The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

Published July 9, 2019 – Berkley

Review book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley

Description: 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. (publisher)

My take:  Twenty-nine year old Nina Hill has lived a fairly singular life. Her single mother thought she didn’t need to know anything about her father and then proceeded to leave Nina in the care of a wonderful nanny until she left for college. Nina relies on herself, her books, and her planner to keep her life in order. Her very organized life is upended when she finds herself with a new family courtesy of the father she never met. Abbi Waxman’s novel is about what can happen if Nina can get past the anxiety and open herself to change and a wonderful new path in life. Nina might just find people who “get her” and even like her. I enjoyed The Bookish Life of Nina Hill and was delighted to see a few characters from Waxman’s first novel, The Garden of Small Beginnings, make an appearance. Recommended to fans of the author and easy, breezy novels you could read in a day.

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About the author:

Abbi Waxman, the author of Other People’s Houses and The Garden of Small Beginnings, is a chocolate-loving, dog-loving woman who lives in Los Angeles and lies down as much as possible. She worked in advertising for many years, which is how she learned to write fiction. She has three daughters, three dogs, three cats, and one very patient husband. She can be found online at abbiwaxman.com, Facebook.com/abbiwaxmanbooks, and on Twitter @amplecat.

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