Julia London has done it again, creating a beautifullty crafted story that deals with a difficult subject in an empathetic and believable way. Everything Is Probably Fine is an uplifting and emotionally engaging story that I read in one sitting. Ace saleswoman Lorna Lott is central to this story, which is written in two timelines. The first timeline takes us through Lorna’s life from childhood to adulthood and we see the impact her sister’s addiction has on her. In the present time, we see Lorna stood down from her job and forced to undergo a month of emotional healing at the Bodhi Tao Bliss Retreat and Spa, an experience that she resists strongly. Lorna is totally driven to secure a promotion so that she can buy back her grandmother’s house, which her mother sold years earlier to fund treatment for Lorna’s drug-addicted sister. She currently rents a flat in the house, which has been divided up into four apartments. Lorna has felt rejected and abandoned since childhood, when her parents divorced and she’s reached the stage where she’s both lonely and yet unwilling to let others into her life. Her treatment of her sales team and the way she drives them to succeed is ultimately the reason why she’s been put on leave. When her neighbour’s eight year-old son Bean forms a friendship with her corgi Agnes, at the same time as Lorna begins her sessions at the retreat, she tries hard to ignore him, but Bean worms his way into her heart and she slowly opens up not just to him but also to her neighbours and her mentors at the retreat.
I loved the way Julia London handled the fraught issue of drug addiction and the conflict between caring for the addict and preserving oneself. We rarely see how family is affected when one of their own faces problems with addiction so this book is refreshing in taking the lid off that subject. I felt for Lorna from the start, but there are plenty of other characters who helped to make this a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable story.

This was just ok for me. I had a little trouble getting into it. Had read one other book by the author that I really loved. This Jon just didn’t quite hit it for me.

Addiction. Julia London's, Everything Is Probably Fine, shines a spotlight on addiction, grief and loneliness with broad strokes. She delivers a story that is heartfelt, tragic, yet with just enough sprinkles of humor to have you smiling.

Lorna's childhood and adulthood has been shaped by family members battling addiction and an overwhelming feeling of being alone and misunderstood. At one pivotal point in this story, Lorna finds herself focused on her well-being, forgiving others and forgiving herself. She's on a difficult, reflective journey. She's a work in progress, and we have a front row seat as we watch that progress lead to more. But...the secondary characters deserve a round of applause! I found them likeable and relatable, with Bean stealing my heart. You are in for a sweet, heartwarming treat!

Thank you to Harper Muse for the opportunity to read this story in advance via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are entirely my own. Keep an eye out for this one!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

This book surprised me. I expected it to be a cozy, fun read. And while i loved it, it was more emotional and real than i expected. And i mean that in the best way. It showcases mental health and addiction, and its so well written. I love a good story that highlights things that people consider a stigma.

I love Lorna as a character. I love that she was a woman in her 40s as opposed to earlier in her life, and she was navigating things in the best of her ability while realizing that things may be out of our control more than we prefer.

This was my first by this author and i will definitely be reading more.

What a complicated and intense women’s fiction book by Julia London. I’m sure each of us in life have issues that we sometimes don’t want to address but reading this story had me looking inward and evaluating my life’s decisions. The book really made me think outside the box when it comes to all the important relationships of family, friends and coworkers. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advance copy. I recommend it highly.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC for this book. It is a sweet and sometimes sad story of Lorna as she grapples with the aftereffects of his sister's addiction. It was rewarding to witness Lorna's growth as she learned to trust others and herself again.

This book is quietly powerful and emotionally honest. Julia London doesn’t just tell a story—she reveals truths that can hit hard, especially if you’ve ever felt stuck. But it’s not just about struggle; it’s about growth. And Bean—the wise, big-hearted neighbor kid—brings light and hope. It’s a messy, meaningful journey, and in the end, maybe everything is fine.

This book really spoke to my soul as I identified strongly with the character of Lorna. As I approach the big 4-0, I find I relate more to books featuring somewhat older protagonists, forever endeavouring to strike the right balance between their home-life, work-life and personal-life.

Lorna is a complex, flawed yet eminently likeable protagonist, who lives a very insular life and doesn't always know how to interact with the world around her. Whilst some reviewers report they found her unlikeable, I found her to be endearing and I just wanted to give her a great big hug and tell her everything is going to be OK. I wish this world had more sympathy for people who do not conform to perceived societal norms, as this world can be a very lonely place.

I loved Lorna's character development as the novel progressed and felt all the peripheral characters added much needed heart and warmth to the overall narrative. Lorna's mandated attendance at the Wellness Retreat provided cathartic relief from the emotional heft of this novel, with fish-out-of-water humour present in abundance. I had some real laugh out loud moments thanks to each beanbag scene!

I would recommend this book to fans of novels such as Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. This book is also reminiscent of the works of Fredrik Backman, with great emphasis on empathy, found family, redemption, and the transformative power of kindness.

Overall Rating: 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4 on NetGalley

Trigger Warnings: Mental Health / Addiction / Parental Loss / Grief / Childhood Trauma

Many thanks to the team at NetGalley and the team at Harper Muse, for granting me access to this ARC, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.

This was a fun read about letting go of things you can’t control, including how you acted in the past or how others think and behave. A good reminder: one foot in front of the other.

Lorna is a character that will stay with me for a very long time. Her pain has just been baked into her soul for so long, she has no idea how to release it and it comes out as just...anger. Watching her try to come to grips with her past and her self was hard and yet so incredibly moving.

Also, we need to talk about Bean. Because I LOVE BEAN. He melted my heart in every scene. His easy friendship with Lorna when she so desperately needed a friend was so pure.

All in all, another brilliant, touching, insightful book by Julia London!

This book has a lot going for it—Lorna Lott is a refreshing protagonist: flawed, driven, and at a crossroads in her life. I really appreciated seeing a woman in her 40s navigating therapy, personal growth, and forgiveness. It’s not something you often get in these kinds of novels, and it added a layer of realism and heart.

The balance between heavier topics—like trauma and strained family relationships—and the more uplifting, humorous moments was well done for the most part. The scenes with Lorna’s quirky young neighbors and their charming father brought warmth and levity to the story.

That said, parts of the book did feel slow, especially in the middle. While the emotional journey was meaningful, the pacing occasionally dragged, and I found myself losing interest at times. Ultimately, while the message—that it’s never too late to change—is powerful and important, the book just wasn’t quite my kind of read.

Still, fans of heartfelt, introspective women’s fiction will likely find plenty to love here.

Another strong read from Julia London on the importance of mental health and finding yourself.

Overall: 4
Spice: 0

Lorna is probably not fine. She is great at her job, but not great at managing people or the rage that seems to bubble up inside her. She knows her childhood was difficult, but she is keeping that all locked up to never examine. That is, until she makes a mistake at work that is a step too far and his sent to a mandatory 30 day wellness program by her employer. With the time off work, Lorna begins to meet her neighbors including 8 year old Bean. Can Lorna survive the program to keep her job and accomplish her goal of owning her grandmother's home or is there just too much to overcome.

Nice Work Nora November was on my best of 2024 list, so I was very excited to get to read this ARC thanks to Harper Muse and NetGalley. Nora was my first book by Julia London, so I wasn't aware of her earlier romance books. These stories seem to be a new direction for her and one that should be considered in the literary fiction genre. Both books handle mental health issues with care and finesse. Lorna had a very traumatic childhood due to her addict sister which is shared in flashback scenes. Her mother's deathbed wish was that Lorna would deal with her anger. As she revisits key people from her life who she feels were wronged by her sister, she gets a new perspective on how she remembers those events. Such a relatable lesson that I connected with! Bean isn't bothered by Lorna's abrasiveness and accepts her as she is - as children often do. He becomes her sounding board and cheerleader. He also comes with an attractive single dad which is a bonus. The portrayal of life with an addict and how each family member handles them differently was a perspective I had not read before and appreciated. I enjoy that these books feature very real characters and very real outcomes. Real life isn't a fairytale, but still a story worth sharing. I highly recommend this book, but be aware of the presence of childhood trauma and life with an addict family member.

When you look at the cover art for this book, what do you see? A stylish young woman in high heels in front of a nice mansion. The words in my head were: whimsy, cute, heart-warming, romance, comedy. Well, I was wrong for a good part of it. I had a prejudice that it was going to be feel-good in a superficial way, but the novel surprised me by its emotional depth, and I couldn’t help but shed a few tears at the end!

Everything is probably fine is the story of Lorna, 43, a successful sales executive, as she bumps into a wall and is forced to change. Her boss is adamant that Lorna will not get the promotion she deserves until she completes a one-month retreat and work on her issues. (Yes, you may raise eyebrows here, let me prepare my resume for any company that pays a month-long introspective vacation to its employees, even their star performers).

Lorna is tough as nail with her team, but also to herself. She has a short fuse because she’s so full of repressed anger, and she has the thickest protective shell, so that anything emotional or intimate simply doesn’t get through to her (Yes, that makes her a not very pleasant main character at the beginning, but that’s where some quirkiness and comedic situations help lighten the mood)

At the core of Lorna’s defensiveness is her sister Kristen, a few years older. Kristen has been an addict almost all her life, and she has not only destroyed much of her own life, but impacted everyone around her, including Lorna, their parents and their grandmother. As Lorna learns to shed her protective shell and revisit turning points of her life and her sister’s, we see how she was repeatedly hurt and how she needs to work hard to forgive others and forgive herself.

I enjoyed that the book managed some balance between light, sunny scenes, and very heavy topics. Some plot lines are very optimistic, but not all of them. Yes, the representation of therapy, in a wellness spa with some weird white guru, is probably too Pollyannaish. But I probably wouldn’t have followed the story with the same pleasure otherwise. I was moved by Lorna’s story, and it helped me consider perspectives on addiction that I had no idea on.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book for review consideration.

This one was okay, I’ll admit that I liked it more than I had anticipated, however I still found some parts to be extremely slow. I enjoyed the characters, just felt that something was lacking

I went into this expecting a fluffy story based on the cute cover but for a much deeper and more meaningful read about addiction, forgiveness, etc. It was emotional and beautiful!

2.75 rounded up to a 3 for me.

Maybe this book just isn't meant for me. It's an easy, predictable read with a character who wants to grate against your nerves but wins you over as she grows. Fine! I love unlikeable-likeable characters. But her growth is so slow, without many other redeeming qualities about her. We have a cast of characters who support her, which allows her to grow into a more dimensional person who works through her trauma. It was just fine, and that's good for some people! But it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to the author, HarperMuse, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

ARC REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Since the beginning I resonated with a few things Lorna said or felt.
Honestly Bean just stole the show from time to time.
The book is easy to read, however I found it kind of hard because I don’t usually read this kind of books. This book is all about second chances and forgiveness.
Overall, I liked Lorna’s growth and development.

Not the usual rom-com I was expecting from the author, and the title. But still a powerful read, showing it is never too late to discover yourself and grow as a person. And it’s never too late for forgiveness.

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

Everything is Probably Fine is a heart warming novel of healing personal trauma and forgiving yourself and others. Lorna Lott is forty-two, one of the best sales people at her job, and awkward, angry, and too blunt. Her treatment of her sales team gets her a visit to wellness treatment program if she wants to keep her job. The forced therapy has Lorna examining her life and the trauma that led her to place she is now. Her loneliness is alleviated by a young boy next door who is as in need of a friend as she is. Lorna begins to heal and make amends for the wrongs she believes she caused. Her journey brings Lorna a new lease on life and new friends to enjoy it with. Memorable and moving, Lorna’s story makes the reader empathize and love Lorna as she begins to love herself for an enjoyable, touching read. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

I went into this book believing I would be reading a lighthearted story. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story was about self-discovery and forgiveness. Lorna was real and I could relate to her. This book had me thinking long and hard after I finished.