Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m always up for a story about people who love books, but I started with the mistaken impression that this was a romance. It’s really more a coming-of-age story, despite the undeniable chemistry & potential between editorial assistant Nora and new star author Andrew Santos. “Must love books” was in the job posting, not a dating profile.
Nora has always loved reading, so when she lands her first job after college in the West Coast offices of Parsons Press, she’s ecstatic. Even though they’re a business/academic outfit & Nora loves fiction, it’s a job in publishing—and moving from Oregon to San Francisco is less scary than moving to New York.
But that was five years ago. Nora’s bosses & mentors got laid off; she’s been doing their jobs, too. Beth, who started at Parsons the same day Nora did, has moved on to a job in marketing. Then stressed-out Nora’s informed that pay cuts are next.
Nora is smart, sweet, kind—and somewhat clueless about life. She’s awkward socially, unless talking about books, and she doesn’t know how to get out of the zombie rut she’s in. Dead starts to sound better than a dead-end job. Her old boss landed at a start-up publishing house, so when they have a catching-up date and Nora hears about some part-time freelance work in acquisitions, she decides to apply—without quitting her current job, without telling either employer. And without telling Andrew, even as they grow close.
I usually hate the suspense of waiting for the other shoe to drop—but the publishing setting is so true, the characters so engaging that I was able to press on, and I’m glad I did. The book made me remember how hard it is to be young. While I hope that my nieces would not get themselves in trouble in the way Nora does, I hope that they would get out of trouble the way she does: being honest with herself and others, asking for help, acting on advice.
Even though Nora has to face the consequences of her deceit, the ending is hopeful.
I think the consequences would be more drastic in the real world, but after the last two years, I could find all the forgiveness barely plausible—though welcome.
I’ll heartily recommend this book that shows and tells how to follow your heart in life.

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