Welcome to the Neighborhood, the debut novel by Lisa Roe, takes the classic "fish out of water" trope and gives it more depth.

Ginny, a pet portrait painter, and her 11-year-old daughter Harri have an interesting life (and constant financial worries) in Queens. When Ginny falls in love with Jeff, she and Harri move into his luxurious home in a posh New Jersey suburb and are excited for the possibilities. Harri even has a pet chicken named Mrs. Clucklesworth!

All is well ... until they begin to meet the neighbors - PTA parents who expect Ginny to conform to their Lululemon dress code and diet-culture parenting. And their mean-girl daughters bully Harri into fitting into their mold. Then Jeff gets a long-awaited promotion that takes him away for an extended period of time, leaving Ginny alone to deal with all of this. Conflicts big and small occur which lead Ginny to consider drastic changes. And in time, Ginny discovers that life behind the mahogany front doors isn't as perfect as the manicured landscape would have everyone believe.

I enjoyed this novel both for its 'rich people behaving badly' humor and for the heartfelt reminders to be true to yourself and money can't buy happiness. Most of the secondary characters are very unlikeable, but I really enjoyed the next door neighbor and his dog. I liked the ending even though everything is tied up in shiny red bows. The audiobook narrated by Emma Love was a delightful way to read this story.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook pre-publication.

This book was totally unexpected, but I adored it. We got some Stepford Wives, rich, stay at home mom drama - but we also got a touching story of a woman finding her way, and a dynamic mother/daughter story. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel!

First, I love Harri. She seems like a spirited young girl, who really is jut trying to figure out who she is and how she fits into the wild world that is girl drama in middle school. I saw so much of myself in Harri - and her journey vividly brought back those horrific feelings of trying to fit in and also be yourself during adolescence.

Then, Ginny is a strong mom who, while excited to start a new chapter of her life, just seems so real compared to the secondary characters in her wealthy, suburban neighborhood.

Overall, this book does have a lot of moving parts - but the audio was easy to follow. It was dynamic. And I can't wait to see what this author gives us next!

I loved this. It was a great smooth read. It covers bullying, eating and weight issues that could be triggers. But it was a good story. I don’t know that there wasn’t much this book did not cover. I loved Jenny and Harry as characters.

This is a Women's Fiction/Contemporary. I listened to the audiobook of this book, and the narrator of this audiobook did a great job. I really enjoyed the audiobook of this book. I have to start off by saying I love Ginny. This book is the reason I will never live in a neighborhood. This is why I love living in the country. This book is so great, and It really shows that not everything is what you think or see. This book will make you think, parts will make you laugh, and parts will make you want to hug your kid so hard. I love when a book brings out so much. The ending was so great. The cover in this book is so great and sums up this book so well. I will note there is a part that may be hard to read for some people, so please check out the triggers of this book before going into blind if you are a reader that gets triggered. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Sourcebooks Casablanca) or author (Lisa Roe) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Delightful contemporary novel about Ginny, single mom with a precocious 11 year old daughter, Harri. I received the ARC of this audiobook read by Emma Love at no charge from NetGalley and the author, and it was delightful. The book begins with Ginny having already married Jeff, a sweet divorced man who she met at a craft fair. They move into his palatial home in a fancy neighborhood in NJ, where she finds that life is not easier for her or her daughter than when they lived hand to mouth in a tiny apartment in NYC. The other girls in the neighborhood are unwelcoming to Harri, who starts to doubt herself; at the same time, Ginny is also trying to fit in with the other 'airbrushed' moms in the neighborhood and not succeeding. When Jeff is sent abroad for an extended time for work, Ginny is once again a single mom, trying to do the best for herself and her daughter. Well-worth the listen.

As a mom of girls - one heading into middle school - this is my nightmare. Like Ginny, I want my girls to fit in but I don't want them to lose self-confidence or the joy of being a kid. Ginny has recently married and moved her daughter into her husband's wealthy neighborhood. He leaves fairly quickly on an extended work trip and Ginny is attempting to fit in - to the neighborhood, with the other moms - and things are not as they seem on the outside.
I listened to the audiobook, performed by Emma Love, and thought the narrator did a great job with Ginny's POV.
Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Overall this was a pleasant, 3 star listen for me. I would describe it as "Housewives of Elderberry Lane and their Mean Girls Daughters" meet feminist, independent single-mom artist. There are many stereotypes in this book yet overall I think it works.

*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

Welcome To The Neighborhood by Lisa Roe is a family drama with a bit of romance, social commentary and lots of real life issues.

Ginny and her 11 year old daughter move from their Queens apartment to upscale NJ suburbia when she marries divorced Jeff. The moms here give new meaning to Desperate Housewives.

Tackling issues of bullying, sexual abuse, and self worth narrator Emma Love gives Ginny a realistic voice fighting for the life she wants rather than the life others perceive as worthy.

I received a free copy of this ALC audiobook for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

This story was fun and lighthearted with some drama and seriousness thrown in the mix as well. It's especially great if you're a fan of Gilmore Girls with Lorelei and Rory but instead of being in the quaint town of Stars Hollow, it's like the town of Desperate Housewives.
The narrator, Emma Love, did a fantastic job with this story. She did all the characters' voices and I couldn't tell that she was the only narrator. I wondered if there was more than one narrator so it's always been amazing to me how well some narrators like Emma can do. She does great at the voices, bringing the characters to life and drawing you into the story and bringing the world, etc. to life also.
In this book, Ginny, a single mom, and her daughter, 11-year-old Harri, move to a posh neighborhood from the 'wrong side of town' with Jeff, who was divorced and married Ginny. They move into the house that Jeff lived in with his ex-wife and things become complicated as they try to fit in this new neighborhood with these new more upscale neighbors. Ginny and Harri have to navigate and figure things out with PTA Moms, mean girls, and real housewife contenders. When secrets, bad behavior and the like take a toll on Ginny and Harri and their new marriage/family, Ginny has to decide what's important and what to protect.
This does have a bit of content that could be triggering with attempted rape, death of a loved one/cancer, divorce, bullying, and possibly touching on the subject of unhealthy eating related to bullying. This is a rather fun and lighthearted read that leaves you feeling happy and uplifted after the end even though there are some hard things and emotional parts in it too.
Make sure to pick this one up and give it a listen. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for letting me listen and review this ALC (Advanced Listening Copy). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Welcome to the Neighborhood. For fans of Gilmore Girls, think a Lorelai and Rory mother-daughter relationship moved from Star’s Hollow to a neighborhood of Real Housewives. Throw in an opportunistic ex-wife and you have an engaging read.

Ginny and her daughter Harri are very likeable characters whose life changes when Ginny marries Jeff and they move from Queens to a pretentious New Jersey suburb. Jeff had lived in the home with his ex-wife and son and apologizes profusely to Ginny that he is moving her into this house. If it wasn’t for financial reasons he would have bought her a different house she could call her own.

Unfortunately, shortly after the move, Jeff’s employer sends him to Dublin for 6 weeks (which later is extended) leaving Ginny and Harri on their own to get to know neighbors and fit into a new school and community. Aside from the next door neighbor (who they meet in his birthday suit), the neighbors are pretentious albeit interesting.

Ginny and Harri do their best to fit in while at the same time begin to lose their identities. The messaging of being true to your own values comes through loud and clear making this a book I’m recommending to everyone.

I listened to the audiobook version of Welcome To The Neighborhood which was narrated by Emma Love. Her enthusiasm and expression made this an easy audiobook to listen to. I recommend choosing this format to those that appreciate audiobooks.

Big city single mom Jenny meets Jeff, a divorced dad of one grown son at a craft fair while displaying her painted pet portraits. They date and he proposes, asking Jenny and her daughter, Harri to move to the suburbs and into his mini mansion. Jenny moves in and Jeff is sent to Ireland on business for 4-6 weeks soon after. Jenny is excited to raise her daughter in the wide open spaces and excellent school district, but soon realizes that everything isn’t quite the fairytale is seems to be.

Welcome To The Neighborhood is chick lit at its finest. Jenny is a fantastic mom, with just a bit of a silly side and Harri is your typical preteen, which caused me many moments of I’ve been there memories. Funny, heartwarming and uplifting, I enjoyed this tale of starting over in a new place and making it your own.

The narrator (Emma Love) did a fantastic job on this book!

I found Welcome to the Neighborhood to be fun and interesting. I especially loved that Ginny was quirky and secure in who she was. I also really enjoyed seeing such a close and realistic relationship between Ginny and her daughter.

Women's Fiction is what I believe this would be most appropriately considered. There is a relationship and the good and the bad that comes with that is discussed throughout the book BUT I don't really consider that to be one of the main aspects of the story, Yes, the relationship shapes how our characters come together and offers a layer of conflict BUT I think Ginny's journey with the community and with her daughter are really more of a focus than the relationship with her new husband.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This book was actually so fun?

It took me FOREVER to read this, since it was in audiobook format. BUT I JUST FINISHED IT AND THANK YOU netgalley for being a queen and approving me for this arc, because WOW. this book was weird, funny, cute AND thought provoking all at the same time! *chef's kiss*

The writing style is also exactly what I look for in a booky, and this was the very FIRST arc I got approved for, so shout out to netgalley for this opportunity! Also the audio narration was top tier lemme tell ya

*edit* the character development is also top tier but that seemed obvious to me lmao

Welcome to the Neighbourhood releases Tuesday, April 5th!!

Thank you for listening to me rant for the millionth time lol
xoxo you know who I am bestie

The narrator was amazing on this audio book!!

Welcome to the Neighborhood had me feeling like I was new in town and learning all of the neighborhood gossip! The mother daughter relationship in this book was so adorable but also very realistic.

There was a lot going on here and I think it was handled amazingly by all the the characters.

This was an enjoyable story! It is definitely a women's fiction read, with some crazy suburban mom's thrown into the mix. I enjoyed the story of her moving in and all the things she was dealing with, but I didn't feel totally hooked or invested into it. A lot of what she was experiencing was bothering me because people are actually like that, so it was super real in what she expereinced.

Ginny, a struggling artist, remarries a nice guy Jeff. She moves herself & her daughter out of their cramped quarters in Queens & move to the burbs of NJ. Ginny is hoping this will be such a game changer for her daughter -- a chance for her to have her own room and meet new friends & have a yard to play in. Little does she know the shitstorm of a neighborhood she just planted themselves into. Her new husband Jeff had a horribly materialistic ex-wife; and this house she just moved into is where this woman had lived, slept, and these neighbors were HER friends. Needless to say other than just that awkwardness, there are things any unique, adorable preteen will find tough - fitting in with the crowd but not losing yourself in them. This book was a fun time. I thought Ginny was a great mom and a strong person. If you've ever had to start over, or move, or go to a new school, or basically if you've lived a life, this story will be relatable to you. I highly recommend for a feel-good story with a mom who struggles but finds her footing and makes tough decisions that are whats best for her daughter. Check this one out - great audio as well by @dreamscapemediagroup
narrated wonderfully by #emmalove
Many thanks for access to this via @netgalley !!

Appreciate the ARC from netgalley and dreamscape, but this wasn’t the book for me. I keep seeing this pitched as a romance, but Jeff is gone for 90% of the book and Ginny repeatedly says she doesn’t even really know Jeff fully thanks to their whirlwind romance leading up to her and Harri dropping everything to move in with him (to a neighborhood they both apparently hate?). Genre wise, it felt kind of like a bait and switch. It’s also pretty soap box-y with Ginny being the perfect, morally-upstanding hippy-mom while the rest of the neighborhood (and all stay-at-home parents in this book really) are toxic stereotypical examples of mean girls who have grown up to be mean women. The messaging seemed well intentioned, but got a little heavy handed. By the end I kind of felt like Ginny was so quick to judge those around her that she couldn't see how she brought some problems on herself by failing to communicate. All in all, it wasn’t so insufferable I couldn’t finish it, but it won’t leave a lasting memory. Three stars for me.

Welcome to the Neighborhood by Lisa Roe is a heartwarming multi-feel listen. I loved how the author wrote the Mother-Daughter relationship of Ginny & Harri. The story has humor, romance and lessons that parallel real life. The way she handled the drama with neighbors was realistic, the bullying, and mother's instinct. The book has lighthearted and serious subjects at the same time. I loved how it was wove and took away an empowering story of values and sticking up for one's self. The details in the book allowed me to visualize so many things. Emma Love was great performing the book. She added the right emotions to her voice that I would not have felt reading it. Thank you #NetGalley and #Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this pre-release listen I requested. I loved it!

Artsy single mom Ginni moves herself and her daughter - 11 year old Harri- from Queens to the suburbs after her whirlwind romance and marriage to Jeff.

Ginni and Harri both adore Jeff, but when he leaves for a long term business trip the girls are forced to find their own place in a new neighborhood which may as well be a new world.

Mean moms, tween terrors, and deceptive dads make it hard to settle in. Plus, everyone has their secrets - even Jeff.

This was a quick, enjoyable read. Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC audiobook!

I was given an early audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I loved this mother/daughter take on the PTAmoms and mean girls when mom from queens. a broke professional artist Ginny marries Jeff an entrenched bachelor divorced from one of “them” Jeff soo has to go overseas for work and misses watching his wife and Harri get sucked in for a moment into the required lifestyle you must be involved in and wear formal wear in the annual fashion show. Mean girls have convinced Harri she is fat. So she skipped meals Both find their footing to be the real persons that they really have always been. While listening, I often felt I was listening to episodes of Gilmore Girls of Jersey.Although my daughter was Rory’s age and as a single mother I could relate to more with .the relationship of Ginny and Harri by the time Jeff comes back from his business trip, Ginny and Harri have found themselves again. Yes I very much enjoyed this audiobooks do would joyously recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants to delve into mother daughter relationship. Thanks to #NetGalley, #Dreamworks, #LisaRoe, and #WelcomeToTheNeighborhood for the opportunity to review early.