TW: Depression & suicidal thoughts

I would give this book a 4.5 if it let me. While I love a good steamy, over the top dramatic romance any day of the week, this book impressed me without the need for explicit sex scenes, secret babies or jealous ex's. It is a realistic, down-to-earth story of a woman who is stuck in her life. Who doesn't have her sh*t together. Who meets the man of her dreams when she is not emotionally ready for him.

While there is a little deception, there is ultimately growth and honesty. Where there is sadness, there is ultimately hope, a rainbow after the storm if you will. Nora (the MC) is relatable to all of us who feel lost & alone when we, as adults, are supposed to know who we are and what we should be doing in our adult lives.

Robinson does a great job of making the reader both cry and smile with Nora. This book makes me empathize with the diverse characters in books and at the same time make me feel seen. I feel moved and better for reading this book and I think that's one of the highest compliments to be given.

Honestly, the title and cover draw me in to read this book 💛

Nora works as an editorial assistant for a business publisher that is constantly laying off employees and piling additional work on top of those who remain. She struggles once her salary is reduced, and she ends up secretly freelancing for a rival publisher, juggling between the two.

The story focused on the main character, Nora, dealing with her bad decisions and learning to grow from them. Nora's career troubles were the book's emphasis, but the plot moved too slow. I wanted to enjoy the protagonist, but I couldn't relate to her difficulty figuring out what she should do next.

I loved the premise of the story. Unfortunately, the story and characters do not appeal to me. I didn't agree with many of Nora's actions, but I liked the ending where she chose herself above a romantic relationship with Andrew's attractive author.

Nevertheless, takeaways from this book, it's essential for individuals to understand that it's fine to change occupations at any point in their lives and that it's also fine to start your dream job only to hate it. But, it's not acceptable to complain about it or misbehave at your current employment. I understand the pay reduction, but please consider other options to fill the blank.

Overall, this is a thoughtful novel on career choices and not rom-com. It is an okay book, and I will recommend it for those interested in finding your career path and knowing what you want in life. It also describes some stories about how publishing works and is quite interesting.  

⚠️ TW: suicidal thoughts and depression
 
My rating: 3/5

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this in exhange of an honest review ✨

This cover and title speaks to every reader. Must Love Books, who wouldn’t?

Nora is lost. She has friends and a good job, but she’s struggling with her identity. That struggle intensifies when her employer lays off her friends and cuts her pay. I think every reader can relate to the feeling of being stuck and depressed at some point in their lives. Nora takes a freelance job with a competitor, meets a cute author and cue ….life is going to get messy.

This is a wonderful book that demonstrates we are in the drivers seats of our lives. Robinson deals openly with depression and gives us a character we all can love even when she makes bad choices. Inside we know Nora is a good person and we are all rooting for her. I appreciate the story guides Nora on her path to be a happier person, leaving us hopeful for the future.

Thank you to Net Galley, Shauna Robinson and Sourcebooks Landmark for the gift of this wonderful ARC.

This debut started off slow for me but ending up packing a huge punch. I absolutely loved that this book focused on mental health and career burnout. Nora is an editorial assistant working at a publishing house that keeps losing staff and authors. I really enjoyed getting insights into the publishing world, especially from a character of color. The author wrote the book based loosely on her own experiences in publishing and I found it very relatable (think the romance version of The other Black girl).

Nora's life gets all tangled up when she takes on a secret second part-time job for a competing publisher and starts getting involved with Andrew, one of her company's best-selling authors whose contract is up for renewal. This is not a light-hearted romance, the focus is very much on Nora's struggles with suicidal thoughts and depression. Andrew her love interest does a great job trying to help Nora take steps to change the things in her life that aren't making her happy. Anyone who has struggled in a job they hate will be able to relate with Nora's journey. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Rachel Lynn Soloman's Weather girl. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!

TW: suicidal ideation, depression

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Shauna Robinson for letting me read early. This book comes out January 18.

I didn’t love this one. I just didn’t love any of the characters and found it hard to stay engaged with them and their problems. The book also felt super slow to me. I was expecting a romance and I just got a lot of identity crisis with a tiny bit of mental health. Sadly, I just don’t recommend this one.

Must Love Books is a story about being in a crossroads in your career. It’s about Nora’s journey and her mental health. She should be happy but she isn’t. She’s navigating her career and trying to stay afloat and happy when she meets Andrew, a young author her publishing house is trying to win over. Will she be able to convince Andrew to sign with them? Will she be able to figure out what makes her happy?

Thank you for the ARC Netgalley & Sourcebooks. I am sucker for books about books and so was immediately drawn to the title and cover. The story follows Nora, who has worked in publishing for 5 years but her career seems to have stalled out and she feels unsure of what's next. When she takes a part time role at a rival publishing firm, without leaving her current job to make ends meet, things in her life get more complicated. Oh! And of course, a rising star author happens to add additional lovely complications to her life.

I was surprised out how melancholy this book was, since Nora suffers from depression and lot of the story is about her digging out of the sadness. Additionally, I wished there was more reflection on the race conversation that is touched on but never gets quite deep enough.

Overall, a quick and engaging read, but be forewarned that it's a bit heavier than may be expected.

3.5 stars

The story has a compelling premise. The characters and the story setting are relatable.

I loved that Nora owned her mistakes and recovered from the predicaments she was in. The story has a lot of potentials and would have been more captivating if Nora's depression and suicidal thoughts were addressed clinically. A backstory about her childhood would also help us know more about how she deals with life's challenges.

The story was a feel-good read and would appeal to those who love romance and real-life situations.

I'm grateful to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the book aspect of this novel! The book references and publishing info was so fun for this book nerd. The characters were interesting and I was rooting for them throughout. I was frustrated with the mental illness aspect, as it was kind of glazed over and not really explained or investigated. I feel like it could have been either left out completely or fleshed out more, but the way it was done left me feeling unsettled and frustrated. Other than that, this was a fun book about finding your path and creating a happy life. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review! 3.5 ⭐️

This was such a beautiful story! There's some romance in this, but it's really about a young woman trying to figure out what she wants her life's path to be like. I really enjoyed watching her navigate the frustrations of a downsizing company and how she tries to solve for her pay cut.

The romance felt real to me. I liked the chemistry between the two characters, and I enjoyed the entire arc of their relationship.

The story touches on some suicidal thoughts that seem to be something the character is living with her entire life. I wish that this would have been given a bit more focus at times. It felt like something that the character definitely needed to speak with someone about, and I would have liked to see that step taken within the story.

Overall, though, this was a great read. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was fun to think about what I love about books throughout the story as well!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

4.5 ⭐️ Must Love Books is a fabulous debut novel by Shauna Robinson. Nora Hughes feels stuck in her job as an editorial assistant at Parsons, a publishing company. Everyone she is friends with has left the company and then her pay gets cut. To help with the pay cut, Nora takes a job at a rivalry publishing company. During all of this, Nora meets someone she’s interested in that just happens to be Andrew Santos, an author who is about to sign a contract with her company. Getting him signed with either company will help Nora out financially, but she has to decide what is more important - money, or her relationship with Andrew. During all of this, Nora struggles with her mental health and just trying to get up to face each day. This book does a great job addressing mental health while also developing the characters and their relationships. Nora Hughes is definitely a relatable character that everyone needs in their life!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

DNF
I love looks into different professions, but this was a little too inside baseball on the publishing world—of really boring books. Honestly, this was just a bore. It could have been just where I was at in my reading or this book just isn't for me.

This book wasn’t exactly what I expected based on the cover and synopsis.

I was expecting a more fluffy rom-com type book and I love books about books. However this wasn’t that. The first part started off a little slow. It does touch on some heavier topics throughout and I could relate to Nora’s struggles with work and money concerns.

None of the characters really stood out to me besides Andrew. I enjoyed his character a lot and I wish we saw more between him and Nora.

I did like that everything wasn’t neatly wrapped up in the end and that Nora is going to continue work on herself and her happiness.

Nora works a low paying job in publishing. Shes struggling to make ends meet and to be happy in her job. After her company cuts her wages she decides to take a 2nd job working for a competing publisher but she needs to keep each job secret from the other. To complicate things further, shes been assigned to make sure a promising author, Andrew Santos, signs with her company... but it may be better for her if he signs with her new one. Soon her professional and personal relationship with him begins to blur and things are about to fall apart.

I picked up this book thinking it sounded like a cute rom com with a book themed plot. This however is not a light fun rom com. It took on some pretty serious and heavy issues like depression and suicide and was more a story of a girl discovering herself. Overall I liked the story but was heavier than I anticipated.

Read if you like:

Books about books
A look into the publishing world
San francisco based
Mental health/ suicide themes
A heavier read
Racial diversity
A story of self discovery

⭐⭐⭐💫

This one releases Jan 18th. Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book. All opinions remain my own as always.

Nora works in publishing and feels unchallenged, unappreciated, and overworked. When her salary is cut even more, she must fight off depression and figure out what to do with her life. She uses her contacts to find a freelance job, but this only clouds her relationships and makes her more of a mess. Nora must decide what she wants to do and how to value herself.
This cover and synopsis bill this book as a rom com- which it is not. There is very little romance or comedy in this book. Once I stopped looking for those things, I could enjoy this book as a workplace drama. It reminded me of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler a little. I wanted it to be more like an Abbi Waxman book, but this had no humor or situational comedy. Maybe it would have benefitted from some?
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance readers copy for review. Hopefully this can be marketed correctly and find it's perfect audience.

3.5⭐
I went into this book thinking it will be a fun light hearted read but this wasn't the case...
It focuses on Noras mental state, her depression and indecisiveness , her struggle in her work life
It took me a while to get into the book and also was frustrated with Nora so many times as regards to her choices!!
Loved Noras friends who supported her esp Andrew..their exchange were fun and witty..wished there was more romance between the two.
The insight into the publishing field was a big plus to read!!

Thank you Netgalley and sourcebook landmark for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cute and sincere with some serious tones about mental health. Nora is a bit lost with thinking there’s such a thing as a dream job and it’s pulling her down. Enter Andrew Santos who has a positive outlook on life and helps Nora figure some things out.

While there is romance, it isn’t the focus of the novel. It’s not about self-discovery, self-love and figuring things out.

I was given an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange of an honest review. Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson was a very cute romance book, to be honest I think it was going to slow at times and that made it harder to keep reading without stoping.

Even though third person books are not my favorite Robinson did a pretty good job writing like this. I loved the main character and seeing her growth from a sad, unconfident woman to a happier and more confident woman at the end of the book made me really happy!

If you’re looking for a cute rom-com this is a good choice!

<b>Review in 10-ish words:</b> More self love journey than romance, but engaging nevertheless. (4/5)

<b>Synopsis:</b> Nora is having what I would consider a quarter life crisis. Her job has lost the luster it once held, she has no idea wtf she wants to do with her life and the monsters and shadows that haunt her have come back. But when a new author presents her with a risky yet attractive career opportunity can Nora pull through?

<b>My thoughts</b>: I loved hearing about the ins and outs of working in publishing! I thought that was super interesting. I also really loved Nora's friendship with Beth and how they were able to support each other even when they were both quite different (introvert/extrovert).
I could feel myself getting frustrated towards the end of the book- not at the writing or even the story, but Nora's actions. It felt like she had set herself up for failure, which is honestly very human of her.

Overall, this book was well written and kept me engaged. Would recommend as a contemporary read that is light on romance.

TW: Suicide. I have to say that this book surprised me because it really was about depression more than anything. I was expecting a bit of romance and there was a tiny bit but it was more about the struggle of life. Definitely should have come with a warning regarding the very serious topics discussed in most of the book. I was hoping for something fun and this did not fit that bill. Hope you have more luck!

Must Love Books comes out next month on January 18, 2022, and you can purchase HERE.
Would you recommend this job to a friend?

The question echoed in Nora's mind as the silence ticked by. She glanced from the twenty-two-year-old girl across from her to the resume on the table.

Book Review: Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

I came to this book expecting a nice light romance, but I loved the self-discovery and mental health sub-plot lines. I know that suicide or suicidal thoughts is a big trigger for many readers but I really appreciated the way that it was brought about for Nora as nagging thoughts about her worthiness of life. Reaching out to her friend and taking small steps to make her self-worth a little higher was much more realistic than I’ve seen in other books.

I loved the easy flirty relationship that she had with Andrew. The sticker for hard work scene was really cute. It felt like they had a good personality balance.

I did wish that Nora minority status has been expanded upon a little both personally and professionally. I was really fascinated when she spoke about being biracial and not feeling confident with her hair because her mother was white.

Must Love Books releases January 18th. make sure you pick it up!

Thank you @bookmarked for this advanced copy!