In "Nice Work, Nora November," Nora takes advantage of a second shot at life after a near-death surfing accident. She sets out to complete her "reverse" bucket list and reconsiders her life choices, including reconnecting with “the one that got away”. While romance with Jack is part of the story, the novel also tackles serious topics like mental health, alcoholism, and family issues. The book is emotional and does a great job of portraying depression and anxiety, making it a touching and relatable read.

Thank you Julia London, Harper Muse and NetGalley for the gifted ebook ARC. All opinions expressed are my own and freely given.

I agree with other reviews that this book attempted to cover heavy topics in a light way, but it missed the mark. I don't think it really knew what it was trying to do. It was hard to get into and connect with the characters. The premise was good, but the book could have followed it better.

Nora November died. Well, technically, she was dead for several minutes, but now she's not. And her life will never be the same.

Now that she's not dead, Nora is taking on the life she wants courtesy of her reverse bucket list-- all the things she wants to do now that she's alive. Can she move on from her stifling job as a personal injury attorney at her family firm? Can she figure out who she is beyond the smothering expectations of others?

"Nice Work, Nora November" is an unputdownable read that takes a look at not only Nora is, but who Nora wants to be. It's an often silly and fun, always poignant exploration of one woman finding the truth of who she is. A departure from Julia London's usual period romances, this marks her entry into the world of Contemporary Fiction. I highly recommend this for fans of authors like Katherine Center, Ali Hazelwood, Matt Haig, and Julia Whelan.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Harper Muse for proving this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Nice Work, Nora November by Julia London is an engaging, funny story. Nora November is a member of the November family and a big disappointment. The book begins when Nora wakes from a coma after a near death experience. She had drowned and was clinically dead for several minutes. Nora had spent her life appeasing her demanding father, and she struggled with severe depression. Once she recovers, Nora is determined to begin to really live her life. She creates a reverse bucket list - a list of things she wanted to accomplish after she died. The list included reconnecting with her sister, helping her alcoholic cousin, finding another job, and finding a man she had connected with during a hostage situation. This book is the story of how Nora works through her list with strength and determination to find a life of her own choosing, filled with love and acceptance and found family. It was an inspiring book about a woman with a history of depression who found a new lease on life and a happily ever after. The narration was great and I was drawn in quickly to the story. I loved everything about Nora, Jack, and the secondary characters who made the story so colorful and amusing. I would definitely recommend this book for readers who enjoy contemporary romance and women’s fiction. The mental health representation was very positive. I am very glad that I got the opportunity to read it.

Nora November died and came back to life. Her NDE (near death experience) has prompted her to change her ways. Instead of doing what's expected of her, acting like a November (be happy no matter how you felt), and pleasing everyone but herself (Before), she is determined to live with intention (After). And she does succeed to a point. Unfortunately, everything she attempts backfires, and she feels tempted to return to Before.
This story is cute. But I kept thinking, "What else could go wrong?" And then something else went wrong. All the trouble made me feel anxious, and I found the story to be unrealistic. Also, the ending is predictable.
While the love story is a major plotline, "[I]t was not about the one who got away. It was about how she’d almost gotten away from herself." I like this theme and found I could relate to Nora as she discovered her voice and became true to herself.
I hated the random illustrations. Not only were they exactly the same, but they showed up in the middle of chapters where they made no sense and did not support the story. The bright whiteness of the illustrations was also a shock to my eyes against the black background I use on my e-reader so I can read in the dark during bouts of insomnia and not disturb my partner.
I think the theater stars should get their own book! They were my favorite characters.
Content includes: alcohol abuse, suicidal ideation
Favorite quote:
Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. —Carl Jung

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it - there were a lot of highlights of this book that I felt were so refreshing.

I liked that Nora and Jack didn't meet early in the book and fall madly in love right away. I liked that the search took some time.
I liked that Nora was a lawyer but wasn't bottomlessly rich. She had money worries, she had to watch what she spent, she paid SOME of her outstanding debts and still had some leftover. This was so much more realistic that reading about people that are filthy rich.
I'm glad that Nora and her father didn't suddenly have a great, magic relationship - sometimes in life relationships don't work out that way.
Overall I felt like I could relate to the main character and her catastrophes - and some of them made me laugh out loud. Looking forward to the next book by this author.

Absolutely loved - this is book is a contemporary women's fiction with secondary plot line that is a unique spin on a second chance romance. This book is very heavy and some readers may find some of the topic matter difficult to read. With all that being said, this book was so well written, Julia London carefully handled these sensitive topics.
Nora November, one of the main characters, is a bit of a mess, a relatable mess. She has a near death experience, suffers from depressed, and is struggling with being true to her authentic self. I think there is some element of Nora that different readers can relate to. Plus her path forward isn't simple; it goes up and down, and then back up and down again. Nora is quirky, earnest, and just wants to do the right thing, but doesn't always know how to go about it. I don't think I have ever routed for a main character as much as I have for Nora.

I wanted to love this..but personally I felt led astray by the blurb, I feel it fails to capture what the story is really about, which is chronic depression and recovery. This book definitely needed trigger warnings and I was confused that Goodreads says this book is “uplifting and heartwarming” and a “story of second chances and the power of finding out what makes life worth truly living”… I found the tone of the story to be much heavier as Lacey struggled with both her physical/mental health and recovery. I also feel the the story was written in a way that perpetuates the narrative that being on antidepressants “cures” your depression which is not true.

**Thank you to NetGalley and for the ARC and chance to read and review. All opinions are my own**

Nice Work, Nora November was not the fluffy, happy story I was expecting. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it! When we meet Nora she is restarting life after a head injury. How she goes about creating the life she wants is inspiring to everyone- except her emotionally stunted parents. Along the way she makes some mistakes but she always has a great heart. This book could be triggering to some people. But if you are ready, it is a great story.

The novel is about the coming of age of a woman who took the path of least resistance. When she finds herself waking up after a near death experience and not remembering how she was so badly hurt, she realizes that there were things she wanted to change about herself. She comes up with a reverse bucket list.

Nora November has a number of things facing her. Her family’s perception of what she could, would, and should do. She was boxed in very effectively into her role in her family and in her life. When Nora begins to take control of various parts of her life, her family fights her the way they always did with intimidation, gaslighting and condescending attitudes.

I love how Nora fought for her life and found so many wonderful things with the garden, the baking, the older folks from the playhouse. Nora found a way to make life more like what she wanted, even as she was fearful of losing her job, losing her apartment, and not being able to pay her bills. Her biggest fear was turning back into Nora before the accident.

Nice Work, Nora November by Julia London is an uplifting, hold your head high, and face the future type of read.

Thank you to the author, Harper Muse and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the delay in posting this review, I am well behind and trying to catch up!

This was a quick read, but with lots of deep and heavy issues hidden within. Written in alternating POVs between Nora, the female main character and Jack, the guy she fell for during a robbery at the corner store, it tells the story of Nora's struggle to shed her old people-pleasing but soul-destroying life that she hates, and find out who she really is and what she wants. As a result of a near-.death-experience that leaves her with memory gaps (what on earth was she doing on that beach, and surfing, of all things), she makes a reverse bucket list.

Her family is one of those emotionally manipulative and abusive ones that is all high expectations, and disappointment and cruelty when you diverge from the path they have mapped out for you. Nora and Jack don't meet back up until the end of the book, and I wish this could have been sooner, as he would have been a wonderful support system for her in her struggles to find herself .

4.5⭐️

Nice Work, Nora November is a lovely story of second chances and realizing what’s really important in life, exploring the past and mental health issues along the way. I was entertained all throughout, and by the end, thoroughly moved as well.

Thank you Julia London, Harper Muse, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I could not put this book down! I was so invested in Nora and her journey after her NDE. London choose well with Nora’s regrets, choosing elements with broad appeal. Nora also faced realistic challenges; I was heartbroken for her on more than one occasion. A touching tale of love and loss, with a reverse bucket list and a missed connection, Nice Work Nora November creates not only hope that we can change but also gives us an idea of what that path might look like.

After a near death experience Nora sets out to rebuild her life . She writes a reverse bucket list and starts working on the list. She has a lot going on in her life and realizes how miserable she was before her NDE. She starts to make changes and also searches for the man she let get away. This was a nice women’s fiction and tells about Nora and also about the man that got away.

thank you netgalley for this e-arc. this was a horrible and pointless story. nora wants to take advantage of everything life has to offer after a near death experience and has good intentions but never really does anything. her parents, sister and cousin are some of the worst created characters i've ever read, none of them had redeeming qualities. nora tries a new activity, gets yelled at and put down by her parents, goes to play basketball with a kid she meets and feels she can help, gets admonished by her sister for wanting to help their cousin with a substance abuse issue saying he can't be saved...ugh.

i wish she met Jack before the very last chapter of the book.. also it was hard to read everything going wrong for Nora, poor girl

Nora's parents are so aggravating but her relationship with her cousin and sister were a wonderful journey to read. Nora's been through a lot and it continues after she was brought back to life. I really related to this book and I'm so glad I read it.

Nora November, an attorney with a dysfunctional family and clinical depression, has a near death experience that gives her a new zest for life. As she sets out to complete her reverse bucket list and find the guy who got away, she gains a new understanding of and respect for herself. This book balances heavy topics (mental health, substance abuse, hints of domestic violence) with the hallmarks of women's fiction/romance and a healthy dose of cheesy but cute garden metaphors. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley for this e-copy of Nice Work , Nora November by Julia London in exchange for a honest review.This is a powerful, funny and drama filled tale of Nora November, ,an attorney at her narcissistic father’s law firm, who awakes in Austin, Texas after a near death experience with a resolve to change her life and groups everything going forward into the Before and After.She makes a reverse bucket list and tries to change her life while her lurking depression is always threatening to return Can she change her life and maybe find the man of her dreams that got away? Read the book and find out.Full of lots of dysfunctional family trouble.

I went in blind and boy am I glad I did. The story follows Nora who survives a near-death experience. Most of her family and co-workers think she's crazy. It really made me think of all the things that I might want to do if given a second chance to do them. Depression is such a hard thing to manage and I think the story did a fantastic job capturing the feelings of trying to make things write after living in the depression for so long.

Nora’s character is relatable, and her journey resonates with anyone who’s faced adversity. The witty dialogue, quirky characters, and heartfelt moments make this a must-read. Whether you’re a fan of Emily Henry or Harlan Coben, “Nice Work, Nora November” will leave you smiling and contemplating your own bucket list.

I loved Nora taking accountability for things in the past and making an effort to show the people she loved and the things that she loved to do that she could. The characters in general were all very well thought out and brought to life so naturally. I really loved this story.