“..doing the right thing (is) always good, even when it (is) hard.” As two families come together for a wedding of their respective parents, all sorts of disasters await. The personalities, actions and traditions that meld together are cause for some humorous times as well as life changing events.
Magee puts together a fun, light story about what happens when families, friends and pasts collide during a week of wedding celebrations, well done.

A modern retelling of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", It's All Relative follows the days leading up to Steve and Nora's wedding. To have some support while trying to blend in with her new family, Helena brings her best friend Landon as her plus one to the wedding, neither of them knowing that the groom's daughter just so happens to be his ex girlfriend, Amelia, who's now moved on and engaged, and it also just so happens that Helena has developed a crush on said fiancé.

The story was messy and fun to follow along, it was engaging and had a way to keep you hooked even though not much happened. The pacing was weird and it definitely focused more on the characters and their development rather than the plot itself, which I didn't really mind all that much. The writing was very enjoyable, and the four different points of view were a really great choice.

The characters were interesting, mainly Helena and Amelia; they were very engaging to follow both on their own and as they tried to develop a relationship. I also really liked the glimpses we got of Amelia's siblings, while I have to admit I didn't really care for Gage or Landon. They were there, they had their good moments, but I never longed to see more of them the way I did the other two main characters.

Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction & NetGalley for the eARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to the publisher/ author and Netgalley for the chance to read this copy early.

I loved the cover of this book!! The pool back ground made it feel like the perfect read for summer. However, this book just was not it for me. I was unable to connect with any of the characters and ended up DNFing it after a while of trying to get into it. The story line felt like it was a little bit unorganized. I would have liked to have seen some more character connections and development.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC on this book.

This book was a great read. I connected with it right away and could not put it down. I even like how she wrote the epilogue.

It's All Relative main character is Helena. Helena (now in her 20's and a teacher) was raised by her single mom Nora. Nora has met Steve and they are now getting married. Helena calls Steve's family "The Perfects". She convinces her best friend (Landon) to attend the wedding with her in June on a small island off of Florida. While combining families is never easy, combining them with adult children adds an extra challenge.

No spoilers here, but run and pick this book up. It's a great one. Looking forward to reading more books by Rachel Magee.

The writing was boring and not to my taste and honestly the characters reflected the same as they had no substance and felt very 2D. Ended up dnfing after a couple of chapters.

Fun story of a wedding where the woman has a daughter Helena and the groom has 2 daughters and a son. Helena invites her best friend as her plus one. Unfortunately, he is also the ex of the groom's oldest daughter, who is engaged to another.

Helena is happy for her mother because she truly deserves all the love in the world and the upcoming wedding is a great way for them to celebrate that. However, Helena is not very happy that she will have to share her mother with other people, especially Amelia, her stepsister. Moreover, she herself has sympathy for Amelia's fiancé. She needs moral support for the event and her best friend Landon agrees to be her plus one. However, what no one expects is that Amelia and Landon have known each other for a long time, and their past will turn everyone's lives upside down.

The family drama was what I expected to get me as soon as I started the book. In fact, however, it did not overflow the pages at all and was well presented and sustained. I loved how the two stepsisters were portrayed and the gradation they both went through. I liked Helena a lot more than Amelia and her sense of humor kept me laughing.

As for the love story, it was clear to me how things would turn out for all four of them, but I still had a hell of a time watching the events. The author has a very pleasant writing style and the main characters from whose point of view we read have their own voices and it was apparent that they were very well built. I liked Cage and Landon equally. Yes, in real life something like this would hardly happen, but so what?

The events take place on a small island, which, to be honest, I wished I could be there too. If you feel like reading a lighthearted summer romance, then this book is a great choice. There is enough love, family secrets, wedding emotions and azure ocean that are in perfect balance = top choice for the beach!

I made it to 33% but this book just wasn’t for me. It was a bit too cheesy and hallmark movie-esque for my tastes. The situation the MCs ended up in had some potential, and some of the backstories were interesting, but the predictable awkward shenanigans were a bit much.

I was given this book by NetGalley and Thomas Nelson as an ARC. It’s about a woman named Helena whose mother is getting married for the first time in her life. The man she’s marrying has a few children from his deceased wife. There is some minor family drama (such as the two oldest daughters not getting along) as both sides come together for this marriage. Most of the book takes place on a private island.

The chapters are quite lengthy. I liked the story overall, but it moved a little slow for me.

it was very unfortunate that this was a dnf for me it wasn't because the book was bad, it just wasn't for me. thank you to the publisher/s for the free copy, i truly appreciate it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC of It's All Relative.

I found the premise of this modern retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream to be intriguing - unfortunately I struggled to get into this one. It felt a bit obvious and I couldn't get invested in the characters.

I don't give too many 5 stars to books, but this one deserves it.
A cute and relatable story of a perfectly imperfect family. The author made the characters all very relatable and like part of my family. I wanted to be a part of the festivities and enjoy their life.
The story moved along and the ending was perfect. Usually stories seem to fast forward at the end making you wish for more, but Ms. Magee took the time to make sure all the details were there too.
Definitely recommending this book to all my friends.

The story premise was super interesting and it started off strong but sadly it kind of fell flat for me. I couldn’t understand why any of the characters liked each other - there wasn’t enough depth to them. The location and set up were great and I really wanted to love it but I found myself majorly skimming. Sorry!!

3 ⭐️ DNF at chapter 13 (page 132). Literally the worst feeling, requesting a book, getting accepted, and not enjoying it! I don't DNF ARCs. Ever. I think this is my first one. But an author told me recently, and I quote, "I would rather people quit my books if they aren't enjoying them. Life is too short to read books you aren't enjoying!" And I have taken that to heart.

With that said, this book is still 3 stars because I think it had potential and could have been great past what I read. The storyline was intriguing, the author's writing is good too, I just think I couldn't get into it. There was no hook. All of the characters were kind of bland, nothing really happened, and I wasn't loving the whole, "I'm engaged but I have sparks with another woman" kind of thing.

Ultimately, I think most people should give this book a chance. I think I will pick this up again down the line and try and finish it. But for now, this is what it is.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, and Rachel Magee for the complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

An interesting reimagining of a midsummer night’s dream with plenty of entertaining twists and turns. 3 🌟

this was quite charming. a really summery feel-good rom-com set on an island with all the characters preparing for a wedding. a retelling of shakespeare’s ‘a midsummer night’s dream’, it brings together four different characters as they try to navigate their relationships. all four characters have their own pov’s, which was a really great aspect of the book, although i finished it feeling like i didn’t get to know the characters all that well after all. i didn’t care that much for the romances, but i enjoyed helena and amelia’s journey towards accepting each other as stepsisters. i liked how much focus there was on family in general. the ending felt a little rushed though. and for being based on ‘a midsummer night’s dream’ it could definitely be a bit more whacky lol.

I really liked the way that this book explored a family dynamic and the characters were well developed. The romance between Amelia and Landon was an extra bonus, and I would definitely recommend that people check out this book!

5 stars for It's All Relative! I loved this Shakespeare retelling. I loved the dual POV and family dynamics, as well as the romances. My only critique (which I will admit is a bit nit picky) is how similar Helena and Amelia's names are. My brain was a bit spinny reading their names over and over sentence after sentence.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and Rachel Magee for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. It's All Relative publishes on August 6, 2024.

Great beach read rom com. complex character's and complex relationships. Trials and tribulations of blending families and traditions resulting in a happily ever after.

Really liked all of the characters and getting to hear all 4 perspectives. Was not a major fan of Helena at certain points I just felt she was a little unrealistically immature.