Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

4*

Spoilers!

Nora Hughes is in a rut, working as an editorial assistant for a floundering publishing company. After five years, she’s no closer to her dream of being an editor, and ongoing austerity measures have resulted in her being severely overworked and underpaid, especially after her salary is reduced beyond a sustainable level. In desperation, she agrees to freelance for a rival publisher and hides that fact from both employers. It’s inevitable that it’ll crash and burn. Meeting and beginning to fall for prized author Andrew Santos while, at the same time, using him to achieve her career goals is bound to end badly. If this story followed the predictable romantic tropes, readers would be assured of a HEA. However, Nora’s spiraling mental health raises the stakes and leaves the ending ambiguous but optimistic.

Andrew, who ranks himself at 10 of 10 on the happiness scale, is an absolute delight. He is thoughtful, protective (in a good way), and full of good humor, so it’s difficult knowing that his relationship with Nora is less than honest and bound to end with heartbreak. Nora is a complex character whose struggle with mental illness and misguided selfishness (motivated by survival) make it challenging to root for her, so readers need to be sympathetic rather than critical. The chemistry between them is tepid, especially with the total absence of any sexy scenes (other than a few kisses). Despite this, the hope is that Nora will eventually get the therapy she desperately needs, find a career path that’s enriching and fulfilling, and be able to reconcile with Andrew. They both deserve nothing less.

I thought this story had promise based on the summary, and I gravitate to books about books. However, I was somewhat disappointed not only by the slow pace, but by how dark it went with Nora’s depression and suicidal ideation. I don’t think it’s unusual, especially in today’s economy, for college graduates to take a “dream” job only to find that their expectations far exceed their reality. However, it’s the decisions they make (or fail to) about the next step in their career path that determine whether or not they’ll be happy pursuing something that takes up most of their waking hours.

Bottom line, it’s a good effort for this debut novelist, but expect women’s fiction rather than full-on romance.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.