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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Nina likes to be organized and have a plan for everything, but she doesn't plan on finding a family and a boyfriend. Cute story about a rather particular bookworm named Nina. A good quick story to give you happy vibes.
I just finished listening to this book. I really liked it!!
4-4.5 stars.
4-4.5 stars.
3.5 rounded up. The audio book did make me laugh out loud in a couple of spots
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Readable but not great. I struggle to reconcile what we're told about Nina with what she actually does. And in neither case is she a compelling character.
Supposedly this woman is so debilitated by anxiety that she plans every second of her life and can't even think about being spontaneous. And yet she does spontaneous things all the time (like volunteering to go to the home of a bare aquanitance at night to help craft or attending a wedding where she doesn't know anyone but the sister of the bride). We're told her planner is completely full for every day, but before each chapter there is a page from her planner with almost nothing in it.
She has a few cute scenes with her new family, but it's all fluff with no substance. And she's basically a Mary Sue whom everyone in the family immediately loves on site.
The idea for a good book was there, but it just didn't work for me.
Supposedly this woman is so debilitated by anxiety that she plans every second of her life and can't even think about being spontaneous. And yet she does spontaneous things all the time (like volunteering to go to the home of a bare aquanitance at night to help craft or attending a wedding where she doesn't know anyone but the sister of the bride). We're told her planner is completely full for every day, but before each chapter there is a page from her planner with almost nothing in it.
She has a few cute scenes with her new family, but it's all fluff with no substance. And she's basically a Mary Sue whom everyone in the family immediately loves on site.
The idea for a good book was there, but it just didn't work for me.
I enjoyed this book. While occasionally the author would abandon her writing style to talk directly to the reader, I generally found it kept a nice pace with interesting characters. I preferred the Storied Life of AJ Fikry, but this was a nice book to read, and I am glad to have done so.
One things I genuinely disliked about the digital copy I got from the library is that one day of the planner (*the most important one*) showed up out of order and ruined the end for me when I wasn't even halfway done. Boo! Hiss! Not the author's fault, but annoying.
One things I genuinely disliked about the digital copy I got from the library is that one day of the planner (*the most important one*) showed up out of order and ruined the end for me when I wasn't even halfway done. Boo! Hiss! Not the author's fault, but annoying.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not sure that the plot of this book necessarily gets five stars for me, but the writing gets 10 stars. Abbi Waxman does such a wonderful job at developing her characters and conveying her characters’ quirkiness through her writing. The characters feel fun and also just strange enough to be real and relatable without trying too hard.
For fans of Waxman‘s who have read the garden of small beginnings and/or other peoples houses, you will appreciate the little bits that include some of those characters such as Lili and Edward as well.
For fans of Waxman‘s who have read the garden of small beginnings and/or other peoples houses, you will appreciate the little bits that include some of those characters such as Lili and Edward as well.
I'm calling BS on this book. It's allegedly about someone's "bookish life": the main character an introvert who is more comfortable with books than people, whose life is thrown akilter by finding out about a passel of genetic siblings and extended family. Being bookish myself and having my own experiences with surprise genetic siblings, I looked forward to a book that would delve into an introvert's interior monologues as she adjusted to all the new people outside her bubble that could enrich or disrupt her life.
Instead, Nina Hill's life is jam-packed with social commitments. Literally, in the span of this book, she had more evening social engagements than I have had in the past 5 years. Maybe more. She is the socially busiest adult I've ever known. When someone asks her for a date, she literally doesn't have an open day in 3 weeks because her schedule is booked with multiple book clubs, trivia nights with friends, movie nights with friends, and other engagements, with one night booked for reading. She's got friends galore and is a veritable Chatty Cathy: it sounded like every page was full of dialogue, and not inner dialogue at that. (I listened to the audiobook.) Whatever, it was an escapist read, so I just decided to enjoy the marvels of Nina the Extroverted Book Lover.
I enjoyed on an escapee-silly, surface level most of the book, but got legit annoyed with what was supposed to be the central conflict between Nina and her love interest, who finally gives her the cold shoulder for supposedly not having room for him in her life. But let's look at what really happened.
I did enjoy quite a few of the minor characters and it was an enjoyable, albeit utterly ridiculous and unrealistic plot arc about a windfall inheritance. The audiobook was fine. For something to listen to while folding the laundry, it was okay, as long as you don't get as emotionally involved as me when being frustrated with a main character ignoring her own needs in a relationship.
Instead, Nina Hill's life is jam-packed with social commitments. Literally, in the span of this book, she had more evening social engagements than I have had in the past 5 years. Maybe more. She is the socially busiest adult I've ever known. When someone asks her for a date, she literally doesn't have an open day in 3 weeks because her schedule is booked with multiple book clubs, trivia nights with friends, movie nights with friends, and other engagements, with one night booked for reading. She's got friends galore and is a veritable Chatty Cathy: it sounded like every page was full of dialogue, and not inner dialogue at that. (I listened to the audiobook.) Whatever, it was an escapist read, so I just decided to enjoy the marvels of Nina the Extroverted Book Lover.
I enjoyed on an escapee-silly, surface level most of the book, but got legit annoyed with what was supposed to be the central conflict between Nina and her love interest, who finally gives her the cold shoulder for supposedly not having room for him in her life. But let's look at what really happened.
Spoiler
Nina had a severe panic attack after finding out legitimately distressing and anxiety-inducing news: that her employer may soon be out of business. Knowing how physically taxing her severe anxiety attacks are, she asked him for some space. Instead, he insisted on taking her home, insisted on remaining in her apartment, and insisted on pushing for precisely what she didn't want: his company during her anxiety attack. His desire to "take care" of her completely delegitimized her need for physical space during a medical event. She reached out to him shortly after she re-established equilibrium and he completely ghosted her. When she finally begs him to take her back, not only did he not apologize for how horribly he had treated her, he framed it as her "throwing him under the bus" simply because she "lost her composure." And she apologized! Ridiculous and annoying. He was 100% out of line. She had been legitimately rude to him on other occasions, but in that incident, he was totally in the wrong, and I'm on Team Nina. Unfortunately, Nina is not even on Team Nina and completely berates herself for having legitimate boundaries when she has anxiety attacks.I did enjoy quite a few of the minor characters and it was an enjoyable, albeit utterly ridiculous and unrealistic plot arc about a windfall inheritance. The audiobook was fine. For something to listen to while folding the laundry, it was okay, as long as you don't get as emotionally involved as me when being frustrated with a main character ignoring her own needs in a relationship.
Cute and entertaining, slightly fluffy but I liked the anxiety rep. Nina was very relatable but most of the other characters were a little over the top quirky and there were far more of them than was necessary.