Must love books A novel

Nora Hughes loves books, so it's a dream come true when she lands an editorial assistant job at Parsons Press. But five years later, she's burned out--she's overworked and depressed, and so underpaid that she can't afford the cost of living in the Bay Area. When an opportunity to moonlight for a competitor arises, Nora seizes the chance, knowing that it's ethically questionable. The bright spot in Nora's life is Andrew Santos, a Parsons author who has been offered a contract for his second book. If Nora can get Andrew to sign the contract, it could make a difference for her career at Parsons; but pushing him too hard could destroy their budding relationship. Nora's story will be familiar to readers stuck on a professional hamster wheel, always hustling but never making progress. While the general tone is light, Robinson doesn't shy away from the darker side of burnout, and Nora's despair and frustration provide balance and realism. Must Love Books will resonate with readers who are drawn to millennial-workplace stories like Camille Perri's The Assistants (2016).

A young woman tries to find her purpose in life while working a dead-end job in this debut novel. Nora Hughes has been an editorial assistant at Parsons since she first got out of college. She's been in love with books since she was small, and the idea of working with them seemed like a dream--but now, five years in, it's become a nightmare. She works on business books she's not excited about, and her company is downsizing, leaving her stuck covering the slack of layoffs and saying goodbye to the co-workers who kept her sane, including her best friend, Beth. To make matters worse, she's just found out that her salary is being cut by 15%. No longer sure she can even pay the rent, she secretly takes a part-time freelance job with a rival publishing company. With the added pressure of a possible promotion riding on her getting hot young author Andrew Santos to sign a contract for his new book after she befriends him at a conference, Nora must struggle to keep her head afloat while figuring out what she truly wants. This quarter-life-crisis novel starts out a bit slowly, but it finds its footing when Nora begins to take risks, even if they don't always pan out. The rut Nora finds herself in is not only external, but internal, and while the book starts off a seemingly light read, it turns more serious, with insightful discussions of depression and suicidal ideation. Robinson shows promise with easy prose and characterization, and it's refreshing to read a book about publishing with a half-Black heroine who's wryly aware of the way she stands out in a very White field and, in Andrew, a Filipino love interest who's the talk of the business-book world. A slow, slightly stumbling, but ultimately hopeful look at getting out of a rut. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.