this started off okay but I lost interest relatively quickly. It's not that I didn't like the concept of the story because I definitely did, I just felt like these characters were - off for lack of a better term coming to mind. These characters are supposed to be college students, in their 20s, but they act like they are definitely older than they're supposed to be. The way they talk, the way they deal with things... It just didn't fit to me. That being said, just because it isn't for me, doesn't mean the story doesn't have it's audience.

This was super confusing with the multitude of characters, which made it too difficult to follow. It hooked me at first, but as it went on I lost interest in the characters.

I love everything this Author writes this is fun book. This a fun book wrote about life as a young adult just finding your way. with just a touch of romance,

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this ARC.

Abbi Waxman is my go to for light fiction and she proves herself fagain with this new title. It's great to see characters from her other books as well.

Delightfully engaging and immersive. A recommended purchase for collections where women's fiction is popular.

Adult Assembly Required" by Abbi Waxman is a delightful and relatable novel that skillfully navigates the challenges of adulthood and family dynamics with humor and heart. Waxman's signature wit and charm shine through in this contemporary story, making it a must-read for fans of women's fiction and domestic dramas.

Cute and quirky, with great banter and interesting perspectives. I definitely chuckled out loud and felt the Abbi-infused personality with this one, but the pacing was a tad off for me. A bit of a miss, sadly.

This book can only be described as a delight. Quirky side characters and a main couple you couldn't help but root for. My only slight quibble is that I wanted more of some of the subplots that could easily have been stand alone books.

“Dude, the inside of my head is such a circus I need my environment to be Zen.”


Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman is a raucous fictional account of Laura Costello’s new life in Las Angeles, who through a serious of events ends up living with and being part of a community of unique and quirky people. Laura’s family upbringing in New York City and experiences from childhood have colored her perceptions and expectations of herself. But, after a devestating car accident, from which she was lucky to be alive, left her with physical and mental injuries to overcome, Laura decides to move across the country to attend physical therapy grad school. Bob has all the physical attributes that attracts the ladies but growing up in a household of all older women Bob finds himself frequently at loss for words, or worse rambling on incoherently, when in social situations. He retreats into his love for plants, gardens, and sports until he meets Laura, whom he is drawn to on so many levels. They quickly develop a budding friendship but their own issues seem to keep getting in the way of a blossoming relationship.

“It’s hard to love yourself while simultaneously striving to become the best you can be, which implies your current version could use some work. Laura couldn’t decide what was worse – the mental contortions needed to balance these competing self-images or the emotional pretzel required to feel happy about it.”


If you have never read an Abbi Waxman book you need to! Adult Assembly Required follows her eclectic style of writing that you really need to experience to understand. The best analogy I have is like getting one of those Christmas or Birthday presents that is both a serious and gag gift. The kind where you start with a large wrapped box in one kind of paper, which you unwrap to find another wrapped box in a different paper. As you keep unwrapping different sizes and packages of boxes you either find random objects, like rocks or bricks to add weight, or more boxes, until you finally reach a smaller velvet covered box that contains gorgeous gem encrusted jewelry. This is an Abbi Waxman book! She writes with a wonderfully irreverant style that is somewhat like reading an episode of Sienfeld. There are so many random, everyday events and interactions presented in such an entertaining way that you will frequently and sporadically burst into giggles.

Nina’s soda arrived. “You don’t literally handle everything alone, thought, right? You wouldn’t operate on your own burst appendix or install your own linoleum.” Laura shook her head. “Right, so why is it more grown up to handle your own emotional and mental health? There are experts for that.”


But, in Adult Assembly Required all this humor is intertwined with a sober and concerted exploration of dealing with the scars of our past as we try to become the best and happiest human we can be. Abbi deftly incorporates serious issues and struggles in a way that normalizes the difficulty in dealing with them but that also clearly conveys the way to move towards healing, recovery, and restoration. This really isn’t just Laura’s story but the story of a half dozen other characters, who you are also given insight into their thoughts and feelings. Most authors’ can’t pull off having so many character perspectives, intertwining plots, random events, and a serious message. They usually end up either jumbling the plot or totally confusing their reader. Abbi, on the other hand wields her pen like an artist, who takes a wild assortment of random tiles to create a stunning mosaic, as she creates the story of Adult Assembly Required. Don’t miss out on this great book!

I enjoyed Laura's story so much more than I did Nina's in Waxman's previous books I connected more with Laura as a character who slowly finds her way into friendships and a relationship with someone who sees her.

Abbi Waxman is an autobuy author for me, and this book hit everything I wanted it to hit! I loved it so much and am so glad I read it - I will recommend this to all!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

I really enjoyed this. There's a budding romance (or two or three), and friendship, and dogs, and baseball, and books, and trivia... What's not to love about all of that? I enjoyed seeing Nina Hill and some other side characters from that book again too.

After a few mediocre reads, I was craving something light and entertaining, and since I'd enjoyed Abbi Waxman's previous novel, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, I had a feeling that ADULT ASSEMBLY REQUIRED was just what I needed!

Laura Costello has just moved to L.A looking to start fresh after her engagement ended, and she just wants to escape from her overprotective family. Arriving jobless and without a place to live, Laura ends up making new friends with the owners of a bookstore and finds housing and a new job.

The characters were quirky and I loved the theme of found family, making for a heartwarming story.

*many thanks to Berkley for the gifted copy for review

Quando comecei a ler Adult Assembly Required, não sabia que ele era uma sequência de outro livro que está pegando mofo na minha tbr, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Porém, seguindo outros personagens mas com participações especiais, não interfere muito não ter lido o anterior.

Aqui vamos acompanhar Laura Costello, uma jovem universitária que acabou de se mudar para Los Angeles, a fim de fugir um pouco da sua família superprotetora e das lembranças de um terrível acidente. O que era pra ser um grande recomeço, se tornou um desastre ao se ver sem casa. Porém, Laura se vê acolhida por um grupo de pessoas peculiares em uma pensão que opera ilegalmente.

Apesar do protagonismo de Laura, temos vários personagens em cena que também possuem seu destaque e desenvolvimento. A narração em terceira pessoa alterna entre esses personagens, e você acaba se apegando e torcendo por eles involuntariamente.

Laura encontra nos moradores dessa mansão ilegal um apoio incondicional que faltava na sua vida. Eles a desafiam a sair da zona de conforto, ao mesmo tempo que compreendem seus medos.

Esse foi meu primeiro contato com a Abbi e achei sua escrita bem gostosinha. A história em si não tem muitas reviravoltas; são apenas pessoas normais tentando lidar com os problemas da vida adulta. Há também um pouco de romance, mas ele fica meio de segundo plano em vista de outras situações na história.

I am a big fan of Abbi Waxman and her novel The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Adult Assembly Required takes place in the same world, with Nina and her friends serving as side characters.

While Waxman has a knack for writing books about people who love books, and her quirky characters are interesting and fun, the way the main character was folded into the story was just so unrealistic that I found it difficult to get lost in the story. We also have another case of a beautiful woman who doesn't know how beautiful she is.

There are some good points, like the fact that there is a great character in the landlady, but overall it is not enough to make it stand out among all of the great romance novels out there.

A delightful light romance. Easy to pick up and hard to put down.

Rom Com’s are not normally my go to but lately I find myself picking them up more often. I enjoyed Adult Assembly Required as the story line was fun and I enjoyed getting to know all of the characters in the book. And of course I was hoping there was a romantic connection.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy.

Another great read by Abbi Waxman! I loved the cast of characters living together with and trying to figure out what to do next. I found myself cheering for Laura on every page. A favorite character/bookseller that we knew from other Waxman books was a fun surprise!!

This is was just what I needed – sweet, offbeat, and charming. I loved the characters and watching Laura grow throughout the book. Waxman takes her through highs and lows and I never never what might happen next. Laura and Impossibly Handsome Bob have great tension throughout the book as well and I loved watching their relationship develop. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Laura arrives almost homeless in LA and makes friends with the owners of a bookstore there. She finds housing in a boarding home and a job until her grad studies begin in several weeks.

I found the characters interesting but not astounding or very memorable. This is a slow moving story and romance novel, with the emphasis on the people and their personalities, quirks, and their interactions with each other in the boarding house and in the bookstore. The romance between Laura and Handsome Bob is a slow and maybe tedious one, with nothing extraordinary to mark its slow but inevitable passage.

Overall, a leisurely read that makes one want to turn the pages quickly to the predictable ending.