself rolling my eyes a couple of times. I mean, I am in my late twenties, I am working on what I thought was the job of my dreams, but we are understaffed and I have to deal with a lot of administrative work that nobody else wants to do, I am underpaid and my job's importance is frequently forgotten, that’s why I got a gig to get more money and some motivation... So, I should have felt that the book was a perfect choice, right? Well, it was hard for me to connect with Nora, she was in such a dark place and it was sometimes frustrating for me, but I made the right decision and I kept reading.

I really liked this book because it shows that finding the right path for our careers and our lives is not always (or ever?) a straight line. I've seen in most of my friends that we expected to have everything figured out by the time we are thirty, but as we are getting closer and closer to that age, our future seems more uncertain than ever. So many of my smart, talented friends are working in random positions that have nothing to do with their goals because the job market is wild. And I realized that there are some parts of this book that are uncomfortable to read because they talk about those situations (and the feelings related to them). Sure, Nora makes some poor decisions, but these enable her to grow, and I believe that is the strongest element of this story. The author didn't idealize mental health issues as something cute and quirky, she wrote them as a contradictory, exhausting, overwhelming mess, and the way she portrayed Nora’s crisis really spoke to me. It actually made me feel less lonely in this uncertainty about what I want to do with my life, and she made clear that changing one’s career path at any time is ok. So many things have been said to destroy the unhealthy expectations about Prince Charming, and it was time for someone to do the same about the Dream Job.

Likewise, I loved how the author built a support system for Nora, as it included really close friends, like Beth, and other people that she just met, but they were all important for her process of self-discovery and healing (and that is how it works in real life, plus some therapy). So, I recommend this book because, like most things that are worth it, it brings that little discomfort that allows hope to grow and flourish.

P. S. I also liked Andrew a lot and the way their relationship developed (their conversations were so fun to read!).

(I want to thank NetGalley, Sourcebooks, and the author for this ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.)

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I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a great light-hearted read! This book wasn't at all what I expected, and it turned out to be one of my best reads of the year.

I really like the way Shauna touched the subject of depression and Nora's overall feeling of disappointment with her career and dream job. I could relate to the main character during the story and even teared up in a few moments. I believe the ending fits the journey Nora faces through the book AND the depression she's fighting.

I did end the book hoping she would look for professional help at some point, but seeing as the story is set in the US and you guys don't have access to free healthcare it makes that she would not treat her illness this way :S

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Eu recebi uma cópia antecipada desse e-book do NetGalley em troca de uma resenha honesta.

Que ótima leitura levinha! Esse livro não foi o que eu esperava e acabou se tornando uma das minhas melhores leituras do ano.

Eu gostei muito de como a Shauna abordou a depressão e o sentimento da Nora de decepção com sua própria carreira e 'emprego dos sonhos'. Consegui me ver na personagem principal e até lacrimejei em alguns momentos. Acredito que o final cabe perfeitamente na jornada que Nora enfrenta ao longo do livro E na depressão que ela enfrenta.

Eu terminei o livro esperando que ela buscasse ajuda profissional pra depressão, mas levando em conta que nos EUA não existe sistema de saúde gratuito, faz sentido que ela não trate a doença dessa forma :S

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson takes you on a journey of your dreams. This story follows Nora who works her dream job. She is an Executive Assistant at Parsons Publishers. It's every reader's dream to be able to be surrounded by books all day and talk to authors. Nora loves her job until Parson's downsized and her coworkers move on, leaving Nora short-handed and doing the job of three with no additional pay. This realization brings to light that she needs change.

Nora goes on a self-discovery journey to find her true purpose in life and meets Andrew Santos, an up-and-coming author. The chemistry between Andrew and Nora is undeniable and the development of characters is beautiful. I loved the way these two leaned on each other throughout.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for granting me an eARC for my honest review.