I love Camille Pagán’s books. She writes stories that are always fun with quirky characters, and EVERYTHING MUST GO is no different, though it does have a serious note running through it.
Laine realizes that her life isn’t what she thought it would or should be. She loves her husband, but it seems they are just coasting through their marriage with differing visions of their future, and hers involves children. Add this to her mother’s odd behavior which may mean big changes, Laine may need to defy her family’s expectations and fight for the future she wants. Will it include her former best friend, Ben? A move back to New York? Or will she be forging her life alone with a child?
Full of family bonds, second chances, and unexpected secrets, Pagán gives us another wonderful story we didn’t realize we needed.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#EverythingMustGo #CamillePagán #LakeUnionPublishing

Laine badly wants a baby but her husband isn’t ready. Laine heads to New York for a trial separation and to stay with family and she is thrown into the complicated dynamics of her mom and sisters, and also bumps into her ex-best friend. This is a story about love, family, and figuring out who you are. I always love the authors books. I love that the characters are generally middle age and that they tackle real issues women deal with. I will keep reading her books .

Thank you for the advanced readers copy! This is available now and can be found on Kindle Unlimited as well.

As a professional organizer, Laine takes comfort in putting things in their place. But organizing others belongings and sorting out one’s own issues are two different matters entirely.

In an effort to reorganize and aware of her biological clock ticking, Laine decides she wants a divorce. Well, sort of. She loves her husband and is content otherwise, but can’t help feeling he will put off the issue of their having kids “someday” for forever. Adding insult to injury, Laine’s sisters inform her that her mom’s memory is declining, only reminding her how time is indeed, marching on.

So Laine leaves the home she has with her current husband for her hometown of NYC where her family still lives in order to help out. But as she sorts out her mother’s matters and reconnects with her old high school “more than a friend maybe” Ben, it’s clear that Laine has a lot more going on than even the likes of Marie Kondo can set straight.

Everything Must Go is a poignant story that touches upon memories, mortality, and wanting something more. While I empathized with Laine’s struggles, I couldn’t help but view her as selfish for the majority of the book. She wanted a break from her husband, but still was content to use his help whenever he offered it, which was often. There was also the confusing elements of where her husband’s loyalty lies, along with the parallel resurgence of Ben into her life. For a book all about making things neat and tidy, I found these loose ends to be distressing and unnecessarily messy.

This is the story of a professional organizer who goes back to New York where her family is, to help her mother. While in New York she reconnects with family and old friends and needs to decide what she wants out of her life.

I loved this book! It has a lot of family dynamics with aging and how siblings process it. The author wrote in a note in the back that her family events inspired this book. This book was really hard for me to put down because I kept wanting to know what happened. This was highly enjoyable read as I’ve read a lot of thrillers recently and this was a lighter change.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read Everything Must Go By Camille Pagan in exchange for my honest feedback.

Laine has everything she wants.. well, almost everything. She has the life, the man and now all she wants is a baby. Every time she brought up a child Josh had some new excuse but Laine’s clock was ticking. Lanie finally had enough and decided she wanted a divorce but now her mom has dementia and she has to move back home to take care of her. While in Brooklyn she bumps into her old high school crush Ben who clearly still is crushing on her. Will she stay with Josh for some new changes or will sparks fly between her and Ben?

📖 Everything Must Go
✍️ Camille Pagán
📚 Fiction
#️⃣ 272 pages

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley + Lake Union Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Our story begins with Laine, who has just had to put down her beloved dog (yes, we start rough, but bear with me!). While grieving her best friend, Laine takes inventory of her life and realizes that she’s unhappy… she desperately wants to start a family and she’s tired of her husband dragging his feet. Around this time, she gets a phone call from her sister who is worried that her mother is becoming forgetful, and wants Laine to come back to their childhood home to help. While Laine is back in New York, she runs into her former best friend, Ben, and decides to repair their fractured friendship while she’s in town.

Okay, I know that synopsis was a little bit of a hot mess, but trust me when I tell you that this story is really well done and the various storylines are weaved together much more successfully than my attempt! As someone who has a very direct relationship with Alzheimer’s and it’s effects on people, this was a really emotional read for me, but I have to say, also incredibly well-done. I resonated so much with Laine and what she was going through with her mom. The Sally POV chapters really tugged at my heartstrings. I thought the second chance romance between Laine and Ben was the perfect hopeful storyline weaving its way through the heavier topics. Everything might have wrapped up a little too nicely at the end, but I’m totally okay with that!! Who doesn’t love a good HEA :)

📦 Multiple POV
📦 Multiple timelines
📦 Second chance romance
📦 Friends to strangers to lovers
📦 Fade to black romance
📦 Professional organizer MC
📦 Parent with dementia storyline
📦 Explores the effects of dementia on those who have it and their families

#caitsquietplacereviews #caitsquietplace #cqpromance #everythingmustgo #lakeunionpublishing #netgalley

Who hasn't at some time felt that a fresh start could be life-changing? That the concept of packing up and just going could solve any and all problems you're having, because I know I have! I read EVERYTHING MUST GO at the perfect time for me, it was the exact pick me up I needed to kind of restore my faith in people, and was a great reminder to be thankful for myself.

Pagan packed the punches in this one, giving us such strong family ties, woven into the story of Laine looking at her life and imagining WHAT IF? With her mother's health deteriorating and her sisters in need of her help, she heads back home to avoid her own struggles and finds so much more than what she expected.

"Just think, each person you see has an entire life, filled with experiences and thoughts and people you'll never know about"

I loved that Pagan touched on the ease of staying in a relationship versus the reality of how hard it can be to make that move towards something new whether it's in a relationship or career-based. I am a total people pleaser myself, and constantly found myself relating to this main character in a way that made me feel seen.

Pagan created endearing, raw characters full of flaws, that lent the ability for them to lean on one another even if at times it was too one-sided. The growth of Laine especially wouldn't have happened without some of those tough family secrets, that enabled her to discover how to stand up for herself and what she wanted and deserved.

"You say you don't know the right choice, but I think you do. The answer's already in you. You just have to find the courage to say it out loud."

Whew. This book had such promise. I was so frustrated and angry by the end that I threw my kindle. Thankfully I was on the bed.

Laine’s world gets turned upside down when she decides she wants a divorce from her husband of *I want to say 14 years* because he still isn’t ready to have kids. Her mother has dementia. Her sisters are overbearing at times and are trying to make her move back to NYC to take care of their mother, but she doesn’t want to. There were past affairs that come to light. There’s possible infertility issues. Old loves resurfacing. Other things I can’t say because it will be spoilers…

Bottom line. There was a LOT of shit going on in this novel, and then almost every issue would magically work itself out at the drop of a hat. It was so frustrating. I love a happy ending, but there needs to be more turmoil to get there. That didn’t happen here. It wasn’t believable in the least bit.

Thank you to @lakeunionauthors and @netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Laine loses her dog to death and finds herself at a crossroads. Her life isn't turning out how she'd hoped. She's in her 30's and ready to start a family with her husband who has no desire to have any children at the moment. She has a mother in New York with early stages of Alzheimer's disease and her sisters want her to move back to New York to take care of their mother. On top of all that, her childhood best friend and love of her life returns to her life.

I loved the dynamic and yet complex relationship that Laine has with her mother. How she feels guilty for not wanting to take care of her but struggling with that sense of duty as well. I don't think I could say no. The plot line as it dealt with the relationships felt real and relatable. I didn't expect it to be as serious as it was. I was kind of expecting a romcom by looking at the cover.

The only hard thing for me and reason for not giving it a 5 was the relationship between Laine and her husband. Leaving him because he didn't want children, yet she never really brings it up until she is divorcing him. I just think these are conversations you have. He seems just ok with the divorce and there is even a thought of him and Laines sister getting together. Then the love of her life, Ben walks in and it's instant connection. Nothing is that perfect.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

I loved this book and resonated with the characters. The lead character, Laine, is incredibly likable and I was rooting for her all through the book. The family dynamics were represented fabulously and true to life. I particularly liked the mother/daughter relationship and found it to be so heartwarming. The dementia aspect is handled in a respectful way. This book is emotional and full of so much heart. I just adored it!

Just like her others, this one does not disappoint! If you liked Pagans other novels, this one will be one you like as well.

Great topic but written with compassion and some humor. I've read several of her books and they all are very well written.

I have read several of Camille Pagan's books and each time I find a story that is relatable with family themes
handled with humor, insightfulness and intelligence. Everything Must Go gives us a look into dealing with a parent with dementia and the difficult decisions that must be made. But the book didn't feel heavy or heart wrenching with several hard topics. The family relationships, growth and hope are at the forefront of the novel.

What was the last book that completely resonated with you?

Every time I read a book by Camille Pagan I feel like it’s written specifically for me. Everything Must Go was no different. From dealing with a parent with dementia to family conflict, I related to every word in this story. It was beautiful yet sad, heartwarming and heartbreaking, but ultimately hopeful.

I liked the journey Laine took to become more comfortable with standing up for herself. It’s one so many of us can understand. She has always played a certain role in the family and it can be tough to break out of that. I found myself rooting for Laine and hoping she would get the happy ending she deserved.

My only complaint is that I wanted more! I wanted to follow the family a little further into the future simply because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I’m just saying that I wouldn’t mind a little follow up a few years down the road…..

Everything Must Go by Camille Pagan

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Laine Francis believes there’s a place for everything—and New York, where her family lives, isn’t her place. But no sooner does the professional organizer’s marriage begin to unravel than her sisters drop another bomb on her: their mother, Sally, may have dementia, and they need Laine to come home.

Laine agrees to briefly return to Brooklyn. After all, bringing order to chaos is what she does best. To Laine’s relief, Sally seems no more absentminded than usual. So Laine vows to help her mother maintain her independence, then hightail it back to Michigan.


I struggled with this book, I found that my imagination could easily wander. It is a heartfelt story about love, family and second chances. The plot worked very well and I am just sad that I wasn't able to enjoy this a little more - my biggest issue was that I just couldn't connect to the characters.

Rating 3/5

This was my first Camille Pagan book and it won't be my last.

Laine is ready to end her marriage when she realizes she’s ready to start a family but her husband isn’t. Her organizing business is just taking off when she’s strongly urged by her sisters to drop everything to return home to care for her mother. Even though she’s 38, this book felt like a coming of age story for Laine. She had to make some major, life changing decisions quickly and redefine herself not only to herself but to her family and friends.

I think this book resonated with me so much because I also had to care for an ill mother. It's life changing.

I loved that this book was sentimental, a bit emotional, lots of fun and the writing was so engaging.

It's an emotional book, I especially loved that the story is told from two different perspectives, a daughter and her mother. There were a lot of things I didn't expect, so that was fun, the characters, however, were a bit boring to me.

Camille Pagán is one of my favorite authors and is a master of bringing to life relatable family themes with humor, insightfulness and intelligence. I have personally had to deal with a situation like this and I can say, Pagán wrote with reverence and so eloquently about subjects that are both sensitive and hard to endure. Aging is not always fun and perfect, but how we handle these situations shows our character. What a beautiful read and I couldn’t recommend it more. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a honest and true review.

This is a book that you want to be able to discuss with others for sure!

Between family relationships, repairing friendships, and questioning where one is at in their own life, this is definitely a book for book clubs to explore and have discussions. Reading it alone, I feel like I didn't process all of the feelings going on throughout because I didn't have anyone to talk to about the book.

I definitely got some Jodi Picoult meets any Katherine Heigl movie in this novel.