3.5/5 ⭐️
The new Jojo Moyes book is a character driven novel, that will keep you interested throughout it all. Overall a very sweet book. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

Jojo Moyes has done it again with We All Live Here. This novel captures the messy, wonderful complexity of life in a way that feels so personal and real. Her characters are vibrant and multidimensional, like people you might know or wish you did.

The story strikes a perfect balance between humor and heartbreak. There were moments that made me laugh out loud and others that left me unexpectedly teary-eyed. Moyes has such a gift for creating emotionally authentic scenes—they sneak up on you and stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.

I’ve already ordered this for our library, and I know it’s going to resonate with so many readers. It’s the kind of book that makes you reflect on your own life and relationships, while still being an absolute joy to read. If you’re looking for a novel that’s equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking, this one is a must-read.

Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books for my free review copy.

I’ve never read any of Jojo books before. I love a good family anthology drama with some life notes and humor sprinkled in. I found these one heartwarming, funny and enjoyed the reflection on big life changed and grief.

What a great way to start the year! This book made me realize I should read more of Moyes - I have read The Giver of Stars, but that's it.

We All Live Here is a lovely book about a dysfunctional British family dealing with money problems, leaky toilets, divorce, old dramas, and new love. The shape and contents of the family keep changing throughout the book, and the character development is very satisfying to watch. There is a bit of drama and growth for every age - teenagers learning what makes a good friend; women in their forties figuring out what they might want in the next stage after the divorce (orgies? a hot cup of tea with someone nice? both?) and older men still trying to make up for their mistakes and not giving up hope for love and connection.

It is an easy read, well-written, and with enough stakes to make you care while offering elegant solutions to all the conflicts.

I truly enjoyed it. I hope someone makes it into a movie - it gave me good Love Actually vibes without the ick.

Thank you, NetGalley and Viking Penguin, for sharing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. The book is out on February 11.

Lila is trying to hold everything together after the death of her mother and the dissolution of her marriage. She's raising 2 daughters with the unsolicited help of her mother's second husband. To add to the drama, her long lost out of work actor father returns after years of absence.
This story was, in turns, funny, poignant, and hopeful. Character development was on point and and fast moving plot kept me turning the pages. Ms. Moyes has done it again!

Got to love dysfunction! Lila, mother of two girls, is recently divorced and still reeling from the death of her mother. She's worried about money and how to afford the house she loves as her step-father slowly moves in to help with the girls. Lila is also dealing with seeing her ex-husband's new girlfriend every day at school pickup. Then, to top off her stress, her biological father comes to visit, and looks to need a place to stay and money.

Lila is clearly in the sandwich generation and has too much to deal with. She along with some of the other characters don't come off very sympathetically at first, but they all grow and learn from each other. And most importantly, they realize the love they share is what makes them all a family. Some of what happens is predictable, but it is so well written that it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

"We All Live Here" is another great book by the wonderful storyteller Jojo Moyes. Lila Kennedy is struggling with navigating her new normal after her husband leaves her for another woman. She's trying to balance a deteriorating house, two daughters and her stepfather moving in. All of this pales in comparison to when her biological father (who she hasn't seen in years), shows up looking to reunite and reconcile. All of these things come together to help Lila grow as a person, ultimately helping her to discover more about who she is and what she wants from her life. I enjoyed this book and will continue to read all Jojo Moyes books in the future!

4 ⭐️

In her latest novel WE ALL LIVE HERE, Jojo Moyes introduces the reader to Lila, a divorced mother, who is recovering from her divorce with the death of her mother while her stepfather Bill moves in to help out with the kids more. I really liked the relationship between Lila and her stepfather. It feels rare to get the child/stepfather relationship explored once the child reaches adulthood.

When Lila learns that her ex Dan is having a baby with the woman he left her for and needs to pay less child support, Lila goes into a tailspin. She has a one night stand with the gardener, and she has her eyes set on a different man at the child pick-up area. And then her biological dad Glenn finds her after decades and needs a home.

While this novel seems light on the surface, there is a depth to it as it touches on forgiveness, making amends, and moving on after being dealt a rough hand. That said, you can tell what the large beats of this novel will be pretty quickly after picking it up. It was a heart-affirming novel that those readers who are going through hard things might appreciate for its message and light, but deft, touch.

WE ALL LIVE HERE publishes February 11, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely complicated family drama of a newly divorced mom dealing with having to get back on the saddle while dealing with two all knowing daughters, a stepdad and dad all living under the same roof.
This is crazy enough without Lila having to be confronted with her ex-husband's new family everyday at school pickup. Lila is also trying to come up with another best selling book and dating in a small town after so many married years. Big emotions rule this book, competing dads, newbie dating rules and balancing an imagined "great" life vs. real life. Jojo Moyes is good at making us laugh, cry and shake our heads in agreement at all the complexities of everyday life.
Her fans will be happy as will readers of SANDWICH and Ann Napolitano. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Despite the rather unoriginal characters and plot, this is written with such warmth and heart that I was thoroughly won over, even as I knew what was coming. As the title suggests, and as the main character reflects several times, modern families are not necessarily the cookie cutter biological ones from yesteryear.

In their ramshackle house, there is 42-year-old divorcee Lila, her daughters, moody teenager Celie and often inappropriate and extroverted Violet, and her stepfather, fastidious Bill. They are all still grieving the accidental death of Francesca, who was the sort of dream wife/mother/grandmother that only exists in books (or maybe that’s just me projecting my family). On top of this, a few years ago, Lila’s husband left her for a younger woman who is now pregnant. Into this melee, waltzes Lila’s biological father, Gene, who left when she was 4 and has been a B-list actor in America ever since.

Lila has been in a slump since Dan left. Humiliatingly, he walked out just after she’d published a gushing self-help book about revitalizing a stale marriage and she’s now stuck on an idea for a follow-up. She needs one as she’s hemorrhaging money on the house which is falling to pieces with endless payments to handymen for blocked drains and leaking roofs. Even as her agent suggests she writes about all the fun sexytimes a newly single woman can have, Lila can only look on in wonder as her friend Eleanor has threesomes and goes to sex parties.

Two men step into her emotional void. Jensen, who is landscaping her garden seems like a nice enough fellow who’s a good listener and a good friend. Gabriel, on the other hand, is a dreamy architect, getting over the death of his wife, which would surely explain why he’s so bad at answering texts.

It is, of course, a cozy white middle-class world and the family's problems reflect that. Over the course of a few months, Lila and her family gain and lose equilibrium, ricocheting from one crisis to the next, from one trauma to another. The characters are so well-drawn that, even though I’ve seen them in many other incarnations, I found myself caring about them and rooting for them while being anxious about their foolish mistakes. The story moves smoothly along and the writing is easy and unforced. Recommended if you like this sort of fantasy, which I do.

Thanks to Pamela Dorman Books and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

I enjoyed this story of blended family, romance, friendship, misunderstanding, forgiveness, expectations and love. A newly divorced woman with two children and a step-father are living in the same house when her charismatic biological father shows up. Add in her cheating ex-husband who is now expecting a baby with his girlfriend, a gorgeous single father at the school pick-up and a witty gardener. This is a perfect feel good novel, without the sugary aftertaste.

I liked but didn’t love this new Jojo Moyes book. The plot is strikingly similar to Is She Really Going Out With Him? The story of the two Dads gave it a little depth, but I was still hoping for something more (or different?)) from Moyes. It wasn’t as strong as some of her earlier novels. I think it will still sell well.

Thank you to @netgalley and @PenguinGroupVikingPenguin for this ARC. Lila is still reeling from her husband's affair and pending divorce. She has to face the girlfriend at school pick up, try to maintain a house that is now way too big, take care of her two girls, and figure out how to write her next book. Her stepfather moves in to help after her mother dies but in the middle of the chaos, her long lost father reappears and wants to start a relationship. Lila isn't sure she can take much more. An all real story of love, loss, and forgiveness. #WeAllLiveHere #JojoMoyes #PenguinGroup #VikingPenguin #Feb2025

It took me forever to get into this book. The characters all started out insufferable, miserable, and I guess that was the point. Somewhere in the middle, the protagonist started growing on me, the characters became more likable, and by the end, I loved every single person in this dysfunctional family.

It has been a while since I have read a Jojo Moyes story.

You sort of know what you are going to get with a Moyes story. A woman who may be having a down time, however they grow stronger as the story goes along, till we get to the end and she is a kick-butt female who takes no bull from anyone.

Lila is quite downtrodden as We All Live Here starts, and is really a bit of a doormat. And she is like it for quite a bit of the story, but then she puts on her big girl pants and gets on with it.

And I like that once she breaks those shackles, she really does fly.

It took a while for the story to really get going, but once it does, you won't want to put it down. The ending is well worth sticking it out.

Love. Family. Chaos. Forgiveness. What do you do when you feel like your life is falling apart all around you but you still have to be strong for your children?

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes is a poignant tale of Lila Kennedy, a mother, whose marriage recently ended, her mother passed away shortly thereafter, and she is left coparenting with a new woman in the picture. School pickups are a mess, she has taken on way too many responsibilities, and she has trouble letting people in. After her mom's death, her stepdad has technically moved in with her to help out (or maybe he is just lonely too?) and now her real father - a playboy actor from America - has shown up to further turn her world upside down. But Lila is stronger than she thinks, and the people in her life are about to remind her about the importance of family - in all forms and shapes.

Moyes sure knows how to create relatable characters that you will fall in love with - each is on a journey of their own and their development is so well done. Family dramas can be messy, but this book shows the layers of love and compassion and understanding that are necessary to make blended families work. The humor was the perfect touch to keep you invested - and I loved the dynamic between Bill and Gene! This book also made me a little happy that I have 3 boys (and not girls!), but man, I really wish I could have said something to the mean school yard moms.

Due to the slow-paced nature of this novel at some points, it took me longer to read than normal. While I was captivated by the story as a whole, some parts simply dragged on and I wasn't fully invested until Gene showed up to shake things up. This was unlike any other book I have read from Moyes (all which I have loved) and it's well worth the read - the reader just needs to trust the journey. 3.8 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for his lovely arc! All opinions are my own.

"Life is long and complicated, Lila, as we all make mistakes. What matters is what we do beyond them."

I fell in love with JoJo Moyes’ new book from the first chapter. In “We All Live Here” Lila is an author who wrote a best selling book about how to make a marriage successful only to be slapped in the face after it was published because her husband left her for another mom at their daughter’s school. Then her mother passes away in a terrible accident leading Lila’s stepfather to move in with her and her two daughters. Add the reemergence of her estranged father, a gardener who is unintentionally involved in all the family drama and a hot new dad at the playground. It’s a full cast of characters but none of them felt unnecessary to the story. Everyone has a part to play and they’re all equally important. It’s a great book about family drama and chaos that keeps you entertained throughout. At first I found myself only reading a few chapters at a time so I could take it slow and enjoy the story but that ended about a quarter of the way through and I found myself finishing the book in two days. Moyes gave each character a distinct personality and carefully weaved everyone together. Nothing felt outlandish in the plot, it was grounded in real life situations. It’s easy to connect with one of more of the characters’ personal struggles. This was such an enjoyable book, I was sad it ended. I’d love a sequel to revisit everyone but then again I thought the book ended perfectly. Maybe a sequel focused on one of the daughters?

Thank you to Penguin Group, Viking Penguin, and Pamela Dorman Books for this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A book that has so much drama but it’s written in a fun, lighthearted way. I enjoyed all of the characters and found myself chuckling at parts. I can see this being turned into a movie.

This title with resonate with book clubs. We have one group that consists mainly of middle aged women who had a great discussion about 'Sandwich' by Catherine Newman, and Moyes' new novel will appeal to the same demographic. Thank you!

"We All Live Here" is a charming and heartwarming novel that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. Moyes' masterful storytelling and the endearing characters make this a must-read for anyone who enjoys heartwarming and insightful fiction.