Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Must Love Books

Quick and easy beach read romance. The classic: web of lies leads to trouble but things kinda work out in the end kind of story. Not great overall but I’m glad I read it

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princessdana36's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-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

4.5

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ashymay's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.75

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arizona_foster's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Something about the main character, Nora Hughes, made me drag out reading this book much longer than I needed. It was easy to empathize with the doom and gloom of an underpaid, under appreciated job and stuck-in-a-rut lifestyle she found herself living. I loved Nora and didn't want to give her up.

The pace of the story was just right. Nothing felt rushed or unexplained. You saw the rapid decline of Nora's employer and how her list of responsibilities grew as more and more employees left for other jobs.

My new favorite interview question is, "Would you recommend the job to a friend?" While simple, it's a profound question and would tell me everything I need to know about the job I'm interviewing for - genius!

I also loved Andrew Santos - total swoon! 🥰 He was an easy character to love with how he doted over Nora and was always happy to see her. His reactions to her sarcasm and the banter between them were everything.

This story really resonated with me. While there were some dark moments, Nora talking about a constant battle with a creature lurking in her thoughts, the story was authentic and painfully realistic.

Thank you Shauna Robinson, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

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katrinepoetry's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-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

5.0

Must Love Books is stunning in its simultaneously beautiful and brutal portrayal of dead-end jobs, economic insecurity, depression, and self-imposed isolation.

I found myself smiling, laughing, winging and crying in tune with the events of Nora's life. She felt real, in part, because her worries are so relatable. It reminded me of why I love books so much: for their ability connect people through emotions, regardless of where or when we live.

And I connected with Nora as a character, more than I have with any other character in a long time. I can truly imagine, a hundred years from now, Must Love Books beunf studied as a slice of 21st century life.

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I have to admit when I first started reading this I did kind of expect a fairly lighthearted, feel-good romance set within the gruelling world of publishing; where our loveable main character (Nora) would finally find job satisfaction—and love, with a satisfying ending tied up in a HEA bow.

And though Nora (our overworked protagonist) is incredibly endearing, I wasn’t expecting her journey to be nearly as complex or emotionally fraught as it was, dealing with some pretty heavy themes such as identity, race, financial insecurity and career fulfilment.

As a reader, we often see the publishing world as a magical book-filled utopia, so to delve into a (less glamorous) side of the industry and see the not so fun parts of day-to day life was really interesting (especially when I discovered Shauna Robinson used to be an editorial assistant herself.) Just seeing how demanding the publishing sector is really makes me appreciate all the hard work that goes into getting books on shelves and into readers’ hands.

I also appreciated the poignancy and realism that mental health issues such as depression and anxiety were explored —and loved how sensitively Robinson highlights just how damaging (both physically and mentally) work-related stress can be.

Though I didn’t agree with all of Nora’s decisions (working for rival publishers simultaneously was never going to be a sustainable solution), I did sympathise with her circumstances and felt (for the most part) that she was definitely making the best of a bad situation. We do get some romance, through Nora’s flirtatious interactions and chemistry with author (and resident cinnamon roll) Andrew who I absolutely adored!

But, ultimately it’s Nora’s personal and emotional development that I found most compelling and I fans of books about books (or set in a bookish environment) are definitely going to enjoy this one—just don’t expect it to be all fluffy and sweet.

A huge thank you to One More Chapter for the e-arc.

Content Warnings

bookswithruby's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

Must Love Books follows Nora, an editorial assistant at a publishing house who has just about had enough! When a pay cut leads Nora to taking on a second (secret) job, her life starts to spiral out of control. Her life also becomes a lot more complicated when author Andrew becomes part of it, will she tell him the truth of keep her secret for her own gain?

Although she was a bit of a mess, I adored Nora as a character and was rooting for her until the very end.

This book is not the light hearted fluffy romcom it first appeared, it can get quite dark and sad in parts but overall it’s uplifting and the perfect book for that time in your life when you just don’t have a clue what’s going on - which is pretty much my life right now!😂

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