A girl who loves books more than people and works in an independent bookstore -- what more could I ask for? I loved this quirky, funny book about Nina Hill. She is happy with her quiet bookish life, but is forced out of her comfort zone when some unexpected people come into her life. I loved this book.

Eleanor Oliphant meets Hermione Grainger in this warm, hilarious story about bookseller and trivia expert Nina who is an only child that suddenly discovers she has several branches of a family tree she never knew existed! While Nina navigates her new siblings, and discoveries about the father she never knew, she finds herself drawn to the captain of rival trivia team called You're a Quizzard, Harry! Nina loves books and reading as much as she loves planning and structuring her days. So, when this new family, new love interest and troubles at work build up around her, how can she handle it all? Whether you meet your annual GoodReads challenge or not, you'll love Nina's heart her relatable struggles with life, love, anxiety and figuring out how to lives your life outside of the pages of a book. (I read an advanced copy of this novel courtesy of NetGalley. Opinions are my own.)

Okay, I am giving this one 3.75 stars...I really really wanted to fall in love with this book but it was so hard for me. I enjoyed the story, but it was just too slow to really dive into. Maybe it is just me and my timing?

Nina Hill is an interesting character and I liked reading about her and how she got through life. I related in some ways too. I enjoyed her family storyline and the fact that she worked in a bookstore. I liked her friends and overall thought it worked, but something was missing for me :( I just can't quite put my finger on what it was.

It's possible this book was written just for me. So it really doesn't matter if you happen to enjoy it too, though I think you will. <i>The Bookish Life of Nina Hill</i> is frequently funny, very entertaining, and will ring true for a lot of us obsessive, introverted readers.

I share many of Nina's opinions about the value of reading, trivia, and that cars can be classed into very simple categories (hers are "fancy," "regular," "in her way" or "going too fast in a residential neighborhood"). I may not struggle with chronic anxiety, but like everyone I can relate to the difficulty of making friends with strangers and the joy living a peaceful, bookish life brings.

If you're a fan of Sophie Kinsella - and Waxman is a better writer in every way - and books about books and the people who love them, this one is for you. You might also enjoy another of Waxman's romantic and humorous books, this one with a dash of heartbreak, try <i>The Garden of Small Beginnings</i>.

My favorite quotes:

"She refueled during the day by grabbing moments of solitude and sometimes felt her life was a long-distance swim between islands of silence. She enjoyed people - she really did - she just needed to take them in homeopathic does; a little of the poison was the cure."

"In public Nina was a quiet, reserved person; in private she was an all-singing, all-dancing cavalcade of light and motion. Unless she was a quivering ball of anxiety, because that was also a frequently selected option."

Received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of this.

This was very reminiscent of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Nina Hill is an avid reader who suffers from anxiety. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this book but I did want more depth from it. Instead, it felt more like a shallow rom-com that didn't have me very emotionally invested.

Despite that, it was a light, quick read that is perfect for the beach.

*4.5 stars rounded up!

Nina is one of the most delightful characters I've had the pleasure to encounter in a story in recent days. She's twenty-nine, single, and works in a bookstore. She's sassy and an introvert who loves books--they are her main interest--but she's also terrific at trivia games and the collector of useless factoids.

She thinks she has her life together and organized until suddenly things start happening that kick up her anxiety level: she learns her father has died, a man whose identity was kept from her, and now she has gone from being a single child with an absent photo-journalist mother to having family galore; and she's decided she doesn't have time for a boyfriend in her life...until she meets Tom. Such complications in an orderly life!

Calling all book lovers! This novel is charming, heart-warming and absolutely hilarious! And did I mention there's lots about books, my favorite topic?

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. And my honest review is that I loved this book! I've read three books by Abbi Waxman and enjoyed them all but this is by far my favorite. Highly recommend.

Really enjoyed this one and could relate to Nina so much! I know a lot of bookish people who will absolutely love and identify with the characters. Loved it!

3.5 stars
Some parts of this book I absolutely loved. I adored all of the books and book references. What isn't to love when the author pays homage to books and reading and treats them with reverence? I also really liked the parts where Nina was getting to know her new family members, finding out about their similarities and differences. The sections with the trivia competitions were so fun, because I love playing trivia and identified a lot with the funny names, categories, and general cut-throated nature of the competition.
What I didn't really care for was Nina's personality. This is the second book I've read where a character's anxiety/introvertedness/whatever is used as an excuse for them to run from uncomfortable situations and be rude, and all of the other characters just take it in stride and excuse the behavior. I liked that Tom didn't just roll over and take it, but even that didn't seem to make an impression on Nina that she needed to change.
Overall though, I liked this book enough to recommend it to others. Especially for the incredibly quirky dialogue in some places that made me laugh out loud at its snarkiness.

This has got to be one of the best books I have read this summer. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is equal parts quirky, loveable, funny as hell, and anxiety ridden. And let me tell you, the literary references are ON POINT. If I thought I was a fan of Abbi Waxman before, well damn, this one sealed the deal. I was completely engaged the entire time and literally laughed out loud during some of the banter between friends (especially during a candid discussion on unsolicited dick picks. I don’t care who you are, it was hilarious).

Nina is completely likeable and Waxman keeps you engaged throughout the entire book. While there is a love story, I like that it’s more of a background story and not integral to the book itself. This is a novel about a young woman finding her place in the world, learning how to live her best life, and how to navigate it all.

Did I mention she also discovers an entire family she never knew she had? Yea, that’s a fun curveball too. Her friendships and relationships are amazing and all of the secondary characters bring the book to life as much as protagonist Nina does. Together as a whole, they make a phenomenal cast.

This book is thoroughly enjoyable and something you’ll definitely need to add to your summer reads. It’s like a happy Eleanor Oliphant, mixed with a little A.J. Fikry and a couple of pot brownies to round it out (you’ll get it when you read it). This is without a doubt, 5 stars. Booklovers and office supplies aficionados, this one’s for you.

🖤My Review🖤
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Who doesn't love reading a book about a fellow bookworm? This is a perfect book for us!

I loved everything about this book! Nina Hill is such a relatable character and you could easily connect to her. She's smart, funny, and sassy. She's a total introvert who may just be a little OCD about her schedule. She hates the unexpected and has anxiety.

Abbie Waxman nailed it with this book! Not only does she do such an excellent job of making lovable characters but she also explores the dynamics of her relationships with her friends and new found family. She doesn't make it overbearing but uses wit and humor to keep the story light! We get to watch Nina grow and overcome her obstacles.

This book literally made me laugh out loud several times and had me chuckling.you get book quotes, movie mentions and trivia questions! One of my favorites was Nina's list of 5 perfect things! Hers are reading, cats, dogs, honeycrisp apples, and coffee. My 5 perfect things are reading, cats, mountain dew, sleep, and the beach!

QOTD: What are your 5 favorite things?

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#bibliophiles #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #BookShark

Nina Hill works at a bookstore and is a master at pub trivia. She has a cat and lots of Books. Despite the stereotypical depiction of bookish young woman, this was a charming read with a love story with snappy dialogue. Fun reading with appearances by a few interesting characters. Bridget Jones on Books, maybe?

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

4.5 Stars
Nina Hill is a book lovers dream narrator. She is nerdy, serious and works in a bookstore. Also, she plays on a trivia team and has a pet cat named Phil. She uses a planner and she enjoys her alone time. It's almost as though Waxman wrote about me! Just swap Phil out for a pup named Finn! 😉

I really enjoyed this one. I loved the flow of the story, I enjoyed the bookstore that can't pay its bills storyline and I really liked the characters. Nina discovers there's much more to her life than alone time and random knowledge. This was perfect for a lighter read with lots of bookish references and fun plugged in. I would highly recommend to almost any reader. This was my first by Waxman, but I have her others on my TBR, so looking forward to picking them up soon.

This book had so many gems in it! I related to Nina so much. I really appreciated the anxiety plot line. However, it was sloppy and messy and I would have probably really disliked this book if it wasn’t about a woman who loved books and worked in a bookstore.

The Bookish Life of Nia Hill is a delightful novel and was a perfect vacation read. It's sweet and witty and charming in a Hallmark movie kind of way. Recommend to readers of romance and perhaps those who like a good family drama. Readers who enjoyed Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Eleanor Oliphant will enjoy this read.

Nina is very very organized. She loves to read and compete in trivia nights, and she loves working at her local bookstore. Nina grew up a lonely only child being raised by her nanny. Having never known her father and accepting that her mother was never going to be around, Nina settled right into being alone and really quite enjoys it. This solitary, organized life of Nina's is about to be turned on its side when she learns that this undisclosed father of hers has died and left her something in his will - as well as a bevy of brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews.

This book is a delight. I love Nina. She is a relate able, like able character. The book has so many quotable moments, that I considered just pulling a notebook out and writing them all down. I look forward to going back to my favorite moments and re reading them.

The plot is so fun to read. There are little moments that Nina finds herself in that had me smiling. Wishing that I, too, could be a part of what was happening.

For many bookish people, like me, I can imagine that much of Nina's life is , in fact, goals.

This is a top read for me. I would recommend it to everyone. It is certainly geared toward female fiction. But, I think that anyone who is bookish and loves a quirky character would enjoy this book.

THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL by Abbi Waxman has a really fun cover, doesn't it? The story is very clever, too, with a thirty-year-old title character who works in a bookstore in Larchmont, California and likes her routine full of weekly book groups and trivia contests. In fact, pages from Nina's planner are interspersed. Shy and introverted, Nina might say that Phil the cat is her best friend. Things change, though, due to an unexpected inheritance. As Nina would reflect, "Life can throw you major curveballs, but it's rare you can do much more than duck." Waxman's wry comments are at their best early on: "She would sit there with a group of eight-to-twelve-year-old girls and talk about books for an hour. It was the club she wished she'd had when she was their age, and if she occasionally sat there making friendship bracelets and talking about A Mango-Shaped Space with even more enthusiasm than the ten-year-olds, what's your point?" I personally liked that Nina. THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL is a light, entertaining read, with brief summaries to introduce each chapter ("In which Nina feels less alone, but not necessarily in a good way") plus, Nina's observations about social niceties – such as the one about how preschool moms interact – are very amusing. Available in paperback, with a discussion guide included. Starred review from Booklist.

Nina just found out her dad has died. She never knew she had a dad, let alone bothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. This throws her whole world out of kilter. On top of this….she has met a new, potential boyfriend. Her anxiety level is through the roof.

Well! I completely related to Nina! She is an introvert after my own heart. She works in a book store (my dream job!). She is completely nerdy, especially with her planner. I actually laughed out loud and some of her entries. So wonderfully realistic! She also has the best reactions to people. I caught myself laughing out loud at many of her antics.

This story is full of humor, fantastic characters and wonderful book references. What is not to enjoy? This is a perfect read for an introverted bibliophile!

If you are one of those people (like me) who firmly believes that not only are books the perfect presents to give yourself, but that spending time with them is one of the best things EVAR, than you will probably feel for Nina Hill as much as I did.

Those of us who are book dragons (because being a bookworm just doesn’t describe us accurately – we will defend our bookish choices and bookish friends with dragon-like aggression!) may have come to our love of reading from somewhat different directions that Nina, once we’re there, we’re definitely each other’s people. Each reading quietly in a corner when we’re not passionately discussing our bookish loves – and hates.

So it was easy for this reader to identify more than a bit with Nina and her very bookish life as the story opens. She has a tiny apartment, filled with books – and a cat! – loves her bookstore job and reads in her downtime. All of it not spent doing chores, running errands, working, sleeping or attending to the cat’s every need. As we do.

Which means that Nina’s life – although it may seem boring to some, sounds a bit idyllic to those of us who read for pleasure, for solace, and just because.

Admittedly some of us may not be the obsessive planner that Nina is. But still…

Nina’s life revolves around her job, Phil the cat, reading, and trivia night with her friends. Her constant reading makes her an excellent trivia contestant – as every librarian will also agree. But Nina doesn’t just play for fun – she’s a competitive trivia player – right along with her teammates on Book ‘Em Danno.

Their rivals on the LA trivia circuit are You’re a Quizzard, Harry, but Nina is convinced that Harry Potter may be the only book some of them have read. Especially Tom, who helps his team beat Nina’s by being a sports trivia expert – which Nina is just so not.

Of course Nina notices Tom all the time – and vice versa. They may be rivals in trivia, but they sizzle with possibility.

A possibility that Nina is afraid to fit into her overplanned schedule. (Nina and Hermione Granger would have LOTS in common.)

Nina has just discovered that the father she never even knew about has died. Leaving her a piece of his rather large estate and a veritable herd of relatives that painfully introverted Nina never knew existed.

As the only child of a globe-trotting mother who left her in the care of an absolutely fantastic nanny for nearly all of her life, Nina doesn’t know how to let strangers into her life. That doesn’t mean that her new relatives, at least some of them, aren’t more than happy to clue her in on everything she’s missed.

Having to emerge from her comfortable shell into the boisterous horde of her sudden siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews and even great-nieces and great-nephews, Nina discovers the joy – and sometimes the pain, of having family.

And once she’s poked out of her shell, she’s able to see just how much sizzle there is between herself and Tom-the-Quizzard.

But her shell was quiet and safe, and she was, if not happy, at least very, very contented there. Turtles may only move forward when they stick their necks out – but Nina isn’t sure she’s ready to protect hers from being chopped off – or maybe that’s her heart.

Escape Rating B+: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was sweet and fun and funny. It’s a voyage of discovery by a woman who may be pushing 30 but hasn’t been willing to push outside her own very comfortable boundaries.

The fates have conspired against her, in a mostly lovely way, to make her stick her neck out whether she wants to or not. Her newfound family won’t take no for an answer. Most of them are more-than-happy to have a new sibling, cousin, or whatever. And they have charts to show Nina whatever the relationship might be. And they need them. Her sperm donor’s family life was hella complicated but it has mostly produced people that Nina is lucky to have in her life.

And it’s fascinating to watch her as she discovers where the parts of her that were nature and not nurture actually came from. Suddenly seeing her eyes or her chin or her gestures on someone else who resembles her makes her rethink some of her own life in interesting ways.

At the same time that the family descends, Nina job is threatened. The place isn’t making a profit and the owner hasn’t paid the rent. Nina may have to try her wings whether she wants to or not, and in her fear of all the new that has assailed her, she tries to jump back into her shell and leave behind the one new thing that has given her life so much bright sparkle. By that I mean Tom the Quizzard.

While there is a Happy Ever After in Nina Hill’s bookish life, this isn’t a so much a romance as it is a story where a romance occurs. The heart of the story is Nina opening her heart and her life, not just to her friends, but to her newfound family. And it’s a whole lot of bookish fun.

This an unsurprising romcom beach read, which usually gets a 3-star review from me. So why 4 stars? It made me giggle. Yes, folks, Nina's comments and take on life plus her love of books and trivia added another star. Plus Clare and that camel. That picnic wedding (seriously - sounds like the kind of wedding I'd want to attend). The street food fight. Read it.

eARC provided by publisher.

Loved it! The characters - there's a lot of them - are so much fun and endlessly entertaining. I got a kick out of Nina and her thoughts, the way she'd make stories for the most random things. She's definitely amusing! The humor is absolutely delightful and similar to The Garden of Small Beginnings, which I adored. Plus, there's a bit of a crossover, and little Clare always cracks me up. This is for sure a must read!