I love Abbi Waxman books so I was excited to read this one. I usually fall in love and find her characters so relatable. This wasn’t the case for me this time. I did enjoy the premise and I’d love to visit the island of Violeta. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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Just when she thought she’d gotten far enough away . . . a life-changing phone call throws an antisocial scientist back into her least favourite place—the spotlight. A hilarious and insightful new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

After a tumultuous childhood, Christa Liddle has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. Happily studying sea snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Christa finds her tranquil existence thrown into chaos when her once-famous father—long thought dead after a plane crash—turns out to be alive, well, and ready to make amends.

The world goes wild, fascinated by this real-life saga, pinning Christa and her family under the spotlight. As if that weren’t enough, her reunion with an old childhood friend reveals an intense physical attraction neither was expecting and both want to act on . . . if they can just keep a lid on it. When her father’s story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationship, and—most importantly—any chance of making it back to her snails before they forget her completely.

Oh, those poor snails 😊 I loved the play on the word shell – this was a literal shell to come out of, although who is more comfortable in their shell, Christa or the actual snails? And can you actually trust the father or the childhood crush to do the right thing? This book raises a lot of questions that you will have fun grappling with as you read through it. Thoroughly enjoyable – highly recommended.
#shortbutsweetreviews

4.5, rounded up. Christa Comes Out of Her Shell combines family drama with just the right touch of comedy and romance, resulting in a lighthearted, easy read that is perfect for a cozy couch day. The titular Christa-- ahem, Dr. Christabel Liddle-- is smart and quirky in a way that feels effortless rather than constructed and cliché, making her a likable protagonist. In fact, all of the characters are so well developed that we're really on the journey with them throughout the plot, which could easily have been hokey had the character work not been as strong. Waxman manages to pack a lot into this story: Christa's career ambitions, her father's return from the dead, reconnecting with her mother and sisters, a budding romance with an old fling, and more internal struggles, such as (but not limited to) unresolved issues stemming from her childhood and media pressures. Most of the characters have well developed arcs, and everything manages to come together in a satisfactory manner, though I appreciated that it's not all tied up in a pretty, simple bow. Would definitely recommend!

I loved all of Abbi Waxman's previous books, but I liked Christa Comes Out of Her Shell. Christa is a 27 year old marine biologist living on a fictional island in the Indian Ocean. She is called back home to LA when her father (who's been missing for 25 years and presumed dead) resurfaces. Christa is forced to confront her strained relationships with her mother and two sisters, as well as the mystery of her father's disappearance and reappearance.
I was disappointed that this story didn't seem to have ties to her previous books, which the others all do (overlapping characters & places) -- but maybe it was there and I just missed it. It was also a bit too heavy on the romance & I would have liked more exploration of the sister characters.
I also found the age of the protagonist to be a bit young -- at 27 years old already recovered from being a heavy drinking, drug using parting teenager to completing a PhD in marine biology, getting a faculty position at UCLA and spending years on an island doing research? At 17 years old she was sent away to boarding school for two years, so she would have completed high school at 19, then completed undergrad, graduate school and a PhD in less than 3 years, as she's been living on remote island doing research for the last four years? The math doesn't track, and I found this to be very distracting.

Not my favorite of Waxman's, mostly because of the sex and swearing, which I could have done without. But I do love her quirky characters, clever plots, and unique settings.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

“𝘐𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨?”



What a ride this book was! In 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭, titular character and reclusive scientist Dr. Christabel “Christa” Barnet Liddle pauses her research on bubble raft snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean and returns to Los Angeles when she receives unbelievable news. Her father—naturalist, explorer, and beloved TV show host Jasper Liddle—is found alive after being missing and presumed dead for 25 years. Once home, she deals with unresolved issues with her mother Denise and older sisters Amelia and Eleanor, a surreal reunion with her long-lost dad, and discomfort with being back in the public eye… as well as unexpected but undeniable attraction to life-long family friend Nathan.

The novel covers a lot of territory: family drama, personal trauma, media exploitation, and romance. Author Abbi Waxman balances multiple themes and a large cast of characters well, and somehow makes a frankly improbable plot—celebrity dad comes back from the dead after a quarter-century—not only palatable but engaging and even funny at times. But as interesting as that arc is in the book, and as sweet and hot Christa and love interest Nate’s interactions are in their scenes, I feel the real heart of the story is her complicated but ultimately loving relationships with her mom Denny and siblings Amelia and Lenny. Waxman is great at characterization and I came to love all of the complex, strong, and smart Liddle women… so much so that my major complaint with the book is that I don’t think enough time was spent seeing them interact with just each other. I would have enjoyed more mother-daughter and sisterly scenes, and felt it would have strengthened the storylines of forgiveness and personal redemption. Perhaps we can get a spin-off with one of them and get more scenes that way?

Overall, 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 is a very entertaining novel that would make a great vacation book or buddy read. 4.5 stars rounded up. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. My review was posted on August 20, 2023 to https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5767403872.

Sweet, heartwarming, funny and insightful.; would be the words I would use to encapsulate my feelings for this book. Starkly loved how witty, feel-good the dialogues were! Couldn’t put it down