Robinson’s protagonist provides a powerful insight to mental illness, and the unseen struggles so many face. The beginning was a little slow, and I wish there was some more development of the protagonist. The publishing setting is unique and eye-opening.

First off I want to say that this is largely a story about depression and suicidal thoughts, wrapped in career searching and a love of books and a potential romance and deepening friendships.

I saw reviews for this (and even the blurb?) that made this seem ‘heartwarming’ and ‘feel good’ and I’m very confused by that type of description. There were a few sweet parts but largely this book read loudly about the MCs suffering and her learning how to manage it slowly.

I thought it was done well enough and describes depression in some really important/ accurate ways. BUT !! I really would’ve liked the warning as this was not what I thought I was signing up for. There wasn’t much actual time with books and I was looking for the cozy bookish vibe.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Shauna Robinson for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Is there anything better than reading a book about books? It’s like a joyful reading inception - now that’s a film I’d definitely watch, especially if it had Leonardo DiCaprio in it as well.

I felt such an affinity with Nora; the self-deprecation, the dreaming of working with books, depression feeling, that feeling of living pay check to pay check - it’s all me. Except I’m not having a secret dalliance with a famous author - more’s the pity.

I’ll be honest, it didn’t grab me to begin with like a lot of books I’ve read recently, but it was a pleasant read. It was warming and comforting with friendly, believable, oh-so-real characters. I felt it got better as it went along. Not to say it wasn’t enjoyable to begin with, it was, but I felt it was quite….plodding along, but things started to ramp up in the last third and shit really did start to hit the fan (sorry for the language mum).

As someone who has been out of work since October 2020, I love Shauna’s realistic views of job searching, and the optimism snd positivities that comes alongside it, although it is often hidden.

I loved this book! I had completely forgotten what this book was about and when I saw the cover I just assumed romance/romcom....there is a little romance but it is more of a side story.

Nora is a 20 something female battling depression and struggling to figure out what to do with her life. You are rooting for her the whole time and it made me unable to put the book down, I just had to find out if she found happiness.

What I liked:
-Everything about Nora but especially her sarcasm that came out with Andrew
-How sweet Andrew was with Nora
-eveyone loves books!
-a glimpse into what it's like to work for a publisher (I just assumed it was all starry eyes and what dreams are made of. Haha)
-The characters, the story....it was all just so good!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

First things first, this cover is misleading. So many times illustrated covers lean towards a light book and this is NOT a light read. It's about a woman's struggle with her job in the publishing industry. All of a sudden, suicidal thoughts are introduced and made it a sad read instead of a lighter read that I was expecting. It was written fine, but wasn't enjoyable for me. I would recommend changing this cover to avoid a miscommunication of expectations.

This was SO good. I said it once and I’ll say it again: BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS ARE MY FAVORITE THING!!!

However, Must Love Books was not JUST about that. It was also about serious issues: happiness, mental health (+TW: anxiety / depression / suicide thoughts mentions), adulting and finding oneself.

I had a great time from the beginning to the end. The short chapters made the pace just dynamic enough.

I loved Nora and her energy right away, it felt completely realistic and relatable: a constant back and forth between her attempts at being optimistic and confident, AND her mental health issues coupled to the harsh reality that can be life sometimes.

The depiction of Nora’s mental health, and how it can spiral out of control because of small, added things, hit close to home too. I really loved how layered her character was. Yes, she is witty and can drop some very good jokes. Yes, she is also in a very, very dark place. She felt REAL.

I vibed with Andrew immediately too— he was just a sunshine, charming and attentive, handsome, funny and smart... Acts of service are my love language so his little attentions for Nora made me swoon.

Nora and Andrew being POC and respectively 27 & 33 was HIGHLY appreciated. Yes to representation, yes to adult characters.

The side characters were all great too: Beth, Lynn, Rita, Eric, Julie and Kelly… They all brought a little something to the story and just made sense in Nora’s character development.

Finally, this book is less about romance than about finding one’s path— it was beautiful, real and raw. Solid 4.5 stars.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark!

As someone who recently quit an office job to pursue a more desirable dream, and as a book lover, I found this deeply relatable. Super cute and fun romance.

Similar to Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers, it is about much more than just romance, and explores Nora’s internal struggle and progression through life.

Parts of it were a bit slow, but overall, it was an entertaining read!

Great book about publishing and working in it to finding love and one's place. I did enjoy the romance between santos and girl. I also enjoyed her friends and trying to figure out the job and what she loved doing. Great book.

This book was kind of a downer for me. As someone who lives with anxiety and depression I was able to understand and connect with the character, but overall did not enjoy this read. Thanks for the chance to read and the ARc.

I found this romance to be enjoyable, especially for a bibliophile such as myself, but it wasn't anything to bend over backwards for. I liked the main couple and their perspectives, but I found it to be very predictable and otherwise bland at times. I think the reason I stuck through to the end was because it involved books. Thank you for the e-arc!

Nora has been languishing in an editorial assistant position at a publishing house for five years, feeling stuck on the career ladder and searching for a greater purpose. She secretly begins a freelance editor position at a rival publisher in hopes that it'll lead to a better job, but when she develops feelings for an author in contention for a contract at her full-time job, her initial plot becomes more complicated.

I made it about 65% through this book before I started skimming out of boredom and disinterest. Tonally, it was tricky to tell exactly what the author's intentions were - parts of the book felt like more uplit women's fiction but it would then take a very sudden dark turn that felt disjointed. There was also way too much telling and not enough dialogue to break up huge chunks of Nora's internal thoughts. The characters were flat and I wasn't really connected to the stakes of Nora's situation. By the midpoint, the story felt so repetitive and slow that I just didn't care about the outcome. In hindsight, it reads like a first draft that needs to be fleshed out.

On the bright side, there is some beautiful writing, and having friends in the publishing industry, I knew that the author knew what she was talking about in the book's breakdown of that workplace.

The overall tone of this book was too depressive for me. I kept hoping it would get better if I read on, but no. It was tedious. The ending was okay, but I'd have prefered that to be halfway the book with a more uplifting ending.

I loved this book!

It is a beautiful about Norah Hughes, an editorial assistant, stuck in her job, battling depression and feeling like there is more to life. When her salary was lowered due to staffing changes, she has to take a 2nd job which leads to a lot of lies mixed humor and desperation. The book was fast paced and I found myself really excited to pick it up and see what was coming next. There was some romance & friendships thrown in as well, really cute book.

I was gratefully granted an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

This book was tedious. I did not like the main protagonist for the first 50% of the book. She was a mean, self-pitying woman who refused to make moves to change her situation. I liked her more when she started to name what she was feeling, depression and suicidal ideation, but at that point, the book was dragging through the sand. After 64% I started skimming the book as the predictability of the situation she put herself in became too cliche to trudge through. The relationship was so yuck because of how it was built that the inevitable is apparent from the beginning. Unfortunately, this is not a book I’ll recommend.

Nora Hughes is a twenty something editorial assistant for publishing house, Parsons Press. She thought it would be her dream job until five years later she is still in the same position and her friends and co-workers have been downsized. When her salary is slashed in half, but her responsibilities double, Nora decides she needs a new plan to realize her dream job. Nora reaches out to a former colleague and is offered a freelance job for a competing publishing house. In order to get the job she fibs and tells the new company that she is unemployed. She juggles the two jobs and everything seems to be going smoothly until she meets up with a young, but established author her publishing house is courting. The sparks fly between the two and Nora has been tasked with getting him to sign the contract with Parsons Press. The two bond about being persons of color in the mostly white publishing world and their love of books. As Nora and Andrew become closer she begins to feel more conflicted with the secrets she's keeping. This novel explores the struggles of mental health and depression, and the challenges of being a person of color in a white industry. You cannot help but root for Nora and hope she finds the happiness she deserves. This is a sweet book that any avid book lover will adore, with fun references to the world of publishing and much loved books.. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Nora goes on a journey of self-discovery in "Must Love Books." I love that she is a flawed character that goes through a major journey of growth and development. Shauna Robinson's book was hard to put down.

Nora works for Parson's Publishing and is having a crisis. Parson's is struggling financially and Nora has seen many friends laid off but keeps reassuring herself that everything will be ok. Nora is then informed she will take a paycut to help the business stay afloat. Nora takes on a freelancing job to help pay the bills and has a glimpse of the type of organization she could be involved in. She also meets an author who forces her to confront her life and make tough decisions.

This book was a bit too long for me and could have used an edit. I did enjoy the ending.

The premise of this book was super cute and somewhat predictable. However, as someone who feels like they are currently at a career crossroads, I definitely identified with a lot of the issues in this book. I also like how they took "real" issues like careers and money and anxiety and wrapped it up in a cute little novel.

This is a quite enjoyable book, though it hit a little too close to home (academia adopting the buzzwords of modern corporatocracy is...not a great thing to be reminded of, though it's hardly this book's fault in any way). The premise was engaging, and the writing was immersive as well. It just wasn't quite a light/fluffy as I'd hoped (which, again, is a me issue and not at all the book's issue).

For a debut novel I think this one is a knock out of the park! A literary minefield of book references a favourite titles it’s one of those books that has you nostalgic for your bookshelf. However, on top of all of that Shauna Robinson has managed to include a personal #ownvoice narrative to the story and a truly emotional depiction of depression and the role it can play. A well rounded novel that all book lovers should read.