Synopsis

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill meets Younger in a heartfelt debut following a young woman who discovers she’ll have to ditch the “dream job” and write her own story to find her happy ending.

Meet Nora Hughes—the overworked, underpaid, last bookish assistant standing. At least for now.

When Nora landed an editorial assistant position at Parsons Press, it was her first step towards The Dream Job. Because, honestly, is there anything dreamier than making books for a living? But after five years of lunch orders, finicky authors, and per my last emails, Nora has come to one grand conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist.

With her life spiraling and the Parsons staff sinking, Nora gets hit with even worse news. Parsons is cutting her already unlivable salary. Unable to afford her rent and without even the novels she once loved as a comfort, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet…and maybe poach some Parsons’ authors along the way.

But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author no one can afford to lose is thrown into the mix, Nora has to decide where her loyalties lie. Her new Dream Job, ever-optimistic Andrew, or…herself and her future.

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Review

Just by the title alone, I knew I needed to read this book. I love books and wanted to discover what was in store for Nora.

I felt for Nora. She was in a company that was downsizing and all of her favorite people had been let go. Her workload had increased but her pay decreased. This was all having a negative impact on her mental state but she didn’t realize it until much later. I could relate to her situation, I have worked for companies that things changed or the work environment became toxic and the best thing to do was leave. But it wasn’t until years later that I realized all of this. Nora doesn’t go about trying to fix her situation the right way, but she did what she thought she needed to do at that moment in time.

Andrew is an author that has other ideas about his newest book. However, he isn’t sure if Parson’s is the right publishing house for him. The friendship that he builds with Nora can be a positive one for both of them if they can just tell each other the truth. They aren’t lying per se, but perhaps not telling each other the full story. But I enjoy their banter and watching their friendship develop.

I think we have all been in a situation similar to Nora, not knowing what we want to do with our lives. I like how she uses a book that we have all heard of to help guide her when times get tough. It is never easy to articulate what we want from life and sometimes it takes friends to help push us in the right direction.

This was an enjoyable debut novel and I look forward to more books from this author. We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Shauna Robinson’s love of books led her to try a career in publishing before deciding she’d rather write books instead. Originally from San Diego, she now lives in Virginia with her husband and their sleepy greyhound. Shauna is an introvert at heart—she spends most of her time reading, baking, and figuring out the politest way to avoid social interaction. Must Love Books is her debut novel.

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