Book Review: Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

Must Love Books


by Shauna Robinson
Publication Date January 18, 2022
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Genres: Fiction / African American & Black / Women, Fiction / City Life, Fiction / Literary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Romance / Workplace, Fiction / Women
Pages: 336
Format: ARC

"A heartfelt and exciting debut...a wise and honest story of how it feels to be a young woman in search of yourself."—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill meets Younger in a heartfelt debut following a young woman who discovers she'll have to ditch the "dream job" and write her own story to find her happy ending.

Meet Nora Hughes—the overworked, underpaid, last bookish assistant standing. At least for now.

When Nora landed an editorial assistant position at Parsons Press, it was her first step towards The Dream Job. Because, honestly, is there anything dreamier than making books for a living? But after five years of lunch orders, finicky authors, and per my last emails, Nora has come to one grand conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist.

With her life spiraling and the Parsons staff sinking, Nora gets hit with even worse news. Parsons is cutting her already unlivable salary. Unable to afford her rent and without even the novels she once loved as a comfort, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet...and maybe poach some Parsons' authors along the way.

But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author no one can afford to lose is thrown into the mix, Nora has to decide where her loyalties lie. Her new Dream Job, ever-optimistic Andrew, or...herself and her future.

Your next book club read touching on mental health, happiness, and the peaks and perils of being a young woman just trying to figure it all out. Nora Hughes is the perfect heroine for anyone looking to get past their own chapter twenty-something and build their storybook life.

"A tender reflection on finding your person while you're still desperately searching for yourself."—KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of The Chicken Sisters

"A book for book lovers... It's impossible not to root for Nora!"—Jesse Q. Sutanto, National Bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties

My Review:

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson is a contemporary fiction book about a woman who is at a crossroads in her life and her career.  

Nora Hughes is an underpaid, underappreciated, editorial assistant at a small press publishing company in San Fransisco named Parsons Press.  She’s been working hard hoping to become an editor but doesn’t see a path to editor opening up any time soon.  

After Parsons Press cuts the pay of all the editorial assistants, Nora realizes she’ll never be able to live on the reduced salary.  She decides to moonlight at a rival publisher as a freelancer in hopes to make enough money to pay the rent and also to find out if she can eventually move up to editor at the new job.  She meets author Andrew Santos who is the highest-selling author in the business division at Parsons.  Their friendship develops and their relationship becomes a conflict of interest for Nora.  

I enjoyed Must Love Books for the most part, and I’m very glad I read it.  However, it was a bit slow for the first half of the book.  Nora has a terrible job, and her frustration and depression with her life are very evident during the first half of the book.  But, it did pick up and I liked that Nora started looking at her job, and her life in a much better light.  Must Love Books is a good look at what it’s like to find out your dream job, is not a dream at all, and it’s time to re-evaluate your life and make some tough decisions.  

I recommend Must Love Books to anyone who enjoys contemporary women’s fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this

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