"WE ALL LIVE HERE" IS A TRIUMPH! JoJo Moyes masterfully weaves together seemingly disparate lives into a profoundly moving tapestry. Her characters are so real, so flawed and relatable, you feel every joy and heartbreak alongside them. The unexpected connections that bloom are heartwarming and thought-provoking. Moyes' writing is sharp, witty, and deeply empathetic. This isn't just a book; it's an experience that stays with you long after the final page. Prepare to laugh, cry, and ultimately feel a renewed sense of hope in humanity. A MUST-READ!

Love jojo moyes writing. She is great at character development and sucking you into the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and recommend to others.

Oh, Jojo Moyes, thank you for this lovely treat of a book! I laughed, I cried, and I groaned in frustration with these characters. They were stunningly well-developed, even the "side" characters like Eleanor and the book agent.

I wouldn't say this is overly plot-driven, so if that's your jam then maybe this isn't the best fit for you. However, if you like family drama and characterization, this book will definitely scratch the itch.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this tile. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jojo Moyes does an excellent job at writing heartfelt and feel-good books (at least the other book I read by her was the same).
This book delves into family dynamics and generational trauma. I had a great time reading this, and loved the extra POVs from Celie and Francine.
If you're in need of a heart warming story about forgiveness, love, and personal growth, this is the book for you!

Jojo Moyes ALWAYS delivers a fantastic book! Loved, loved. loved this one! A sweet and wonderful story of families with wonderful characters!

It was cute and I loved the look into a more British life. I didn’t love how they threw in that one of the characters children wanted to be referred to as a boy and then they brushed it off and referred to the character as she/her the whole book. That felt unnecessary and transphobic. I hated the ex husband. I don’t like how she just forgave her biological dad and never talked about how he abandoned her and her mom. But I loved Bill, Jensen and the daughters.
I’m glad she bailed on the book deal

The mismatched characters create a family you want to belong too. The perfect book to grab a cup of tea and curl up with.

Jojo Moyes has a remarkable gift of bringing real, nuanced characters to live in a way that makes them linger in my mind for months/years after. I just love her storytelling a character development. We All Live Here exceeded all of my expectations! This is a beautiful, touching story focused on the complexities around what makes a family. It is comfy and delightful, while still dealing with very real grief and disappointment. I adored this story and will recommend it to many!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I'm struggling on how to rate this one. For the first half of the book, I felt bored, like the book was just spinning its wheels. It had an almost 7 hour read time. The second half of the book was a lot better with an especially well-written ending. I just wish it had been more tightly written in the first half. The plot is about a 40-something woman whose marriage just ended and mother recently died, and she is left caring for her two daughters and her stepfather. When her biological father enters the picture, there is chaos.

The story starts after Lila's husband has left her and her mother has died suddenly. She has to take care of her two kids, an older house as well as her step-father. There are some funny moments and some questionable ones. It was an ok read.

Thank you MetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review ARC.

I love her writing style. It is easy to read and such a page turner. But I had a bit of difficulty relating to the characters. The story reminded me of Modern family but little bit more realistic?

Overall it was a fun read.

I loved this book so much. Jojo Moyes always creates characters that are likeable and believable. Lila's problems were real and her struggle to keep it all together pulled at my heartstrings - family drama is so real! I hope to see more great books from Jojo in the future!

JoJo Moyes knows how to set a scene and develop characters and in this book, she does it again. Lila's life is seemingly falling apart - divorced, single mom, writers block and death of her mother, not to mention her ex has moved on with another mom from their kid's school. It is hard. But navigating these challenges with the help of her stepfather, her (always absent) father and a landscape gardener may make life a little bit lighter and hopeful. This book is full of emotion, charm and really likable characters. A winning combination!

This is only my second JoJo Moyes novel, but I'm definitely hooked, and will be diving deep into her backlist now. What stands out for me with this book is the characters - they are real, relatable, and you become so deeply invested in them and their stories. The complicated, messy dynamics of this decidedly nontraditional family are the backbone of the plot, and although the way Lila's love story ends was pretty predictable, it plays out nicely. The book did feel like it got a little bogged down in the middle, but picked right back up again in the final third. If you like character-driven novels with authentic characters, this is for you!

The set-up for this one was emotionally TOUGH: Lila writes a well-received book on longevity in marriage - and then her husband leaves her for (and moves in with) a younger mom from their kids’ school, who Lila now has to see at school pickup every day. Add to that the untimely death of her beloved mother, her grieving step-dad moving in to “help,” mean school moms, writer’s block, two daughters struggling to adapt, a beloved dog who’s hated by the neighbors, and a large home that is falling apart, and Lila’s life feels like a disaster. THEN - her estranged father shows up on her doorstep. How much more can she handle? How about a quiet landscaper who invades her one remaining refuge of quiet with his plans to renovate her back garden? The hits just keep coming.

We All Live Here is another Jojo Moyes gem of mid-life self-discovery. At times sad, sweet, bonkers, stressful, hopeful, it is ultimately a love letter to redefining “family” in the midst of unexpected life events..

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin, Viking, and Jojo Moyes for the digital ARC of We All Live Here.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes. I have been a fan of Moyes since before my pre-bookstagram days, when I first read Me Before You. Ever since then, I have devoured all of Moyes books, and I have yet to find one that I haven't loved. We All Live Here is no exception. Moyes has a way of ripping your heart out and putting it back together, and she weaves together a complicated story with ease. She never lets me down!

The book has a slow start and I had a hard time connecting to the characters but once it picked up, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it.
I also felt that this one was a bit too long and overwritten at times but overall I think a lot of readers will enjoy this one. We All Live Here is a humorous and intimate look at the challenges of a divorced middle-aged woman navigating children, parents, dating, and reduced income. I loved this premise but only liked this book as I didn't really connect with the characters. This has more of a romcom/beach read feel, and it is perfect for that. It is entertaining but not a story that will stay with me.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin - Viking, and Jojo Moyes for an ARC of this book!**

Lila Kennedy hasn't had much of a spring in her step lately...and the wear and tear on her bruised and battered heart is starting to show. After all, her husband left her for a younger woman, the moms at her daughters' school make her feel alone, AND she feels said daughters slipping away from her too. Even her plumbing problems at home are getting out of control, and to make matters worse, her stepfather has sidled his way into her home as a roommate without really asking...and his quirky habits are just the icing on this Disaster Cake. Lila is at her wits' end, feeling adrift in this new life she didn't ask to live, but at least her PAST is in the past, right?

This is of course, where she is absolutely WRONG. Her biological dad cut and run on the family many years ago to pursue a career in Hollywood, and although it has taken her a lot of time and tears, Lila figures he is out of her life for good. When he shows up on her doorstep, however, Lila knows this is uncharted territory...should she really give her father a chance? And in the meantime, Lila's career demands that she write about happy marriages and what makes them last...but how can she do THAT with any level of sincerity in the wake of her painful and unexpected divorce? And when she decides to pursue a couple of new romantic connections...and to 'borrow' from her real life experiences JUST a little bit...will her impulsive behavior come back to bite her? Or could her willingness to open her heart to family and even a potential new partner be the tonic she needs to soothe her weary soul?

Okay, I'll admit it: I'm one of those readers who found Moyes through Me Before You and subsequently decided, based on THAT book alone, that she would be an auto-read author for me for all eternity. (Well, at least until she stopped writing I suppose!) There's certainly a strong chance that the title that cemented her as a leader in the world of contemporary, character-driven romantic fiction will continue to stand the test of time, drawing in new readers both from the written words and the stunning film adaptation of the same name that captured our hearts (and if you're like me, made you cry like none other!)

But despite this past crowning achievement and Moyes' overall consistent ability over the years to write easily accessible characters, relatable situations, and realistic dialogue, this book sort of reminded me of a double pan balance scale, where my feelings kept dipping up and down as metaphorical coins were added, alternating between the pans of 'enjoyment' and 'boredom.'...and after some reflection, I think I've figured out why.

For starters, Lila was a very frustrating character for me to get behind fully. As sorry as I felt for her at times, her lack of agency was more than a bit disheartening, especially for a woman of her age. She has two practically grown daughters, and yet still seems beholden to their whims rather than asserting herself as the head of household now that her husband has sort of 'moved on' with a new family. Lila spend a lot of the narrative feeling like more of a pushover than I would have liked and this is part of what holds her back as a character in general. When her romantic options began to pop up, this frustration only multiplied - the red flags were EVERYWHERE, and Moyes made them pretty obvious to the reader from the jump (not to mention what the better options were) and YET we had to watch her stumble over and over again. When the opening chapters put so much emphasis on how a broken toilet or stalled plumbing seemed to be the breaking point for Lila...I KNEW that wasn't a good sign: just open up YouTube and OWN it, girl!

The dynamics between Lila and her biological father were interesting, and yet, I felt like even this complicated relationship was forced to take a backseat for much of the book, just because there was SO many other plot threads going on. I also think this is a book that would have benefited from only having ONE narrator: Lila. We are treated to a few random chapters from Celie (one of Lila's daughters) throughout, but with no real rhyme, reason, or rationale behind it...and unfortunately, this extra bit of time and perspective wasn't really ENOUGH to make me incredibly invested in Celie's plot either: it felt more like filler and filler with no discernible 'stakes' for her character either. I think Lila's journey alone was PLENTY to keep us busy and we either needed to hear a LOT more from Celie...or nothing at all. Even having Lila's father or one of her beaus as a narrator would have been more interesting, because at least we are more invested in the outcome of these relationships and there was more possibility more at stake there, rather than the unconditional love between this mom and daughter.

But as usual, Moyes managed to tip those double balance scales to the side of enjoyment with a truly beautiful denouement, complete with an act of selfless love reminiscent of Me Before You (minus the tragic and tearful bits!) All of the plot threads converged at this point, making even the book's somewhat excessive 400+ pages seem worth it...and it was THIS careful and meticulous plotting that bumped up my rating and solidified this read as a concrete addition to the Moyes' oeuvre. It was only then that I felt a pang thinking about these characters and how I'd miss them, and how this book has only intensified my need to go on a convertible ride with the top down, middle of summer, with the PERFECT song vibrating through the steering wheel...(and after you read this one, I PROMISE you'll feel the same!)

And though I know this book's title technically refers to the home that Lila & Co share, I think it also points to a deeper truth: because we all live HERE, on one Earth...no matter where we go, we are ALWAYS in some way, already home.

4 stars, rounded up from 3.5

Lila is a divorced mother of two girls. Her own mother died not too long ago and for some reason, her stepfather has moved into her house. She’s unsure why he has left his home to live with them, but since he does help with the girls, he’s allowed to stay. Lila’s life is in turmoil as she deals with her loss, her ex-husband’s new family, problems with work and emotional stagnation. Adding to the chaos is the unexpected arrival of Lila’s real father. He had abandoned her mother and her when Lila was a young child and having been absent for decades, he’s not welcomed with open arms. How dare he present himself as if he’s just been on a vacation and expects to welcomed into the fold? It’s beyond Lila’s comprehension, but she has so many other things going on. At the moment she can’t manage the emotional upheaval to confront her father, so she lets him stay – for a day (at least he says it’s only for a day.)

Lila is an author who’s suffering from writer’s block. She’s being pressured by her publisher to write a new novel after the huge success of her first book. That first book was about her happy marriage which turned out to be a farce. Now she’s stuck facing the nubile, young pregnant wife of her former husband every day, as they both wait outside the school to pick up their children. To Lila, this is a daily torture.

Things do start to look up when she meets a kindly widower who has a child at the same school. He and a young landscaper have brought out in Lila a sexual awareness that she thought was dead. But with tensions between her father and stepfather escalating, her uncertainties about acting on her attraction to two men, and her inability to come up with a premise for a book, she’s simply a mess. And even when things seem to turn in her favor, calamity hits and she must deal with the consequences.

Moyes creates characters who are relatable, authentic and considerate. Her books are unputdownable and really hold the reader’s interest. Lila is flawed, but we can cut her some slack because of the unusual circumstances she finds herself in. She’s by no means the perfect mother, self-assured partner, or completely capable superwoman. But just as we watch her come to grips with her mistakes, we find the relationships between her stepdad and her father, her children and their grandfather and even between herself and others, are all beginning to evolve. This is a book about moving forward – maybe in a sloppy way, but moving nonetheless.

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes was a heartfelt, thought-provoking read. The characters felt real, and their struggles with community, belonging, and personal growth hit home for me. While the pacing was a bit slow at times, the emotional depth made it an enjoyable and rewarding story overall.