Overall: 5
Spice: 1
Narration: 5

A lovely story about missed connections and finding yourself.

Nora November was dead, but now she’s not. After an accident, she was clinically dead for several minutes and got to talk with her beloved grandfather in his gorgeous garden, but now she’s awake in a hospital room and surrounded by her family who all have different ideas of who Nora is an what they expect from her. Nora doesn’t remember life just before her accident and takes the opportunity for a restart make changes in her stressful life. She makes a reverse bucket list – things to do after she died – and gets to work. Some of Nora’s family members are angered by her changes and some don’t trust that they will stick. One of the items on Nora’s list - reconnecting with the stranger she spent time with in a convenience store storage room while being held hostage – may be easier or harder than she expects.

This story was a delightful mix of therapy, romance and geriatric appreciation. Nora’s struggle with trying to meet her parent’s expectations and acceptance of her issues with depression were very relatable. There are lots of heavy topics in this book – depression, addiction, hospice care, suicide, but London handles them all with care and realistic representation. Nora’s search for Jack – the man she met while a Darth Vader costumed robber held them hostage – and both of their relationships with the groups of seniors trying to keep their theater alive are the perfect fun and funny counterpoints to the heavier topics. One of the seniors delivered a line I’ll always remember – “When anyone says they want to die, what they really mean is they want to live, but they don’t know how.” The narration of the book added to my enjoyment. I will definitely recommend this one to anyone and will be adding more of London’s books to my TBR.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Nice work, Julia London.

I loved this story of Nora, the daughter of a wealthy ambulance chasing in Austin who is brought back to life after drowning in the gulf. With her born again life, Nora sets out to right her misses and mistakes from her past by creating a reverse bucket list, and high up on the list is reconnecting with a man she had met when they were hostages in the worst robbery ever.

As a resident of Austin, I loved reading about some of our favorite places and haunts, but the characters in the book are terrific. From a group of retired actors, some local youth basketball players, a local gardening club, and Nora’s own messed up and toxic family, you will love this book. Plus, I’m a sucker for a good meet cute.

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This cute story is more women's fiction than romance, which - to be fully transparent - was a little disappointing to me and probably affected my rating a bit...

After drowning in the ocean and nearly dying, Nora November has a new outlook on life. Which is good, because life before her NDE (near death experience) was decidedly not good. In an effort to make more of her life than the path she was on was taking her to, she makes a list of things she wants to do, then sets about doing them. She also tries to form more meaningful relationships with her family than she previously had. AND she wants to find the cute guy she was a hostage with during a corner store hold up several months ago.

Her journey is equally parts cute and heartwarming, but also sad and depressing. She’s earnest and undeterred in her efforts despite a multitude of setbacks, but her family leaves A LOT to be desired and she’s essentially one calamitous disaster after another. This is another thing that may have affected my opinion…why do SO many authors have heroines who are hapless and clumsy??? I just don’t find it amusing anymore.

And for someone who was thinking this would be more of a romance, the hero and heroine don’t actually meet until the last couple chapters of the book. Which, as I mentioned, was a major let down for me.

The upside is that the narrator is fantastic and did a great job of conveying the emotions and personalities of all the characters. I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, but I was really hoping for more relationship development, and more time with Nora and her long-searched hero.

* thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for providing an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Went into this thinking it was a run of the mill romance but it was much deeper. Nora and the people around her were facing such trauma. It was so great to watch Nora grow strong and overcome so much.

I really liked the ending without spoiling things, felt very much like real life and not everything tied up perfectly.

Karissa Vacker was INCREDIBLE narrating the book and really brought the story to life!

I loved this audiobook! For one, Karissa Vacker is such an amazing narrator. If you are trying to decide between print and audiobook, go for the audiobook!

Nice Work, Nora November is a romcom about redefining your life when you most need it. In 'The Before' (how Nora speaks about her life before she was clinically dead for 6 minutes) Nora was barely living. Her life was completely ruled by the expectations of her parents. Her father was fixated on making Nora the heir apparent to his personal injury law firm, even going as far as presenting her as the new Senior Partner/VP (I forgot the terminology, I know nothing about law) at the party celebrating her passing her boards after she explicitly refused to join him in his practice. The constant struggle she felt as a lawyer at a greedy, unethical law practice and her need to fulfill her father's plan brought her into a serious depression that closed her off from everyone in her life. . In her NDE (near-death experience) she has some life -changing epiphanies that give her the courage to live the life she really wants for herself.In 'The After' she discovers that changing her life is more difficult than she thought and she has to work hard to regain the trust of those she let down, learn all the things she'd always wanted to (turns out cooking without setting a fire is about a high as she can aim with that particular ambition) and finding the man she connected wirh during a hostage situation at the corner store.
Nora November is charming and funny and back and forth between Nora and Jack's point of views reveal just enough of each of their stories to make you need these two to come together in the end..most of the book is written from Nora's point of view, but Jack's perspective is added in at the exact moments the story needs it.

This book is fantastic and I would recommend to anyone who wants a read with a positive outlook and a sweet romantic secondary plot.

Thanks to Harper Collins Focus and Netgalley for the ALC of Nice Work, Nora November by Julia London..

I was more attracted to the idea of this story than the execution itself. Nora November is declared clinically dead for a few minutes after a surfing accident after which she is revived. The near-death experience prompts her to become more in control of her life and make changes she wouldn't dare to before. The book is centered upon multiple triggering themes like suicide, death, depression, parental abandonment, etc, yet in my eyes, it was very straightforward. The novel is my no means 'light' but I didn't have to think too much to understand the meaning of the story because it was right there. I was rather disconnected from the characters and though I sympathized with them, I was very much a distant bystander. Many aspects of the story were lacking in depth and weren't that intriguing. The narrator does a fabulous job and nailed the tones and voices of the ensemble cast.

This is a sweet women’s fiction with some romance thrown in. I enjoyed this book well enough, though some parts were a tad slow for me. Loved the narrator!!

3.75 ⭐️

In "Nice Work, Nora November" by Julia London, Nora, after surviving a near-death experience (NDE), creates a "reverse bucket list" to try to do all the things she hadn't done before she died. Her NDE gives her a new perspective on life and how her passionless career and chronic depression impacted her in more ways than she knew how to handle.

Through this book, Nora learns many things about herself and the author does not shy away from showing the struggle Nora must work through in order to begin living a life she doesn't regret. This book is inspiring and difficult to read at the same time. Nora struggles with chronic depression, trying to fit into a family who wishes she was someone else, and the anguish that comes with knowing you can't change the past. Through all of this, she perseveres through her reverse bucket list to do things like learning how to cook, reconnecting with a fellow robbery hostage, and taking care of her late grandfather's garden.

I am glad I read this book but I wish the audiobook had included some TWs at the beginning.

Thank you to Julia London, Netgalley, and HarperCollins Focus for the chance to listen to and review this book.

Nice work, Nora November is a seemingly light romcom with a big impact. The narrator is phenomenal and the energy that the FMC brings to the book is one of bouyant optimism despite some very heavy life experiences. It felt easy to connect to Nora, her struggle within herself and her family dynamics, and her hope in making things better for everyone.

There were plenty of serious topics in the storyline, including alcoholism and clinical depression, but the author tackled them with such grace that it didn’t actually feel heavy. I enjoyed every moment of this audiobook and am looking forward to exploring more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced recording in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for the ARC

I think I had the wrong expectations going into this book, I was expecting more magical realism for some reason. The book deals with darker themes like depression and alcoholism. We follow Nora who's recently "come back from the dead" and now has a more positive view of life. Instead of hiding away and shutting everyone out due to her depression, she tries to engage more with her family and do all the stuff she's always wanted. Additionally she's on the hunt for a man she had a spark with, but never reached out to.

I liked how Nora really tried to stay positive all the time, though it also was a bit frustrating at times. Even though she feels happier now, she's still allowed to be frustrated, annoyed and sad. Especially regarding how her parents treats her. Her mother and father were horrible, which made her standing up to them even more satisfying. Her connecting with her cousin gave some sweet, but sad moments because we see how he's battling his addiction.

I unfortunately didn't care too much for the other POV. In my opinion it didn't bring much to the story.

“Nice Work, Nora November” was a little too over-wrought for my taste. Everything was just too much — the obstacles she faces in her quest to change her life after a near-death experience, her parents. I get the author’s intent but I didn’t love the execution. Karissa Vacker did a good job with the narration; her tone matched Nora’s anxiety perfectly.

The book deals with some heavy topics, including alcoholism, emotional abuse and mental illness.

Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy.

3⭐️

Nice Work, Nora November is a cute story of Nora reinventing herself after a brush with death. London does a good job rebuilding Nora and her relationships as she equates her regrowth to that of a garden plot left by her recently-deceased grandfather. The plot thickens as Nora works through her backward bucket list of things and searches for a man with whom she was briefly trapped with in a store holdup. There are cute moments as they barely miss each other in the community garden that each are using to work through some of their life issues, and the final meet-up is actually cute even though you can see it coming from a mile away even if they don't. I don't want to spoil anything, but there are trigger warnings for death, suicide, and substance abuse. Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion.

** spoiler alert ** I had read two of Julia London's previous books so I was excited to read her newest release, Nice Work, Nora November.

Nora has had a near death experience and has decided to make a radical change to her life. She creates a reverse bucket list.

In my opinion, this is a book of two halves. The first half, it felt like London threw everything but the kitchen sink in to the story. I was annoyed and frustrated. London's overuse of the phrase "NDE" was ridiculous but thankfully that repetition was eliminated.

To just name a few of the issues that London included: Alcoholic family member, body shaming, suicide attempt, near death experience, mommy issues, impossible father, found grandpa dead, started fire in sister's house, fraught relationship with sister and I could keep going.

The redeeming quality of this story was the characters. A quirky set of characters really made this book better. They were outspoken and unique.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a really sweet slow burn romance but also a great book in terms of finding yourself and accepting your life. I liked the narration a lot and was really pleasantly surprised by this read!

This is a touching story about mental health, happiness, and living a life you want to live. The romance aspect is interesting because Nora is looking for a guy she connected with during a corner store robbery but never called. I like that we get both perspectives and that the story focuses primarily on Nora's personal growth after her near death experience, but with the search for Jack and little snippets of his life too. I would have loved more time with them together but I think it was well done how their relationship is built up without them actually meeting up again until later on. I found it to be an easy read with heavy topics if that makes any sense. It was enjoyable and felt realistic and well written. The audio, narrated by Karissa Vacker, flows perfectly and her voice is very clear and easy to listen to. Julia London writes about the aftermath of Nora's NDE where she's actively trying to turn things around and be more present/reliable for the people she cares about, taking chances to find a new job and allow herself to really pursue a new relationship. Nora is working through her depression and completing a "reverse" bucket list but everything doesn't go according to plan -- it's messy and difficult at times but she is determined to see it through. It's an optimistic story about coping with depression.

CW: depression, alcohol addiction, attempted suicide, parental abuse (mostly verbal/emotional but references to physical too)/manipulation.

Thank you Harper Muse & NetGalley for the ALC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Nice Work, Nora November tells the story of Nora, who at the beginning of the novel is recuperating from a surfing accident; she had an NDE - a near death experience - where she saw her beloved deceased grandfather and dog and felt a calm peace that had been sorely lacking in her life. I enjoyed Julia London's easy-to-read writing style and I was pulled into the story right away. I liked the way that Nora called her pre-accident life her Before and after being discharged from the hospital, she was living in the After. Nora had many regrets in her After about her Before so she made herself a "Reverse Bucket List" and set about to do the things that she regretted not doing, which included finding Jack, the guy she connected with so well but lost his phone number. This novel has a very interesting cast of characters including Nora's aloof mother, her judgmental father, her loving but exasperated sister, her like-a-brother cousin who struggles with addiction, and a slew of senior citizens she meets at her grandfather's community garden plot. I liked it! I really enjoyed the reader's inflections and voices for the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC audio book in exchange for an honest review.

Nice Work, Nora November by Julia London is a heartwarming exploration of hope and second chances. Nora’s journey is beautifully crafted throughout the book, showcasing her resilience as she navigates the challenges of starting over after a traumatic NDE.

The book explores themes of personal growth and the power of community during a transformative period in Nora’s life. The book is an excellent reminder that new beginnings are always possible and that love and support can be found in the most unexpected places.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the audiobook (the narration was fantastic!). I will be checking out more books from this author in the future!

I really enjoyed this audiobook, both for the storytelling and the narrator. After a near death experience, the MC decides to take control of her life and start doing the things that she wants to do instead of what is expected of her. Unfortunately, these changes aren't as easy to make as she had hoped. There were some moments where the pacing was a bit too slow and the problems a bit too repetitive, but over all, I think this is a great novel that asks the question, what if we just did the things that make us happy. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

This was an enjoyable novel about depression, second chances and finding what makes you happy. For several moments, she was clinically dead after drowning, but she’s brought back. During her near-death experience, she speaks with her beloved grandfather, who died the year before, and comes back filled with joy and hope. The problem? Her life is a mess. She has a difficult relationship with her domineering father, who is also her boss. Her mother only cares that she’s lost weight while in a coma. She’s a crappy sister and cousin, and never follows through on anything. Armed with her second change, Nora creates a reverse bucket list, which includes reconnecting with the sweet guy she met during a hilariously inept robbery at a convenience store. She works through situations that have held her back and is a source of her unhappiness. This book is relatable and the characters are well developed shows the importance of going after what you want. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher.

Thank you Harper Muse Audiobooks and netgalley for the advanced reader copy of this audiobook. This novel is a sweet and relatable story about finding yourself and a second chance at happiness (& love). I loved reading about Nora's personal growth and as she stepped into her confidence.

Note mental health is a large part of this storyline