Reviews

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

andrearbooks's review against another edition

4.0

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman was just a gem of a read. I absolutely loved Nina Hill because well, I understood her life. She works in a bookstore (#goals), she is all about her trivia team (#YES), and she LOVES plans and her planner (#AllTheYES). Then, things start to go down a route of the unplanned. First off, she founds out that the father she never knew has died, and with that, she's now got a whole family she never knew in her life. Then, there is a rival trivia dude who she has an "evolving" relationship with, and she's not sure what to do with that. This book is such a fun exploration of what it's like to expand your comfort zone, but also the real fears that come with making that happen. Throughout, Nina has this authentic emotion with a brand of humor only a trivia loving, book obsessed, planner kind of woman could. She's a character that made me nod and smile, as I rooted for her throughout and related to so many of her feels through her adventures. There was never any doubt that I'd love this one y'all!

mostlyromancereading's review against another edition

5.0

Do you ever read a book and think, "I feel seen. Uncomfortably seen,"? Because I sure did with this book and its titular character.

I loved being roasted and remade. This is the second Abbi Waxman book I've read, and she's quickly becoming a must-read author for me. All of them have this thing to them where I'm always eager to turn the page, but I'm not in a rush--I want to take my time and live in the moment with the characters.

canra's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

melanierachel's review against another edition

4.0

light read but nothing stood out to me

magnoliapigeonbookblurbs's review against another edition

3.0

Fun and quick read! Ironically I liked everything except the romance in this book. Still a super fun and quirky read!

kcook14's review

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

readswithrosie's review against another edition

4.0

This book follows Nina Hill, a witty, trivia-loving, quirky, intelligent, highly anxious book lover who loves cats. Nina works at a bookshop and prefers to be alone, and manages to go through life this way until *surprise*-she inherits a whole side of her family she didn’t know she had. In addition to this new, crazy family, Nina also finds herself falling for a sweet guy. But Nina doesn’t know how to handle all of these people coming into her life at once, and the reader follows along as she learns how to be someone who embraces having people in her once solitary life.

I loved this book- reading about Nina was like reading about pieces of myself in fictional character form. Organizational lists? Check. Love of reading at all times? Check. Cats? ...not so much (sorry cat lovers). It was sometimes frustrating to watch the budding romance between she and her leading man, but regardless this was a quick, funny read with high relatability. Perfect when paired with a comfy chair, shelves of books, and (for most people) a soft cat curled in your lap. Permission to substitute in a dog. 4 ⭐️

meowster18's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book. I needed this book. It was beautifully witty and funny. The main character was relateable (at least to me she was). This book doesn’t require deep thought or strong prose. This book is just lovely. You follow Nina, an interesting and intense bookworm that love her list, books, cat, and her job at the bookstore. She later finds that all that she holds dear would be uprooted by a dead astranged father and his band of mistfit family members as she just simply go through the motions. Relateable right? Grab this book. Go into with zero high expectations and enjoy the ride with a couple of laughs.

onecheesetoasty's review

3.0

This book was cute and very easy to read, albeit forgetful. I enjoyed the writing style of Abbi Waxman, that is many asides, tangents, and interjected fun facts that literally no one asked for. However, I found the main character, Nina Hill to not be as relatable as I thought she would be based on the "book worm, cat loving, coffee drinker" depiction on the back of the book. I find her choices and behavior to be inconsistent (one of my biggest pet peeves) and her relationship with her rival trivia captain expected and easy. Don't get me wrong, there were some surprises and times I actually laughed out loud, but there were come short cuts taken in this book. Definitely a fun, quick read with good lessons about the importance of friendship, family, courage, and love.

abbieollie's review against another edition

3.0

Cute book! Think I didn’t like it as much as I would have since I just read a different library / bookstore like book right before this one. Cool to see Nina rediscover herself and include new characters into her life!