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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just like [b:The Bookish Life of Nina Hill|42379022|The Bookish Life of Nina Hill|Abbi Waxman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541774944l/42379022._SY75_.jpg|66042198], this was really a 3.5; I rounded down because Waxman referred to baseball "referees" multiple times. She clearly had done some googling to figure out some baseball talking points, but they were...slightly off. Someone in the production process should've had a baseball fan take a look at this.
ANYWAY. Laura has moved from New York to LA after a traumatic car accident that has left her with a limp and a desire to become a physical therapist. She's left behind her critical parents and awful ex-fiance and finds herself homeless after her apartment burns down; luckily, she stumbles into Nina Hill's bookstore and Polly takes her back to her (what's essentially a) boardinghouse, where a (furnished!) bedroom just opened up.
But the book isn't just about Laura; it's about Polly and Maggie (her landlord) and the other residents of Maggie's house. The balance seems slightly off; I'd say we should spend a bit more time with Laura, but at the same time, I didn't really want to spend more time with Laura's (totally understandable) anxieties. I'm far enough removed from my 20s to not completely remember my mindset; I do remember having the revelation that adults, too, are really just making it up as they go along, that they don't have everything figured out. But I don't think I ever thought, as Laura does, that adults don't ever need help.
I did like, as in Nina Hill, the omniscient narrator and glimpses into various characters' heads. The romance was sweet and rang true to me. I just think I probably wasn't in the best mindset for this book; it's time to take a break from chick-lit.
ANYWAY. Laura has moved from New York to LA after a traumatic car accident that has left her with a limp and a desire to become a physical therapist. She's left behind her critical parents and awful ex-fiance and finds herself homeless after her apartment burns down; luckily, she stumbles into Nina Hill's bookstore and Polly takes her back to her (what's essentially a) boardinghouse, where a (furnished!) bedroom just opened up.
But the book isn't just about Laura; it's about Polly and Maggie (her landlord) and the other residents of Maggie's house. The balance seems slightly off; I'd say we should spend a bit more time with Laura, but at the same time, I didn't really want to spend more time with Laura's (totally understandable) anxieties. I'm far enough removed from my 20s to not completely remember my mindset; I do remember having the revelation that adults, too, are really just making it up as they go along, that they don't have everything figured out. But I don't think I ever thought, as Laura does, that adults don't ever need help.
I did like, as in Nina Hill, the omniscient narrator and glimpses into various characters' heads. The romance was sweet and rang true to me. I just think I probably wasn't in the best mindset for this book; it's time to take a break from chick-lit.
A book about the people that are second tier characters, not main characters, and therfore unfortunately slightly boring. Perfectly charming, just dull.
4*
Fans of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill will be thrilled to revisit L.A’s Larchmont Village neighborhood and become reacquainted with that titular heroine and her bookstore co-workers in this new book of women’s fiction. Yes, there’s a very slow-burn love story (actually two), but it’s more about found family and friendship.
Laura Costello leaves her home and ex-fiancé in New York City to attend grad school for physical therapy in L.A. Her family of hardcore science academicians has never hidden their disappointment over her decision to forge a new path, and are convinced that she is too fragile due to her PTSD following a serious car accident and long recovery. However, her mother’s heavy-handedness and her controlling ex-fiancé’s unwillingness to accept her rejection and his insulting infantilization of her only serve to strengthen her resolve.
Following a fire in her new apartment building, she find herself in Knight’s bookstore (co-owned by Nina Hill). Serendipitously, sales clerk Polly hooks her up with a room rental in the house where she lives and, as time goes on, she grows to care about Maggie, her landlord and house mom, and Bob, her handsome housemate. Over the course of the summer, while waiting for her classes to begin, she cultivates friendships with Nina and Polly, joins Nina’s trivia team, and with Bob’s encouragement, kindness, and patience, slowly begins to overcome her trauma-induced panic over driving and her reticence about entering a new relationship. Will either of these two awkward friends ever find the courage to acknowledge the attraction that everyone else sees?
The biggest lesson Laura learns is that everyone has fears and personal issues that can hold them back from falling in love, forging new career paths, mending relationships with close family members, and more. However, her new chosen family helps her see that her inner strength not only aids her recovery but also provides the support her friends need to heal their own hurts, chase their dreams, and take a chance on love.
The only disappointment is the lack of any sexual tension between Laura and Bob. Their friendship is enviable, but aside from a couple of kisses and countless longing glances, there’s no heat. It would have been much more satisfying had Waxman used her epilogue to give readers the satisfaction of seeing the relationship ignite. Despite this, it’s a delightful story with very likable characters, satisfying subplots, glorious gardens, a plethora of books, and the unique idiosyncrasies of Los Angeles. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
Fans of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill will be thrilled to revisit L.A’s Larchmont Village neighborhood and become reacquainted with that titular heroine and her bookstore co-workers in this new book of women’s fiction. Yes, there’s a very slow-burn love story (actually two), but it’s more about found family and friendship.
Laura Costello leaves her home and ex-fiancé in New York City to attend grad school for physical therapy in L.A. Her family of hardcore science academicians has never hidden their disappointment over her decision to forge a new path, and are convinced that she is too fragile due to her PTSD following a serious car accident and long recovery. However, her mother’s heavy-handedness and her controlling ex-fiancé’s unwillingness to accept her rejection and his insulting infantilization of her only serve to strengthen her resolve.
Following a fire in her new apartment building, she find herself in Knight’s bookstore (co-owned by Nina Hill). Serendipitously, sales clerk Polly hooks her up with a room rental in the house where she lives and, as time goes on, she grows to care about Maggie, her landlord and house mom, and Bob, her handsome housemate. Over the course of the summer, while waiting for her classes to begin, she cultivates friendships with Nina and Polly, joins Nina’s trivia team, and with Bob’s encouragement, kindness, and patience, slowly begins to overcome her trauma-induced panic over driving and her reticence about entering a new relationship. Will either of these two awkward friends ever find the courage to acknowledge the attraction that everyone else sees?
The biggest lesson Laura learns is that everyone has fears and personal issues that can hold them back from falling in love, forging new career paths, mending relationships with close family members, and more. However, her new chosen family helps her see that her inner strength not only aids her recovery but also provides the support her friends need to heal their own hurts, chase their dreams, and take a chance on love.
The only disappointment is the lack of any sexual tension between Laura and Bob. Their friendship is enviable, but aside from a couple of kisses and countless longing glances, there’s no heat. It would have been much more satisfying had Waxman used her epilogue to give readers the satisfaction of seeing the relationship ignite. Despite this, it’s a delightful story with very likable characters, satisfying subplots, glorious gardens, a plethora of books, and the unique idiosyncrasies of Los Angeles. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Laura has moved across the country to leave her life at home behind. Mostly the memories of a bad accident and to have some breathing room to make her own choices. It's a chance to start over, a chance the universe ominously shows her could go up in flames, as her building literally goes up in flames. Great. With a little luck, she finds a new place to live with some interesting and unusual roommates, including book store owner Nina, and before she knows it, she's been sucked into an unconventional version of adulting, hoping that she's doing it right. At least she's pretty good at trivia, and the gardener Bob is pretty handsome. Maybe this adulting thing won't be so bad after all.
What a great little slice of life story to sink my teeth into! Laura has some great ambition and also some trauma to deal with, so she moves away from home and tries to get setup in her new life before pursuing her dreams. She runs into Nina, a character from a previous book by this author, and moves into a nice little place where they have "family" dinners and she makes fast friends with beautiful Bob the botanical wizard, a.k.a. the gardener.
I enjoyed their conversations and heart-to-hearts, and I appreciated how they approached their own personal turmoil. The question in my mind while reading was whether or not Bob and Laura were going to sprout something together. Adult Assembly Required is another great slice of life story set in and around Nina's Knights bookstore, and I recommend it to all readers who enjoy stories about other people's lives, who are just trying to make their way through being an adult, as tough and sad and happy and wild as it may, and can, be.
Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and Berkley Romance for the complimentary digital copy of Adult Assembly Required. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
What a great little slice of life story to sink my teeth into! Laura has some great ambition and also some trauma to deal with, so she moves away from home and tries to get setup in her new life before pursuing her dreams. She runs into Nina, a character from a previous book by this author, and moves into a nice little place where they have "family" dinners and she makes fast friends with beautiful Bob the botanical wizard, a.k.a. the gardener.
I enjoyed their conversations and heart-to-hearts, and I appreciated how they approached their own personal turmoil. The question in my mind while reading was whether or not Bob and Laura were going to sprout something together. Adult Assembly Required is another great slice of life story set in and around Nina's Knights bookstore, and I recommend it to all readers who enjoy stories about other people's lives, who are just trying to make their way through being an adult, as tough and sad and happy and wild as it may, and can, be.
Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and Berkley Romance for the complimentary digital copy of Adult Assembly Required. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Fun with quirky characters…
but it drove me crazy that she referred to baseball umpires as “referees”. If you are going to try and be “sporty” you need to better than that.
but it drove me crazy that she referred to baseball umpires as “referees”. If you are going to try and be “sporty” you need to better than that.
I want to preface this review by stating that I have not read any other books by Abbi Waxman. This story is the first introduction that I had to any of the characters. I loved them all, the tenants of the house and the ones outside of them were such characters, but showed how those with differences can sometimes make the best friendships.
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When Laura moves to LA to get situated before grad school, she is struck by various events that drop her soaking wet and crying in the middle of a local bookstore with no one to call. She soon finds herself being introduced to all sorts of people that we as readers could only hope to be friends with someday. Adult Assembly Required is a story of personal growth not only in relationships, but in overcoming internal struggles as well.
I rated this 5-stars. I liked this some much more than I thought I would since I literally just picked it because of the cover. It ended up being so funny and sweet and I thought it was really well written. The characters were all in various ages and stages of life which I enjoy, they showed the possibility of friendships and relationships that sometimes adults find hard to navigate. There was a lot of character growth in Laura as she struggled to deal with trauma that she experienced and then unsupportiveness from her family throughout the series.
I will say that some may find that the POV's are too all encompassing, but I very much enjoyed them and thought it just added whimsy and insight into the various characters introduced throughout the story.
---------
When Laura moves to LA to get situated before grad school, she is struck by various events that drop her soaking wet and crying in the middle of a local bookstore with no one to call. She soon finds herself being introduced to all sorts of people that we as readers could only hope to be friends with someday. Adult Assembly Required is a story of personal growth not only in relationships, but in overcoming internal struggles as well.
I rated this 5-stars. I liked this some much more than I thought I would since I literally just picked it because of the cover. It ended up being so funny and sweet and I thought it was really well written. The characters were all in various ages and stages of life which I enjoy, they showed the possibility of friendships and relationships that sometimes adults find hard to navigate. There was a lot of character growth in Laura as she struggled to deal with trauma that she experienced and then unsupportiveness from her family throughout the series.
I will say that some may find that the POV's are too all encompassing, but I very much enjoyed them and thought it just added whimsy and insight into the various characters introduced throughout the story.