All That Life Can Afford is a story of the haves and have nots, lies vs omission and the cost of fitting in. I enjoyed the story and iit made London very compelling.

I absolutely loved this book, and loved the writing. Jane Austen and other classic literatures melted into pages, timelessly yet freshly.

At its core, the story captures the messy, complex emotions of being young and naive. Anna’s longing to belong, her desire to appear as though she’s made it, and the selfish choices she makes along the way all felt painfully real. She’s too busy defending herself, rationalizing her behavior, and wallowing in self-pity to fully see the people around her—particularly Callum, whose quiet support comes at a cost to his own comfort.

Anyone would be able to relate to Anna to a degree and see a piece of themselves in her contradictions and missteps. It is a honest exploration of ego, insecurity, and the complicated ways we try to find our place in the world.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for gifting me a digital ARC of the debut novel by Emily Everett and current Reese's Book Club pick. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Anna is from America and a grad student in London, still navigating the grief of losing her mother. She's trying desperately to scrape by with the hope of finishing her dissertation and being able to extend her visa. She takes a job teaching SAT prep to a wealthy student. Her family soon flies her to Saint-Tropez to continue the tutoring, thrusting Anna in a whole new world. She soon meets two young men, Theo and Callum, quite different. When the family ask her to housesit for them in London, Anna feels like she's been given a gift and can save her rent money. But it's costly to fit in with all her new friends, in more ways than just monetarily.

This is a sparking coming-of-age story and I truly felt for Anna. Struggling with grief and estranged from her father, she's trying so hard to do the right things and achieve her dreams, but got swept up feeling part of a different crowd. It's an exploration of class and privilege, and truly heartbreaking to see how easily her mom's life could have been different had she had a bit more money. I enjoyed Anna's journey into realizing what's really important.

Stunning debut novel by Emily Everett! In All That Life Can Afford we follow Anna in her efforts to reinvent her life. She has grown up in America knowing struggle, lacking finances, and watching her mother’s health decline from not being able to afford the insulin to control her diabetes. Anna is now in London in 2009 to complete a Master’s program in Literature and create a better life for herself. A family she tutors for ends up taking Anna under their wing, and suddenly she finds herself surrounded by astounding wealth, class, and opportunities. How far will Anna go to create the life she really wants for herself and what does being truly rich in life actually look life?

Key features I loved in this book:
-2009/2010 setting
-Exploring London, Saint-Tropez, Lisbon
-The homage paid to Jane Austen and literature in general
-Fancy parties, designer clothes, and aristocracy
-“Found family” and camaraderie
-Admirable work ethic, chasing your dreams, and enduring hardships

This would be an excellent book club read! It made me want to explore London, set up a picnic on Parliament Hill, and read Hemingway or Austen.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read, but I think it is best suited for YA or new adult readers. The protagonist is fairly immature, and the writing seems designed to appeal to a younger audience as well. The theme of living a dishonest life has certainly been done before, and the inevitable crash is fairly predictable, but nonetheless the story flies right along and is a pleasure to read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

Anna, an American graduate student living in London focuses on British Literature. In order to afford the city, she tutors on the side for the wealthy families. Then Anna meets the Wilders, a family who sort of takes her under their wing and invites her to St Tropez for the summer so she can continue to tutor their daughter. Anna is then exposed to the life of the British upper class and eventually tried to become a part of it camouflaging her upbringing with fancy clothes and accessories. But when you deny your past, you deny who you really are.

I personally loved this novel - as an English major I fully appreciated all of the literary references. This is not quite a retelling of Pride and Prejudice but it takes it and shows if from a different angle. The storyline kept me reading, even when I was not enjoying the characters in the story. The characters are definitely young, making stupid choices, but these choices were not to the level of cringeworthy and I thought they all worked well interwoven into the story. I really enjoyed this coming of age novel with the light dabbling of Austen.

4.25 stars

Thank you to G.P. Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC to review

Anna an American Masters student living in London who is scraping to get by. She gets swept up into a new crowd and spends most the novel trying to keep up, losing herself along the way. While the crash is predictable - I really enjoyed this coming of age story.

The story does not contribute anything different to the plethora of stories about a young and smart woman who is navigating environments of wealth while understanding her responsibilities. Anna, the main character, gets lost in her own story. The story falls apart and too much happens to be invested in the ending.

Callum was an interesting character, as was his family.

4.5 stars

OH, here we are! I have to say, I’ve been in a VERY BAD reading slump (thank you, work and my ridiculous hours), but whenever I picked up this book, I read in BULK because of how much it pulled me in.

We follow Anna on her journey as she tries to accomplish her goal of finishing grad school and eventually entering the world of publishing. It’s crazy to think about—and super relatable—as someone who’s about to turn 25. She also reflects on her childhood and how the life she grew up in wasn’t exactly a happy one.

This book really explores themes of the upper social class. It kind of gave me Gossip Girl vibes—like how Dan wanted to be part of the in-crowd and get a taste of that life. Keep that in mind while reading. But also, Anna always felt like an outsider (I know Dan did too, but come on… Dan literally wrote his way into that storyline). Anna, on the other hand, entered that world fully aware she’d always be an outsider. Still, she made the decision to try and leave her mark—not to fit into their world necessarily, but to carve out a place for herself in the world.

Btw, I love Callum.

Huge thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

I read 10% and the main character was kind of insufferable? I don't think I was clicking with the writing style either - I was hoping for something like Magnolia Parks but this wasn't it.

As a little girl Anna always loved books. The library was her safe space, where she escaped into a dream world through the pages of whatever she was reading. It was only natural she would grow up to study English literature in college and dream of a life in publishing. But her parents didn’t have much and things only got worse as her mothers diabetes and medical issues escalated. When Anna ran away to study in London she never wanted to look back. Anna wanted to reinvent herself as the characters in her beloved novels had done. To make ends meet with her school loans, Anna began tutoring students and met the Wilder family. Pippa was her best and favorite student and Anna did not hesitate when the family invited her to join them and teach Pippa over the holidays in Saint Tropez. Caught up in a world of make believe, Anna was loaned clothes and shoes, taken to wineries and fancy bistros. It was everything she ever imagined. With her pretty face and sweet demeanor, it didn’t take long before she stopped mentioning she worked for the Wilder’s and just became one of the gang. It wasn’t easy to keep up with their social life while barely getting by with her paycheck, these young beautiful people did not have to worry about anything. Their lives seemed perfect and Anna wanted to taste that freedom if only for a moment. As relationships deepened a very fine line was crossed and suddenly Anna found she could not outrun her past. Coming of age story filled with books and London and the dreams of a young girl, I loved every minute of it.

(Actual: 4.5⭐, rounded up) A very sweet and moving coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of London, 2009— I loved this book. I can honestly say this was an "easy" read for me in that I was invested the entire time, perhaps because I found it all to be very relatable at times, albeit a bit painfully so. I saw a lot of my younger self in Anna – and, even then, I saw pieces of who I am today also; both good and bad/likeable versus not-so-likeable – particularly when it came to her strained & complex family dynamics; her relationship and views towards money; her independence; and in her earnest desire & determination to build/create a life for herself that is wholly her own and by her own merit. While I, personally, have never been part of an official book club, I can definitely see why and how this novel would be a great pick for one, as I think many would be able to find something to latch onto or relate with!

Unpopular opinion, but I did not love this one. It felt very YA to me... and for an almost 40 something mom of two tweens, YA seems more appropriate for my kids than me. There was nothing specific that I could say was "wrong" with the book for me, it just felt very juvenile. Anna is an American studying abroad in London. To pay the bills, she tutors wealthy kids. When one family invites her to St. Tropez for a working holiday, she can't turn down the opportunity. Anna finds herself split between the attention of two men, one who shows her the wealthy lifestyle and the other who sees who she really is. Which life will she chase? The descriptions are there, the characters were well developed, the story line was intriguing. But, the characters were exactly as expected, childish. Teens and early twenties - chasing wealth, ignoring consequences and not always thinking through their decisions. As a mom, it made me cringe and I just struggled to not find them whiny, bratty and ridiculous. 20 years ago, I may have felt differently!! 
Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and thanks to PRH Audio for the alc.

Like others who read this book, I am a little bit conflicted on how to rate it. I liked the first half of the story, but the second half of the story I felt less connected with. I also must say that I dd like the narrator of the audiobook, Alex Finke. Overall, I did enjoy the writing style and because of that I think I would be open to potentially reading more by this author. I would also like to clarify that I only went to community college and I have never been abroad, so I think that also may have played a part in how much I enjoyed this book. I would rate it somewhere between 3-4 stars overall.

I thought this book would provide drama that the synopsis promised, but instead it provided a lack luster and too familiar story about what happens when you start to lead a dishonest life. Anna has lived a difficult life, one where she’s living paycheck to paycheck, dealing with the grief of losing her mother, and fighting with her father about what the right life path is. After college, she decides to leave America and head to London, the place of her dreams. Working as an SAT tutor for rich British kids that want to live in America, Anna is taken under the wing of one of her student’s rich family, falling in love with the glimmer and mirage that money can provide. One thing this book does well is make London feel like a character. Anna’s attachment to the city is a driving force behind her bad decisions and with Everett’s descriptions, it’s clear to see why Anna doesn’t want to leave. I found the discussions surrounding wealth and class disparity to be quite surface level and repetitive. The conflict started obviously and was also solved too conveniently. Overall, I wish this book was more enthralling than it was and had better commentary on the elements it wished to critique.

Loved this novel! Like an Austen heroine, economically-disadvantaged Anna finds herself zigzagging through a maze of mistakes. Anna (an American) is escaping grief over the death of her mother, and struggles to earn a graduate degree and launch a career in London. Short chapters and plenty of plot twists will appeal to fans of Jane Austen and Bridget Jones! A twisty fun read that leaps from London to Saint-Tropez, with many splashes of glamour and sparks of romance. I think the world needs more light-hearted escapist reads like this. Is a film coming soon?

This modern twist on Pride and Prejudice enchants with a complex heroine and breathtaking European settings. While it doesn’t quite reach the level of a 5-star page-turner, it absolutely delivers everything I need to rate it a solid four-star read.

Anna Byrne, an American student in London, is juggling grad school, tutoring, and a constant struggle to make ends meet. When she starts tutoring and befriends Pippa Wilder, she’s swept into the glittering world of privilege. After the Wilders whisk her away to St. Tropez—where wealth and privilege seem like a dream—the lines between truth and pretense start to blur.

Caught between the irresistible charm and mystery of Theo and the enigmatic, occasionally warm Callum, Anna wrestles with her own identity. As she navigates lavish parties and estates, you can’t help but root for her—while also wishing she’d realize that being true to herself might be the key to getting the life she’s chasing.

With stunning settings and a thoughtful exploration of class, self-discovery, and romance, this book captures the spirit of Pride and Prejudice while giving it a fresh, contemporary edge. If you love literary retellings with heart and depth, this one is worth the read.

I am a sucker for a story set in London and this fit the bill. I am going 4 stars but leaning more the 3.5 route - I just didn't buy into the terrible-ness of her indiscretion which caused all the interpersonal and potential legal difficulties. Omitting that you are a tutor rather than a friend and then wearing the rich sister's forgotten/castoff designer clothes doesn't strike me as the kind of thing that would lead to all of Anna's problems. However, that aside, I still liked the story, the descriptions, and the reality of how things shook out for her. I was rooting for Callum al the way through and was glad that his character was truly a "good guy" in the end. I found the scenario with Anna's parents very believable and realistic and appreciated that things weren't neatly tied in a happy bow in terms of the relationship with her father.

An American woman who grew up in a struggling family finally realizes her dream of studying in London. In London, she struggles financially until one of her tutoring gigs gives her entry into high society. This book has depth and does a great job incorporating references to British literature, but it's also fun.

I’m just like Anna - obsessed with everything British! Fun to live through the eyes of this young gal who’s trying to find her place in the world. Luckily landing a wealthy family’s search for a tutor and living a fancy, jet-set life, even for just a bit, sounds amazing. But all good things must come to an end and choices have to be made. I really enjoyed this story!