A Review Of “Christa Comes Out Of Her Shell” By Abbi Waxman

A huge thank-you to Berkley for this advanced reader copy of Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman.

Why “Christa Comes Out of Her Shell” Breaks the Romcom Mold by The Espresso Edition cozy bookish blog

Abbi Waxman has done it again. Christa Comes Out of Her Shell certainly breaks the romcom mold. Get ready for laughter, tears, and lots of hijinks!

I’ve been a huge fan of Abbi’s books since the first time I read The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, which has remained one of my favorite romcoms for several years now. I was incredibly thrilled to find out that she was releasing a new novel in 2024 and knew I would want to get my hands on it as quickly as possible. You can imagine my excitement when I was not only approved as a Berkley influencer for this season, but also when I saw Christa Comes Out of Her Shell as one of the books I could receive early!

The plot for this book sounded unlike anything I had ever read and that was certainly confirmed within just a few pages of the story. The story surprised me in a number of ways and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Keep reading to find out what I thought of Christa Comes Out of Her Shell, along with where it ranks in my Abbi Waxman book line-up!

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell will be released on April 16, 2024. Make sure to pick up your copy to enjoy all of the unique romcom goodness this spring!

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My honest review of Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman.

Synopsis:

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 Liddle 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.

Content Warnings: (Major) Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Sexual assault, (Moderate) Drug abuse, Vomit, and Cursing

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell is unlike any romcom I’ve ever read. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it completely breaks the romcom mold.

Something I’ve always liked about Abbi’s books is that they often don’t focus entirely on romance. They’re romcoms, sure, but with a wider plot—usually focused on bizarre friend and/or family dynamics. In this case, the family dynamic is beyond bizarre.

Imagine an alternate universe where Steve Irwin did not, in fact, perish by way of stingray, but instead, was alive and well for 25 years in a remote location, and then suddenly, he decides to make a comeback and shock his family and the world with his sheer existence. Oh, but there’s more. Imagine if his daughter Bindi had gone slightly off the rails in high school and then done her own version of “disappearing,” by taking her work to a remote island and only resurfacing after finding out that her father is alive and well.

Yeah, that’s what this book is like… and then add some romance in there. WILD!

Needless to say, Abbi’s unique style of storytelling opens up the story a lot more than a typical romcom would. Not to mention that this particular book included footnotes. Yes, you read that right. There are footnotes since the FMC is a scientist. Not only that, but each chapter begins with an illustration of a creature or object, its name, and its “Latin” name (sometimes as goofy as “backpackus giganticus” for an oversized backpack). These are the kinds of things that keep me coming back to Abbi’s books over and over again!

There was a lot of hidden depth woven into this truly witty and humorous story. Typically, I’m someone who looks up trigger warnings in advance, but I didn’t with this book and I wish I had. If you’re a sensitive reader, I recommend paying close attention to the warnings included here, since the heavier themes can be overwhelming. However, I do believe the content was handled with a lot of grace and it gave the characters a lot of power over the narrative, which I appreciated.

My only qualm with this book was that the romance moved a little too quickly for my particular taste. I liked the chemistry between the characters a lot, but things escalated at a pace that occasionally made me feel like that element wasn’t as fully fleshed out. Regardless, the way everything was wrapped up in the end felt quite right, so I truly can’t complain. There were certainly some swoony moments as well as some absolutely hilarious ones and I absolutely loved that!

I can once again circle back to how I’ve never read another book quite like Christa Comes Out of Her Shell. It made me crack up, had me in tears several times, and I definitely didn’t want to put it down. If you’re looking for something that breaks the romcom mold, this will absolutely scratch that itch!