Thank you to NetGalley + Dutton for this gifted eArc in exchange for my honest review!

I was approved for this title about 3 days before its pub date, so it took me a little time to get around to it, but it was, as suspected, a delightful read. There's something really special about a book that centers around female friendship and empowerment, and as someone who doesn't read women's fiction too often, this definitely had me wanting to read more in that genre.

I appreciated the four authentic and honest depictions of life after college because it truly looks different for everyone — and that's okay. Life has its ups and downs anyway, but the time right after college is uniquely difficult as you try to find your place in the world. Lauryn did an excellent job of making all of the characters experience, whether you personally had them or not, relatable, and worthy of sympathy and understanding.

The writing itself was very good as well, the story moving along at a good pace; I never once felt like it was dragging.

I look forward to reading more of Lauryn's writing in the future, especially if she continues to write female-centric stories.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

First we follow a group of four friends the weekend of their college graduation. As their time together comes to end, they each had to make the difficult situation of what they will do next? Grad School? Jobs? Stay local? We learn that 3 of them will be going to New York City and will quickly come to the realization that things aren't the same as they were in college. The book spans across multiple years following each of the four friends and how they relationships change. How career paths change and or aren't what they expected.

It is the eve of college graduation for Rachel, Nate, Dev and Clarissa are about to start their adult lives, some have everything mapped out, some are taking risks, some are playing it safe, but all of them have no idea what life will have in store for them. Each year is told from a different characters perspective. Dynamics between the characters will change, success comes from unexpected places. There will be regrets, triumphs, tragedy, and surprises. This is a story of friendship, growing up, and the realities of life.

I really enjoy books that really explore friendship, and becoming an adult. As someone entering their thirties, I related a lot to the challenges the characters dealt with in their twenties. How friendships change over time and under different circumstances. That success does not equal happiness. Career changes happen and it may be better for you. I didn't love everything about this story but a lot of it really made me feel seen and understood.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I don’t think this book is for me. I didn’t really enjoy reading it. It is a story about four friends and meanders through their 15 years after college. There wasn’t really anything exciting about the story. I also didn’t connect with any of the characters, and really didn’t like the male characters.

Don’t think I’ll recommend.

This book was such a pleasant surprise. While I wasn't immediately hooked, once I finally was able to meet all four of the main characters I found it impossible to put down. It was an incredible tale about friendship, chosen family, and how life doesn't always turn out the way you once planned.

This was my first Lauryn Chamberlain book, but now I immediately want to go back and read her debut.

I really wanted to love this book about 4 college roommates and the story of their lives over the next 10 years, but I just didn’t. For whatever reason, I just couldn’t engage with the characters at all. It fell flat for me which is strictly what I tend to label “just not my cup of tea.” However, I would not dissuade someone else from reading this book.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

"It seemed to Rachel then that maybe there were an infinite number of lives she could have lived, but this, by sheer chance, was the one she had ended up with." This was my first Lauryn Chamberlain book and I really enjoyed it. The story shows how small decisions made in a moment can change the course and trajectory of your life and other lives forever. The story starts in 2006 with four best friends - Rachel, Clarissa, Dev, and Nate - sharing a house together in their senior year at Northwestern University. Each year from 2006 to 2019 is told in their alternating perspectives. Their friendships become strained as they struggle to figure out their careers and personal relationships. Lauryn Chamberlain's writing is very good, she perfectly highlights how the insecurities of people in their 20's and early 30's can result in actions with life-changing decisions. The book is quick and easy to read and I recommend it. Thanks to #netgalley #Dutton and #laurynchamberlain for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m trying to get all my August reviews out before the month ends so today let’s review this nostalgic, perfect for the summertime book about four best friends from college and their lives in the years after.

This was a real pleasant surprise for me and with the beautiful bright cover I was happy to read a pretty complex take on life after college. I REALLY struggled after college - my complete identity was revolved around who I was in college, my job and my group of friends. It was the highest point in my life. After I graduated, there were a lot of challenges and I thought this book did a great job of painting four very realistic post college experiences. I loved how the author wrote in four narratives, but she moved the story along very well and made sure you knew what was going on with everyone even when you weren’t reading about that particular character. This book could have easily gotten bogged down in too much detail in many ways and it didn’t. It moved along really smoothly.

As far as format goes, either will be great. I started the book in print, but switched to audio after the first 100 pages. The narrator was great. This is definitely a book worth your time!

**Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you like character-driven books about relationships and friendships, this is the book for you. Even though the plot moves slowly, I finished it in two days because I was immediately sucked into the four friends' stories. Bonus points for the college nostalgia!

Wow. I just finished "Who We Are Now" and this book will stick with me for a long time. I read this book cold without reading a synopsis. After reading the opening chapters, I immediately wanted to know which of the 4 friends was going to die. I anticipated it chapter after chapter as the book took me through each of their journeys, but I loved that I could never quite pinpoint who it would be. This novel resonated so much with me. Adulting is hard. It's that simple. Most of us have experienced leaving college and trying to figure out our path in life: Where should we work? who should we love? I enjoyed all of the intersectionality throughout this novel but I must say Dev was my favorite character. All of the characters were multi-dimensional; however, I feel like Nate's character wasn't flushed out as well. At times while reading I felt like his story was placed too far apart throughout the novel. Also the CODA chapter in the table of contents was a spoiler for me.

Overall I loved this story of 4 friends - their lives, their losses, and ultimately how their friendship ebbs and flows over the years. It's a true coming of age story. It makes you reflect - are you who your 21 year old self thought you would be? It makes you wonder about chance and choices made that has placed you where you are today. I highly recommend and can't wait to see what this author comes up with next.

Who We Are Now was a captivating read. There was so much that was relatable to me and I connected to all these characters. I would love to read even more about them.

I loved the premise of this book . I loved how we meet this group of friends and we follow that friendship over the years we see how these friendships grow and evolve and also change sometimes not always for the better . Overall it was a well done coming of age character driven story .

Who We Are Now begins in 2006 and follows besties Rachel, Clarissa, Dev and Nate, moving ahead one year each chapter as their post-college lives unfold. Here’s a snippet from the synopsis:
“Each year is told from one character's point of view, and in that way, we stride swiftly through their lives. These four friends feel their twenties and thirties flying by, and suddenly small moments fast become regrets or unexpected boons, decisions they'll spend years wishing they could undo and choices that come to define them. As the foursome endure professional setbacks, deep loss, and creative success, fortunes shift and friendships strain--and it will take a tragic turn of events to bring them together again.”

I enjoyed this one! It made me think about how a single decision can affect the trajectory of our life. For whatever reason, it gave me some nostalgia and I also couldn’t help but picture this being made into a mini-series. It was great road trip material!

🤍Thank you @duttonbooks, @netgalley and @laurynjc for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

his book brought me back to my college days. The love of friends that you turn into a family, during those four years. Roommates that know every little thing about you. They remember stories you do not and vice versa. Lauryn Chamberlain brought me to tears many times, making me realize just how lucky I am that I still have a strong friend group made up of my old roommates from college. The endless thread of messages marching through time. Each of us holding the others up, being there for one another no matter what, being the voice of reason. This book brings to life the friendship of four friends who met at Northwestern. Their bonds tight, their love strong. Will the test of time strengthen or destroy their friendships?

I loved how Who We Are Now, is told through multiple points of view, Rachel, Clarissa, Dev, and Nate. All bringing to light their emotions and their truths in each of their friendships. The intense, close bonds somewhat shattered as they each went off into the world. Developing and emerging into the grownup version of themselves. Trying to bring their dreams to life. Trying to stay friends, when everything around them has been altered into a new reality. Their lives tightly entwined. The test of time and space affecting their friendships. The unbreakable bond they have shared since college. Reality always taking a toll, but the love is always there. Thank you to Lauryn Chamberlain and Dutton for my trip down memory lane.

Lauryn Chamberlain's sophomore novel, Who We are Now, is a book with such an interesting structure. Following a group of four college friends over the course of 15 years post-grad, this novel devotes one chapter to each year of their lives, told from the perspective of one of the members of the group. I really enjoyed getting to explore the characters' lives through this format, as I myself often think of and remember my life in years.

Who We are Now Opens in the mid-2000s, as this group of millennial graduates are leaving college. As they prepare to take on the world, Rachel, Clarissa, Dev, and Nate share where they think their lives will take them in the upcoming years. Do their predictions hold merit? Well, that's what this book is all about.

As we travel from 2006 to present day with the group of four, we experience burgeoning adulthood alongside of them, as they explore careers, find love, and come to terms with their past. This book is for anyone who enjoys pondering and putting together the pieces of the past to reveal how all of life's relationships and experiences shape us into the people we are today.

While generally entertaining, I did find some of the characters' storylines to be a bit tepid, vanilla, and predictable. You can see where their lives are headed from a million miles away, and as predicted, they follow down the exact path that you expected them to. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, it doesn't make for the most exciting reading.

Great story following a friend group after college. These are dynamic characters who you root for as they deal with all the realities of what they face after graduation. I was not expecting this type of drama, but I was very surprised at how the story played out. I thoroughly recommend this book.

I received an e-arc from NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton in exchange for an unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this post-college coming of age story of 4 housemates slash best friends set in Chicago and New York. It starts with graduation from Northwestern in 2006 and carries forward over the course of 15 years, through both career and relationship highs and lows. It's definitely covers some heavy topics (coming out, addiction, illness) and I thought it did them well. Definitely hit me in the feels thinking about friendships and life changes, even though I couldn't relate to the fame-chasing aspects of these particular characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for this honest review.

This one hits close to home because these characters are the same age as I am, same college year, etc.. These are my people! I was surprised how serious this book got, and the different routes these friends took. The cover seems fun and light, and this was more serious. It wasn’t what I was expecting but I liked it!

Big Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC to read and review!

Who We Are Now was a very interesting, incredibly readable novel.

What worked for me:
- Getting every characters point of view at different points in time:
- Each chapter being a different year
- Telling a story over fifteen years
- Exploring the ideas of growth, changes in friendship, etc.


What did not work for me/what I wish was different:
- Not enough character development - felt like because there were four perspectives, we only went so far with each of them
- Ending felt abrupt
- There were some very tough topics broached, and I would have liked more time spent on them so that it felt like those issues were explored more and felt more authentic and not just used as a storytelling device

Overall this was a solid three star read for me - I liked it fine enough, but wanted to like it more.

A deep and thoughtful look into the lives of four very close college friends as years, distance, and disagreements play roles in their twenties and thirties. Each character has a voice and tells the story through their perspective. Various instances draw them together or tear them apart, each instance deepening the story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.