Must Love Books

Written by Shauna Robinson

Narrated by Tyra Kennedy

‘A heartfelt and exciting debut . . . a wise and honest story of how it feels to be a young woman in search of yourself’

Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Meet Nora Hughes – the overworked, underpaid, last bookish assistant standing. At least for now.

When Nora landed an editorial assistant role at Parsons Press she thought it would be The Dream Job. But after five years of admin and taking lunch orders, Nora has come to the conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist.

With her life spiralling and unable to afford her rent, Nora does the only thing she can think of and starts freelancing for a rival publisher.

But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling author (who also happens to be quite attractive), is thrown into Nora’s life, she must decide where her loyalties lie, and whether she’s ready to choose herself and her future over her job…

Your next book club read touching on mental health, happiness and the ups and downs of being a young woman trying to figure it all out.

Praise for Must Love Books:

‘It was really nice to be able to identify with the character’ NetGalley Reviewer

‘A good storyline and entertaining’ NetGalley Reviewer

‘An enjoyable read’ NetGalley Reviewer

‘An easy and relatable read’ NetGalley Reviewer

‘A book for book lovers . . . it’s impossible not to root for Nora! Jesse Q. Sutanto, author of Dial A for Aunties

‘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’ Kirkus Reviews

‘With emotional honesty and a surprising wit that I found addictive, Robinson’s debut is everything a book-about-books fan wants’
Kelly Harms, bestselling author of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

‘Get comfy because you won’t be able to put this book down’
Sajni Patel, award-winning author of The Trouble with Hating You

*An Amazon Editors’ pick in Best Romance*

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Feb 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9780008579029

Shauna Robinson

Shauna Robinson’s love of books led her to try a career in publishing before deciding she’d rather write books instead. Originally from San Diego, she now lives in Virginia with her husband and their sleepy greyhound. Shauna is an introvert at heart—she spends most of her time reading, baking, and figuring out the politest way to avoid social interaction. Must Love Books is her debut novel.

Reviews for Must Love Books

[cicidean-346788 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. It was listed in a PopSugar list of 54 romance books of 2022 when you want an escape. I would not classify this book as a romance nor a book for escaping. The topics are heavy and as someone who struggles with anxiety and depression this book brought up all those feelings I struggle with daily.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Thanks to Sourcebooks for the ARC of Must Love Books. This is a story of Nora who is an editorial assistant for a publisher of business books. She is very unhappy in her job. She always wanted to be involved with books, preferably fiction, and this is not what she envisioned. Enter Andrew Santos, a successful debut author. Nora and Andrew become friends, and his attention confuses her as she struggles to get him to sign with her publisher for book 2, or to go to a different publisher. Nora makes some poor choices while she tries to figure out her life.This book had a slow start for me, but once Andrew and Nora interacted more, it picked up. I liked the ambiguous ending, as it allowed for some imagination of the future.

[fredreeca · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nora is struggling to succeed in the world of publishing. She just can’t seem to get the job she dreams of. When her company down sizes, she decides to take matters in her own hands. She moonlights for a competing publishing company. Throw in a handsome author with a decision to make into the pot…and Nora has a world of trouble.This story drags in places. I had such high hopes for this book. I wanted more book references and basically more interaction between Nora and Andrew. Both are good characters and have a connection, even if I wanted to pinch Nora’s head off most of the time. The story is mostly about Nora’s job and her inability to make ends meet. But, have no fear…it all comes together in the end. It definitely ended on a great note!Need a wonderful, feel good novel with a happy ending! THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

*E-book ARC received from the publisher through Edelweiss Plus - thank you!*Nora Hughes has been working as an editorial assistant at Parsons, a business publisher, for six years where she's become more and more disillusioned and frustrated with her job and life. Seeing little way out after layoffs and a pay cut, she starts a second freelance job with another publisher, works it on the first job's time, and simultaneously starts a friendship with Parsons' author Andrew. If she can just get him to sign with them for his new book, she's been promised a promotion. But Andrew shows signs of wanting something other than a contract, and Nora isn't sure how long she can keep the deception up.This debut from author Shauna Robinson, who definitely knows the publishing world, shows a lot of promise. The issue was me - I'm older and farther along in my career than Nora, and I found her really frustrating. She's depressed, and her unhappiness in her job and life in general made her really hard to read about so closely. With every decision she made, whether it be the shady job choices or manipulating Andrew and feeling guilty about it, I wanted to be able to insert myself and tell her, "Stop!" Nora's miserable for about 80% of the book, and the final 20% wasn't quite enough to make up for it. Were I 10-15 years younger, I may have related more.