Review: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

by Abbi Waxman

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 352

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. 

When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options.

1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page. 


Kritters Thoughts:  I absolutely adored this book!!  No other book could have hit that sweet spot and felt like I was reading a book about myself or my dream self!  

Nina Hill works at an independent bookstore and as an only child of a single mother who has recently passed away she is finding solace in her job and her life.  Through glimpses into her planner, the reader gets an idea for who she is and oh that made me wonder what people could learn about me from my own planner!  She schedules reading time (so do I), she makes lists (so do I) and you can see her life's ups and downs all through those pages.  

When her dad becomes known to her through his death, it sends her life into a tail spin with new family members and a different life with chaos and people she never imagined.  Although this storyline has been seen before, it felt fresh and new and was just so entertaining.  

I gobbled this book up in one day by the pool and it was the perfect summer read to just enjoy amongst the chaos of life.  Abbi Waxman has sky rocketed up to a favored author in my book.  


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2019 Challenge: 29 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley PRH.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.