Review: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

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I finished a book and now I’m going to tell you about it! I picked this up at a White Elephant book exchange at a book club, so I knew it was going to be good. Those folks wouldn’t steer me wrong.

This is the tale of Nina Hill, a bookseller at a cute little store in a cute little neighborhood in LA. Nina is living the single life, waking to work, running book clubs, reading tons, making vision boards and obsessively planning, and absolutely crushing it at competitive trivia. She never knew her father, she has no siblings, and her mother is a professional photographer who is always jetting off somewhere. Nina has a bit of the ol’ anxiety, but she’s got it mostly managed. She likes her quiet little life, so of course it’s going to be turned on its head. First, her trivia team can’t help but get her thinking about a rival trivia team captain. Is there a spark there? Absolutely, the rival trivia team thinks so, too. Next, that father she never knew? Well, he reappears in her life in a pretty startling way, bringing with him a raft of kids and grandkids. Can Nina roll with the punches and handle all this change? Or are things going to go catastrophically wrong and implode? It’s a romance novel so maybe a bit of both?

I found the characters to be very likable. Nina was a great protagonist. I found a lot to connect with as I read the book (as anyone who follows me on twitter knows). The narrative was light and quiet. This was a great way to get back into reading for fun. I have my next book narrowed down to four choices, so hopefully my indecision won’t get the best of me and I’ll be up and running on Book 2 of 2022 soon!

What I’m Reading Now: Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer Armentrout

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I do really love Poppy. I love her curious nature and her willingness to put others first despite everything she’s been through. I’m not sure how I feel about Hawke, though. He’s great but there are also some red flags there. So I guess our typically YA love interest.

Review: Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

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***Contains Some Spoilers***

There are many “chosen one” stories out there. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Frodo from Lord of the Rings, etc. All of these stories end with the hero vanquishing the villain and living happily ever after. But do they really? We really never see what happens to them as they grow old. Well, we get a glimpse of Harry’s ever after if you have seen the Cursed Child and well, it’s not pretty for him. Anyways, Chosen Ones grapples with what happens to child heroes after they have saved the world and grow up. Sloane, Matt, Albie, Esther and Ines were all kids when they were charged with fighting the Dark One and after years of fighting they do. The story picks up at the 10 year anniversary of their victory and all 5 of them are have moved on one way or another. Well, all except for Sloane. She still has nightmares and panic attacks. She was heavily scared from what she did to take down the Dark One that she can’t really move on and when one of the five dies suddenly, it brings everything into a whirlwind. Maybe, the Dark One isn’t gone after all? They get kidnapped into a parallel universe, who’s Dark One is still out there and they must take him down all over again. However, Sloane is older now and more weary. As a kid, she may not have questioned what she was asked to do but now she does. She is no longer going to do anything until she is given a reason why and has no problem with asking questions or just finding out for herself. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was the best book from Veronica Roth since Divergent. I really felt for Sloane and her struggles. As a young girl, she was given over to the government to fight a force she knew nothing about and really didn’t have much chose. It broke her and scarred her ways that she is still is dealing with and forced to act like everything is fine. Like she didn’t spend her childhood in perpetually peril. So when she takes things into her own hands, I could only cheer her on. So, yes this was a good book and I think you all will enjoy it too.

What I’m Reading Now: Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

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What happens to the heroes after they have vanquished the big bad and save the world? The 5 chosen ones were teenagers when they were chosen to fight the Dark One. 10 years later after the final battle and they still are fighting demons but this time it’s their own. Everyone else has moved on but why can’t they? I really like this premise so I’m super stoked to read it.

What I’m ReReading Now: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

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Inspired to reread this book after listening to the Bad Women podcast. I do hope that Maureen Johnson is able to finish this series some day. I really love this series and it’s a shame that we don’t know what happens to Rory, Stephen and the rest of the Shades of London.