Nice Work, Nora November covers many aspects of the human experience with love, grace, patience and a liberal dash of humor. Throw in a side of budding romance and you've got a great combination to create a really fun and feel good novel. Our main character Nora cannot seem to hit her stride in life. She is a lawyer in her fathers law firm, but secretly loathes the work. She has never had the courage to stand up to her family and their plans for her life and career. And then the unthinkable happens. Nora dies. She dies and comes back to life after a near death experience. She is now a completely different person with a reverse bucket list under her belt and she is determined to see it through come hell or high water. And it is hell trying to get through to her family about who she really is and what she really wants. But Nora, despite the obstacles thrown in her way perseveres and finds her true self with the help of an octogenarian thespian group and a few new gardening friends. This story touches on some heavy topics such as mental health, alcoholism, dysfunctional family dynamics and the like. The author did a fantastic job addressing these issues and moving us through them with Nora as our guide. I really enjoyed this novel and can highly recommend it. 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for a chance to read/ listen to an ARC copy of this wonderful book. ( )

Nice Work, Nora November by Julia London
Contemporary women’s fiction with secondary romance focus.
After experiencing a near death situation, Nora November has a whole new outlook. She also has a bucket of regrets and a bucket list of changes or things she wants to do this time around. She wants to learn to cook. Play basketball. And find the man she spent hours with during a hostage situation. This time, she’s going to work against the chronic depression and work towards happy.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook of this book narrated by Karissa Vacker who does a marvelous job on the performance. The pressure and happy come through clearly in the narration, as does the hope. Of course I cried along with Nora in certain points. Her strength also comes through effectively making me cheer her on all that much more. The story is easily followed in this narration, so recommend this format for an effortless but emotional wringing few hours of listening.
I did listen to this at my preferred speed of 1.5.

Nora finds out what’s important to her and goes after it this time around. It’s an emotional journey reconciling those she may have slighted in the before time against new priorities and a happier outlook. It’s not an easy journey but it is heartfelt. And heartbreaking. And ultimately, the feel-good path.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Harper Muse. ( )

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this story in exchange for my honest review! Meet Nora November: lawyer in her father's law firm, daughter to smothering/indifferent/judgmental parents, grieving her grandfather's death, and generally stuck in her unhappy life until she has an NDE (near death experience). We follow her as she adjusts to her new "After," and as she struggles to remember just how and why she died. As she works to reconcile her new lease on life with her old self, she comes to understand that her old "Before" life is like a familiar but ill-fitting coat that everyone seems to want her to continue to wear. Those readers who struggle with the lows of depression will recognize Nora's constant fight to pull herself out of her self-doubt and sadness. In her "After," Nora looks for Jack, having met and clicked with him during a hostage situation in her "Before." Jack, who works as a hospice/palliative care aide, has his own difficulties coping with the heaviness of his job, and also must strive to look for brightness in the dark. With two elderly parents in hospice I may not have been in the best headspace for this book, with its themes of death and sadness and regret. But I couldn't help but focus instead on the inter-twined themes of love and hope and redemption in amongst the despair. I feel, so much, for Nora and I so admire her perseverance in the darkness. I was rooting for her to keep going and find her way, and to keep looking for the silver linings even when life threatens to drag you down. Both she and Jack are aided by a great cast of supporting characters as they both work towards becoming who they want to be. I loved this book! ( )