I had high expectations for this book, and although its a cute and enjoyable romance, it did not meet the expectations. The pluses: A look into the publishing business, some complex characters, i appreciate true descriptions of the grind, how making ends meet is hard. Also, its a quick read. What i didnt fully love: I found Nora very unlikeable as a character and i think part of it is that i don't think her mental health issues are as properly described at the beginning so it just comes out of nowhere and you really don't get a proper feel for them. Additionally she also makes terrible decisions. The romance i feel was a bit too evident and Andrew too perfect. That sounds weird to say but sometimes too perfect makes for unrelatable and not as believable. Also I think the title is a bit misleading, as i feel i would have liked a bit more on her love on books, most of the book is about not loving books and the book industry

Well, this was disappointing.

I just couldn't like the main protagonist. I thought that maybe something would kick in at some point in the story later and I'll begin to care about her but 55% into the story and NOPE, NO SIGN OF ANYTHING.

I, therefore couldn't bring myself to finish it. Hence, my review is based on what I read. It may have an amazing ending that may potentially redeem the first extremely slow and tedious and kind of boring plot but I don't have the time nor the patience to force myself to read into something that I clearly don't care about.

The premise of the book was very interesting and it's sad to let you know that it barely lives up to it.

The writing wasn't the issue, but the theme/ tone + the characterisation was.

Thank you to the publisher for the copy!

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me access to an e-arc of this book in exchange of my honest opinion !
First, I want to start with a trigger warning. This book talks about suicide and feeling suicidal.
Secondly, something bothered me the entire book. What about the legal implication of having a job in two rival company and poaching clients away from one of the companies? I’m pretty sure that the contracts the main character was under would have a clause preventing that scenario. Not only would she be fired but she would be sued. I know it’s a silly thing to mention and it won’t matter to a lot of readers but being a Law student, it bugged me and prevented me to truly enjoy the story.
Finally, another thing that prevented me to fully enjoy the story is that a related to the main character a lot, too much. I got to the point where the story made me sad. If the ending was a tiny bit happier it would have been better but at the same time, I know that’s not how life goes and a happier ending wouldn’t have made sense either.
The low rating is only because of how the book made me feel. I like reading books that me happy and make me escape the real world. This one hit to close to home.

After reading the synopsis and seeing that this story was about books and the publishing world, it already had my attention. Though it was a quick, cute read, I liked how the story went into a deeper theme of finding oneself and figuring your life out; it made the story that more enjoyable and relatable.

Its a great book, all though I was expecting it to be more of a romcom to help me get out of my slump that makes me want to only reread Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston it was still a great book that was far deeper than I had originally thought I'd be.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Oh dear.right into the solar plexus!
what a wonderful read. To he honest I was expecting this to be a romance read but it was so much more than that.a raw,self discovery read with real people's problems.I completely understood what Nora was going through and Andrew.Sweet Andrew.My new book boyfriend.As I said this book hit me right into the feels.

Great read!

This book was very different from what I expected, which was a rom-com to get my heart warm. It actually took a deep dive on mental health and the career indecision we probably have already been through at least once in our lives, and I connected to the main character more than I thought I would, I kind of saw myself in her, many times throughout the book!!
If I could describe this book it would be a memoir + self help + contemporary + romance.
Sincerely, the romance, although not the center point in the story, was cute and Andrew is such a good person I just wish he was real, so then I could talk to him and absorb his positivity, kindness and opinions!
Also the diversity in this book was all I could ask for, it was perfect!
Something I would also like to add, which is more of my personal opinion in books, is the talking problem trope that I’m not so inclined of, I yelled at Nora through the pages so many times, just talk to him, be honest damn haahaha. Besides, I thought the start to be a little slow until it took pace at around page 100+ , which didn’t stop me from reading it, I love the book all the same!!
This author is unique and I loved her book, her discussions about many themes throughout the book were amazing. It was not what I expected from this book at all and I couldn’t be happier to be surprised about it, it was so real life and so easy to see yourself in her position, it fascinated me.
Thank you Shauna Robinson, I wish you all the best and can’t wait for your next books! Also, thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Ps: all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Even people that work in book publishing can feel like they are stuck. Nora Hughes loves books, but hates her job. She thought she'd be living the dream reading manuscripts but is stuck doing more and more work and pay cuts. Most people can understand that! As she tries to find a way to make it work, she meets Andrew Santos and chaos ensues.

In Must Love Books, Nora Hughes is an underpaid and overworked editorial assistant at a book Publisher. She thought this was going to be her dream job but it reality it was a lot of work and stress but she enjoyed the job .Then they downsized and most of the people that she enjoyed working with were let go. She was one of the remaining employees left. Things got worse when they cut her already low salary. AS she was struggling to make ends meet, she takes a part time job with a rival agency. She was hoping that the part time job would turn into a full time job if she poached some of the clients at her current agency to move to the new agency. The new agency was very happy with her work and for awhile she kept up both jobs.

She develops a relationship with Andrew Santos, a best selling author with her current agency. The agency wants to sign a contract with him for his new book. Nora is promised a promotion if she signs him. She is torn because she feels that he may do better at the new agency. She likes him but also wants her promotion. Nora has to figure out her personal and professional life. I recommend this book.

There are times, though quite rare, where a book is read at exactly the right time in your life when you need it the most. This was that book. It wasn’t just a hug in a mug, it was everything I needed to read: a friend to see you through your bad days and your okay days. I cried, I smiled, I cried some more and I clutched my digital copy close to my chest at every small win Nora achieved. I am not a fan of romance novels, and maybe that is why I loved it so much as the romance takes a back seat to the protagonist figuring her life out, one small attempt at a time. But even the romance between the leads is so wholesome, so pure, and built on what starts off as a work acquaintanceship and evolves into a supportive friendship.
What I loved most about this book was how realistic of a contemporary romance it was, how healthily it portrayed the relationship. It was refreshing to see a protagonist who was trying to make ends meet while keeping her mental health afloat, something that is so relevant in today’s economy, especially for millenials struggling to survive the dips in the job market.
Must Love Books takes you on a journey of self-discovery and learning what it truly means to be happy by taking one step at a time.

So while I did enjoy this book, I feel as if it was lacking a little something. I wasn’t the biggest fan of how Nora handled somethings and she seemed a little whiny(?) at times. I could slightly feel some chemistry between Nora and Andrew, but it didn’t seem as if there was enough romance or build up for it to really be a romance novel. I am also relatively new to romance genre so I could just have different expectations for the genre. Overall I did enjoy this book, but I kind of wish there was more. Maybe an epilogue about what was discussed in the last chapter (trying not to spoil). I guess the only thing that really told me this book was adult, was the age of the characters and the types of problems they faced because there were times were I would forget that the characters are supposed to be at least 5 years older than me because they somethings didn’t act like it. I would still recommend this book and I do hope to eventually read more from Robinson.

Cute little book with a surprising amount of depth. I was expecting more of a romance but was pleasantly surprised to see the focus more on Nora’s life as a whole.

A pleasant read . The main character I just did not warm too. Nora was stuck in a rut with her job I got that but she frustrated me. I liked learning about writers and book editors. Working in a book shop would be fab and I am glad Nora made that move.. Andrew was lovely and I am glad romance happened..

Nora Hughes is a disillusioned Editorial Assistant at Parson's Press. After layoff and new opportunities outside of Parson's have taken her favorite coworkers, Nora is left confused about the things she wants out of life. Enter Andrew Santos, a VIP author at Parson's who takes an interest in Nora after she (accidentally) almost kills him with a sandwich containing avocado. As a romance brews between the two, Nora becomes more attune how this relationship could also benefit her move up the corporate ladder.

Nora's internal conflict throughout the novel is very relatable. We've all had jobs we've hated and wondered if we'd picked the wrong career altogether. We've all face opportunities to betray someone we care about for personal gain. As much as I enjoyed the conflict of the story, I felt the book went way dark out of nowhere. It's great that the author tried to tackle issues of depression and suicide, but I think it comes off as contrived because there are no leading indicators of Nora's state of mind before this is revealed.

I felt the first half of the book was really slow to develop and the second half of the book picked up the pace a little bit more. Overall, I didn't love or hate Must Love Books. It was an okay summer, beach read.

This is not a book I could relate to. There is so much whining and I simply couldn’t identify with the main character. Part of it is the demographic and part of it is the personality she exhibits when confronted with life choices.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Meet Nora - overworked, underpaid and increasingly disheartened that the dream job she landed 5 years ago is anything but.

Any girl who has ever felt overwhelmed by life, who has felt like they're ok but not fine, who has been to scared to dream or ask for more, will relate wholeheartedly with Nora's story.

3 + stars ⭐⭐⭐

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

At first I wasn't really sure where this one was going. I wasn't sure how much I liked Nora either. She seems stuck but isn't willing to really try to get herself out of it. Then along comes Andrew Santos and some different life options and she has to decide where her loyalties lie. It's a pretty quick read, I didn't find it slow to start because I wanted to see if Nora could get out of that job she didn't love and into something that she would love. Since this doesn't come out till January I can see it being a cozy wintery read.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I always am so grateful to have the opportunity to read an ARC from NetGalley!!

Unfortunately I could not get myself to finish this book; I had to stop about halfway through. Nora really annoyed me, and it was getting really difficult to root for her. The whole situation she put herself in gave me so much anxiety, and I could not see it implode because it was probably going to be awful and I was not sure if Nora would take responsibility for it or try and blame it on everyone else.

I might try and pick this one up again in the future, but for now I just could not get invested enough to finish it.

A cute chick lit book! I always enjoying reading about books, and I liked learning about the publishing process. I found some of the flirtatious jokes between Nora and Andrew to be a repetitive at times. I thought the author’s descriptions of Nora’s relationships with her supervisors were well-done. The ending was good!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This story follows Nora who has her dream job, but her job is anything but a dream. She's stuck as an editorial assistant for last five years, overworked and underpaid. When her only friend at the work place resigns to go work somewhere else was the last straw.

I fell in love with this book. The writing style pulled me in and kept me hooked.

This was a romance book but it's more about self love than the typical romance, even though there is a really good romance in the book.

I absolutely loved all the characters and related with the protagonist a lot.

The pacing of the is not too fast but at no point was it boring.

It talks about important issues like depression and suicidal thoughts but they have been discussed in such a way that it never drags you down or makes you feel like its too much.

My only complain from this book is that it felt like it was over too soon, I wanted it to go on and on!