Book Club November 2022- Must Love Books
By: Shauna Robinson
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pages: 321
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 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.
What I thought
Nora is an editorial assistant for Parson’s publishing, but working for publishing isn’t what she thought it would be. She’s worked there for 5 years and even her love of books is waning. When they cut her pay, she is presented with an opportunity to work part time for a competing publisher and decides to work both jobs at the same time, even though she’s not supposed to. Throw in a best selling author who is hot and looking for a change and you have Nora’s full debacle.
This book was cute. When I started it, I thought it was going to be boring and predictable. It’s described as having elements of the show Younger and it definitely does. However, as the book continues it delves into some deeper issues which made it feel more full. I think this is one of those few books that I enjoyed more as I read it than I did at the beginning.
Nora and Andrew (the author) had an adorable relationship. I liked their banter and the slow burn while navigating the complications of their work relationships. I was a bit nervous he entire time waiting for the moment her secrets came out, but there was enough going on that I was distracted.
What really made me like this book was when it started to attack mental health issues. Nora realizes that she’s not happy with her life and is worried about how that’s effecting her mental health. What I really appreciated was how Nora handled her depression. It felt different from how other stories have dealt with it and realistic. While the ending wouldn’t have been my first choice, I still really appreciated it and felt like it stayed true to the book.
I’m glad this story ended up being so much more than I initially thought it would be and I’m looking forward to reading Robinson’s next book.
What Book Club Thought
We were oddly split on this book! It lead to an interesting conversation because there were definite aspects that I enjoyed that one of my friends did not. We interpreted a lot of what happened differently and I think some of that is due to our personal life experiences. It did bring some perspective to the story and did change my feelings about certain plot points, but I still enjoyed it. It did make me realize that there was a lot going on and that it could’ve been scaled back a little bit. But I still fought for some of the points and ways that I interpreted the book over the way some of my other friends did. I would definitely recommend this as a book club pick because it’s an easy read, but lead to a lot of discussion.