*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Trigger Warnings for this novel and review:

Physical/emotional/financial abuse, diet culture, disordered eating habits, infant death, alcoholism, depression, anxiety, near-death experience, drowning, death (of beloved family member and patients), and

Spoiler

suicide attempt

.

Nora November has been gifted a second chance. After drowning on the coast of Texas, Nora was miraculously brought back to life and, after her Near Death Experience (NDE), she has decided to create a reverse bucket list to try and experience her life to the fullest. This includes the expected: take a cooking class, rediscover her love of basketball, and grow a garden in her grandfather's community plot; and some unexpected: find the man she'd had a connection with during a bodega robbery.

This book had some really powerful aspects; the depiction of taking the incredibly difficult leap to create a new life and the journey of a woman finding her passion for life again (albeit a bit awkwardly at times) were beautifully done. Nora was a compelling character, and I loved the romantic plot line!

I think the majority of my concerns would be addressed by giving the readers an opportunity to get to know Nora in the Before-- one of the biggest components of Nora's transformation is her focus on her relationships with her younger sister and cousin. However, she's continually shot down and brushed aside because of her previous habit of not following through (mostly due to her clinical depression, which of course doesn't mean they should forget their past hurts but also has anyone heard of support and forgiveness in that family???). The only Nora the readers know is the After Nora-- full of optimistic hope and good intentions, so I found myself getting tired of the continual refusals and bashings.

Overall, NICE WORK, NORA NOVEMBER was a good read and a fun concept!