Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman #bookreview #contemporary #romance

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Title: Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

Author: Abbi Waxman

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: April 16, 2024

Page Count:  392

My rating: 3 1/2 stars

About the book:

Just when she thought she’d gotten far enough away . . . a life-changing phone call throws an antisocial scientist back into her least favorite place—the spotlight. A hilarious and insightful new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

After a tumultuous childhood, Christa Barnet has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. Happily studying sea snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Christa finds her tranquil existence thrown into chaos when her once-famous father—long thought dead after a plane crash—turns out to be alive, well, and ready to make amends. The world goes wild, fascinated by this real-life saga, pinning Christa and her family under the spotlight. As if that weren’t enough, her reunion with an old childhood friend reveals an intense physical attraction neither was expecting and both want to act on . . . if they can just keep a lid on it. When her father’s story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationship, and—most importantly—any chance of making it back to her snails before they forget her completely.

At the heart of Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman is a contemporary romance story with a second chance couple. However, the romance in this novel is surrounded by a lot of dysfunctional family drama with a long lost father coming back to life.

As a child Christa Liddle was forced into the spotlight being the child of a famous parent in her father. That spotlight slowly faded over the years though after her father was thought to have died in a remote plane crash in Alaska.

Now as an adult Christa spends her time on a remote island studying sea snails as far away from a spotlight she could get. That is until one day she get word that the father she thought had died has stepped out of the remote Alaska wilderness alive and well which brings Christa home to her family to sort out the details of this shocking event.

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell is the first book I’ve read by author Abbi Waxman after hearing good things. While I did enjoy this first book overall I did have a few nitpicky ideas along the way with the story. First, the main character Christa just felt so young and naive but should be a scientist around thirty years old, if not a little older so that felt a bit off.

Then while I enjoy a good in depth story to focus on I kind of wanted a bit more romance from the main couple over the returned spotlight of the lost parent. I’d definitely give this author another go in the future though with this story coming in at three and half stars for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Abbi Waxman is a chocolate-loving, dog-loving woman, who lives in Los Angeles and lies down as much as possible. She worked in advertising for many years, which is how she learned to write fiction. She has three daughters, three dogs, three cats, and one very patient husband.