Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC of this novel in 2019 in exchange for an honest review. My deepest apologies for my review being so egregiously late.

The experience reading this novel was at times extremely surreal. Our main character Nina is introverted, an only child, a lover of books and animals over people, unable to clearly navigate social cues and situations, meticulously living in the past while trying to stay in the present, and very slowly rearranging her needs as her story unfolds around her.

There were so many moments where experiences I have had as someone who claims to be neurodivergent, and who also experiences daily anxiety, were finally written out on the page in ways I’ve never been able to verbalize or explain to anyone else. Reading about Nina was like looking in a mirror and discovering there are in fact two of us, or more than one of me out there in the world (or in this case a fictional book).

Nina has settled into life and her routines. She might feel lonely at times, but due to her upbringing that’s all she’s ever really known so she doesn’t actively seek out more. The discovery of her father, and thereby inheritance of his extremely large (and semi dysfunctional family) begins to open Nina up to the possibility of more for herself and her life.

Early on in the novel I felt like the descriptive writing and inner monologues were the strongest parts of the story. The dialogue between the characters felt so unrealistic at times that I would long to go back to descriptions and memories Nina would have. As the novel progressed I couldn’t tell if the dialogue itself improved or if I just became acclimatized to it. The change was so drastic that earlier in the novel I thought I’d be giving this a four star rating, but as I reached the conclusion there was not a doubt in my mind that this had jumped up to a five.

This book is smart, and I’m humble enough to admit that it’s much smarter than I am. There were references and words that I had never encountered before. While I knew I, as the reader, am not intellectually in the same league as the author (or her characters) it didn’t interfere with my reading experience whatsoever. There were enough context clues and overall plot points that I just cruised along happily ignoring the words or references that were sailing over my head. Ignorance is bliss, afterall.

If you’re looking for a spicy contemporary romance this novel will not tick those boxes for you. While romance is at the center of Nina’s character arc, the eventual coupling(s) is a series of fade to black and off the page interactions. Imagination is required.

I still loved reading about Nina and Tom, and watching Nina allow herself to open up to so many new people all at once. This book made me laugh out loud multiple times, and I loved seeing all of Nina’s to-do lists and mentally comparing them to my own. If you’re a book lover, an introvert, an only child who always wished for a secret family, or someone who lives with daily anxiety, I think you’ll fall gracefully into this story and meander your way through Nina’s little slices of daily life.