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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Part office romance, part millennial satire, part psychological thriller, this is another book that I’m finding hard to describe and I’m not entirely sure how I felt about it.
Ava Simon is our central character and is a product engineer at a fictional Scandinavian company that may or may not be (but definitely is) modelled on IKEA. After suffering an enormous loss Ava throws herself into work until a new addition to her workplace, her new boss Mat, mixes things up a bit for her. Although it’s never expressly addressed, it’s implied that Ava is neuro diverse, but due to the closed off nature of her character I found her very tricky to connect with.
One of the things that I have seen other people praise is the tongue in cheek appraisal of office and corporate culture. Unfortunately this is something that I have absolutely zero interest in and zero experience of, so I feel like perhaps certain references went over my head and things that were meant to be funny just passed me by.
The book picked up in the middle section as Ava and Mat’s relationship was explored a little more, but the end took a bit of a weird nosedive for me and as such I’ve been left feeling a little deflated with the thriller twist.
This wasn’t a bad book but unfortunately, on this occasion I don’t think it was for me.
Ava Simon is our central character and is a product engineer at a fictional Scandinavian company that may or may not be (but definitely is) modelled on IKEA. After suffering an enormous loss Ava throws herself into work until a new addition to her workplace, her new boss Mat, mixes things up a bit for her. Although it’s never expressly addressed, it’s implied that Ava is neuro diverse, but due to the closed off nature of her character I found her very tricky to connect with.
One of the things that I have seen other people praise is the tongue in cheek appraisal of office and corporate culture. Unfortunately this is something that I have absolutely zero interest in and zero experience of, so I feel like perhaps certain references went over my head and things that were meant to be funny just passed me by.
The book picked up in the middle section as Ava and Mat’s relationship was explored a little more, but the end took a bit of a weird nosedive for me and as such I’ve been left feeling a little deflated with the thriller twist.
This wasn’t a bad book but unfortunately, on this occasion I don’t think it was for me.
‘Yes, and’ to quiet and honest accounts of working through grief. ‘Yes, and’ to satirical takedowns of toxic masculinity and corporate culture! ‘Yes, and’ to a little bit of romance? I know, who would have thought it?!
Okay, so the romantic storyline isn’t exactly a bed of roses, so maybe that’s why I got along with it, the rest of the book was very definitely up my street. I was intrigued from the first few pages by the descriptions of the very practical products that Eva’s employer STÄDA creates and sells, and the tongue-in-cheek jabs at office culture absolutely had me eye-rolling along with her.
I knew there would be a complicated story behind Eva’s reluctance to connect with people and I could have delved a little deeper into that if I’m honest, but that wouldn’t have been in keeping with her character so I understood why that door was left mostly closed.
There are a few twists and turns that I wouldn’t want to spoil, most I expected but that didn’t ruin my enjoyment of it. I breezed through this one in 2 days, and found it very easy to read.
Much like the products designed by the protagonist Eva, The Very Nice Box is perfectly designed, with equal parts humour, heart and excitement, a precisely formulated and neatly packaged story of personal growth.
Okay, so the romantic storyline isn’t exactly a bed of roses, so maybe that’s why I got along with it, the rest of the book was very definitely up my street. I was intrigued from the first few pages by the descriptions of the very practical products that Eva’s employer STÄDA creates and sells, and the tongue-in-cheek jabs at office culture absolutely had me eye-rolling along with her.
I knew there would be a complicated story behind Eva’s reluctance to connect with people and I could have delved a little deeper into that if I’m honest, but that wouldn’t have been in keeping with her character so I understood why that door was left mostly closed.
There are a few twists and turns that I wouldn’t want to spoil, most I expected but that didn’t ruin my enjoyment of it. I breezed through this one in 2 days, and found it very easy to read.
Much like the products designed by the protagonist Eva, The Very Nice Box is perfectly designed, with equal parts humour, heart and excitement, a precisely formulated and neatly packaged story of personal growth.
Had the promise to be a really good workplace satire, until it fell off a cliff...
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the first two thirds was low key a five star romance for me because I am but a simple bitch
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes