This is a smart book, and crafted beautifully by the authors. On reading some other advance feedback I was a little hesitant at the mention of 'rom-com' - that's really not my style. But intrigue overcame me at descriptions of Ava and her world - how does a regimented and disciplined engineer navigate the fluffiness of corporate nonsense?

For me this was a read in three parts, the first half (ish) of the book was utterly page turning, we meet Ava and her quirks; and we get to know a little about how those quirks have manifested in her life in response to grief. The way that quirky language and her thought processes trickle into the narrative is joyful.

In that first half, alongside Ava, we're introduced to the (often cringe-worthy) corporate-ness of STADA; where Ava is well and truly absorbed in her career as a gifted product engineer. The way her personality aligns with the STADA brand but diverts from the corporate bullish*t and hierarchy is very often hilarious.

The breezy and witty introduction of Mat into that culture causes Ava to question her romantic perspectives - and I thoroughly enjoyed watching that unfold. I was completely bought into the characters, each one we meet being portrayed with intricate and subtle details.

There was a mid way 'hump' for me, once the focus shifted from Ava's day to day and more into her history; replayed through memories, I felt taken out of the world I'd been propelled into and definitely hit a few points where I was frustrated with that.

Fortunately though, that didn't last, and the latter half of the story met with the triumph of the first - I was not anticipating the elements of thrill that were to come, and that change of pace worked so well.

The authors did a great job handling subjects like gender, identity and sexuality - the use of language around those topics was so natural and subtle that for me, it helped to normalise them as part of the world we live in.

Ava was hands down one of the best characters I have read in a long time, and were in not for the mid point drag, I'd have very little to offer in the way of criticism.

Thank you netgalley for sending an arc of the very nice nice box in exchange of an honest review.

One chapter into the book and I already knew I was going to love it. And I wasn't disappointed. The prose of this book is "very nice". To the point, clear and organized, just like the FMC, Ava.

Ava, a senior engineer at STADA, who creates useful furniture, watches, and a whole lot of the stuff we have in our homes, is recovering from a serious life altering accident. Even though I found it hard to relate to her character, I understood and found myself in some parts of her grief.

Things take a turn when the new office manager Mat Putnam, starts taking a special interest in our dear Ava. I have to praise the authors for mixing office romance and mystery. Reading the book, I always had this sense that I was being lied to. But by whom? For what? Is it Ava? Is it Mat? It made me question my own instincts. And the pace was wonderful; it revealed something, and then pulled back and did it again so that I was always on the edge of my seat waiting for things to blow up and hit the climax.

Now I am not gonna lie. I had a really good idea of what was going to happen and you might too. But the way it was dealt with made it satisfying to see as it unfolded lets just say the very nice box has remarkable uses.

Overall, if you're looking for an office romance but with a mysterious twist, this is the book for you. PS: I need a Jamie in my life!

A deeply unique and unforgettable novel exploring grief, relationships, and mental illness - it's hard to talk about the plot without giving things away, but I love Gleichman and Blackett's writing. I think they have a great future ahead of them!

The Very Nice Box is a novel that combines a workplace satire, romcom, and thriller in one, as a product engineer for a company that is definitely not IKEA falls for her new boss. Ava works for Brooklyn-based STÄDA, a furniture company with quirky product names that has been expanding. Her life is regimented with STÄDA products and routine: designing her Very Nice Box, lunch on Mondays with her friend Jaime, walking her dog. Since the loss of her girlfriend and parents, she's stayed in this careful structure, but when her new boss Mat seems to take an interest in her, she starts to open up, but things aren't necessarily all that they seem.

I like IKEA parody novels and corporate satires in general (I loved Several People Are Typing) so I wanted to give this one a go, despite the fact that the blurb seemed to tell you not to trust Mat, possibly giving away a lot. The opening was heavy on the parody and on the quirky narrator with trauma, which set up the book well, but as soon as Mat appeared, I felt the book went downhill. I had guessed the two main plot twists very early on (and then they were both quite clearly foreshadowed a bit later, it felt), which made the thriller element lose a bit of its edge.

Even more of an issue for me was Ava and Mat's relationship, because the narrative and blurb gave me enough of a sense not to trust Mat and the entire atmosphere of the novel make me feel deeply uncomfortable. I don't particularly like reading about traumatised people being manipulated by others, but especially not when the book went so hard to suggest that Ava was right to trust him in the middle section, when you could see otherwise. I started to feel like her paranoid friend Jaime, and it just wasn't an enjoyable experience for me, though maybe people who like that sort of narrative would prefer it.

I preferred the satirical elements, and I thought the tone of the ending matched those, though I think people who engage with the book more on the emotional level might find the ending too ridiculous. For me, it felt like the ending of a film I would watch, and I could see the book making a film, perhaps one that works better than the book did for me. I did also like that the very end did address Ava's grief and start to think about how she had been a bad friend etc, as despite being billed as a book about grief, friendship and trauma, I felt that much more of the book was about the manipulative romantic relationship that drives its plot.

There's a whole "men's community"/incel type group that Mat is part of, that felt like it was there for plot reasons, but it would've been interesting to explore a little bit more of that and the kind of toxic environment it created, to complement the elements of toxic corporate culture also shown. I liked the satire of wellness, especially workplace wellness, and corporate versions of LGBTQ pride, but again, I felt there could've been more depth to it, and maybe more consideration of how Ava's complex feelings about these things might relate to her grief and trauma.

Unfortunately, I think the general atmosphere of The Very Nice Box, centred around Ava's relationship with Mat, wasn't for me, and the fact that I worked out the twists early on meant that I spent a lot of time frustrated whilst not getting the payoff of revelation. Basically, neither the book nor the blurb offered any reason why the reader or Ava should like Mat, so my patience reading about them together was low. I liked the dark comedy and satire elements and edges of the surreal, but the actual emotion and narrative in the book didn't work for me.

I enjoyed this book. The setting was really fun.

I do think it can be tricky to stretch a satire to this length, but the author did a good job. I didn't see the twists coming at all, and when they did they were super effective. I didn't love the main character, but I still found her quite engaging and interesting. A fun read that I would certainly recommend.

I found this book really confusing but in the best way, I had no real sense of what was happening or what was going on but I was here for it. The writing was good and had a really unique quality to it, good charcaterisation that made them relatable and likeable and a good, yet confusing storyline. I really enjoyed it.

Wow - this book is so unique! The tone throughout was very charming and offbeat and I really quickly warmed to Ava and her emotionally stunted and ordered life. It's been a while since I've read a book where I've really enjoyed every careful sentence, and where I wasn't reading purely just to find out what happens at the end. It sounds strange to say, but the descriptions of the furniture and mundane parts of her life were really captivating! I just loved the strange but warm tone of the writing.
I had absolutely no idea where this book was going the whole time I was reading it and I loved it! This story was equal parts offbeat dark comedy, mystery and romance, all mixed together to create this bizarre and wonderful story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.