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A review by isabelsdigest
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
ARC received in exchange for an Honest Review
Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley!
Publication date: 18 January 2022
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson presents us with the overworked and lost Nora at a very stressful point in her life. After pursuing a career in publishing for the last five years, Nora finds herself in a meaningless job that does not even pay the bills. Her colleagues and friends have all left and she is the last one standing, making her wonder if ‘dream jobs’ are even real.
Nora will have to take risky decisions when the opportunity comes to work part-time for the competition and this makes her examine her loyalties - but can she do? She has no money or another plan. Along comes Andrew Santos, the bestselling author whose signing could give Nora a promotion in the company she already hates, or he could sign with the new publishing house and secure her a full-time job. On the other hand, he could be something else, someone else in Nora’s life that stirs her into looking for personal fulfillment instead of just precariously getting from paycheck to paycheck.
I believe I am just the target audience for this book - so maybe I am incapable of writing an objective review. I am Nora. I am 24 with an English Degree and dreaming of the perfect job in publishing. I see so much of myself in the main character that it is difficult to separate myself but allow me to try:
-Must Love Books might look like a cutesy romance at a first glance but like The Midnight Library (that also features a Nora), this novel is about self-discovery. A late coming of age that is much less popular and romanticized than the YA counterpart. Nora is in her mid-twenties and before even allowing herself to find love, she needs to allow herself to find who she is and what she wants.
-Robinson makes an exquisite job of portraying the bay area. As a UC Berkeley grad, I know what it feels like to be in the BART mentally counting how much money you have left and how many meals you can skip until your next paycheck. We see a San Francisco that is less about glamour and more about the big city feeling of isolation.
-Nora as a character feels like an actual human being, and as a reader, I understood why she took the decisions she took, and honestly, in her place, I would have probably done the same.
-On that note, the other characters like Beth and Andrew went beyond their typical roles of ‘friend’ and ‘love interest’ and have a certain complexity that enriched my experience. Although I would have liked to see more of Nora’s roommate.
-The majority of this novel develops in the office, and in this space as a black woman of lower-ranking, Nora faces a lot of microaggressions due to her gender and standing as one editor from the NY office uses her for the most pointless tasks and mansplains every detail. I think this window into office life and the team behind our favorite books is so important and it brings visibility to the otherwise forgotten members that work in publishing.
-Most importantly, I think this book addresses very important subjects like mental health, race, and class. Nora for the majority of the book is in a dark place - one that I have the misfortune of knowing very well -and realistically, it is up to her to change her situation. Even when Beth and Andrew want to help, the book delivers an open ending that empowers Nora -and the reader- to accept that it is okay to still be figuring stuff out.
Moreover, race and class make an important part of Nora’s identity and the decisions she can take. Publishing is predominately white and as a half-black woman, Nora feels the responsibility of representing but also masking her race when she is working. The people around Nora are also more wealthy than her, and money might not give happiness but it gives options. Because of this disparity, Nora can not fully relate or talk with her friends as she knows they do not understand how impossible it for her is to leave one job for a part-time offer or to not have something stable as she has massive responsibilities and payments due.
In conclusion, I think it is easy to disregard this novel as another quirky office romance -that there is nothing wrong with them and that I love them so much as well- but if you give Must Love Books a chance, you are in for so much more than you expected. I am very happy to have finished 2021 with this book and I wish Shauna Robinson all the luck and success in the world.
Follow the author on Twitter as @shaunarobs
and you can find me as @isabelsdigest everywhere
Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley!
Publication date: 18 January 2022
Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson presents us with the overworked and lost Nora at a very stressful point in her life. After pursuing a career in publishing for the last five years, Nora finds herself in a meaningless job that does not even pay the bills. Her colleagues and friends have all left and she is the last one standing, making her wonder if ‘dream jobs’ are even real.
Nora will have to take risky decisions when the opportunity comes to work part-time for the competition and this makes her examine her loyalties - but can she do? She has no money or another plan. Along comes Andrew Santos, the bestselling author whose signing could give Nora a promotion in the company she already hates, or he could sign with the new publishing house and secure her a full-time job. On the other hand, he could be something else, someone else in Nora’s life that stirs her into looking for personal fulfillment instead of just precariously getting from paycheck to paycheck.
I believe I am just the target audience for this book - so maybe I am incapable of writing an objective review. I am Nora. I am 24 with an English Degree and dreaming of the perfect job in publishing. I see so much of myself in the main character that it is difficult to separate myself but allow me to try:
-Must Love Books might look like a cutesy romance at a first glance but like The Midnight Library (that also features a Nora), this novel is about self-discovery. A late coming of age that is much less popular and romanticized than the YA counterpart. Nora is in her mid-twenties and before even allowing herself to find love, she needs to allow herself to find who she is and what she wants.
-Robinson makes an exquisite job of portraying the bay area. As a UC Berkeley grad, I know what it feels like to be in the BART mentally counting how much money you have left and how many meals you can skip until your next paycheck. We see a San Francisco that is less about glamour and more about the big city feeling of isolation.
-Nora as a character feels like an actual human being, and as a reader, I understood why she took the decisions she took, and honestly, in her place, I would have probably done the same.
-On that note, the other characters like Beth and Andrew went beyond their typical roles of ‘friend’ and ‘love interest’ and have a certain complexity that enriched my experience. Although I would have liked to see more of Nora’s roommate.
-The majority of this novel develops in the office, and in this space as a black woman of lower-ranking, Nora faces a lot of microaggressions due to her gender and standing as one editor from the NY office uses her for the most pointless tasks and mansplains every detail. I think this window into office life and the team behind our favorite books is so important and it brings visibility to the otherwise forgotten members that work in publishing.
-Most importantly, I think this book addresses very important subjects like mental health, race, and class. Nora for the majority of the book is in a dark place - one that I have the misfortune of knowing very well -and realistically, it is up to her to change her situation. Even when Beth and Andrew want to help, the book delivers an open ending that empowers Nora -and the reader- to accept that it is okay to still be figuring stuff out.
Moreover, race and class make an important part of Nora’s identity and the decisions she can take. Publishing is predominately white and as a half-black woman, Nora feels the responsibility of representing but also masking her race when she is working. The people around Nora are also more wealthy than her, and money might not give happiness but it gives options. Because of this disparity, Nora can not fully relate or talk with her friends as she knows they do not understand how impossible it for her is to leave one job for a part-time offer or to not have something stable as she has massive responsibilities and payments due.
In conclusion, I think it is easy to disregard this novel as another quirky office romance -that there is nothing wrong with them and that I love them so much as well- but if you give Must Love Books a chance, you are in for so much more than you expected. I am very happy to have finished 2021 with this book and I wish Shauna Robinson all the luck and success in the world.
Follow the author on Twitter as @shaunarobs
and you can find me as @isabelsdigest everywhere
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexism