Adult Assembly Required Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art

Adult Assembly Required

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Adult Assembly Required

By: Abbi Waxman
Narrated by: Emily Rankin
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

“Abbi Waxman is both irreverent and thoughtful.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin

A young woman arrives in Los Angeles determined to start over and discovers she doesn’t need to leave everything behind after all, from Abbi Waxman, USA Today best-selling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire—right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy…but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura isn’t really sure she’s cut out for this adulting thing. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly and Impossibly Handsome Bob aren't sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work.

©2022 Abbi Waxman (P)2022 Penguin Audio Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Women's Fiction Friendship Heartfelt

Listeners also enjoyed...
The Bookshop of Second Chances Audiobook By Jackie Fraser cover art
The Bookshop of Second Chances By: Jackie Fraser
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches Audiobook By Sangu Mandanna cover art
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches By: Sangu Mandanna
Looks Good on Paper Audiobook By Kilby Blades cover art
Looks Good on Paper By: Kilby Blades
The Garden of Small Beginnings Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
The Garden of Small Beginnings By: Abbi Waxman
The Party Crasher Audiobook By Sophie Kinsella cover art
The Party Crasher By: Sophie Kinsella
Hard Code Audiobook By Misha Bell, Dima Zales, Anna Zaires cover art
Hard Code By: Misha Bell, and others
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle Audiobook By Matt Cain cover art
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle By: Matt Cain
Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty Audiobook By Lauren Weisberger cover art
Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty By: Lauren Weisberger
The Buy-In Audiobook By Emma St. Clair cover art
The Buy-In By: Emma St. Clair
Before I Do Audiobook By Sophie Cousens cover art
Before I Do By: Sophie Cousens
The Love Wager Audiobook By Lynn Painter cover art
The Love Wager By: Lynn Painter
Mad About You Audiobook By Mhairi McFarlane cover art
Mad About You By: Mhairi McFarlane
The Lonely Hearts Book Club Audiobook By Lucy Gilmore cover art
The Lonely Hearts Book Club By: Lucy Gilmore
The Burnout Audiobook By Sophie Kinsella cover art
The Burnout By: Sophie Kinsella
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill By: Abbi Waxman
Other People's Houses Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
Other People's Houses By: Abbi Waxman
I Was Told It Would Get Easier Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
I Was Told It Would Get Easier By: Abbi Waxman
Thank You for Listening Audiobook By Julia Whelan cover art
Thank You for Listening By: Julia Whelan
Holiday Romance Audiobook By Catherine Walsh cover art
Holiday Romance By: Catherine Walsh
Nora Goes Off Script Audiobook By Annabel Monaghan cover art
Nora Goes Off Script By: Annabel Monaghan

Critic reviews

“Abbi Waxman explores the challenges of adulting in her warmhearted fifth novel, Adult Assembly Required. … With heart and humor, Waxman sensitively explores the challenges of leaving the nest while still loving your family, as well as learning to set clear boundaries and ask for help—sometimes in the same moment. …[A] witty, hopeful celebration of courage, community and spreading one's wings.”
—Shelf Awareness, (starred review)

“Abbi Waxman’s intrepid heroine has to find herself before she can find love in the heartwarming and hilarious Adult Assembly Required. ...the slow burn between Laura and Bob contributes to its witty, feel-good vibe. Fans of Waxman will recognize several of the wonderful supporting characters, and readers new to her work will want to pick up her backlist after devouring this delightful novel.”
—Washington Independent Review of Books

“Waxman has a talent for creating familiar characters who are flawed in all the ways many of us are but didn't know anyone else was. ... Waxman nimbly describes the normality of anxiety, and readers can count on her to provide comfort and feel-good smiles. Readers of Emily Henry, Linda Holmes, and Beth O'Leary will be delighted.”
—Booklist

People who viewed this also viewed...

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill By: Abbi Waxman
Other People's Houses Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
Other People's Houses By: Abbi Waxman
One Death at a Time Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
One Death at a Time By: Abbi Waxman
Christa Comes Out of Her Shell Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
Christa Comes Out of Her Shell By: Abbi Waxman
I Was Told It Would Get Easier Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
I Was Told It Would Get Easier By: Abbi Waxman
The Garden of Small Beginnings Audiobook By Abbi Waxman cover art
The Garden of Small Beginnings By: Abbi Waxman
Before I Do Audiobook By Sophie Cousens cover art
Before I Do By: Sophie Cousens
The Bookshop of Second Chances Audiobook By Jackie Fraser cover art
The Bookshop of Second Chances By: Jackie Fraser
That Summer Audiobook By Jennifer Weiner cover art
That Summer By: Jennifer Weiner
Is She Really Going Out with Him? Audiobook By Sophie Cousens cover art
Is She Really Going Out with Him? By: Sophie Cousens
The Love Haters Audiobook By Katherine Center cover art
The Love Haters By: Katherine Center
Happy Place Audiobook By Emily Henry cover art
Happy Place By: Emily Henry
All That Life Can Afford Audiobook By Emily Everett cover art
All That Life Can Afford By: Emily Everett
Enjoyable Story • Quirky Characters • Compelling Friendship • Heartwarming Tale
Highly rated for:
Most relevant  
This book was amazing! I have read two more of Abbi’s books since reading this one and have loved them all

Loved It !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love how well Abbi Warman has woven her stories throughout this world. I honestly didn't even connect Bookish Life and Gardens until this book. It was like a light bulb went off and I was more invested than ever! the author has a wonderful balance of keeping each book independent and authentic but still involving the characters we love. Also, the narration is wonderful!

I love this world

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I didn’t get the same sense of the characters in this books as the others. Neither the story or the characters seemed as well developed.

Didn’t like it as much as her other books

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Laura Costello feels her life is a mess. In a decision to rectify this situation Laura uproots herself and moves to Los Angeles in hopes to leave behind … the panic attacks, the bad memories of a horrific car accident, a family that are overprotective and don’t approve of her attending grad school for PT and let’s not forget the overbearing ex-fiancé. Thing are not out great the flat Laura rented was located in the apartment build that just burnt down .. the good news with the help of newly made friends Laura snags a room in a slightly illegal rooming house with lots of fun eccentric friends. With the help of people like Maggie, Anna, Libby, Nina Hill, Liz, Polly, Asher and “Impossibly Handsome Bob” Laura learns how to be true to herself.

Overall, I thought the story was a cute and an enjoyable story about a young woman overcoming challenges past and present, putting her on a path for the life she wanted while dealing with a strained relationship with her parent and making new friends that were there for Laura to learn on for support. The characters are quirky, fun, and sometimes act a little too much like a teenager.

So why only three stars … I just was not as captivated and charmed with Adult Assembly Required as I was for The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. I found that at times it fell flat and a tad to drawn out especially Laura and Bob’s relationship which moved very slow. I did find the ending was rushed giving Laura and Bob their HEA, a resolution to Laura strained parental relationship but most annoying was the continuous changing of POV.

This was an audiobook narrated by Emily Rankin and was as enjoyable as the previous Abbi Waxman novel. Since I do enjoy this author, I think my next book by this author will be The Garden of Small Beginnings.

cute and an enjoyable story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I liked listening to this sweet story of friendship that happens to Laura Costello just when she needs it most. After her apartment building of 1 week has a fire, Laura must find a new place to live in Los Angeles, a new city to her when she moves there for graduate school. Luckily, she seeks refuge in a bookstore where one of the employees takes Laura home to the house where Laura becomes a renter and meets many new friends.

Sweet story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've been reading everything Abbi Waxman has to offer and this, her most recently released book, is the total package. She now writes with ease and familiarity yet retains a fresh and lively point of view. Her pacing for this story of quirky characters was well done and she didn't seem to rush the ending as I have commented on in my reviews of some of her other books. This would be a great book club book as there are lots of things to reflect on as we all live our own messy lives. Left me hoping for a "next book"!

Good read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Solid book about women and life and a bit of love. Nice, comforting and easy to listen to.

Exceeded expectations

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love this story! Kind of a sequel to The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, my all time favorite book. The characters are so relatable. I’d love to live in Maggie’s house and work in the bookstore!

Read it 3 times so far!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Performance is excellent. The buildup to a romance takes way too long. One lucky gal that everything went her way,except for the fire

lotta words to get to a love story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
DNF because in the first chapter the author introduced too many characters, not one of which was even slightly interesting, while the droning narrator lulled me into a coma.

Soporific

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews