Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.
This is another one of those “this is my first time reading this author books” and I was not disappointed. Jess and Laura are sisters, but you wouldn’t know it. They are polar opposites, Jess with the picture perfect life, perfect family and perfect blog and then Laura, a former “hippy chick” stuck in a job she doesn’t care for and a relationship that’s not going anywhere. When their mother dies they come together to confront past, deal with the loss of their mother and the cracks in their relationship. While there is a lot of toxic relationship culture in the book you can absolutely see that not everything is as perfect as it seems. The only downside for me was that as a reader I didn’t get the closure of the last big surprise at the end, it felt rushed, like she had to wrap it up quick and all those loose ends were tied without finishing the bow (so to speak). Overall it was a quick read, and something I might recommend to those who are dealing with less than perfect families.

I think this book is a truly excellent example of fiction for women that doesn't pander. It never feels like it's spoon-feeding you, and the characters are evocatively drawn and fully fledged. I loved the relationship between Laura and Jess, as an only child myself I almost always feel disconnected from sibling relationships in books, finding them either impossible to relate to or too idealized, but this felt like the perfect mix of realism and idealism. Nicola Gill is a fabulous author and I will happily devour any more her books I can get my hands on, this was my first introduction to her work after hearing great things and I can see why she's beloved. I laughed, I cried, I saw myself and the people I love in these women, and I will absolutely be re-reading this book. It's lovely and really special, if at some times bittersweet.

Very grateful to NetGalley, Avon Books UK, and Nicola Gill for this advance copy. I loved every moment.

Really good read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for approving my request for this ARC.

We Are Family by Nicola Gill is about the strained relationship of two sisters. It explores how Laura and Jess reconcile with each other after their mother's death. This book focuses on the issues and the importance of family, so I requested it without a second thought. I like stories that are family oriented and this book did not disappoint me; I like its realistic plot, good narration, although the story slightly dragged.

The story is long and mundane, but I really like it because it was realistic. It focuses on the present time when Laura and Jess interact after their mother's death. It also contains a good amount of flashbacks, which give an insight into the reason for Laura's feelings towards her sister and mother. Other aspects that the plot focuses on are parenting issues, marital issues, digitization of companies etc. I particularly like how the book focuses on the theme of family and how it is explored through the feminine side of the family such as through sisters and mothers. The narrator provides an insight into a person struggles as a sister and as a mother to keep her relationships afloat. These aspects of the plot make the story relatable to the reader and make it easy for the reader to empathise with the characters, especially with their struggles as a family.

The narration is from a third person limited point of view. It solely covers Laura's side of the story and I did not mind it at all because it helps the reader understand why she does certain things and what she feels about the people around her. The other characters are solely seen through Laura's perspective so you would expect them to have very limited character development, but Gill has nicely built those characters so there is enough space for them to grow in Laura's story. This narration particularly allows the reader to understand why Laura is so distant from both her mother and her sister. Therefore, this point of view allowed for an efficient character development of Laura, which is important for the plot in order to understand why she is estranged from her mother and sister and what she has to get over in order to reconcile with Jess.

No matter how much the plot and its narration appealed to me, it still dragged. The mundanity and realistic nature of both elements appeased me a lot, but there were times it was just too much and I thought that that those parts deviated from the main action. This story could have been completed in less than four hundred pages because some things were unnecessary such as Jess' troller. If you're going to add a threatening troller, at least make it more dramatic; this problem quickly goes as it comes, so I feel that it was not needed. The slow development of the plot made this book a slow read for me, so this time, I do not blame myself for slow reading.

We Are Family by Nicola Gill is a heart warming book about how two sisters bond after years of being aloof. It has a sweet plot and a nice narration, which makes the story touch your heart so easily. Although, the plot drags a bit and it did not need to be overly mundane, it still is a good story. I recommend this story to brighten up anyone's dull quarantine days.

This is the story of Laura and Jess, two sisters who couldn’t be more opposite. Jess is the older sister with the perfect family, perfect life. Laura is the sister with a messier life. They lost their father when they were younger and most recently lost their mother so they find themselves together, having to deal with cleaning up their mother’s affairs. Their mother always favored Jess and never let a moment go by where she didn’t compare Laura to her. It always felt like a competition for Laura, one that she could never win. The book deals with grief and getting over the loss of parents - even when the loss has happened years ago. Slowly, the sisters begin to repair their relationship and realize they might be more alike than they thought.

I thought it was a great book and Nicola Gill does a great job of getting you to care about both sisters and you are invested from the beginning.

** Thanks to Avon Books and Netgalley for my advanced copy in exchange for this review.

This is a story of two sisters in the aftermath of their mother’s death. Jess is the overachiever whilst Laura seems to have lived in her shadow. I myself am also one of two children and could relate to feeling inferior to my older sibling but there weren’t really any other similarities between their sisterly relationship and my own so I struggled to connect to the pair.

I liked the flashback elements that provided context to their personalities and the relationship they share with one another. It was also interesting to see how grief affects them both with refreshing honesty from Laura’s point of view. I found myself relating to her more of the two as a fellow journalist but I found neither particularly likeable until the end, and also I found the “twist” and the issues in the story were predictable and resolved far too quickly

I enjoyed seeing Laura’s growth from allowing herself to be walked over to setting healthy boundaries and limits. Despite this I wasn’t overly invested in the characters and felt as if specific characters were overly sold as “you’re meant to dislike them” rather than subtly implying it or allowing you to form your own judgment.

There were lots of timely references like nods to Queer Eye which whilst appropriate now will feel a little forced later down the line. I expected to like this a lot more than I did.

Loved this author, this is a a great boon and I haven’t wanted to put this one down. Definitely one I will be recommending and highly deserving of five stars

Thanks to Netgalley for a preview of this book. I loved it. I found it so relatable as it is extremely well written. It makes you feel like you are friends with the two sisters. It will genuinely make you laugh and cry. I cannot recommend this book enough don't miss out!

Fascinating and warm story about sisterhood. Totally different sisters and their views are somehow always opposite.

Wait till the end.
Funny and beautiful reading.

This book is definitely a 5🌟 that everyone should try .. it touches all the relatable and important topics such as family , love and work .

It tells the story of Laura who always felt inferior in her family compared to her perfect sister , Jess
Through grieving their mothers death and a series of other unfortunate events they realize there’s nothing more important that your own family .

I found Laura very relatable to me while reading this book and I was gripped from the start to end and
It’s a book I’d recommend to everyone .

This book follows the ups and downs in the relationship of two sisters in the aftermath of their mother’s death. There are plenty of lighthearted moments but it also deals seriously and delicately with the topic of grief.

The sisters are both relatable characters, neither is perfect and their differences feel realistic. There are a few twists, although I didn’t find any of them overly surprising. The final twist in particular was a bit disappointing, I didn’t mind that I’d anticipated it but after investing in the sisters stories it was frustrating that the fall out from it was entirely skipped over. That said, what drove this story is the dynamic between the sisters and their developing relationship rather than the events and that is really well fleshed out.

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

Hear me out. If you're debating picking up this book, thinking it's going to be unremarkable or easy to forget, I'm here to tell you: Do. It. Give it a chance and I promise you will not regret it.

First of all, I have to acknowledge that it was quite a refreshing read. It wasn't exactly an "easy-read", since it deals with quite a few more serious topics, but the author's approach to everything was so kind, so genuine, and thoughtful, that I found the book slowly creeping its way into my heart. In other words, I just couldn't put it down.

It also didn't hurt that I was very fond of both sisters. In some ways, I could see myself in Jess: I love my to-do lists, I can be a bit bossy, and I'm definitely on the overachieving side. As I could relate to her, it was very nice to see that her personality was not used against her nor was it used to vilify her. By the end of the book she is not a completely different person. She still likes things going her own way, but as Laura learns to let her in a bit more, we, as readers, get to see more of her tender side as well.

While Jess was closer to who I am, my heart ached for Laura. I loved seeing her grow throughout the course of the book, and I loved seeing her learn how to stand up for herself and her own needs and desires. Especially at the beginning, she really struggled with setting boundaries, so it was nice to see how that changed. I also believe that Laura's issue with boundaries was a topic very well-handled by the author, as she managed to both show the issue itself and explain why it may have occurred in the first place (by showing scenes of the girls' upbringing and family life), without it being too preachy or too obvious.

My only issue with the book is that certain parts of the final chapters felt a bit rushed; it was a good enough closure, but I would have liked to see a bit more of how things ended the way they did.

PS. Bonus tips for the English setting, as it made me feel very nostalgic of my time in uni.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Laura and Jess are sisters who are attempting to forge a relationship after losing their mother. Although they believe that they have little in common, they discover a deep rooted love for each other. Beautiful story line.

We are Family is about the relationship between two sisters as they learn to rebuild their relationship as they come to terms with their grief following their mother's death. Laura and Jess are both in their late 30s with families of their own, but there has always been an imbalance in their relationship as Jess was seen to be the favourite daughter.

It is an extremely moving story that follows the sisters' families and work lives with several secrets coming out along the way. There are a few laugh out loud one-liners, and I think there was room for a few more of these to balance out the sadness. That said I really enjoyed this book and read it in a weekend.

It was quite thought-provoking about the hurt that people can do to each other without necessarily realising it, or even meaning to. Although fiction, this story is very real. I was certainly grateful of my family relationships whilst reading this book.

I was glad the characters work through it to a happy ending, although there are still surprises right up to the end.

Loved it!! Such a great book about the complexity of family and life. A real page turner that you will not want to put down.

This story is a about two sisters who have lost their Dad, and most recently their mother. Laura and Jessica are sisters and are dealing with their grief in very different ways. Laura does not get along very well with her sister. They have vastly different personalities and ways of life. Will Laura let grief get in the way of her relationship with her sister. I enjoyed this one. Laura’s personality made me laugh at loud at times. It was well written and full of British humor. I would give this one 3.5-4 stars. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to preview this book early.

Laura has a laid back attitude to life. Jess, on the other hand, is your classic big sister and overachiever. The sisters have lost first their dad when they were young and now their mom. Through dealing with loss, love and other life challenges The sisters start realizing how important family really is.
The author did a great job of making Laura and Jess relatable characters and a relationship that many siblings can relate too. This book does a good job of showing not just how complex sister relationships are but just female relationships in general.
Grief is dealt with very well in this book and shows that everyone deals differently. Though this book was predictable it’s a nice light read that has some heart.
My only issue was the ending. It didn’t come together clearly in my opinion and you don’t see it unfold rather hear about it more or less. After your invested in the characters that was a bit disappointing. Overall I enjoyed the book and think it’s a book with some heart.

I enjoyed this book. It was satisfying to see how Laura gets a grip and declutters her life - literally and metaphorically. I have mixed feelings about the great revelation at the end though. And I was not totally happy about the pace of the end of the book. It felt a bit hasty for me. That said I still liked this story and had some really enjoyable time with it. I recommend it to anyone, especially women who have sister or mother "issues" :).

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Laura and Jess are sisters, that’s all they have in common...

Laura, who has a laid back attitude to life.

Jess, is your classic better one of the siblings, having a picture-perfect life.
Laura and Jess both lost their dad when they were kids. But now, their mum is gone too. Harder than that, they can’t agree on a single thing for the funeral.

Only when Laura starts pushing her own boundaries and Jess lets other people in to her (perfect) life, the two women realize they need each other more than ever.

A funny, and entertaining read.

Sisters Laura and Jess are grown up, but still embroiled in old family patterns. Jess is the 'perfect' sister while Laura is too emotional, too messy, too much. The passing of their mother hits them both and having lost their father years ago they come to realize that even though they are different from each other, neither is what she has been typecast to be and they need other. Laura is our main character and as she starts believing in herself, setting healthy boundaries, and accepting that things aren't always what they seem she finds that her sister is not actually perfect but is an important part of her life and someone she shares not only a history with, but also a future. This book was a bit predictable, but it was a good read nonetheless. I really enjoyed this book and recommend as an engaging read about complicated family dynamics.