Rating: 3.5

I don't really know how to feel about this book. I was debating between giving it 3 or 4 stars, so 3.5 it is. I hated the parents. Especially the dad because he was a narcissist who clearly had no intention of changing. I feel like most of the issues I had were addressed, but I still don't know if I completely like the way some things were handled.

I have read many of Julia London’s books and have enjoyed them all.
Nora November was one of her top books. I love the way Ms. London writes.
She shares the POV of view of many of the characters which is my favorite.
The story has a mystery to it but as we follow Nora it unravels. Jacks story and POV was powerful too.
Nora almost dies and makes a list of things she wants to accomplish. She goes about doing it.
I highly recommend this book --

When I read "just a hint of romance" I knew that this was not going to be the book for me. I am not a big fan of book where the romance is not the forefront. I am sure there will be many people who enjoy learning about Nora November! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

The description of Heaven at the beginning of the book is beautiful!! I loved Nora's journey of finding her new life in the After of her NDE. It was realistic in that it doesn't always go smoothly and she struggles, but there is that constant hope in the After. My only complaint is that this is clearly a secular book and the ending reflects that.

Well done, Julia London. This novel took me on an emotional journey, for sure. There should definitely be a note in the beginning to let readers know about the difficult topics addressed in the story, but the catharsis of following Nora’s journey from the first page to the last was worth dealing with the painful emotions it brought up inside me. It is a beautiful story about living life and loving who you are and what you have to offer!

I love the tone and author voice of this novel. Unfortunately, the book is missing trigger warnings. Nora is dealing with deep trauma. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher.

I love books that take us on a character's journey and this was right up my alley. Thank you for letting me be part of of your "nice work" Nora.

Well-paced, lovely and relatable book.

The author did a great job portraying the weight of life, from the pressures of family, a job that you don't like or align with, and forcibly trying to fit into society's expectations. It was so relatable in so many ways, and loved the sense of trying to restart life.

The spirit of a community, of having support, but also that relationships are mutual was very well highlighted and again, added to the relatability of this story.

Recommend for a nice and relaxing book, being mindful of some trigger points.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I thought this book was very cute. With that being said, I thought the book was a little long and I found myself getting bored about 50% of the way through the book. but overall I thought this book was super fun and upbeat and I thought Anna was a great FMC! I loved to hate her parents as well. I also wish the romance had been a bigger part of the book, but I am also all for female empowerment and independence! I will be definitely adding Julia London to my authors to watch list, and I will also be keeping my eye out for the audiobook, which is set to be narrated by Karissa Vacker -- one of my top 10 favorite Female audiobook narrators!


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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WARNING: it's time to jump aboard the unpopular opinion train again!!

Right... I didn't expect this to happen to be honest. I guess you can't trust a fun cover and blurb! I was intrigued by Nice Work, Nora November as soon as I read what it was about, with the near death experience and the reverse bucket list angle. I was in the mood for a fun and uplifting read, so I fully expected to have a great time with this story... But sadly the completely opposite ended up happening. Uplifting? Heartwarming? Try highly depressing, tedious and extremely frustrating instead! Oh yes, this book and me didn't get along at all.

This is one of those books where I liked the premise a lot more than the execution. Nice Work, Nora November has so much potential with the near death experience and the main character trying to change her life for the better with the help of a reverse bucket list. The romance itself also had a lot of potential with the missed connection and Nora trying to find him... BUT. What I was expecting to be an (at least mostly) uplifting story about self improvement and new connections, turned out to be an absolute chore to get through.

Why do I say this? Well, this book is just so extremely negative and depressing all the time, and I'm not sure how you could ever call Nice Work, Nora November uplifting and heartwarming with everything that happens. The epilogue and chapter before? Maybe. But the rest is just mainly tedious and highly frustrating instead. Basically, Nora is clinically depressed and her own family treat her horribly. Her father, her mother, her sister... They all seem to be in an competition for most horrible family member, although the father is the obvious winner of course. Talk about toxic relationships, abuse, bodyshaming, mental health shaming and treating someone like a human doormat! There is so much repetition of this and almost no character growth along the way, and it all made me SO angry (and not in a good way).

Talking about the characters: most of them felt underdeveloped and too much like stereotypes. There wasn't a lot of character growth to be found; not even in our main character Nora, who seemed to be taking a looooong time to finally get there. People keep treating her so badly and she never stands up for herself until well into the second half, and I was ready to throw in the towel long before that. The romance angle was also very disappointing; how are we supposed to believe they had such a strong connection after a few hours, and then they never contacted each other? And to make things worse, they don't even meet until the story is basically over? With more focus on the romance, them meeting sooner and Jack helping her find her way, this plot could have been so much better...

As you might already guess, I didn't exactly get along with Nice Work, Nora November. Too depressing, too much focus on the negative and too little too late when it comes to that dose of uplifting and heartwarming story that the blurb seemed to promise... This was without doubt a miss for me, and I kind of wish I had DNFed it instead.

When Nora nearly drowns in a surfing accident, she recovers to realise that she has not completed all her dreams. Having a pressure-filled career in an attempt to please her father, have held her back. So, she decides to create a "reverse" bucket list of all the things she wants to do after death. The list includes ordinary aspirations like learning how to cook and cleaning out her late grandfather’s garden. However, she also wants to find the man she met in a corner shop during a robbery, when they were locked in a backroom together. Jack Moriarity also regrets losing the number of Nora. His life as a nurse is one filled with helping those with incurable disease, in their last days. When he finds himself the owner of a plot of land in a community garden left to him by a patient, he finds himself also reflecting on his life.
This was not quite the book that I had imagined, especially given the blurb. Int was an interesting concept for a book with the stories of Jack and Nora, told in parallel, as they both hope to meet again, whilst living their own lives. There are several trigger warnings for this story, including death, depression, and emotional abuse.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Nora November's life takes an unexpected turn after a surfing accident shakes her out of her routine existence. Faced with the realization of her mortality, she embarks on a journey to fulfill the dreams and wishes she had neglected. Despite the promising premise, "Nice Work Nora November" fell short of my expectations. While billed as "uplifting and heartwarming," I found it to be a stark portrayal of a young lawyer battling depression and familial pressure. Nora's relationships are marred by cruelty, judgment, and mistrust, making her quest for self-discovery a challenging and often disheartening one. Although I admired Nora's resilience and determination, the narrative's relentless stream of negative experiences left me feeling overwhelmed. The romance subplot felt underdeveloped, contributing to my overall disappointment with the story. While Julia London's writing is undeniably powerful, this particular tale failed to resonate with me.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse.

Nice Work, Nora November by Julia London
I wasn't sure when I started this book - but it didn't take long to get me hooked. Nora's NDE, dead grandfather/his garden and her reverse bucket list. "The corner store guy" Jack and her search for him and all the near misses. This book was a little dark - covering depression, alcoholism, family dysfunction - but Nora's journey finding her way. Loved the senior's, basketball, James the assistant and the HEA.

Nora and Jack have had hard lives. They meet by accident only to lose each other. As they both try to change their lives and add some sparkle they find each other and their true selfs.

The book follows Nora November after she almost dies. She starts seeing things differently—things she used to tolerate now bother her, and she wants to try new things she never did before. Nora learns how to establish boundaries and stand up for what she wants out of life.

There was a moment in the book that stood out to me regarding societal expectations of beauty. Highlighted by Nora achieving the "skinny" her mother always wanted her to be. This type of expectation placed on others, resonating deeply, especially because I am a professional health and fitness trainer.

The book's main idea is about finding your own path and not just living to make other people happy. Julia London seems to be telling us to live on our own terms and be brave enough to stand up for ourselves.

The book made me feel a mix of things. The pressure Nora felt to be skinny was sad, but seeing her grow more confident and true to herself was really uplifting.

I’d give "Nice Work, Nora November" around 3.75 out of 5 stars. It's a great story about a woman learning to stand up for herself and what she believes in. The best part was seeing Nora become more assertive, but I wish the book had shown more of her happy moments at the end.

Who Might Like It:
People who like stories about someone finding themselves and becoming stronger would really enjoy this book. It’s all about being brave and true to who you are.

I enjoyed this book while reading it, but it is not a book that lingered with me once I finished it.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for a chance to read and review this lovely book.

“Nice Work, Nora November” is the delightful new novel by Julia London.

After a near-death experience, Nora November uses her second chance at life to complete her "reverse" bucket list. In particular, Nora wants to stop working as a soul-draining attorney in the family law firm and reconnect with her sister. She wants to meet the mysterious guy she connected with during a store robbery and cultivate the garden of her much-missed deceased grandfather. Admitting that you are unhappy and “stuck” is one thing—following through with reinvented your life is much more of a challenge and the reader is fortunate enough to share Nora’s journey.

At the same time, we meet Jack, the guy Nora interacted with during the robbery and learn about his journey to become something more. While the two POVs work, I felt as if the story could have been better served by staying with Nora. Overall, I found this to be a good read with memorable characters.

Four stars.

Although I liked the idea of the book I didn’t quite connect with the characters. Nora is trying to put her life back together after an NDE. Everyone expects her to resume her old life but Nora feels different and decides to make a change in her life. It was a hard book to get through because for most of the story Nora is put down by others. It feels like no one believes in her and nothing goes right. It made it feel like a process to get through. I wasn’t sure why we got a second POV considering when they meet. It just made the book longer for no reason and didn’t really add much romance to the story. Overall, it was a decent book but not for me. I’d still encourage others to check it out if you enjoy books about hope and perseverance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Nora November is a depressed lawyer who has a near death experience or NDE as she calls it. She vows to change her life and creates a reverse bucket list of all the changes she needs to make. Her family is not on board with this at all. Her number one priority is to find the guy she shared a hostage situation with. She feels that he's the One for her but didn't act on it at the time. Another priority is fixing her relationships with her sister and cousin plus salvaging the garden plot her grandfather had. This is a great story of a person living with depression and trying to take control of her life. I really enjoyed this book. It is well written and delved into a topic that most books don't.

An uplifting message underneath this story, but the journey to get there was a bit tedious for me. After a near-death surfing accident, Nora November uses her second chance at life to complete her "reverse" bucket list. And objectively I loved the endearing simplicity of said list. But with so much focus on restoring her grandfather's garden, it wasn't very riveting to read about.

The romance had a lot of potential. The fate-like way Jack was unknowingly there with Nora throughout the book was precious. But with their chemistry based on only a few hours of interaction from the past—during a hostage situation, I must add (so odd?)—it all came together in a way that felt too good to be true.

And lastly, her family was the epitome of awful. I loved seeing Nora stand up for herself, but these people felt like caricatures. It cheapened the emotional connection I was so desperately trying to feel. On top of that, the insensitive reveals used to emphasize Nora's mental health only added to my frustration. Sadly, I was not a fan of this one.

Nora almost died in a surfing accident. Actually, she did technically die but was brought back to life. Before the accident she did exactly what her parents expected of her, became a lawyer and worked for her father's law firm and wore what her mom expected. Now she's decided to do what she wants and that includes changing everything including becoming a better person and less depressed.