The Very Nice Box — Eve Gleichman

For fans of Elinor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Severance: an offbeat, wryly funny debut novel that follows an eccentric product engineer who works for a hip furniture company where sweeping corporate change lands her under the purview of a startlingly charismatic boss who seems determined to get close to her at all costs . . .

Ava Simon designs storage boxes for STADA, a slick Brooklyn-based furniture company. She's hard-working, obsessive, and heartbroken from a tragedy that killed her girlfriend and upended her life. It's been years since she's let anyone in.

But when Ava's new boss -- the young and magnetic Mat Putnam -- offers Ava a ride home one afternoon, an unlikely relationship blossoms. Ava remembers how rewarding it can be to open up -- and, despite her instincts, she becomes enamored. But Mat isn't who he claims to be, and the romance takes a sharp turn.

The Very Nice Box is a funny, suspenseful debut -- with a shocking twist. It's at once a send-up of male entitlement and a big-hearted account of grief, friendship, and trust.