I will read anything Abbi Waxman writes! I was very excited to see this title become available for summer reading!

The cover is so fun and I notice new details every time I look at it. There are also creatively titled illustrations at the start of each chapter which added a lot of charm to the book.

Christa is an interesting protagonist that I was rooting for the whole book. As an introvert who likes obscure topics myself, I related to her very quickly. She surprised me a few times which kept the plot exciting. There’s a little romance mixed in with this coming-of-age story amidst a family crisis. I think lots of different readers will find something to enjoy in this book and recommend everyone add it to their summer reading list!

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman was not what I was expecting. I've read other books by this author and really enjoyed them. This one was just ok for me. I did enjoy Christa and Nate but the rest of the characters didn't do it for me. The book was all over the place and at times hard to follow. I will definitely read this author again!

you know who loves the earth? christa. christa loves the earth and all the creatures it sustains, and she makes a living out of that love and joy and respect. before she knew anything at all, she knew she loved where she was placed, and i think we could all find the lesson in that if we looked hard enough.

"scientists fall deeply in love with something and spend their lives obsessing over it." 🪴

the absolute best part of reading something by an author you love is that there isn't an expectation for perfection. you open a book, and you don't care what it's about because the authors brain syncs so perfectly with yours. @abbiwaxman is like that for me, so completely intentional in her delivery of humor and love. i spend every second i'm in her world smiling, laughing, and living a life that reflects a part of mine.

with christa, it was the feeling of wanting to be lonely. intentionally alone. taking yourself out of the equation, purposely making yourself unseen. she grew up in the light, and when the light went out, she just wanted to be separate. in a world full of people asking to be seen, she just wanted to be passed by. i understand that so thoroughly, so completely, that once again, i never wanted to leave.

and the best part? the book refers to her coming out of her shell... yet nobody who mattered pushed her to do so. she was given the opportunity to be herself on her own timeline, and be herself because she felt like she was ready for it. sure, there is outside pressure, but the choice was always her own. whether it was her mom, her sisters, or the boy she grew up crushing on. she got to be herself in a way that suited the tiny life she wanted taking care of the earth.

the lack of judgement over wanting a tiny life stood out to me so much in this book, because sometimes, all a girl wants to do is study sea snails in the middle of the indian ocean. sometimes, all a girl (me) wants to do is read books and crochet little trinkets for her friends.

thank you abbi for making small lives so glamorous!!! thank you for nina, and frances, emily and jess, and laura, and lilian. thank you for christa. we deserve love stories, too.

i have really liked past works by this author, but sadly this one felt a bit over the top for me — it was mostly ill-fitting jokes, the characters seemed flat, and it struggled to find the balance between romance (most of the plot) and women's fiction (most of the ending).

This was an interesting take on a domestic drama. Classified as women's fiction and romance, it focused a lot on the difficulties of the family after her father being alive (presumed dead) is missing.

The book does start off a bit slow but I think the pacing works well in reflecting the character starting to "come out of her shell" and isolation. Christa's work professionally has become a haven to avoid dealing with the trauma and spotlight of her younger life. Once her father reappears, this is not an option.

I think that the romantic subplot was a bit weak with the premise of the story really overshadowing it. It seems that the romance was forced in at some points but it was still a good story overall.

3.5⭐️ HAPPY RELEASE DAY!! I love the way Abbi Waxman always writes such hilarious, beloved characters that take root in my heart. It’s hard not to fall right into the story. Christa is a quirky woman in STEM dealing with a dysfunctional family and her own personal trauma.

With a family in the Hollywood spotlight, she would rather hide away from it all. I loved seeing her character growth and discovery, and it was an added bonus to get a bit of a second chance love story. The book focuses more on familial relationships than it did the romance, but seeing the interaction between Christa and Nate were so funny. They’re both just nerdy in their own way and I loved it.

🎧The dual narration was done by Jesse Vilinsky and Jonathan Todd Ross, and I enjoyed them both.
The sarcastic quips and loveable characters came right off the page and this was such a fun reading experience for me.

Thank you @berkleypub @prhaudio and Netgalley #gifted #prhainfluencer #berkleypartner

For whatever reason, I wasn't sure about this premise, but as an Abbi Waxman megafan I was definitely going to give it a try- and fortunately, it paid off. It's pretty steamy in the context of the author's other books, but my favorite parts were the family relationships between Christa and her sisters and mother. It was the contrast of a "normal" family within unusual and challenging circumstances that were deeply unrelatable and somehow still understandable that made this heartwarming.

I really enjoyed the plot of this romance/family drama. Jasper Liddle, Christa's famous naturalist father, disappeared when she was a child and the world is still fascinated with his legacy. Christa's occupation as a research scientist is fascinating and I loved learning more about snails and the fictional island of Violetta. The romance between Christa and Nate was witty, fun, and hot. The chemistry between them just worked. I listened to the audiobook and Jesse Vilinsky and Jonathan Todd Ross are amazing as the narrators and really brought this story to life.

Christa has been hiding out for years on a remote island studying sea snails - escaping a trauma from 10 years earlier, as well as the notoriety of her father's disappearance and supposed death 25 years earlier. Now, her father has reappeared. As the true story of his disappearance comes out, Christa rekindles an old friendship with a childhood friend, Nate.
This is a romance, but also a story of healing, and coming to terms with trauma - reclaiming your own story.
I thought it was OK. I did enjoy the relationship between Christa and Nate.

This was my first Abbi Waxman book so I really had no idea what to expect. What I discovered was a well-written story with well-developed characters, a fair amount of humor, dysfunctional family dynamics, emotional depth, a nerdy heroine, and an unexpected romance with her teenage crush, the one who had seen her at her rock-bottom worst.

In a way, this was a healing, coming of age story for Christa, a woman with a tumultuous childhood in the spotlight which transitioned into wild teen years, also in the spotlight. She has finally found peace, on a remote island, with the snails she’s studying and locals who couldn’t care less about her past or her famous father. Of course that’s all thrown into chaos when her father (believed dead the past 25 years) suddenly staggers out of the Alaskan wilderness, throwing Christa back into the path of intrusive media, a complicated relationship with her mother, an estranged relationship with her sisters, a father she doesn’t remember, and a second chance romance with the focus of her teenage dreams. Complications aplenty!

The book started off a bit slow but quickly picked up speed, holding my interest through a series of twists and turns to the end. I enjoyed how the author explored the different relationships in Christa’s life, both familial and romantic, as well as her fraught relationship with the media, not to mention hordes of fans who still viewed her as a fatherless two-year-old thrust into the spotlight along with her mother. I find mother-daughter relationships fascinating and appreciated the time taken by this author to portray the evolution of the fractured one between an adult Christa and her mom.

Overall, Christa Comes Out of Her Shell was an enjoyable journey with a good blend of women’s fiction/romance vibes, a protagonist I could root for, a genuinely good romantic interest who won my heart (as well as hers), and an array of characters (nice and not so nice) who kept things moving along and oh, so interesting. It was a fun read with surprising depth, a somewhat cynical (but well deserved) look behind the Hollywood curtain of high-powered agents and stars, a second chance at romance, and a fractured family that…well, you’ll just have to read the book to discover what happens there.

ARC received from publisher via NetGalley. Fair and unbiased review.

I read the summary for Christa Comes Out of Her Shell and knew that I had to read it. I’ve previously read The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman and loved it. While I didn’t enjoy this one as much, I still had a lot of fun with Christa and her family.

Christa studies snails on a small island and leads a relatively quiet life. She’s rather normal, except for the fact that her famous father (a naturalist in the vein of Steve Irwin) disappeared en route to a filming location and hasn’t been seen in 20ish years. Only he isn’t dead - one day he stumbles from the Alaskan wilderness and suddenly the whole world is looking at the Liddle family, the littlest Liddle in particular.

My favorite part of this novel was the family dynamic. Christa has a bit of a complicated relationship with the other members of her family, especially her sisters, and I loved seeing them reconnect during the madness that is Jasper “coming back from the dead.” The relationships may have been tested by age differences, Christa’s wild streak, and general family dynamic, but you could really feel the love between the sisters and their mother. This whole book was rather chaotic, but fun. I thought the romance between Christa and Nate was sweet, but at times took away from the story (also I was low key rooting for the other guy, to be honest. What can I say other than I love chaos?).

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a review copy.

First of all, I love Abbi Waxman and will read everything she writes until the end of time.

I think Christa comes out of her shell made me think that the main character, Christa was going to be this shy woman who finds her way. While she does find her way I feel as though Christa is not shy at all. Her coming out of her shell is a play on her job researching sea snails and learning to speak up when her family hurts her feelings. Christa's loud exterior though is just a show, inside she is quite vulnerable from having to carry her family (as a child) through the loss of her father. But uh oh! Dad isn't actually dead, he's just been lost in the Alaskan wilderness the past 25 years, or so we are led to believe.

I love that this book showed the growth of all of the women in Christa's family. Despite previous tension between mom and daughters, and the sisters themselves, they had each other and that was enough.

If you love a family story about heartbreak, love, growth and a side of romance, this book is for you!

It breaks my heart to stay this but I was not a fan of this book. I loved all the other books I’ve read by this author but not this one.

The one thing I did enjoy was Christa. I loved that she studied snails in the Indian Ocean and she was prickly. Unfortunately that’s all I enjoyed. I found there was too much going on throughout the book with the return of her father and also a romance. I wasn’t sure if I was reading a romance or a women’s fictional book. One thing I typically love about Waxman’s books are the charming side characters, which this one lacked. There were a lot of characters but honestly I wasn’t fond of any of them. Overall I felt this one fell flat. It just wasn’t for me, BUT I highly recommend all the other books by this author!

Quirky, fun and completely entertaining

I love, love, LOVED this quirky, fun and completely entertaining romance!!

Christa is hiding away on her almost deserted island, studying sea snails. That is until her famous father, missing for the past twenty years suddenly shows up alive and well.

While trying to navigate the new reality and process every new revelation, Christa discovers so much about her family, past events and especially herself.

“My sisters came by broom, presumably?”
He mock-frowned at me. “Be nice.” Then he smiled. “Although now you mention it, they did just kind of show up.”

Funny and engaging but also sweet and emotional, I didn’t want to put this book down from the moment I picked it up!
-5 Stars-

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell was such a great surprise. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did!

The story is unique and Christa was a really interesting character to follow. Her life has never been just hers as she was born to parents who were famous - especially her father who was presumed dead after his plane was found crashed in the Alaskan wilderness. I was curious how she would deal with being thrust back into the spotlight and how her relationships with her family and potential love interest, Nate, would change and grow.

I really enjoyed this read and want to check out more of Abbi Waxman's books.

2.5 stars rounded up for old times sake.

Since reading the delightful The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, I have read and deeply enjoyed most of the author’s previous novels, however this one just didn’t work for me and I think it’s her not me.

It’s a very solid set up: 25 years ago, TV naturalist Jasper Liddle disappeared, presumed dead, after his plane crashed in Alaska, leaving behind his wife and three daughters. Now he has reappeared and his story keeps changing.

Our protagonist is Christa, the youngest child who was just a toddler when Jasper left. She is now a marine scientist working on a sea snail project on the fictional Indian Ocean island of Violetta*, but is summoned back to LA to meet her father. On her arrival, she’s met by Nate, the son of her father’s old friend and business colleague and the romance is off to the races.

In my review of Nina Hill, I noted that the romance was the least interesting part of the story, and this is pretty much true of the author’s other novels. So maybe that’s my problem, that the romance is very much front and center here and I just wasn’t that interested in it - particularly the multi page sex scenes which are also a new addition and which, call me an old prude if you want, I just don’t care for in my romcoms. Maybe the author has been inspired by the success of Ali Hazelwood?

Putting the yawny romance to one side, the family drama is gratifying as Christa and her sisters work through their years of mutual resentment and their wonderful mother brings a welcome abrasion to the party. Add in Marcel the miniature dachshund and the often slyly witty illustrations at the start of each chapter and there’s plenty to like. In this novel though, it felt like these were the sides and, delicious as they are, they don’t make up for a rather lumpy and unappealing main course.

Maybe this just caught me on an off day and I’ll revisit it and enjoy it more, or maybe I’ll just mark it down as disappointing and reread some of the former glories.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

*A footnote, in the spirit of the novel, on Violetta. It made me cringe a little that this fictional uncolonized island had someone called Agnes Bottlebrush as an important historical figure and that the native people all had apparently Anglo names. Too cutesy and inappropriate by half.

After growing up in the spotlight, Christa has chosen a quiet life as an adult studying sea snails in the Indian Ocean. Her world is turned upside-down when her father, a renowned naturalist and TV personality, appears to be alive and well 25 years after he was presumed dead in a plane crash. When Christa returns home to LA to see her long-lost father, she is thrust back into the public eye and grapples with her complicated relationships with her mother, sisters, and her messy past. To top it all off, she finds herself falling for their family friend, Nate.

As a nature lover who grew up watching The Crocodile Hunter, this book checked off all my boxes! There is a Steve Irwin-inspired character, family drama, animal facts in each chapter, heartwarming romance, and laugh-out-loud humor. I found Christa’s character fascinating and loved following her growth over the course of the story. Through the relationships with her mom and sisters, Waxman highlights the importance of therapy and communication to repair broken family dynamics. This was a really fun read with a unique plot and flawed, relatable characters. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and reviewing this an ARC copy of this book. Loved the chemistry between Nate and Christa, loved reading about Christa reunited with her family and showed how truly they cared for each other and stuck together in good times and bad times. Didn’t care for Jasper or Davis who only saw $$$ to make themselves look good. Overall I highly recommend this book to all book fanatics who are close with their mothers, daughters,sisters, etc and also recommend it to romance lovers as well.

I'm a wee bit late on this shout out, but finally was able to dig into the new @abbiwaxman novel, #christacomesoutofhershell and it was worth the wait. Smart, snappy writing grabs me every time. #sciencegirlsrock #abbiwaxman #penguinrandomhouse #berkley

This may be a lifestyle I never heard of before. Christa spends her life hiding out, quite literally, studying sea snails in the Indian Ocean. Her life gets thrown thru a loop when her dad who supposedly died in a plane crash reappears and she is taken out of her quiet life and thrown in the spotlight. this was a quirky, unique story!
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I Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.