Adult Assembly Required

In this delightful new rom-com, Abbi Waxman has revisited our delightful friends Nina, Polly and Liz from [book:The Bookish Life of Nina Hill|42379022].  This time she's added a new face to the bunch: Laura Costello, a recent LA transplant from NYC, who they meet when she shows up in Knight's Bookstore soaked and crying after a decidedly horrible day that included a fire that's left her homeless. When Polly takes Laura under her wing and finagles her a room in the luxe, slightly illegal, boarding house she shares with tenants Anna, Libby and Bob, and a very wise, kind psychotherapist landlady named Maggie, Laura discovers that "home" is a lot more than the four walls you live in.

First, let me say I LOVED The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, so I was thrilled to revisit, Nina, Tom, Polly and Liz, and while hilariously quirky, outspoken Polly plays a substantial role in this one, as well as trivia-loving, awkward and kind Nina, this is Laura's story this time around.  Laura is no repeat of Nina.  She's tall, athletic, outdoorsy and a bit more outgoing and relaxed with others, but she's also bearing the physical and emotional scars of a bad accident, oppressive mother, and a clingy, douchebag ex-fiance, who've left her struggling mentally and trying to find her footing for the future.

Enter Bob, the gardening whiz.

Bob is so ridiculously good-looking he's been coined Impossibly Handsome Bob by the others, and while he's a gorgeous, kind, intelligent bottle of "Yum, YES please!", he's also painfully awkward with women he finds attractive, which becomes a problem when Laura, his new roomie across the hall, catches his eye. She, on the other hand, is not looking for love, but when has that ever mattered?

There's charming characters, entertaining banter, awkward interactions, friendship and nuggets of insightful wisdom, and all-in-all I thoroughly enjoyed it.  My only complaint is that it follows the rom-com playbook TOO faithfully, leaving little room for surprise, down to the eye-rollingly overused ending trope. I didn't mind that much, since we all know what we're getting with rom-coms, don't we? Nevertheless, I adore the Nina Hill universe, and now I have even more friends in it to hopefully look forward to in future books!

★★★★ 

Thanks to Berkley Publishing, NetGalley and author Abbi Waxman for this ARC.  I’ve given my opinions honestly and freely.  It’s due to be published on May 17, 2022.