The Story
Adult Assembly Required Synopsis, from the publisher.
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.
My Review
Hey book friends, today I’m reviewing Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman.
You ever look at a map of a place you want to go to and notice there are so many cities you want to visit and explore, but you can’t seem to narrow down an itinerary?
So that’s how I felt about Adult Assembly Required. That we have these interesting characters scattered across the map of this book, but there isn’t a narrowed focus. We sort of travel in and out of everyone’s perspective, and I think that works in some books, but for a romance, it loses focus from the main characters who are sort of, you know… Falling in love???
Segue into the romance between Laura and Bob. It’s a very slowwwwww burn. And by slow it’s painfully slow. Like 395 pages slow. The entire time I’m thinking let’s stop these awkward moments and start digging into the potential love story between these two. They clearly like each other, but are constantly skirting around any true meaningful conversations the entire novel.
[SPOLIER ALERT HERE]
And for me, it’s incredibly disappointing when you get to the very end of the book, and that’s when the two main characters realize they love each other. Where they quickly drop everything and find each other to say the one thing they’ve been trying to say the last 399 pages.
Then the book ends.
I have to be honest; I nearly didn’t finish this one.
Even though this book wasn’t for me, readers who enjoy quirky characters, awkward moments, found family, and a bunch of adults trying to figure out how to adult, pick up a copy from your local library.
Happy Reading ~ Cece
RATING: 
– Adequately Inked
Publication Details
| Pub Date | ISBN | Page Count | Publisher | Age Group | Source & Format | Review Posted Online |
| 08-May-22 | 978-1250817815 | 400 | Berkley | Adult | Digital, NetGalley | May 17, 2022 |
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Welcome Reader!
I’m Cecelia and I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find honest reviews, book recommendations, along with other bookish essentials. So happy you stopped by!
– C
