A very compelling way to show how we humans view the world. Although, the story is based on a woman's view of the world, it is astonishing how she reads it and creates the scenarios in her head that she believe is true but is not, and how she creates an inaccurate view of others lives and thoughts and reacting badly to those thoughts.
A lot of the story made me very anxious because it reminded me of bad decisions that I made in my own life due to my own stories I created in my head that weren't true and that cause bad outcomes. I also felt for how Julia's childhood created distrust of many people around her, even though some of people around her deserved better from her. I loved the honest view of Julia's life and how she never believed she deserved the life or happiness she had.
I love ever character of this story, and I especially loved Helen a great person who gave from the heart and forgave Julia her many flaws. I also loved Julia's husband Mark who forgave Julia a transgression few could, but he cared enough to try. One last character that was very much a part of Julia's life, and I found compelling, was her mother that created a distrust in Julia early on and effected every relationship Julia had and it isn't until later in the story that the Julia and her mother reconcile with each other because again they were misreading what the other believed and acting on that belief and it isn't until they start talking and find out that their beliefs were flawed that they can solve their problems. An amazing story that I couldn't stop thinking about after I finished it.

I want to thank Doubleday Books | Doubleday and NetGalley for an advance copy of this story that shows that what we think is always true.

QUICK TAKE: It’s so, so good. Still thinking about it. Yes, that’s right: Claire Lombardo -author of the fantastic Chicago sister story THE MOST FUN WE EVER HAD- is back with a complex, nuanced story of one woman’s journey of self-discovery when her complicated past is dredged up in the wake of reconnecting with an estranged friend. Fans of Nathan Hill’s WELLNESS and Jonathan Franzen’s CROSSROADS will absolutely devour this sprawling story, full of complicated female characters, juicy soap, laugh-out-loud humor, and domestic drama that had me completely captivated.

Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo is a surprisingly touching story about Julia Ames and the relationships that have shaped her life. On its surface, it is a slice-of-life story that most adults can relate to: troubled childhood leads to poor choices in adulthood and the inevitable examination of life and its meaning. Yet Lombardo pushes out the floor and ceiling to reveal unexplored nuance and depth that is highly appreciated in this world where auto-pilot is the default method of getting through the day and contemplation seems a luxury.

The novel opens at a pivotal point when Julia and Mark Ames are preparing for their daughter to graduate and their son to get married. These big milestones lead Julia to reflect on her life, including her childhood and relationship to her mother, as well as her marriage to Mark and her character is revealed through these moments of reflection. I especially appreciated the flawed nature of our protagonist and how the author’s honest portrayal of her makes her so relatable. I saw myself in her moments of failure as a wife, daughter, and mother, but also completely identified with her need to be redeemed. Having made some of her same mistakes but living with a different outcome made me incredibly eager to read what could have happened in an alternate universe.

Even those who do not relate as closely to what Julia goes through will find the pacing pleasing and the characters absorbing (a special nod here to Helen Russo and Alma Ames). Lombardo is incredibly adept at painting the human experience (especially that of a mother) on the page with such clarity and realism that at times it feels like pressing on a bruise. And, as in life, we see that pain goes hand in hand with humor and levity and grace. This is a family that you will not want to leave once the story ends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the ARC. Same As It Ever Was makes its debut June 18.

I was a big fan of Lomardo's debut, The Most Fun We Ever Had, but this book really showcases how far her writing has grown and evolved. The style and plot of this book immediately reminded me of Wellness, which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I was very excited to dive into this one.

I love this writing style, more literary than plot-driven, describing the mundanities of life as well as its life-altering events with eloquence and nuance. The details of the story slowly unfold and are revealed to the reader in a measured and intentional manner.

The character of Julia is relatable and flawed, and many of her actions are due to her overwhelming feeling of loneliness, despite her privileged circumstances.

This is the best depiction I've ever seen of marriage and adult friendships. The dialogue was so authentic and relatable, and these characters were portrayed in such realistic and genuine way.

This title was fantastic - I was left with a book hangover when I finished. Lombardo’s first book was good, but I liked this one better. Read more similarly to Ann Patchett, Lily King, etc.

After a difficult childhood and a challenging period as a new parent, Julia finally finds herself steady in her mid-50s. This is quite a departure from earlier periods, when Julia often made choices that threw her life into chaos. But when her beloved and always steady son makes a surprising announcement just as her daughter is about to leave home and an unexpected person from her past reemerges, Julia experiences the same unsteadiness that marked her earlier life and threatens to result in the same upheaval that Julia thought she had long ago left behind.

This is a moving and perceptive exploration of family and the long reach of the past. With unforgettable characters, this is a novel you will not soon forget.

The Most𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘍𝘶𝘯 𝘞𝘦 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘢𝘥 is one of my favorite novels, so I was eager to get my hands on Lombardo's sophomore effort, 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝗪𝐀𝐒 (Pub 06.18) Thanks to my dear friend @jamie who not only picked up a bound galley but got it personalized to me from the author.

As eager as I was, it took me over a month to read. Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but it took a beat to get into, so stick with it. Once I hit my stride I still read it slowly because the writing, story and characters required my undivided attention. It also required a hefty supply of book darts.

I adored it. This sweeping literary family drama packs a punch. It's a touching, complicated and introspective story about long standing relationships- being a daughter, wife and mother.
You've heard the phrase that encourages authors to "𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸." But Clare Lombardo disrupts this thought with her uncanny ability to write about things she "doesn't know" with profound depth and understanding. She masterfully crafts characters who deploy statements that deeply resonate with me on multiple levels. She takes an observant perspective of seemingly universal imperfections of people and unfurls the motivations with deft nuance. It blows my mind.

You know what else blows my mind? The last 15 pages left me gutted with tears running down my face . . . at the dentist office.

"Isn't that part of what defines every relationship? That mixture oh how much you need someone and how much they need you back? It's never an equal amount. And it fluctuates- ideally it does- because both of those things are exhausting in their own right. You needed me more than I needed you then, maybe, but that doesn't mean that I didn't need a friend too."

Claire Lombardo comes up with another tour de force with Same As It Ever Was., Lombardo has created a not-altogether likable but totally relatable character who struggles to accept the consequences of her choices, and suffers from anxiety and loneliness while in a seemingly "perfect" marriage. So many layers going on and as each one is peeled away and vulnerabilities laid bare this is at times a confronting story that moves the reader out of their comfort zone of family drama.

Claire Lombardo will not disappoint her readers with this intense family drama. Motherhood is different for everyone, and readers will not be able to look away as Claire peels back the layers of her life to examine the relationship with her mother and how it impacted her own childhood and abrupt entry to adulthood. Could this be why she cannot be the wife and mother her family expects or does the perfect mother just not exist? This book is going to be a hit with book clubs as women ask themselves the same questions and peel back the layers of their own lives to discover what it is that makes them who they are. Five stars

Thank you for this ARC! I love a family drama and this did not disappoint. The story was compelling and you really started to care about the characters. I do think it could have been shorter, some times the plot dragged and sometimes the same points were made over and over. I highly recommend it, regardless.

Jules is in her mid-50’s, married and has 2 children. She is a complicated woman whose father left when she was a child and she believes that her own mother didn’t care about her. She has trouble accepting and giving love.
This novel alternates between the past and present. It is a story of family dynamics and trying to work through difficult situations.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Julia and Mark and their long wonderful, and sometimes awful, marriage. I love how hard she tries and how empathetic he is when she fails. I love Helen and how forgiving and accepting she is to everyone.

"Helen studies her. "Just because I have a lot of people in my life, Julia, doesn't mean that I Life a lot of people. I liked you a great deal. You were terrific company. It's a chemistry thing, isn't it? Don't you sometimes just feel something for another person? Like you were meant to have found them? That's how I felt about you when we met. Life I already knew you." Claire Lombardo, Same As It Ever Was

Of all the family dramas - filled with love, loss, regret, siblings, parents, regret and forgiveness - this one hit me right in the heart. Julia has a troubled relationship with her own mother, while learning the rhythm of a young family with her toddler Ben and steadfast husband, Mark. She questions who she is, what's her place and the age-old question, 'is this all there is?" She meets Helen, and older and wiser woman from the neighborhood and forges a bond. She treasures that time, and then the unthinkable happens changing her relationship with Helen and Mark. How would she recover. Fast forward to Julia and Mark later in their marriage with 20-something year old Ben and 18 year old Alma - and also those mother daughter dynamics at play. With wit, humor, honesty and grit Lombardo navigates these relationships with raw emotion and heart. Outstanding!

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Random House Publishing for an early copy of Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo

In the relationships author Claire Lombardo develops and analyzes in her novels, there is very little easiness or simplicity. The characters who make the most changes and come to the most new understandings are the men and women who from early in their lives reach the conclusion that they are not worthy of better than they have been given and struggle with emotional baggage that threatens interactions with others.

Same As It Ever Was, like Lombardo's earlier novel The Most Fun We Ever Had, examines family members who cannot deal honestly with one another, leaving friction and time lapses that never let up.

When her father leaves her and her mother, young Julia Marini Ames struggles to attain any kind of meaningful relationship with her mother, Alma, who herself is unable to enjoy any type of closeness with her daughter. Perhaps in part due to the coldness of her mother, Julia develops a friendship with an older woman, Helen Russo, whose wisdom and insights give Julie a real chance to know some kind of maternal warmth. But when Julia as a young married woman engages in a brief extramarital affair with one of Helen's sons, Julia no longer is able to continue her friendship with Helen. From here it will be up to Julia over time to strengthen her marriage, become closer to her own son and daughter and perhaps one day reconcile with her own mother.

Same As It Ever War is a lengthy unraveling and re-raveling of human connections with pinpoint dialog and settings that will offer the reader a lens for realizing that accord with others is so worth our time and effort.

I was very much looking forward to reading another novel by Claire Lombardo since I finished The Most Fun We Ever Had, her freshman novel. I have been waiting since 2019! Maybe my expectations were too high, but Same As It Ever Was disappointed me. I enjoy character-driven novels. I don't mind a slower pace; however, this novel moved at a so slowly that I struggled to stay engaged. It jumped around in time from present day, to 20+ years prior. with no warning. Characters came and went and then came back, and I didn't really care about any of them. It was over 500 pages, and it could have been far less. I kept with it expecting a payoff at some point, and it never arrived for me. I see others loved it, so it may be a case of "it's not you; it's me".

Although this book was a miss for me, I will likely pick up another novel by Claire Lombardo because I loved her first book so much. Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for this ARC.

From the outside, Julia’s family appears like any other: a loving husband & two kids entering adulthood. Yet, as the author navigates through different times in Julia’s life, we witness the raw struggles of womanhood/girlhood and motherhood.

I loved this complex, dysfunctional family drama so much. I am neither a mother nor a wife, but I sure sobbed like I was.

I’d recommend to those fans of Hello Beautiful or Mercury (but know this is much longer — 500+ pages). A slow, character-driven novel but if you want to give yourself the time and patience to get to know this family, you will get to know them like you know your real family. The main character, especially, is flawed and, at times, frustrating…Though I didn’t always agree with her, I still deeply sympathized with her.

Every family’s mess looks differently, but I think many people will feel a little less alone reading this book as we can all relate to ever-evolving relationships.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I even tried to convince myself that since I cried at the ending I should rate it higher. It paints a beautiful picture of the challenges and love two people can face in a marriage, but ultimately I didn't feel like it ever really went anywhere. The characters felt real, but I didn't feel very connected with any of them. It's also quite lengthy for a story without a ton of action.

The size of this book intimidated me, especially as my first from the author, but man did it not disappoint. This felt like a real family, real life, so authentic. Family life and marriage are depicted so accurately and with such wit throughout this story that it was impossible to not feel seen.

Having read her previous novel, 'The Most Fun We Ever Had,' I expected a rollicking, interesting and complex novel full of intriguing relationships and messy emotions, and I was right.

I loved this beautifully intricate novel that moves back and forth between events nearly 20 years earlier and the present day when Julia, in her late fifties, has to deal with several complicated realities related to her grown children, her estranged mother, herself and her husband.

I was so drawn in to this story that opens when Julia sees an older woman who had essentially rescued her all those years before when she was mired in self-doubt and angst as a new mother, and who she hasn't spoken to since. I love long, messy human dramas that reveal insights into people and relationships. I do think there were just a few parts that could have been omitted from this very long book, but I didn't care, as eager as I was to continue being immersed in this family's conundrums and complications.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Doubleday books, and the author for allowing me to read an eARC of this fascinating second novel by Claire Lombardo, whose insights into humans and life are masterfully developed. I look forward to reading whatever she comes up with next! This book will be published on 18 June 2024.

Many thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC!

I had to gear myself up for this one, considering I struggled with the author's previous novel. However...WOW. I was really blown away by the depth of this one. This novel is again, a sprawling family drama, which focuses on Julia. Over the years, Julia struggles with an emotionally abusive/absent mother and mental health issues. To be honest, I hated her for half the book. No lie. But she really grew on me, and as the novel unfolded, the more I came to understand her motivations. This was LONG, let's be real. But the writing, the beauty of the storytelling, the depth of characters, the frustration and hopefulness (and hopelessness)...it was real. I highly recommend this one, and it will stick with me for a while.