Publication Date: June 4, 2024
Now that Nora is not dead, only one question remains: What does she want to do with her life?
Nora November is alive—but she wasn’t always. She was once clinically dead, having spent several minutes under water after a terrible surfing accident she doesn’t remember. What she does remember from her time in a coma is her grandfather, who passed away over a year ago. And a beautiful garden. And the most delicious tomato she ever tasted.
Now that she’s awake again her life has been cleaved in two. In the Before, Nora lived like a ghost, drowning under the weight of her parents’ expectations. In the After, she’s determined to accomplish the things she left undone before she died. Her reverse bucket list is simple: She wants to learn to cook and to be a better older sister to Lacey. She wants to quit her terrible job as a personal injury lawyer at her dad’s firm. She wants to bring Grandpa’s now-neglected garden back to life. And she wants to find the guy she met in a corner store months ago—the one she never called but never stopped thinking about.
As Nora’s attempts at a new life prove disastrous at best, her mission to fulfill her reverse bucket list leads her to a reckoning with the truth she almost hid from herself.
- Women’s fiction with just a hint of light romance
- Stand-alone novel
- Perfect for fans of Linda Holmes, Matt Haig, and Abi Waxman
- Book length: 100,000 words
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
Nice Work, Nora November by Julia London took me a while to get into but then redeemed itself.
Nora was someone I initially felt pity for since her life seemed to be spiraling out of control. She had a career and job she hated, working at her father’s law firm, where she was heir apparent. Nora had coworkers she despised, and the feeling was mutual. Nora didn’t have friends, her family was completely dysfunctional, and she had no outside interests. But when she has a near-death experience while on vacation, she rethinks her life and makes a reverse bucket list, which is paramount to the story. But will it be enough to give her a second chance at the life she truly wants?
Nora’s parents are wealthy, always entertaining in their palatial home, and want to put on a perfect front for the outside world. But after Nora’s NDE, as it’s referred to throughout, she has a new outlook on life, and her parents are not happy with the changes she’s making to reinvent herself. It doesn’t help that she’s suffered from depression her whole life. Her search for the one who got away is time-consuming and takes on a life of its own.
The story has twists and turns but also unexpected outcomes and opportunities. The multitude of characters enriches the story and adds layers to it. The closure is satisfying but felt too rushed, and there is a happily ever after on several fronts. Ms. London is an author whose books I enjoy, both contemporary and historical.
Nice Work, Nora November is a women’s fiction novel that follows Nora’s life after a near-death experience and the many changes she makes to find happiness with the help of her newly created reverse bucket list. 
Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of numerous works of romantic fiction and women’s fiction. She is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance, and a six-time finalist for the RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. She lives in Austin, Texas with two teens, two dogs, and an astonishingly big pile of books.
