The Bookish Life of Nina Hill – Abbi Waxman

★★★★★

“I mean, I get that the universe whirls in mysterious yada yada, but wouldn’t you rather travel the world?”

“No, I’d rather stay home and read.”

Nina Hill’s life is perfect as it is, thank you very much.

She has an adorable little apartment, a fabulous job at a local bookstore (Knight’s), and a grumpy cat (Phil).

Nina looked down and smiled…with the plentiful sarcasm and soothing rows of book spines. It was heaven on earth.

And on her wild days – she plays trivia at a local bar (provided it isn’t one of the places she’s been banned from) (it happens, okay?). Tom, her greatest rival, can be a bit of a jerk and Nina takes extreme pleasure in showing him up.

Her life comfortably circles around books. And honestly, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Are your criticizing Harry Potter?”
“Never. I’m a Ravenclaw.”

But unfortunately, what you want and what you get isn’t always the same thing.

Nina’s mother is a world class photographer and as a result, Nina spent most of her childhood curled up with a good book along with her live-in nanny.

In short, Nina is not overly fond of adventures (at least in real life).

Now, nearly thirty years old, Nina learns that not only did her mother actually know who Nina’s father was… but also her father is dead. 

And she’s in his will.

But in order to claim it, she must meet…her (many) relatives (shudder). Strangers. Dangers. And all that.

Annnnd, all this turmoil continues to spiral.

Her trivia nemesis, Tom, is actually far less of a jerk than she anticipated.

“He’s objectively attractive but subjectively repulse, on account of his overwhelming self-confidence.”

And Tom, well, he’s always noticed Nina but now he’s reallllly noticing her.

“She’s really smart, probably too smart for me.”

And to top it all, Knight’s Bookstore is on its last legs. It was actually on it’s last legs months and months ago.

Nina is heartbroken but at least her boss has a plan…though it’s not much of one.

“Make the books look pretty. Smile, but look pitiful. When people ask if we’re closing, shake your head softly and suggest they buy a boxed set.”

Bookish Nina will have to do something she’s never even considered before – take charge and make a difference.

Will she do it in time? Or will everything crumble before she even begins?

Dammit. Now she was going to have to change her planner.

This book was perfect 

I honestly have not related so much to a main character in years.

There are people who have no time for books…Nina judged them.

I feel like Nina and I are soul sisters.

I loved Nina’s fierce love of any and all things bookish – especially her dedicated reading time!

Sometimes people tried to get her to do something instead, but she was fiercely defensive of her nothing.

The characters were firmly fleshed out and their personalities were so vibrant that I felt like I could have a conversation with them.

One of my favorite parts about this book was actually reading it with my mother.

My mom always gets to check out the books sent to me by publishers and she snatched this one up so fast that if I had blinked, I would have missed it.

Reading this one with her was truly a wonderful bonding experience.We laughed so hard whenever we saw Nina interact with her family and we sighed with happiness at the ending.

Waxman paced those snappy conversations perfectly for our sense of humor.

The relationship was over-the-top but in a totally believable way – you know what I mean. It’s like a meet-cute but one that I can actually see happening.

“Good night, tiny bookworm.”

And probably the best quote of the entire book:

“Being with you is as good as being alone.”

Pure happiness.

Unbelievably huge thanks to Berkley Publishing for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Interested in this one from Abbi Waxman? Buy it here:  Amazon