The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by
Abbi Waxman 
Published by Berkley Books on July 9, 2019
Genres: Fiction,
Contemporary Fiction,
Women's Fiction,
Chick Lit,
Romance Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley Amazon |
Barnes & Noble |
The Book Depository Goodreads FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Today I am taking part in the blog tour to promote Abbi Waxman’s new novel The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Thanks so much to Lauren Horvoth at Berkley Publishing for the invitation. I can’t wait to share my thoughts on this gem of a book with my visitors!
THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL Review
Abbi Waxman’s The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019 and I’m thrilled to tell you that it’s everything I hoped it would be and more! As a booklover and an introvert, it’s by far one of the most relatable books I’ve ever read and the protagonist Nina Hill is a treasure. I could easily fangirl about my love for this book all day, but instead let me just share some highlights. If you like what you hear, be sure to scroll down and enter my giveaway for a finished copy of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill:
Nina Hill is of course my absolute favorite part of the book. She’s a huge book lover as well as extremely introverted. I mean, this girl is unapologetically books over people all day long and I love her for it. Almost as strong as her love of books though is her love of organization and planning. She likes to be in firm control of every aspect of her life and is the queen of planners. She also freely admits that fellow control freak, Monica Gellar from the sitcom Friends, is one of her personal heroines. She’s also incredibly socially awkward and is most comfortable with just a few treasured friends in her life. Growing up an only child, it was very easy for Nina to keep her world small and cozy, with plenty of time to keep her nose happily stuck in books.
Waxman does a fantastic job creating the character of Nina, that so many book lovers and introverts will find immensely relatable. I know I wanted to be friends with Nina from the opening pages of the story. She’s adorably quirky and sounds like my kind of person. I also felt tremendous sympathy for Nina when she learns that the father she never knew has died, not so much because of the death itself, but because he apparently had several ex-wives, a whole slew of children, grandchildren, etc. and all of them want a piece of Nina. Couple her new extended family with a cute guy from trivia night who wants to ask her out, and it’s suddenly a very uncomfortable environment for Nina to find herself in. After all, this is a girl who pencils in Nothing on her calendar and once Nothing is penciled in, that’s exactly what Nina wants to do.
In addition to Nina, Waxman has also filled The Bookish Life of Nina Hill with a fantastic cast of secondary characters. Her coworkers at the bookstore where she works, her trivia teammates, her nephew Peter and her siblings Archie and Millie are all just so much fun to read about, especially as Nina awkwardly interacts with each of them. The thoughts that go through her head sometimes are truly just laugh out loud, as are many of the things she actually says. I also adored her budding relationship with rival trivia player, Tom. They’re so cute and awkward together and every interaction just had me grinning from ear to ear, especially as their teammates try to not so subtly play matchmaker. Oh and I can’t forget Phil, Nina’s cat. I swear that cat has some of the best lines in the entire book (all in Nina’s head of course).
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill just really captured my heart on so many levels. I loved that Nina was so easy to relate to and that I could see so much of myself in her, and I also loved that the book had so many layers to it. It’s a book about the importance of family and friends, and it’s a book about finding love even when you don’t think you have room for it in your life. If you’re looking for a book that will leave you with a smile on your face, I highly recommend The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
SYNOPSIS:
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.
- Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likesher hair.)
- Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
- 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.
GIVEAWAY!
U.S. only, no giveaway accounts, Giveaway ends on 7/15/2019, and I will contact the winner via email to get their mailing address to forward to the publisher.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About Abbi Waxman
Abbi Waxman was born in England in 1970, the oldest child of two copywriters who never should have been together in the first place. Once her father ran off to buy cigarettes and never came back, her mother began a highly successful career writing crime fiction. She encouraged Abbi and her sister Emily to read anything and everything they could pull down from the shelves, and they did. Naturally lazy and disinclined to dress up, Abbi went into advertising, working as a copywriter and then a creative director at various advertising agencies in London and New York. Clients ranged from big and traditional, (AT&T, Chase Manhattan Bank, IBM, American Express, Unilever, Mercedes-Benz) to big and morally corrupt (R. J. Reynolds) to big and larcenous (Enron). Eventually she quit advertising, had three kids and started writing books, TV shows and screenplays, largely in order to get a moment’s peace.
Abbi lives in Los Angeles with her husband, three kids, three dogs, three cats, a gecko, two mice and six chickens. Every one of these additions made sense at the time, it’s only in retrospect that it seems foolhardy.
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