Goodreads says, "A young woman arrives in Los Angeles determined to start over, and discovers she doesn’t need to leave everything behind after all, from Abbi Waxman, USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire — right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy…but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura isn’t really sure she’s cut out for this adulting thing. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly and Impossibly Handsome Bob aren't sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work for them."
Laura Costello has had some bad luck. Not only did she leave New York to start over in Los Angeles, while she attempts to restart her life, but her apartment building burns down along with all the stuff in it. She is now homeless. Could this get any worse? She wanders into a local bookstore, clearly distraught, and happens upon one of the co-owners, Polly. Polly, even though she doesn't know Laura well, wants to help her out and offers her an open room at the (illegal, but perfectly respectable) boarding house she lives at. So, Laura is quickly swept up into this new world filled with quirky people, trivia teams, a charming landlady, and a hot gardener. Even though Laura has assimilated into this new world somewhat well, she still has a lot of issues to deal with starting with her post-traumatic anxiety surrounding the reasons why she left New York as well as an ex-boyfriend she left behind. Laura deals with it all in Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman and readers can't help but hope she gets it right this time around.
Laura is a quirky character that I enjoyed from the beginning in Adult Assembly Required. Waxman has a knack for writing realistic characters that are a bit different, but in a lovable way. Laura has anxiety and some PTSD, so many readers will appreciate that she a complex person. Waxman also has her deal with her issues in a realistic way, which I appreciated. I did enjoy the fact that Laura interacts with characters from The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, including Nina herself, which was a lot of fun as I adored that novel.
The secondary characters in Adult Assembly Required are also well done. I enjoyed their side stories and especially the setting of the bookstore. I will never tire of a good bookstore setting! Laura also has a chance for romance and did I mention there's Bob, a hot gardener? But her ex-boyfriend complicates things further for her. Do you see a pattern here? Adulting is hard. Laura is determined to figure things out before she starts school, which is what initially brought her to Los Angeles.
Waxman is one of the best when it comes to witty dialogue complete with quirky characters that you can't help but love. The dialogue and flawed characters are what brings me to Waxman's novels, so if you appreciate a story like that, then Adult Assembly Required is a good choice for you. While I didn't enjoy this novel as much as The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, it was still a charming read about starting over.
So, are you a fan of Abbi Waxman? Is Adult Assembly Required on your summer TBR list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
