With a total of 544 pages, this debut novel is a tome, a sad and humorous story of family life going back forty years. Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fell in love and married in the seventies. They had two girls, Wendy and Violet, about a year apart.

Marilyn quit college to follow David to medical school, and that is where they planted themselves and grew their family of four girls. Grace grew up to be a tightly wound lawyer and Violet, the youngest, couldn't decide what she wanted to do or if she could do anything that would compare favorably to her older sisters.

The axiom around which the girls built their lives was always looking to the continued love their parents shared. They were still the young couple in love, stealing a kiss, a touch, a hug at any moment. No one could have a love that would measure up to this pantheon of wedded bliss.

Wendy had no desire to go to college and fell in love with a community college instructor on the night of the first class. He was a billionaire, fifteen years older than her, and loved her unconditionally. Theirs is a sad story, and Wendy is self-medicating her grief with large amounts of alcohol.

Violet is not a natural person to like; she is a perfectionist and runs her family like a military troop. Her two boys go the best schools, and she keeps up with the superficial PTA moms as much as her gut can stand. Violet's husband takes little interest in the family. A secret that Violet has been holding on to for seventeen years throws a massive wrench into the entire extended family dynamic. Marilyn and David pick up the slack when Wendy can't handle things. Marilyn and David did have a charming relationship. They didn't allow outside distractions pull at their closeness and need for each other.

The sadness of the two younger sisters, Liza and Grace, present their dilemmas as a sort of sideshow to the main attraction of aging parents and a spilled secret, and never-ending grief Wendy carries with her each day.

At times, it seemed like this family could never achieve any inner harmony close to what their parents had from when they were in their twenties.
Somehow, if there is enough love, starting at the top, it will spread and engulf the scattered souls and help them to grow if they are willing to accept what they can and cannot do.

CL has written an excellent debut novel, and she seems to have an old soul herself. I enjoyed and empathized with all the characters, especially the aging parents. Don't be afraid to take this one on. It has many life lessons written on every page.

Thank you to the Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel (June 25).

This book is a lengthy examination of the complex relationships between members of the upper middle class Sorenson family. I was interested in each of the characters, in awe of the parent's unconditional love for each other, and taken by the few twists an turns that reveled themselves throughout the rather lengthy story. I would have loved to have seen queer, interracial, or economically diverse storylines find their way into these pages, but the relationships between characters did seem authentic and honest. The book reminded me of Parenthood, the tv series. I enjoyed it and would recommend for an engaging summer read.

I was given an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

This is going to end up in my top ten of the year!

This is the story of the Sorenson family. David and Marilyn met in the 1970s, they got married, David went to medical school, and they had four daughters: Wendy, Violet, Liza, and Grace. The bulk of the story takes place in the present-day after Wendy orchestrates a meeting between Violet and the now-16-yr-old son she gave up for adoption (Jonah). As the novel moves through the year following this meeting—interspersed with flashbacks in which we see David and Marilyn falling in love, raising a family, and their daughters growing up—we slowly come to understand the rich emotional landscape behind this family. It doesn’t move quickly, and there’s no single narrative arc, but it completely engrossed me. I sped through this 500-page book in a weekend and regret nothing!

It’s being called a literary version of Parenthood or This Is Us, and that is 100% accurate. Messy, funny, loving, dysfunctional, and emotional. David and Marilyn captured my heart; I’ve never read a more realistic and beautiful account of a long marriage. All the sisters are pretty flawed in the present-day—at times downright unlikeable—but the flashbacks slowly explain how they got there. Jonah, on the other hand, was an absolute gem of a character. As a mom of four myself and someone who married young and is still deeply in love with my husband, I strongly related to David and Marilyn’s journey from young lovers to new parents to empty nesters to grandparents. I want to be David and Marilyn! It’s also set in and around the Chicago area, and the setting is captured perfectly. Lombardo’s writing voice is both confident and accessible, and although she has some writing tics (lots of italics! strangely disjointed dialogue) I found it such a delight to read. I predict this is going to be a huge hit this summer. Definitely put it on your TBR.

Releases June 25. Thanks to @netgalley and @doubledaybooks for an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this wonderful novel about the Sorenson family. Marylyn and David Sorenson have four wonderfully different daughters, but they all agree that their parents love for each other has set the bar for relationships extremely high. I found the dynamics of the characters interesting and could not put this book down. I will be recommending this to book clubs!

A complicated family drama. While the book is on the longish side, the story is engaging and leaves much to discuss. This will be a popular pick for book clubs.

While I admired the author’s turn of phrase, and obvious writing skills, I found this book to be way too long. The main characters Marilyn and David didn’t seem to be a realistic couple and some of the life events were way too soap opera-ish. I did enjoy the dialog between the sisters and thought Wendy in particular was a really interesting character. I would read her next book as she clearly has a lot of talent.

The dissection of a family. A happily married couple and their four daughters. Leaping back and forth through their lives. Explores events, some that are wonderful and some that shake them to their core. A wonderful example of love, forgiveness, and family secrets. I wasn’t crazy about any of these characters (except Wendy) but I wanted to learn their stories.

David’s and Marilyn’s four daughters have a series of struggles and disappointments in their adult lives, and sometimes they think their parents’ strong relationship burdens them with an impossible standard.

This debut novel of family dynamics is immersive as it shifts among family members’ perspectives and looks back to pivotal moments, revealing secrets and misunderstandings.

A bookseller at Parnassus Books pointed this out as an upcoming release that she highly recommended. I agree.

Thank you to Doubleday for a review copy through netgalley.

This is a copy of my review on Goodreads.

This was an engaging story of a loving husband and wife with four radically different daughters. As the story unfolded, I found myself most drawn to the sisters and how they navigated bumpy relationships with one another. Unfortunately, there was far too much backstory and I found myself skimming some chapters. I will look for more from this author in the future, however.

So I normally detest the "four siblings with secrets" genre, but this was immaculately well-written. The end was a bit of a disappointment, however.



Review copy provided by publisher.

I loved this book! It reminded me, in the best ways, of the TV shows Parenthood and This Is Us; it traces a family with loving and realistic parents and their flawed and wonderful children, layering early years through a more current year.

I love, love, loved this novel! The Most Fun We Ever Had is most definitely not a short book, but I felt so attached to the fantastic cast of characters that I could have read it even if it was 5 times as long and still wanted more! I found the situations The Sorenson’s faced intricate and complex (as family issues usually are) and filled with authentic raw emotions. We time-hop from the mid 1970’s to present day (2016) throughout the novel which worked perfectly with the storyline because we get to appreciate everyone’s journey with their triumphs and traumas. The Most Fun We Ever Had is a 5+++ star read that will stay with long after you finish! Before I read this novel I found the title and book cover both catchy, now that I’ve read it, I find the title and cover the most fitting I’ve come across is loooong time- perfection! I cannot recommend this novel enough- if you’re looking for a brilliant beach read put The Most Fun We Ever Had at the very top of your list! Being that this epic book is Claire Lombardo’s debut novel, I can absolutely promise I will be keeping her on my radar and 1-clicking everything she comes out with in the future!

This is one of the best reads of 2019, bar none. I am calling it... this book will win all of the awards. Claire Lombardo is the next Kingsolver. Here it is in writing, in January of 2019, and I can't wait to look back on this and know how right I was. 

Lombardo's debut novel is truly a work of art. It follows the Sorenson family, consisting of Marilyn and David (the parents), and their four daughters, Wendy, Violet, Liza, and Grace. Each character has their own personality, truly distinct and yet somehow envelopes that of all families. It felt in a way as if my own family were being described, in how different we all are but yet how we come together and find ourselves bound together by blood. 
The story is told in flashbacks, as well as present day, chapters alternating. We witness the story unraveling, how the characters got to the point that they are now, almost as if a coming-of-age story for every single character individually and as a family unit. Marilyn and David have an unparalleled love story that engulfed me, and gave me hope that my fiance and I have found what those two have. And, it reminded me of my own parents, married now for 35 years and still as in love as they were the day that they met.

Despite the privilege in which these characters are bread into, they have their own struggles. No one is immune from mental illness, no one is immune from ill-fated hardships, and it felt as though reading this book was seeing a very realistic and relatable family through a very raw, magnifying lens.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I am heartbroken that I have finished it, and wish I could read it again with the same lack of awareness as the first time. I think a LOT of readers will resonate with one or more characters in the novel, and the thematic elements that emerge through Lombardo's writing. Lovers of Kingsolver's Unsheltered will love this piece of writing. I know I did!

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were realistic and memorable, and the family dynamics were rendered in a believably honest and complicated way. A touching and funny depiction of a family's story unfolding over the course of decades.

This book was incredibly fun to read all the way through its 520 pages. I am going to miss the Sorenson family!. I don’t think that I’ve read another book that so well captured regular life - spousal, parental and sibling thoughts and dialogue were spot on throughout all of this families ups and downs. It felt so real yet was still very entertaining! What a great reminder that there are always two ways to look at everything and that often self talk - the ideas that we work up in our heads leading up to an encounter or dialogue - are encased with negativity that doesn’t reflect reality. I will admit I got Wendy and Violet, two of the four sisters, mixed up for the first 20% of the book which made me a bit confused but it eventually became clear which sister was which! If you liked the TV show Parenthood you will definitely love this book.

I initially opened up the book to ensure it had downloaded correctly, but as I glanced at the first page, I was magnetically drawn towards it and soon found myself unable to put the book down. It is simply mesmerizing, beautifully written with many characters, each well developed.

Lombardo has created a family, one with myriad issues, but tied together by love, kindness and loyalty. The Sorensons have four daughters, each dealing with personal crises, and remarkable parents whose love for each other and their daughters never wavers.

The catalyst for the story is the reappearance of Jonah, the child who had been given up for adoption by Violet, a now comfortable, upwardly striving matron, who finds her life radically changed by his appearance. The reader sees the reaction of all the characters to this innocent, lovable teenager.

Lombardo skillfully weaves in the backstories of the other family members, each of whom is likable and engaging. I felt involved with each of the sisters and I loved reading about their histories. I simply loved this novel and thank Netgalley for the absolute joy I had reading this grand family saga. I hope Lombardo continues to write such brilliant novels in the future.