Title: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

Author: Abbi Waxman

Publisher: Berkley 2019

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 333

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Random TBR; Monthly Keyword - September

Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own...shell.

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.

Another recommendation from Anne Bogel and I’m completely in love with this book. Nina might be another version of me. At first, Nina is a great quirky character comfortable in her life. I loved seeing her life get up-ended in many ways forcing Nina outside of the box. In some ways, this book is a romantic comedy, but I see it more like a great character study. Just in a light-hearted way. I love Nina’s interactions with her newly discovered family members, especially brother Archie. I would love to read a sequel to this book focusing on Nina’s growing relationships within her new family. I want to see more of Peter and Millie, even Lydia (will she ever come around to Nina?).

Next up on the TBR pile: