Lorna has lot on her plate as she is looking forward to closing an important sales deal on behalf of her employer. This sales deal is not only critical from her employment perspective but also essential from her personal point of view.
Since so much is riding on back of this deal, Lorna is ignoring everything else including a huge problem. That’s not so much commentary on her personal appearance but it’s also an observation on her social skills.
Once Lorna’s manager points out this unmissable blunder to her, she is hardly left with any other option but to step back from her all-so-consuming work and enter a wellness program at Bodhi. From this point forward, the novel becomes interesting but somewhat predictable.
As Lorna digs deep in herself especially as she tries to look back into her past and tries to correct the lingering mistakes, at least for the sake of honouring her dead mother’s wishes; a gradual but definite shift begins to take place in her life. It’s evident with her unconventional and gradual friendship with eight-year boy called Bean. They are neighbours and she has promised to baby sit him in the afternoon till his dad- Seth returns home.
This friendship with Bean changes Lorna profoundly. She is literally ready to open doors for new people and new experiences in her life buoyed by Bean’s enthusiasm and Seth’s optimism. Now She is ready to make few major amendments for the people she has wronged in her past in order to protect her older sister.
That older sister who has been struggling with substance abuse for most of their lives which impacted their parents’ marriage and later their broken household, is the one Lorna has to come to terms with. She also has a secret mission to recover happy days of her childhood that is centred around the house she is living right now.
On the face of it, it looks like a predictable storyline where a difficult character shunned by society transforms her life with sudden and noticeable positive changes. But what makes it intriguing enough is the element of mystery added with two crucial questions lingering throughout the timeline.
Will she be successful in her mission? How is her relationship with her sister going to chart out from here onwards?
To seek answers to these questions, it’s better to hold onto till the last pages of this novel.

This is such a wonderful read!
Lorna has an angry management problem and it roots down to her own personal trauma and the effects of having a family struggling with addiction. She was required by her job to be in a 30-day management retreat. Through this, and the uncommon interaction with her neighbor's child, she was able to slowly make amends with her struggle.
The repetition and predictability of the later half of the book was a bit of a challenge for me, but all in all I enjoyed this read. This is a glimpse into the possibility of a life lived with characters like Lorna and might give us an insight or two.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Muse for this eARC!

If you have ever loved someone with a substance abuse issue this will hit you deep in the feels. This book is so beautifully done I loved it.

We follow Lorna who is forced into a wellness program by her employer for her anger issues. Listen Lorna is angry she is a bubbling volcano and does not know how to let go. I had to put down the audiobook and switch to the book because she was giving me anxiety.

But along the way Lorna begins to unravel her feelings and deal with the effect her sister’s addiction had on her life. More powerfully she also strikes an unlikely friendship with her neighbour’s son Bean who has lost his mom and takes a fancy to her dog.

“Bean turned in his seat and put his hand on Lorna’s. “It’s okay if she doesn’t want to be your friend,” he assured her. “Because I’ll always be your friend.””🥹♥️

This book was healing in many ways. Tender and sweet.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Muse & the author Julia London for the advanced reading copy, all my opinions are my own.

One thing about me, I’m going to love a book that mixes heart and humor, and Everything Is Probably Fine totally delivered. Julia London gave us flawed, funny, relatable characters that made me laugh, tear up a little, and root for them the whole way through.

It wasn’t a perfect read…there were a couple of spots that dragged for me, but overall it was such a warm, feel-good story about navigating life when it doesn’t go as planned. I closed the last page with a smile, which is always a win in my book.

Big thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read and review! 💕

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I started this one as an ebook and finished it as an audiobook, and both formats were amazing. The audiobook in particular was fantastic and really brought the story to life, but Julia London’s writing shines no matter how you experience it. The main character goes through so much, and I loved following her journey from start to finish. Julia London has such a beautiful, engaging writing style that kept me hooked the whole way through. This was a wonderful read, and I highly recommend it. I’m glad I got a chance to read it 🫶

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

Lorna is a professional, driven woman with some untreated anger issues. After an incident at work, she’s sent on a corporate mandated anger management retreat. With the help of some new friends and a charming neighbor child, she’s forced to connect with her personal trauma and family history of addiction.

I wanted so much to love this book because I’d heard such good things about it. Unfortunately, I have a little boy the same age as Lorna's neighbor, Bean, and he was just so off compared to the many little boys this age I interact with daily. It’s a huge pet peeve for me when child characters are written too young. I understand the appeal of this book but it was not for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This story starts off with this big splash of an incident that we don’t talk too much in-depth about other than it leading to her going to a form of therapy. The journey the reader goes on with Lorne is an interesting one, but I feel like it fell short because it started to get a little repetitive towards the end. I did like growth of Lorne from being closed off to finally being able to open to people. Also, I feel like we never experience her actually “king kong” behavior we were only alluded to it. But overall her journey wasn’t moving enough to me.

This story is so full of warmth, humor, and emotion! It’s written in a really fun way and has a quirky vibe that grabs you right from the start. Would recommend

Thank you to Julia London, Netgalley, and Harper Muse for the arc of this book

The story opens with a strong start, tackling heavy themes in a way that immediately drew me in. I especially liked the concept of the FMC working through her past traumas and finding herself, and the use of dual timelines, shifting between childhood, young adulthood, and the present, added an engaging layer to her journey. One of the highlights for me was Bean, such a sweet and wholesome character who really brightened the narrative.

Unfortunately, around the halfway point the story began to lose momentum. It grew repetitive and predictable, and the FMC’s closed-mindedness made her difficult to connect with. She often dismissed things, only to later enjoy them, yet never seemed to grow from these experiences, which was frustrating to watch play out multiple times. While the premise was powerful and the story had moments I genuinely enjoyed, the lack of real character development kept it from being a higher-rated read for me.

A great read, the story of Lorna who is on an enforced wellness break from work. Will this be the push she needs to become happier in life? Some great side characters in her building too.

3.5 rounded up to 4.
Lorna has anger issues that are interfering with her job. Her boss encourages her to go on a sabbatical for a wellness program where Lorna confronts her past pain, mostly involving her sister who struggles with addiction.

The thing that really worked for me was the amazing detail, subtle and obvious ways, addiction affects the family. That was so well done.
It’s a must read if you’ve had a loved one struggle with addiction.

The parts that didn’t work for me (was it a 3 or 4?) was the Groundhog Day effect. Lorna’s apology/making amends quest got super repetitive and so did her thoughts. I was glad to be out of her head when the book finished.

Overall, this book will appeal to many. For me it was a little above average. I actually wanted more depth with the serious subject matter but it was kept very lighthearted, which will work for a lot of people.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I absolutely loved this book. My first from this author, will not be the last. Such a good, good story.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read this eArc.

In this literary fiction story, our main character is put on leave from work and encouraged to work on her mental health, after being a rather awful colleague. She has clearly got past trauma caused by her family history, as well as anger management issues.

Unfortunately, at just over 20% I am DNFing this book. While it was refreshing to read about a character in her 40s, and one who had many relatable features, I felt she was a rather wooden character who I could not connect with. To be honest, I was not a big fan of the writing style generally, but this may have been a purposeful choice to match our characters personality. I also found the writing quite predictable, and by 10% could recognise a future plot point developing.

That being said, I am well aware I only read 1/5 of this book. The plot and writing could all have picked up the moment I stopped reading, and therefore I am going to give it a bog standard middle of the road rating. I do think my low opinion is valid, but that does not mean it is an awful book or that my thoughts are accurate for everyone.

This book is a delightful trek down the path of the family member of an addict. Everything is Probably Fine manages to show the viewpoints of both the family members and the addict herself as well as the trickle down effect this has on people in their lives. London covers a very heavy topic in this book without it feeling heavy.

This book is very heavy and a difficult read. Unfortunately I just didn't like the main character, I couldn't connect with her at all. I totally get that it's important to have books out there like this one but it just wasn't for me. I love to feel all fluffy when reading to escape from normal life. This is not to say others might love it if your into a more gritty read. Thank you Netgalley & Harpermuse for this eArc.

This is a powerful story about how little we know ourselves. Even when we think we know who we are and how we appear to the world, often we have ourselves fooled. Some good therapy and an apology tour are the plot for this one. And the angry protagonist learns to forgive herself and her family, while developing personal relationships for the first time.

Thank you for the ARC. I will purchase for my library and share.

Reading this, everything was… fine. The characters were fine, the plot was fine, the development was fine. All that to be said, it didn’t resonate enough with me to remember all the details for the review I’m writing two days later. I know Lorna had trauma but how she was acting made it hard to like her; if that’s what the author was going for, then she wrote it well. I think my hard spot is that I still wasn’t a fan of Lorna by the end of the book. This wouldn’t stop me from reading other Julia London, but I probably wouldn’t enthusiastically recommend this book. I’d rate this a 3.5 but not willing to round up, so it’s sitting at 3.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the opportunity to read this as an ARC!

Everything is probably fine was very different and a lot heavier from what I initially expected, but in a good way. After a disastrous work misstep, Lorna, a successful businesswoman in her early forties, is required to attend a 30 day wellness/mental health retreat to keep her job. While Lorna first comes off as incredible unlikable, we soon learn how unresolved childhood trauma made her the person she is today. After a couple of days, Lorna starts to realize that in fact, everything is not as fine as she thought it was. As the story progresses, we follow Lorna as she navigates her journey through grief and forgiveness, slowly breaking down all the walls she’s built for herself.
I had a few minor issues with the some of the side characters but overall, this was a really good and important story with a well-done execution of the mental health aspects. Would definitely recommend this book!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've always found that the best books are the ones that give you all the feels—and while Everything Is Probably Fine by Julia London might not be a traditional romance, it's a book about finding your happily ever after in a different way. Lorna's journey of self-forgiveness and growth, guided by her charming eight-year-old neighbor, is absolutely heartwarming. It's a testament to the idea that sometimes the most important love story you'll ever have is the one with yourself. And don't worry, there's a slow-burn connection with the neighbor's dad that's sure to make your heart flutter! It's a beautifully written story that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.

This book touched me in the heart! A moving, hopeful story about forgiveness, letting go, and learning to move forward and man I was in love. Definitely pick this up and give it a shot. I will be buying this physical book.