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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
This book was adorable and so much fun to read! Nina Hill is an introvert who’s happiest in the quiet company of her books and her cat. When she’s not at work (in a quaint neighborhood bookstore) or at home (in her comfy armchair, with her nose in book), she’s either at book club, watching a classic movie, or kicking butt at team trivia. She’s even got a crush on the captain of the rival trivia team, who seems to be into her, too. Her comfortable life gets interrupted, however, when the father that she never knew dies and she is introduced to a large, loud, eclectic family that she never knew she had. I loved following Nina as she navigated through this uncharted territory of human interaction, complete with plenty of snark, wit, and nerdy book references.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I quite liked this book - the ending was a little too rushed for me (hence the 4 stars), but the rest 80% of it was fantastic - it made me laugh.
Simply put, I loved the protagonist. If Nina Hill was a person in real life, and we could get past her "I hate talking to strangers" phase, I think we would have been friends. I've read a lot of books in which the main character is described as "socially awkward", and in an effort to justify that description, authors go out of their way to make the main character unlikable. Waxman did no such thing - Hill had her quirks, yes, but she felt real; she wasn't all good or all bad.
Lesser thing that I also loved about this book - it came out in 2019, and so there are a lot of millenial-pop-culture references dropped in this book (ex: Lost in Space reference, talk about bullet journaling, CBD-infused-pick-your-favorite-thing-of-the-month) that I can relate to, which doesn't always happen.
Overall, I wish Nina Hill was a person in real life, because having a friend like her would be great.
Simply put, I loved the protagonist. If Nina Hill was a person in real life, and we could get past her "I hate talking to strangers" phase, I think we would have been friends. I've read a lot of books in which the main character is described as "socially awkward", and in an effort to justify that description, authors go out of their way to make the main character unlikable. Waxman did no such thing - Hill had her quirks, yes, but she felt real; she wasn't all good or all bad.
Lesser thing that I also loved about this book - it came out in 2019, and so there are a lot of millenial-pop-culture references dropped in this book (ex: Lost in Space reference, talk about bullet journaling, CBD-infused-pick-your-favorite-thing-of-the-month) that I can relate to, which doesn't always happen.
Overall, I wish Nina Hill was a person in real life, because having a friend like her would be great.
Has some laugh out loud moments and subverts some romantic tropes in a really good way.
The third person sort-of omniscient POV was distracting. I’m out of practice reading this style, because it’s not common anymore. For the most part, it was handled subtly, but I did notice an occasional feeling of head-hopping, which is what made me notice POV more than I normally do.
The whimsical writing style reminded me of Pushing Daisies, which had a distinctive narrator element, so I think the POV choices were aiming for that. But it didn’t quite work the same way here.
The third person sort-of omniscient POV was distracting. I’m out of practice reading this style, because it’s not common anymore. For the most part, it was handled subtly, but I did notice an occasional feeling of head-hopping, which is what made me notice POV more than I normally do.
The whimsical writing style reminded me of Pushing Daisies, which had a distinctive narrator element, so I think the POV choices were aiming for that. But it didn’t quite work the same way here.
This was charming and funny but ultimately lacked. . . energy? Drive? I felt that it was more focused on developing its backstory of various wonderful and wacky neighbors than really developing its plot. I read her earlier one about the Garden, and I know these overlap, so I wonder if that's a trend of hers. I would definitely try another one, as she's a book lover whose literary references are on point and a lot of fun to pick up, but I hope she either streamlines her focus or lengthens her books!
I guess I fall in the minority with my “meh” response to this book. The characters were over the top and the excess drama didn’t help the story (imo). If you’re looking for fluffy entertainment, this book fits the bill.
emotional
funny
informative
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
This is the perfect fluffy character-driven novel. Well-written and so much fun! I will be handing it along to a bunch of my sisters over the holidays.