women's fiction
Laura moves to Los Angeles in order to get her Masters in
Physical Therapy. Unfortunately, while out trying to
find a job, there is a fire in her apartment building and she gets caught in
the rain. Her luck changes when she
ducks into a bookstore, drenched, and Polly takes her home to look at the
available room in the house in which she lives. Laura discovers friends and a future.
Amy's Review
This was a slice of life story about Laura, a person trying
to start over in a new place due to a difficult past. Full of fun characters and light drama, it
was also a cute romance and would make a great beach read. During each scene,
the omniscient narrator would move into any character’s head so that the reader
could understand what they were thinking…even the pets. I mostly liked this, even when it was
gratuitous. Emphasized throughout this story was the importance of seeking therapy and
supportive friends to help with life’s curve balls.
Adult Assembly Required was what I was expecting from Abbi Waxman. I enjoyed The Bookish Life of Nina Hill and wanted to try another of
her novels. Waxman didn’t stray far from Nina’s world. In fact, Nina was a
character in this novel as well as her bookstore, the trivia, cats, and quirky
friends. I enjoyed it but Laura’s story wasn’t as fulfilling as Nina’s had
been. Strangely, Nina’s personality was entirely absent in this novel. I’d
probably read another book by Waxman when looking for a low-stress novel with a
happy ending.
The narrator of the audiobook was Emily Rankin. She’s a seasoned narrator to whom I’ve listened several times. She has a decent repertoire and is a good voice actor. However, this story didn’t stretch her skills all that much. I’ll give her an A.
Lynnie's Review
I
really enjoyed Abbi Waxman's The Bookish Life of Nina Hill and I admit
that I didn't realize when I picked up Adult Assembly Required that it
takes place in the same fictional universe. In fact, Nina and the gang
from Knight's bookstore are back again as supporting characters.
Evidently, characters from another of Waxman's books are also secondary
characters in this novel, but I haven't read that book and can tell you I
did not feel like I was missing out on any back story. Obviously I was,
but it didn't make THIS book less enjoyable. So, I assume Nina Hill
isn't a prerequisite for those who may be curious. Regardless, I was
happy to spend a bit more time with those characters and to get to know
some new ones.
Like Waxman's previous book, the banter is
snappy, the characters are charming and the drama is light. I enjoyed
the strange narration style that jumped from character to character
including the various animals if only because it frequently made me
giggle. The plot however was a little more contrived than I prefer- the
"villains" of the story specifically made my eyes roll and often felt
like they had been pulled from the bad-guy-of-the-week catalog of a sitcom.
Still, I got exactly what I was expecting from this book and since I
chose it to read on vacation I was not at all disappointed. I would
definitely read another Waxman book on my next vacation- clearly she
knows how to bring the happily-ever-after.
I still don't really
understand the title of this book however. What are they assembling?
Whatever. Cute story, great for the beach or a weekend escape.
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