Member Reviews
I really enjoyed this - I found many aspects of the book very relatable including trying to work out which path you’re meant to take and feeling stuck.
Nora always thought working with books would be her dream job. Here she is though, stuck in a dead end boring job where her workload is ever increasing. When she is forced to take a pay cut she makes a decision to take a second job at a rival publisher. It’s complicated enough for Nora but here comes Andrew, a handsome author who has Nora re-examining what she wants in her job and beyond.
You might think by looking at the cover and the blurb this is a lighthearted book about love of reading with some romance thrown in for good measure. I did the same myself. But this book is so much more than that. It’s darker and grittier and like all good books, it made me examine my life and work. I respected the honest and accurate portrayal of Nora’s decline in mental health, even as I disliked her actions. I thought the author achieved a good balance within the book and the ending was spot on. The book group questions at the end were useful and I enjoyed the interview too. It’s my second book by this author, and I will definitely be back for her third.
Thanks to Shauna Robinson, One More Chapter and Netgalley for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Nora is not happy in her job or in life really. When she gets a pay cut she knows she can't survive on a lower income so takes a second job, not telling either employer that she is working for someone else. Complicated by Andrew, who becomes more than just an author to her.
Ended a bit abruptly for me, I would have liked an epilogue to see what happened next.
There's a lot of potential and a possible very strong story even if it didn't always worked.
I wasn't always a fan of Nora but I understood her disappointment and the hard choices.
The plot drags a bit but it kept me reading.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
I LOVED THIS ONE!!! As someone who works in publishing, I absolutely loved how much I relates to parts of this! The characters are so loveable and the whole story was incredibly enjoyable to read!
This one fell a bit flat for me unfortunately, I didn't connect with Nora throughout the book and she came across as a little too whiney for my liking. I might revisit the book in the future to see if it was just the mood at the time of reading that is affecting it rather than the actual story.
I didn't feel so connected with this one as I had hoped unfortunately, there is a good story there I jus felt at times it was paced too slowly for me
When Nora landed an editorial assistant role at Parsons Press she thought it would be The Dream Job. But after five years of admin and taking lunch orders, Nora is disenchanted and doing the work of 3 people. Despite her initial hopes and ambitions, it has become a dead-end job, with little opportunity for career progression. When a salary cut means she cannot afford her rent, Nora does the only thing she can think of and starts freelancing for a rival publisher.
But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling author (who also happens to be quite attractive), is thrown into Nora’s life, she must decide where her loyalties lie, and whether she’s ready to choose herself and her future over her job…
Based on the author’s own experience as an Editorial Assistant at a publishing house, Must Love Books puts the industry under the microscope. It is shown as being entirely focused on moneymaking and profit, and Nora’s situation is so bad that it is affecting her mental health. The pressures of work, and the money worries caused by her pay cut, combined with seeing the nuts and bolts behind publishing, have collectively spoilt the joy of books and reading for her.
Whilst circumstances might force Nora into moral ambiguities, and making questionable choices, she is skilfully portrayed by the author as a likeable and relatable character.
The development of the romance storyline does not take this novel down the hearts and flowers route – this is far more than a boy meets girl trope – and Nora and Andrew’s blossoming love story plays out against themes of mental health and depression; corporate greed and carelessness; diversity; finding yourself; and discovering what you want from life, as well as the struggles experienced by Millennials finding affordable homes and secure jobs.
It is a very honest, grounded and realistic take on life in general, and in publishing specifically, with a depth to it which is based on authorial experience. The novel shows that there may be no such thing as the dream job, and if there is, it might take several goes to find it; and through Nora’s experiences and struggles, it highlights how happiness is not a permanent, constant state, but is something relative, with levels that change, and is something that people have to work towards finding for themselves.
The ending of the novel is left quite open, but, by this point, the reader has every cause for optimism: that Nora is going to eventually find a job she loves, find a way to manage her depression and edge her way towards finding happiness.
A well-written, realistic and relatable debut with a hopeful ending, and some big themes which will resonate with many millennials.
This novel starts out feeling like a rom com, but deepens about halfway through as Nora's depression sharpens. The change in tone (not mentioned in any of the blurbs or promotional copy) has alienated some reviewers, but I found the second - darker - half of the story to be more unique, and thought-provoking than the first.
Editorial assistant Nora, struggling in her dull and dead-end position, meets Andrew, a professor and author who is younger and nicer than most of the writers she encounters,. But their budding relationship has an obstacle bigger than conflicting professional interests. Nora struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts and before she can invest herself in a romance with Andrew, she must find a way to invest in herself.
Nora is an engaging but deeply flawed protagonist, one I enjoyed spending time with and whose happiness I was rooting for. Her difficult emotions are addressed in a compelling but not heavy-handed way, and although she makes a number of questionable decisions over the course of the story, they feel organic to her personality and circumstances. I especially enjoyed the ending, which was happy without being saccharine and felt as close to authentic as a novel-sized work could get on an issue as big as Nora's lifelong depression.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
I was attracted to this book by the title, unfortunately I didn't feel it matched up so well. I found the story very slow to get going and some sections were unnecessarily long winded. At the end of the book I was left feeling pleased that Nora had decided to make chamges to her life but somewhat worried that there are probably many people in jobs where they feel used rather than appreciated.
Although it is clear the author is familiar with the publishing world and has described it well, I am unable to give a higher review or recommend it to my followers.
Sincerely? I requested it for the title not even reading the synopsis.
But, well, once read it is nothing special. Smooth and cute story, with well-delineated characters and well written. Undoubtedly an enjoyable read to spend time with.
A good read.Enjoyed Nora's story was quite different to my usual kind of reading but it had some interesting characters and loved the San Francisco location. Think it will appeal to younger readers.
Must Love Books got my attention straight away, because I love books about publishing and editing. It held my attention because of the beautiful and honest way it addressed mental health. Shauna Robinson does an incredible job of discussing Nora's suicidal ideations, providing metaphors and outlining her journey towards a happier life.
The romance in this book was perfect, Andrew was supportive and caring, willing to help Nora with her journey to improving her happiness. I liked that their chemistry developed naturally.
Overall I think this is a great book, I would recommend this to lovers of YA and contemporary.
Well as I was getting into this book, it started to seem familiar. Yes I had read it before, a year and a half ago .... I think this book has been taken in hand and judging by my last review, improved. Nora is still in a dead end job and at a career crossroads. She is depressed through having little prospects and by her workmates moving on. Told from her point of view, her situation and the world of publishing is well described.
I think this book has been shortened to some degree and although Nora is juggling different jobs and increasing responsibilities at the publishing firm, the book looks at possibilities in the future and feels quite optimistic towards the end.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
I really wanted to love this one but honestly it was just ok. Nothing was gripping me to the story and after dragging myself through to DNFd. At around 60%
<i>Thank you Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>
To be honest I think the cover and blurb were a bit misleading and I was expecting a different story, more on the rom com side than on the reality one.
Nora works as an editor assistant in one small publisher. She was convinced it was her dream job but 5 years later, after no promotions, the company restructuring and the salary cut, the overworked and underpaid Nora is severely depressed.
I think this book will be close to home to a lot of readers. I did enjoyed it but I would have preferred to read it on a different timing.
A great easy read about a small publishing company.
Nora has always dreamt of being an editor but the opportunities haven't really come her way.
At a book conference she meets author Andrew and a friendship is formed.
This book touches upon the lack of non white people in the publishing profession.
Overall a fun and easy read, but I did not feel any attaxhment to the characters. It was nice to see an insight into the world of publishing.
This was a lovely, touching story about a young woman trying to find happiness. Nora is in her mid-twenties and has been stuck in her ‘dream job’ of Assistant Editor for a publishing house for the past 5 years. As the story opens, her life is taking a downward turn; her previous bosses have both left and her best friend is about to leave the company. On top of that she is required to take a pay cut which means that she will not be able to continue to rent her room. However, then Andrew Santos, a popular author, swings into her life and there are suddenly more possibilities.
I thought that this would be a fairly standard romance but it is really the story of Nora and how she copes with her life and the increasing feeling that there is really no point to it. She is definitely struggling and anyone who has ever suffered with depression will recognise her feelings.
The romance is definitely low-key but I did love Andrew and the dialogue between them, both in person and in their emails, was brilliant. He seems to really understand how Nora feels and when she is with him, she is able to visualise feeling happier. When Nora finds a part time job to help pursue her dream of becoming a full time editor, she increasingly has to lie at work and to Andrew. The reader can see how flimsy the whole scenario is and in the second third of the book, I was just waiting for the whole thing to fall down.
I thought that the depiction of Nora was excellent and the details of her work for Paston Publishing were fascinating.It was so easy to see how her dreams had gradually been destroyed by the changes at the company. It wasn’t all bad though and I liked the way the author had characters who still had their dreams of being editors and having a real input into books being published. I loved Kelly’s character who was still so full of enthusiasm and love of her job.
This isn’t a fluffy romance but it is a much deeper story of a young woman working in today’s cut-throat business world and trying to hold on to her dreams. I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK/One More Chapter for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I had high hopes for Must Love Books, I mean, it’s a book about books. We all love those, right?! It’s the story of Nora, who is in her mid-20s and has been slaving away as an editorial assistant in publishing for longer than she cares to admit. Not only does she stand out like a sore thumb in a predominantly white profession, being half black, but she’s also beginning to question her career choices while dealing with ever-growing mental health problems.
This book tries to do a lot. Some of it better than other bits. I did feel very much like I was back in my own editorial assistant days, so I could sympathise a lot with the protagonist. The author also dealt carefully with the questions of mental health, even though certain passages read a bit too on the nose.
Overall I should have enjoyed this a lot more than I did. Was it me? Was it just trying that bit too hard to get its points across? Who knows… If you’re into finding out a bit more about the publishing industry (and how, sadly, it’s not all that and them some in many areas), then this book does give a fair bit of insight.