What a rollercoaster of emotions. Nora's life is measured by Before and After. Before her accident, she was so depressed. Who wouldn't be with such a horrible, controlling father and a distant mother. After her accident, Nora wants everything to be different. She can't remember all the details about the accident, but she knows that she has a chance at a new beginning. She doesn't have to be exactly what her father and mother want her to be. She can be Nora and she isn't sure who that is. Nora really didn't like the Before Nora and wants the changes, but it is hard. One of her regrets is the guy that she had such a connection with, but she didn't do anything about it. She didn't think she deserved him. Now she needs to find him, repair her relationship with her sister and cousin, play basketball, garden and learn to cook. She kind of sucks at all of those things, but she is trying. Will she get her happy ever after?

I was so excited to read this book since both the cover and the description made it seem like it was going to be a light and flirty comedy- it was not.
Nora November is recovering from a near death experience and has realized she hated her life in the Before (before her NDE). She makes a list of all the things she wishes she had done before her life almost ended, a Reverse Bucket List, and sets out to accomplish them. Amongst things on the list like learn to paint and learn to cook is also find the guy with whom she shared a connection while they were both held hostage during a corner store robbery hold up.
I found this book to be so depressing. One of the hot topics this deals with is clinical depression, but that’s not why it’s depressing. In every instance where something can go wrong, it does. It feels like Nora just gets kicked over and over by everything and everyone.
In addition to that, there are quite a few chapters that feature a guy who is a hospice nurse. All of his parts start with him ruminating over the death of another patient and how the family they left behind interacted with them at the time of death. Those parts also became tedious and this book would have flowed just fine without their inclusion.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an advanced copy of this. Nice Work, Nora November hit the shelves on June 4th.

I’ve been reading Julia London for over ten years, and Nice Work, Nora November , in my opinion is certainly much different than her previous books, both historical and contemporary romance. I say this in a good way, although there is a bit of romance, this is a story of a woman literally getting a second chance at life and happiness after a near death experience. There is the typical Julia London witty writing and very likable characters along with heavy subjects that Nora is dealing with. This turned out to be a very rewarding reading experience for me. I highly recommend reading about Nora’s journey. Many thanks to Julia London’s team for this advanced copy.

This was a really fun and quirky story. The story had strong main characters and some pretty humorous secondary characters. The spunky theater group was some of the best of those characters. Nora’s reverse bucket list helped to bring humor to an oft times sad subjects. It’s a story of missed connections, connecting with loved ones, and redemption after some hard knocks. It’s a wonderful story and I really enjoyed reading it.

Going into this book, I wasn’t expecting it to hit so hard. The main idea was overcoming and/or living with depression and how that varies from day to day.

Nora survived a near-death experience (NDE) and now has more motivation than she’s had in a long time to transform her life into something she’s proud of. And she starts with a Reverse Bucket List.

One by one, she looks at her life and sees missed opportunities or moments when her depression got in her way, and she’s determined to do something about it. With the help of her therapist, Nora starts to change her life, but every time something starts going right, something goes horribly wrong.

She works in her late grandfather's community garden plot, but she seems to be giving her plants too much love and attention. She wants to learn how to cook, so she takes a class and gets demoted to the teacher's assistant. She also wants to find the missed connection from before her NDE. There was something between her and that man that made colors seem brighter. But there’s still the same cloud drifting behind her, waiting to pull her back into the bad.

There was such a raw honesty about this book, and it startled me. If you or someone you love battles with depression, please read this book. It’s by far the most accurate depiction of it that I’ve come across so far.

Nice Work Nora November was an interesting take on a near death experience (NDE). I have to say in the beginning I was a bit irritated with Nora because she was such a mess. But her idea of a “reverse bucket list” and her joyful hopefulness hooked me in. I loved the description of her NDE. It was peaceful and amazing and she was able to talk to her deceased grandfather. When she came out of her coma, she vowed to do the things she hadn’t taken the time to do in the “Before.” Along the way she loosens herself from her toxic parents, and finally finds her joy in all the things she really wanted from life. It’s one I’ll think about for awhile, and that makes it a 5 Star read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Nora November is a book about dealing with depression and panic attacks. After a near death experience, Nora is set on a path of making amends to the people that matter in her life. It's not going to be easy. Trust when broken is never easy to gain. Along the process she is also trying to find the one man that really got her. In her downward spiral, she thought it wasn't real. The search is on. Jack works in hospice care. He deals with death all the time. One of the patient left him a plot in the Community Garden. This is the place to learn to grown vegetables and find some peace. He also remembers Nora but he lost her phone number. With the help of the seniors at the Community Garden and social media, they are reunited. Also, Nora is taking control of her life. She's doing things that help people and brings her joy.

A wonderful read.

Standalone

Nora November was living a life that she hated until she died. When she was given a second chance, she decided a more positive outlook and clear boundaries were how she would move forward. She started this by making a Reverse Bucket List of the things she denied herself in the Before. However, the people from her life in the Before were still affected by her choices from that time in her life and fixing those choices had to come first.

If you're looking for an interesting take on getting a second chance at life, this is the book for you!

Audio Review:
Karissa Vacker delivers the story effortlessly. She doesn't overdo the acting and allows the story to tell itself.

Julia London is one of my favorite authors, so I was pretty excited to read this book - even though it's a departure from her usual genre.

The story centers around Nora November, who is recovering after a near-death experience from drowning. She doesn't exactly remember the circumstances of the drowning itself, but what she does remember is seeing her beloved Grandpa in his garden during her 'NDE' (near death experience). Because of this, she vows to turn her life around and creates what she calls a 'reverse bucket list' - a list of things she regrets not going for or doing in the Before.

As you can imagine, things don't go swimmingly at first but she does eventually find her footing - and remembers what led to the drowning. Through it all she keeps her focus on the one thing she wants most - recapturing the sense of contentment she felt with her Grandpa during her 'NDE'. It takes making some new friends, including some feisty seniors with a love of the theatre and a young girl given to mocking Nora more often than not. to help her finally find a version of herself that makes sense.

I enjoyed this story very much, especially all of the additional characters. They made the story that much more interesting, and I hope there's more from these folks.

Nora was dead but is given a second chance and she has to now use this chance to make her life better in her “After”. Her before was miserable and so she needs to make real changes to live a better and happier life. This also means finding the man she really liked but never called, being a better sister and cousin, tending to the garden her grandfather left her and finding a job that she loves. Nora has been living under the shadow of who her parents expect her to be and not who she is and it’s time she come out into the sun.

This was an interesting novel to read because it explored really hard and dark topics but was written in a light handed way (not disrespectful, just lighter than one would normally expect). The novel was essentially about depression, alcoholism and abuse but the way it was written you felt in a way like you were almost reading a rom com. I want to say that I enjoyed it but I almost feel bad saying it - Nora spent the entire novel trying to break free from her depression but the story never felt particularly heavy. I write with the caveat that I have never experienced clinical depression so I don’t know if someone who has would find this book appropriate but I enjoyed reading Nora’s journey of self discovery. The novel didn’t necessarily always ring true (too many situations seemed out there to me) but the book engrossed me while I was reading it and I was rooting for Nora. The audio was excellent and I actually offered to make my daughter a main course for her potluck because I wanted to keep listening (plus teens never have a protein when they do potluck).

3.75 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC

Wow. As a long time reader of Julia London, this blew my already high expectations out of the water. "Nice Work, Nora November" on the surface, might not have been a book I would have immediately picked up for myself if not for Julia London's name on the cover. I couldn't be more pleased with the experience of reading this book however. This book encompasses the feeling you have after a life changing moment, or in Nora's case, a life changing incident. I closed this book ready to re-evaluate my own life and "bucket list" in an attempt to find a version of the same path Nora is on.

From the start, Nora finds herself waking to a new reality where she had almost died in a surfing accident. Moving forward from there, we journey with Nora as she takes stock of her life so far and where she wants to go from here. She creates a "reverse bucket list" that includes what you would assume would be basic tasks for most people. But to her, and us as the reader, we see them for what they are, an attempt to re-enter life, to be present and involved. Not only with others but within herself as well.

In starting this journey, you would think you know where this book is going, but it takes another swerve when most of what Nora tries to do/create fails epically, involving many side characters that made this read even better. She starts to succeed, but slowly, inching her way forward. You root for her, though even as I did so, I was comparing it to my own life and taking stock in the moment of how I also wanted to move forward. I'm sure I can't be alone in comparing some of her story to how depression can infiltrate your life and the lives of your family and friends. Watching her pull herself out of that, one tug of the rope followed by another while trying not to fall back was very inspiring.

Julia London had me remembering why I've always loved her books, there's always so much heart, even in the sadness and especially in the joy. Why aren't you reading this one yet??

My opinions are my own and freely given.

I really enjoyed this story. Nora comes back to life after a surfing accident and created a reverse bucketlist. Most of the things on her list are inspired by her late grandfather. Nora does everything she can to stop living for her parents (I hated them both) and to start living for herself with this second chance at life.

There are a few heavy topics but it is mostly a light story. Buttttt, make sure to read the trigger warnings to this story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks.

I have posted my reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

Nice Work, Nora November
Rating: 5 stars
Thank you to the author/publisher for the NetGalley ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book made me cry several times. Nora is dealing with so many things in her life and we are there for the ride with her. Her family relationships were so heart breaking and toxic (parents).
I'll be honest and say that it was not an easy read. At the center of the story is grief and mental health. We see Nora trying her best at giving herself a second chance at life and how her "before" self has created a chasm between those that she holds dear. It was sad to see how she still made mistakes while trying to make up for her previous ones.

Overall it is a wonderful story where we find ourselves rooting for Nora and cheering her on as she finally is able to live the kind of life she always hoped for.

Nora went through the ringer after her near-death experience. After getting her new lease on life she decided to do all the things she was afraid of doing despite what the people close to her might think.

That said, everything seemed to go wrong and it was this rollercoaster of being up one moment and down in the trenches the next. She was also fighting depression so I guess that had a lot to do with it.

She was trying to find the guy she had a connection with during a robbery at a store they were both at. He was close by all along, chatting with her in notes though they didn't know each other in person. We also got to see his own life.

I do wish they had met sooner, and that we'd get a chance to see their romance develop. They only had a few hours together initially, so having met in the end and everything being tied up perfectly in the epilogue a few months later just felt wrong to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review. The audio definitely made it more bearable for me to finish.

I did feel for Nora and the lack of support from her parents. Her father, in particular, was an absolutely dreadful person. I liked the concept of Nora changing how she acted and achieving goals that she wanted rather than those that had been chosen for her. I did get a bit frustrated by the number of times Nora and Jack just missed meeting up with each other. I did enjoy the seniors in the community garden and the theatre. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Although this book ends on a high note, I struggled with it because it was really depressing and not just because Nora herself suffered with mental illness. After reading the synopsis, I’d expected an “uplifting and heartwarming” story, and it wasn’t. I’d describe it as sad and highly dysfunctional with a few pages of hope and renewal at the end. From the moment Nora wakes up from a coma after her near-death experience of drowning, it’s obvious that her family puts the D in dysfunction. Her ethically-challenged father, a personal injury lawyer, is both emotionally and physically abusive, her mother is in major denial and lives to criticize and gaslight her, her younger sister has lost all faith in her after being disappointed too many times when Nora’s depression caused her to break promises, and her cousin Gus is a lonely, sad alcoholic who also doesn’t trust her.

As Nora goes through rehab and therapy, she re-evaluates her life Before (capitalized in the book) the drowning and decides that she needs to make some major changes, including trying to recapture some of what she lost. She creates a reverse bucket list that includes trying to find Jack, the man she met during a robbery hostage situation who she thinks may be The One, and tending to her late grandfather’s community garden plot that she let go wild while her mental health was spiraling. I didn’t understand London’s choice to have Nora fail at everything she tried, unless it was to highlight how easy it is to slip back into depression and self-doubt. One of the only highlights of the story is the group of senior citizen thespians she meets who knew her grandfather. They provide the only bit of comic relief in the book and are instrumental in helping Nora navigate her After life. There are also many deathbed vignettes of Jack’s hospice patients which were really interesting and set the stage for how kind and empathetic he is. I wouldn’t classify this as a romance, although there was an element of it, but women’s fiction instead.

As someone who has suffered from chronic depression and lost my father way too young, it was somewhat triggering to read Nora’s story, especially the joy she felt seeing her late grandfather while in the coma. So, I think it’s important to share trigger warnings. If you don’t want any spoilers, stop reading here.

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Depression, abuse, suicide, death, grief, alcoholism

This was not the book I was expecting but it was a beautifully written dark book that he had a wonderful lightness to it.
While dealing with a near-death experience, Nora feels a weight of all the things that she wanted to do or wished she could do, but for whatever reason didn't. She has partial memories of her time prior to her accent but no memory of the accident itself. She creates a reverse bucket list to help her grow in different ways.
Though there is a lot of growth and discussion of mental health, depression, narcissism, alcoholism, neglectful and dismissive behaviors, and the struggles that come from dealing with all of these issues, I feel all the discussion was done in a respectful and responsible way while still managing to find the lightness and joy.

#arc
#netgalley
#niceworknoranovember

Nora November has spent most of her life pushing aside the things that would truly make her happy, but when she miraculously survives a near-death experience, she returns with a fierce determination to start living her life on her own terms. She creates a "reverse bucket list" where she details all the wrongs from before that she is determined to make right, in the after.
The concept is interesting and Nora is inspiring in her determination to become the person she was always meant to be. Unfortunately Nora quickly discovers that even the best intentions and most positive attitude sometimes aren't enough to turn things around. Nora's setbacks are plentiful, sometimes mortifying and often quite humorous, but Julia London has created a strong woman in the character of Nora November, and despite the universe seeming to send numerous signs that she should give up, Nora perseveres.

Throughout the book there are chapters with a dual POV from Jack, the man that Nora met during a convenience store robbery/hostage situation gone awry. Nora felt a real connection with Jack, but because of her mental health struggles, opted not to connect with him after that night. Finding and re-connecting with Jack is one important item on Nora's reverse bucket list, and we see through Jack's perspective that he was just as affected by meeting Nora as she was by meeting him.

Although Nice Work, Nora November is generally an uplifting story of a woman finding her true self (with an element of romance thrown in), it also deals with some serious subject matter, including the depiction of mental health issues and emotionally abusive family relationships. In the "before" Nora battled depression, which negatively impacted many areas of her life. The struggles that Nora faced in dealing with her depression and her emotionally abusive father were depicted by London with honesty and sensitivity, but could potentially be triggering to some readers.

I really enjoyed going on this journey with Nora. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an inspiring story about someone working hard to become the person she was intended to be, and realizing that she is worthy of love and happiness.

Nice Work Nora November – Julia London
This was a different type of book for Julia London. I hesitated reading it, but it grabbed me from the first page. Meat of the story starts right away. Nora is single and a lawyer in the family law business. She doesn’t appreciate suing innocent people so the rich can get richer and her firm can get a big cut.
She has many things happening in her life, but almost dying changes her in lots of ways. This book explores her journey and deals with many real world problems – family dynamics, clinical depression, alcoholism and others. She does it by introducing us to a cast of interesting characters. Some are the “good” side of humanity and some show the “bad” side.
I was given an “arc” copy. It was not a light read, but I found it very riveting. A second chance at life is something many of us have considered. What would you do if you could change your life?? Would you?? If so, what would you change?? This book deals with how Nora answers those questions and how others around her also are changed.

Nice Work, Nora November by Julie London is a very different kind of take on near death experience and the aftereffects. Nora November has big plans for her After life but can she really do it all and get back her lost pieces? Including finding the corner store guy she got stuck with during a robbery.


This is more of a woman's fiction. It has few triggers like mental health issues, self harm, grief and dysfunctional family. Nora has been stuck in a colorless life. Trying to please everyone. Losing herself slowly. Depression took out all her energy. The drowning and subsequent self awakening lit a fire under her. She decide to be brave and a bit reckless and spontaneous. Reviving her grandfather's dying garden. Finding the corner store guy. Building back the burnt bridge with her sister and cousin. Learning to cook. But the most important part was to get away from the clutch of her manipulative, harsh and loveless parents.

It wasn't easy. The obstacles proved to be heavy. Nora messed up so many times. Her mental issues were dragging her down. But she kept on fighting even when she just wanted to give up sometimes. It was an inspiring story full of hope and resilience. It has adequate and well balanced humor with a vast and interesting group of secondary characters. I loved how the author connected and reeled in the thread between Nora and her corner Store guy aka Jack.This book was deeply emotional and equally entertaining.

Thanks for the review copy through Netgalley and the publisher