Book Blurb:

The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.

When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They’re all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She’ll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It’s a disaster! And as if that wasn’t enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn’t he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options.

1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It’s time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn’t convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It’s going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.

Lexi’s Review:

Someone on Bookstagram recommended this book to me, and the Kindle sample hooked me into buying a copy. Waxman’s writing is incredibly tight and creative, and Nina reminds me of Christina Plutzker (Heather Burns) in You’ve Got Mail, which is my all-time favorite romantic comedy. 

Nina, an orphan, suddenly discovers that she has way more relatives than she knew about, and she has to decide how much she’s going to set aside her reclusive life to engage in relationships. As an introvert and wannabe hermit, I could definitely relate to weighing the pros and cons of relationships and community. 

At times, Nina’s nerdy personality annoyed me, but I can also relate to her debilitating anxiety and her reluctance to risk her heart by investing in others and opening herself up to be known. 

This book is not a closed-door romance and does have some explicit sexual content (pages 232-233), so I give this book three stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys nerdy romantic comedies.

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