“People who are going to kiss do it with their eyes first … You can see it coming a mile off” (pg 230)

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is charming at times though I thought Nina was dull. Still, I like that you can see when Nina’s thoughts drift in her narrative. I love reading, but so often characters who love to read are written so boring, pretentious, or a combination of the two. The humor here is peak white-girl-quirkiness with an ode to dicks and nudes, Harry Potter galore, and so many cheeky references to Africa/ns (child soldiers in Rwanda, omigawd guys).

Tom and Nina were okay, but I did not care about their relationship that much. Their friends trying to get them together was cute. Spoiler about the Tom and Nina drama:

low key: I don’t think Nina was super unreasonable. She just needed time to be alone and Tom kept pushing it. Tom was in his feelings! His pride was more hurt that she didn’t want his comfort than the fact she just had a panic attack. Sit yo biscuit-behind down! Dude… Why did Nina have to apologize?

Also, I totally understand how you can feel comfortable around a person and immediately click, but it’s going to rub some people the wrong way with how Tom basically nullifies her anxiety when he’s around.

The best part is learning about Nina’s family and friends. I liked her relatives and her dynamic with each one of them. Peter, Archie, Millie, and Lydia were interesting. In particular, I liked the conversation with Peter’s mom. I also liked the little spitfire Claire.

2.5