Review: 'One Day This Will All Make Sense' by Katie Jansson Shahin (2014)

In the almost three years since Emma, Human Resource professional by trade and writer at heart, moved to Los Angeles from Sweden it has been anything but smooth sailing. When she was offered a new job Emma thought she had finally found the security she’d been looking for since moving to the city of her dreams.
The bliss is short-lived as Emma struggles to adjust in her new role and environment. She fails to learn how to play by the unwritten rules and office politics of corporate America, leaving her defenseless against a new boss who soon makes it clear that he wants her gone. After having put her writing before her HR career for so long, Emma knows it was just a fluke when she was hired and is determined not to let it slip away. But she cracks under the pressure and is ultimately fired. Will she be able to dig herself out again? Or has she peaked at 27? More importantly, will she survive in the city that represents everything she has dreamt of becoming?
'One Day This Will All Make Sense' is Katie Jansson Shahin's debut novel, which was released in December 2014. I hadn't heard or read anything about the book before I was contacted by the author herself about possibly reviewing it. I straight away liked the book cover and the blurb fascinated me enough to say 'yes' to the review request. Katie Jansson Shahin also has her own blog, An Authorista's Blog, which I'd like to advise all of you to check out if you'd like to know more about the author, her debut novel (for example, there's a play list with all kinds of songs that inspired the author during the writing process) or love books in general!    Emma has always wanted to move to Los Angeles and turn her dream of becoming a successful writer into reality. Three years ago, she finally decided to make the leap and left her family and friends in Sweden behind to start an exciting new life in LA. After numerous temporary jobs, she finally lands a full-time job at a big IT company, working within the field of HR, which is definitely one of her interests. Emma is really excited and can't wait to show them what she can do. However, things don't really go according to plan, especially when Emma realises her supervisor will do anything to make her life difficult and won't give her a chance. Soon she's forced to make some pretty important and life-changing decisions: will she continue working within the field of HR or will she finally pursue her dream of becoming an author?
This book is not a biography, but author Katie Jansson Shahin was definitely inspired by her own experiences of moving from Sweden to California and working in the field of HR while also dreaming of a writing career. These elements form the basic storyline that revolves around the life of the main protagonist of the story, 27-year-old Emma. The reader is able to experience Emma's internal struggles and thoughts up close, which resulted in me bonding with her in a certain way. Especially at the beginning of the story, I was really rooting for Emma, wanting her to come up for herself and show everyone what she could do. At the same time, I was curious to find out more about her ambitions to become an author and keeping my fingers crossed someone would eventually give her a chance to show that particular side of herself. 
I would have really liked it if more attention had been paid to the collection of secondary characters, instead of just the main focus on Emma. We didn't really get to know the history and background of Emma's friends or her boyfriend Nate, which definitely would have added another layer to the story. Right now, it was a bit too repetitive and negative for my personal liking. Emma goes through a lot, but the focus really seemed to lie on the negative instead of positive thinking, which was a shame. While I didn't enjoy 'One Day This Will All Make Sense' as much as I'd hoped I would, I am sure others will enjoy this realistic and thought-provoking read and I'm curious to see what else Katie Jansson Shahin will bring us in the future.

Rating:7/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.