I really enjoyed This Won’t End Well, and this one was just as good. I loved the characters and the layers of relationships between the mother and sisters. Hard topic of memory loss, but done in a way that focuses on families and the love between them all.

Laine has left her husband and is in New York to try and help her mother. Lots of secrets are being kept within her family, but will she get a second chance with Ben, her best friend from childhood.

Laine is a planner. She in the process planning the end of her marriage and beginning her next chapter when her sisters call her back to New York to help care for their mother. Her mother's failing memory throws Laine's life into chaos and she realizes her next chapter might look very different than she had originally planned.

Everything Must Go is a quick read with a lot of emotional depth. The characters were likable and I wanted them all to find happiness. Laine's struggles to communicate her feelings directly was quite frustrating to me for most of the book. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC.

loved, loved this book. Received an arc from this author and thoroughly enjoyed this book, Camille Pagan is my go to author and she doesn't disappoint!

This book annoyed me. I found the majority of the characters incredibly selfish. The main character Laine wants to have a baby and suspects her husband doesn’t want one. So instead of discussing this with her husband like a mature adult should, she tells him she wants a divorce then refuses to discuss the reason with anybody for the first half of the book. This coupled with her Mom (who lives in New York) experiencing memory loss and reconnecting with an old friend it’s a lot. I feel like none of the storylines were ever followed through with the way they should have been.

I felt like Laine was all over the place. It seemed to be like the only thing she really cared about was her dog Belle that recently died. She goes as far as to travel with the urn containing the dog’s ashes. I found her cold and uncaring about other’s feelings especially her sisters.

I thought this book had a great premise but it was poorly executed. That being said I would probably still try to read another book by this author in hopes of finding some more well rounded characters.

Laine is a professional organizer.
When the news breaks that her mom, Sally, has dementia, her marriage takes a turn for the worse. Lauren rushes to take care of Sally. Her plan is to help her mom get back on track and then head home to Michigan. Laine runs into her estranged best friend Ben, and she's ready to make things right. They've been estranged for way too long.
Meanwhile, her mom reveals a big secret.
It was nice to see how Laine approached her mom's memory loss.
This is a story about family and constantly changing dynamics. As a character, Laine takes more control over her life.
A fun, engrossing, and dramatic story about a family.

Everything Must Go follows Laine. She's unhappy in her marriage because one thing she wants more than anything is a child, but her husband, Josh, continually says he "isn't ready". Just after dropping the bomb that she wants a divorce, Laine gets a call from her sisters asking her to come back to New York because their mom isn't doing well. While in New York, Laine runs into her old friend Ben, which brings up old trauma and feelings.

This story started super slow for me. Though, I will say that may be just me because contemporary fiction is not my genre of choice. However, once I got into it, I really did enjoy the storyline. Laine has to make many decisions and she doesn't always know the right one to make. She's flawed, just like each one of us.

3.75/5 stars - would recommend

Thank you so much to @kccpr, @camillepagan, and @amazonpublishing for my gifted copy of Everything Must Go! It comes out on April 26th. Camille Pagan is an author I found thanks to Bookstagram, and I have loved everything I’ve read by her! So, y’all can imagine how excited I was to receive a copy of this book. In Everything Must Go, we meet Laine, a woman whose marriage is unraveling and mother may have dementia. It chronicles her journey through both of these very intense situations, and how each of them unfolds.

Y’all, Camille Pagan is such a wonderful storyteller. It’s easy to picture the plots of her books as they unwind across the pages. She also writes very compelling characters who you want to read more about and learn more about. Everything Must Go included some very heartbreaking themes and topics, but Pagan delves into them with grace, and gives them the respect they deserve.


TW: dementia, divorce

Laine is a professional organizer, returns to NY to check in on her aging mother whose memory is failing. While negotiating her mother's issues with her sisters, she runs into her former best friend (Ben) and tries to repair their relationship. This was an entertaining read, and will especially appeal to readers with older parents.

Laine has what appears to be a fantastic life consisting of a great career and marriage until it unravels as she struggles with infertility. With each pregnancy and miscarriage, you can feel the hurt and raw pain that Laine and her husband Josh experience.

Laine’s sisters reach out to her for help as their mother Sally appears to be having difficulty living alone in NY. Her sisters are fearful Sally has dementia. Laine agrees to come to NY for a short time until they can accurately assess their mother’s situation. Once there, Laine sees that their mother can be lucid and scattered, and does need help. In the book, the author writes from Sally and her daughters’ perspectives. The author candidly and accurately describes this disease, its effects, and the stigma associated with it.

Laine discovers secrets from her past that involve her childhood best friend and how decisions she made then impacted her future. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania in the 60's I could relate to this matter because interracial relationships were frowned upon in our community.

The fact that all of Sally’s children are living fabulous lives was the only factor that was somewhat unbelievable. I was also surprised about Josh’s attraction that develops later in the story.

The author’s well-developed characters and the plot kept me in suspense as I turned each page. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to what she writes next!

A special thanks to Camille Pagan, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Camille is the queen of adult life drama fiction. Her books are so relatable and deal with such real life things. In the one, our main character is dealing with wanting to start a family and living across the country from a mother beginning to show signs of dementia. It’s full of heart and just feels real.

This story surprised me. It really pulled at my heart and left me feeling very emotional about my aging parents. The writing was lyrical and beautiful.

This is my third Camille Pagan book- generally I like them all. They are good solid fine reads. What I really don't like is the theme of staying silent and not speaking up. It's tiresome to read and can be frustrating as a reader to see people not advocate for themselves. I know that this is a real problem in the world but it makes this less of a fun read. What I didn't like about this one was the end in regards to the romantic relationships. It felt weird and sort of icky. For that reason, I would not recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

I had to sit on this review a bit because when I started the book I hadn't re-read the publisher's blurb and thought I was starting a rom-com. I very quickly realized I was mistaken and felt a little disappointed. After letting some time pass, I can say that this was a good book. I did enjoy it despite the comedy aspect being missing (my mistake.) It's definitely more of a family drama women's fiction getting life together sort of tale - and for that genre, it was very well done. A lot of enlightening moments, second chances, some family secrets, confidence and growth. I liked the main characters if not the supporting cast, and as I have some friends experiencing similar situations woth spouses and parents, found the story sensitive and relatable as well.

I've loved some of Camille Pagán's past books, but Everything Must Go didn't live up to my expectations. Most of the characters felt very one dimensional and the relationships weren't developed well enough. Sally's chapters were much more engaging that Laine's. As someone who is currently watching a family member succumb to dementia, I appreciated her perspective, but it was also heartbreaking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

I have always been drawn to books about families, friendships and motherhood and Camille Pagan does a great job of tackling these real-life issues and relationships with sensitivity but also wit and humor.

This book drew me in from the beginning as I felt for Laine and all that she was going through. Her marriage is on the rocks, she is being pulled back to NY to help her mother and she is trying to mend a long lost friendship - all while trying to be true to herself and what she wants out of life.

This book is a wonderful balance of honesty, forgiveness and self-discovery❤️. {Thank you to @amazonpublishing and @netgalley for my gifted copy!}

Laine is a people-pleaser. She finds it hard to voice her own opinions and tries to placate those around her, especially her husband Josh and her sisters and mother. Laine desperately wants to have a baby but when her sisters call her to say her mother is sick, she drops everything to be there with them. Her family home makes her think of her best friend Ben who used to live just down the street. When they fell out as teenagers, Laine never stopped missing him. Now confronted by life-changing decisions to make and with Ben’s reappearance in her life, will Laine put herself first for once?

This book grabbed my attention with an interesting premise and a storyline focusing on caring for a sick loved one/person with dementia as I’ve my own personal experience with this illness. I liked how Pagán discussed this difficult topic throughout the story with a degree of sensitivity and kindness (and as I later found out at the end of the book, she too has dealt with a family member with this illness).

I also thought Pagán’s handling of the issue of caring for a sick loved one was good and focused on how we are made to feel that we must care for a family member even when we are not mentally or physically able to do that. The guilt that people feel when put in this sort of situation is immense and I’m glad that the author highlights this struggle in the book. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to this aspect of the story.

I however can’t say I connected with the characters (apart from the mother who’s point of view in the book was really interesting to read). The weirdness surrounding Josh and Laine’s sister just didn’t sit well with me (when you read about it, you will feel the same!) and at times, I found elements about the various relationships being discussed being repeated in the book. I didn’t feel the chemistry between Laine and Ben either. The ending jumped forward but ended quite abruptly but maybe the author is going to write a second book to continue the story of Laine and Ben.

There are many emotional and heart-breaking moments throughout this book but overall, the subject of caring for a person and being cared for was handled well by the author. The bond between a mother and her daughters is also quite beautifully portrayed also.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the arc. Everything Must Go is out now.

This is a look at a family dealing with infertility, divorce, and Alzheimer’s disease. Lanie and Josh live in Michigan and her mother and 2 sisters live in Brooklyn. Hadley is married with children, she’s concerned about their mother Sally and asks Lanie to come home. Lanie has asked Josh for a divorce because she wants to have children, so she goes to stay with mom.
Unfortunately she finds her mom is in worse shape than any of them knew. She also sees the boy that got away, Ben, her friend from next door.
Now the family has to figure out the best solution for getting care for mom. Old secrets are revealed and family relationships are changed.
I enjoyed this book, 4 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Camille Pagan's book Everything Must Go spoke to my own situation of having a mother with dementia. While our situation is different, I still saw some of my own concerns shared on page in this book. The story is told from the perspective of both the mother, Sally, and daughter, Laine. Besides dealing with her family, Laine is in the middle of her own "midlife" crisis. She has recently lost her beloved canine companion, is longing for a baby, and questioning her marriage to the point that she has asked her husband for a divorce. As a professional organizer, she seems to be able to get everyone else's life in order but fails to do the same thing for herself. When she is called home to Brooklyn to deal with the issues involving her mother Laine agrees to go so that she can get some distance from her husband and possibly some perspective on her situation. Her family is not a lot of help. They love Laine's husband and can't see what the problem is. Then they see Laine's new unattached status as the answer to their problems. Laine is expected to just move in with mom and take care of things. We learn that Laine has always been a people pleaser and bows to the requests of those around her at the expense of her own wishes and dreams. She learns a lot about herself through the course of the book as well a lot about her mother.

As stated earlier in this review, I was drawn to this book because of the dementia story. I found that part of the story to be realistic and what kept me interested in the book. I wanted to see how the family handled the situation. I was disappointed in the fact that the family doesn't look past either a nursing home or in home care. There are other options, and I was surprised that the author didn't include specialized assisted living for memory care as something that is available for families looking for help for a parent with dementia. A nursing home is depicted as the WORST thing ever and I thought that was rather insensitive and uninformed. There were not as many chapters from Sally's perspective, but I thought that they truly tied the book together. The divorce story and second chance romance included in the book was really not that important to me. The divorce seemed very rushed and the romance very too convenient. The book was good, but I can't say that I loved it. This was my first Camille Pagan book. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

My sincere thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it.