Everything Is Probably Fine is a beautifully told story of reckoning, regret, and redemption. I was completely drawn in by Lorna's journey. Watching her confront the past and truly face her demons was powerful and emotional. I am always pulled in by characters who are forced to revisit their choices, and this story, did it with raw honesty.

The pacing was perfect for me, it was not too fast or too slow, and the emotional beats landed with real weight. There is a gentleness to the writing even when the themes are heavy, which made it an impactful read.

The story was already great, but the narration made it exceptional. I would listen to anything Marni Penning reads.

Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for the chance to listen to this title in exchange for my opinion.

A raw and beautifully sarcastic take on mental health, friendship, and figuring out life in the middle of it. Julia London balances heartbreak and humor with sharp insight, and the result feels like talking to your most self-aware friend after a long cry and a good drink. It’s messy, weirdly comforting, and probably exactly what I needed.

This was a miss for me. Honestly I started off not liking Lorna and that kind of set the tone for the book. I felt for what she had to go through but therapy would’ve helped her a lot more

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Everything Is Probably Fine by Julia London 🎧📚

If you love emotional, character-driven stories with humor, healing, and a little chaos—this one’s for you. 💔🧘‍♀️💬

Lorna Lott is intense, driven, and not exactly known for her people skills… but after a career meltdown lands her in a 30-day wellness program (and nearly costs her everything she’s worked for), she’s forced to face her grief, guilt, and rage—especially the unresolved pain around her sister’s addiction. 😞🪞

With help from an adorably nosy 8-year-old neighbor and his charming dad 🧒🏼💫, Lorna begins the hard work of making amends—with her past and herself.

🎧 I listened on audio and highly recommend it—Lorna’s inner voice is sharp, vulnerable, and often laugh-out-loud funny. Julia London balances emotional depth with just the right touch of redemption and heart. 💬🧡

Perfect for fans of The Wedding People, The Husbands, or anyone looking for a story about second chances and learning to let go. 🍃📖

Everything is Probably Fine follows Lorna, a character shaped by trauma, and understandably so. While I didn’t entirely love the book, the story resonated with me in many ways and felt deeply relatable. That said, I found a disconnect between the depth of Lorna’s experiences and how her character was portrayed. At times, I questioned her age, or perhaps her emotional age. I'm unsure whether this was an intentional choice by the author, as it’s true that many of us carry invisible insecurities that don’t always align with how others perceive us.

There were also a couple of moments in the story that felt forced or slightly off, not due to the dialogue, but because some of the circumstances didn’t align well with reality. These situations made parts of the plot feel less grounded and more difficult to comprehend.

Still, tackling tragic loss with a lighter tone is no small feat, and Julia London approaches the subject with sensitivity and grace. London manages to strike a thoughtful balance between grief and humor, ultimately leaving me with a sense of hope.

If you're a fan of Abbi Waxman, particularly The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, this novel might be a good alternative—it shares that blend of heartfelt storytelling and quirky charm.

One final note: the audiobook narrator is absolutely fantastic. The narration is clear, engaging, and easy to follow. Kudos!

Rating: 4.8/5 stars
Lorna is an uptight, quick-to-anger corporate manager who finds herself in a little bit of trouble when her letter she wrote to her sister accidentally gets sent to THE ENTIRE OFFICE!!! In it, Lorna gives each employee a superlative -- not all of them are the nicest ones.... Instead of firing Lorna, her boss stages an intervention to have her go on a "wellness retreat" at one of those fancy spa places that she and her sister used to make fun of.
There, she reflects back on her tumultuous life: growing up with an alcoholic grandma, Nan, a drug addict sister, a mother who died a slow death from cancer, and a jerk of a father who left them decades ago. All of it just makes her SO MAD! She wants to go back to when she was happy again. Which is why she has the ultimate goal of buying back her grandmother's house. During one of her sister's stints at rehab, her mother sold their house to pay for her sister's treatment (which didn't even work...). The house was bought by a slumlord who split up the house into 4 different apartments. Lorna lives in one of these. She wants to buy the house and turn it back into a home to make her feel good again.
It isn't until she meets Bean, the little boy across the hall, that she starts to get a glimmer of happiness into her life.

This was such an amazing book! I connected so much to the main character. The writing made her grief very apparent for the childhood she never really got to have. I love that she was able to find such great neighbors to create friendships and family with. It gave me similar vibes to "Remarkably Bright Creatures." I would 100% recommend this book to everyone. Looking back at the author's previous novels, it looks like this is really outside of their normal content, but they ABSOLUTELY ROCKED IT! Please please please make this a bestseller!

Lorna, who leads the sales team at a software company, prides herself on being more hardworking and more capable than anyone else. At 43 and single, Lorna holds not only herself but also others to high standards. Tall and commanding, she’s secretly nicknamed “King Kong” by her team members.

One day, she accidentally sends an email meant as a private joke to her sister Kristen—containing a file mocking her team members—to the entire team instead. As a result, her boss orders her to take a one-month leave to attend a mental health program.

The roots of Lorna’s behavior lie in childhood trauma caused by her sister Kristen, who had struggled with alcohol and drug addiction since the age of ten. Their family had been thrown into chaos by Kristen’s destructive actions. After their constantly fighting parents divorced, the sisters moved with their mother into their maternal grandmother’s large home—a time that was the happiest in Lorna’s life. But after their grandmother passed away, the house was sold by their mother to pay for Kristen’s rehab.

The house has since been renovated into four small apartments. Lorna, who now rents one of them, has been working tirelessly with the dream of one day buying the house back. With a promotion and raise on the horizon, she cannot afford to lose her job. Reluctantly attending the mandated program, she gradually comes to understand the need to confront the trauma buried within her.

Meanwhile, spending more time at home leads her to look after Bean, the 8-year-old boy next door. That connection sparks new relationships with the other apartment residents as well, helping Lorna slowly make peace with her past…

EVERYTHING IS PROBABLY FINE, the latest novel by bestselling romance author Julia London, marks a departure from her usual work, with minimal romantic content. At its core, the book focuses on the profound impact that addiction can have on a family. No matter how many times you try to help, you’re met with betrayal, sometimes losing your own relationships and career in the process. Even if you sever ties to protect yourself, the guilt lingers.

The novel captures these emotional struggles with powerful empathy, making one wonder if London herself has lived through something similar (though, to my knowledge, she hasn’t publicly spoken about it). While certain scenes are heartbreaking and evoke tears, the presence of young Bean brings warmth and levity, keeping the story from becoming too heavy. This is a heartwarming book that highlights the beauty of chosen family—the supportive, loving bonds we build with people we choose, rather than the ones we’re born into.

I've been searching for comps for Alison Espach's books. When I saw this was for fans of The Wedding People, I immediately hit request.

📖: Lorna Lott is mad. After an unfortunate email incident at work, she is sent to a month-long wellness program to deal with her anger. This means coming to terms with her past, especially her relationship with her sister. Along the way, she befriends her 8-year-old neighbor, Bean, who accompanies her along her apology tour. Maybe Lorna will realize the forgiveness she needs the most is her own.

🤝: This may be a good fit if you enjoy:
- journeys of self-discovery
- characters you can root for
- a nice balance of heavy and light

💭: It took me a second to get into this one. At first I wasn't sure if it was going to be cheesy or not. Not sure if it was the narration, the humor, or Lorna. Then we met Bean, and I melted a little. I'm learning I love a quirky new friend in my dramas. And as we found out more about Lorna's family dynamic, I felt for her. I have a feeling I would have handled things similarly had I been in her shoes. Everything is Probably Fine has a unique balance of lightness while dealing with tough topics. My reading experience got better and better as the book went on.

🎧: I think the narrator was great for this. At first I thought maybe she would be too emotive and make it cheesy, but I think she was a great choice for this story. I thought she had a cute voice for Bean.

Everything is Probably Fine is one of the best books I've read this year. The fmc Lorna is a woman filled with anger, mistrust and hurt. After being forced on a month long sabbatical from her work she begins to work through her issues stemming from her lifetime of dealing with her drug and alcohol addicted sister and her feelings towards her mother whom she believes always enabled her sister. The subjects of addiction and how families of addicts try to cope with their loved ones inability to stop their behaviours was well written and highlighted how difficult these families have it.
The audiobook of Lorna's story is simply perfect. Marni Penning does a fantastic job in bringing Lorna, Bean and the rest of the characters to life. If I could recommend to everyone to listen to the audio for this book I would.
Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Muse for the arc audiobook to review.

This book has the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

The overall plot line could have been good and I wanted to like it. But everything was so exaggerated, everyone was a caricature, it was obvious where it was going, and there was no nuance and no surprises.

The thing that bothered me most, though, is that the book seems to miss its own point. Each stop on the apology tour is supremely selfish and either completely misses the mark or actually leaves more harm in its wake. <slight spoilers> Don’t force information on someone who doesn’t want it, appeasing your guilt and stoking their grief! If you’ve inadvertently snubbed your best friend minutes after you are the first person she ever came out to, showing up and explaining why doesn’t magically repair that harm. The blanket of self righteous anger over the entire protagonist’s personality and life story is overboard and gets annoying about 100 pages in and just gets worse.

I don’t recommend reading this book unless you’re looking for a good cringe. The narrator was good though.

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

I had the chance to listen to the Everything is Probably Fine audiobook thanks to #NetGalley, and I’m really glad I did. This was one of those stories that sneaks up on you: quiet and gentle, but surprisingly emotional.

Julia London knows how to weave humor and heart into even the heaviest themes, and she balances it well here. The storyline about burned-out, emotionally closed-off Lorna being forced into a wellness program sounds like it could go full cliché, but it doesn’t. It’s more thoughtful than expected, and the pacing worked for me. A little predictable at times, but still meaningful.

Where the book really shined for me was the characters. Lorna is tough to love at first, but you get why she’s built walls. Watching her slowly open up, especially with Bean (the eight-year-old neighbor who is the actual heart of this book), was really moving. Seth, Bean’s dad, was quietly great too. The emotional growth felt earned.

I didn’t expect to fly through this one, but I kept finding reasons to hit play. The narration was engaging, the tone had a great balance of warmth and dry humor, and honestly, I got more emotionally invested than I expected. Even the therapy scenes worked for me, which is not always the case in fiction.

If you like books about personal growth with just a hint of romance and a lot of emotional honesty, this is a good one to pick up. And thanks again to NetGalley for the listening copy; I probably wouldn’t have found this otherwise, and I’m glad I did.

4.25⭐️s : thoroughly enjoyed the narration for this book. It definitely added to the enjoyment.

A story of, at first forced, self-discovery, grief, forgiveness & found family, I was quickly invested and found it hard to put down.

Main character Lorna isn’t the most likable person, but easy to root for her, especially after learning from where her anger stems. Beans steals the scene almost every time. He really is a special, cool kid, and the story wouldn’t have happened without his mix of childhood innocence & wisdom beyond his years. He gets my badge for best character. The cast of characters is a fun, disparate group.

A nice reminder that everything has more than one perspective that can be true, and a big event to someone can be a non-event to others. Acts of courage and kindness in everyday life. And our assumptions can be so far off they’re on another planet.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Muse Audiobooks for a free ARC of the audiobook.

I don’t think I’m the correct reader; very confused why this is being marketed to fans of wedding people and the husbands. I found the MC insufferable and exhausting. I finally had to quit so I could get a break from her.

Julia London's new novel Everything Is Probably Fine is an absolute triumph. I'm convinced this novel has the potential to change the world, at least for those who can find a piece of themselves in this story. If you can't tell, I am one of them. It's about a strong woman who has pushed blindly forward her entire life, past things that cause her pain, because she's the one who had to hold things together. Until one day, the lid she's clamped down over it all can't hold it in anymore, and she's forced to deal with things she never wanted to think about again.

In many ways I'm not necessarily proud to admit to, I am like Lorna. We come from broken families, have siblings with substance abuse issues, deal with overwhelm often with anger (at least internally), and are always expected by those we love to be the soft landing space whenever they have problems (creating lots of pressure to constantly have it all together enough for everyone). Though she doesn't realize it, she's at a breaking point: crying often for no apparent reason, avoiding mail piling up in the corner, obsessed with buying back the home where she last had happy memories with her family. The final straw lands at work, and she is forced to participate in a mental health recovery program if she wants to keep the job she genuinely loves.

Lorna's journey is one of clarity, grief, and forgiveness. She is...highly encouraged...to revisit some of her most formative memories. We all know that memory is fallible. We know it, but it doesn't feel like it is. Sometimes some distance and looking at things from the perspective of your now-disconnected self can be eye-opening.

It is both this exploration of the past, and navigating the present with the people who live in the now split-into-apartments building she once lived in with her family. There's a puppy, a charming little boy, and his single-father doing his best. What's not to like?

I absolutely recommend this book! It's not really comparable to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, but I feel like they're perhaps kindred spirits. This book is balm to the damage of our souls (big or little). Please read it!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

4.5/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

What I liked:
- the representation of mental health struggles and the difficult and slow healing journey
- the representation of addiction and the havoc it wreaks on the addict as well as their loved ones
- Bean reminding Lorna of a child’s innocence and helping her heal her inner child
- the unlikeable FMC. Lorna is rude, neurotic, distrustful, antisocial, and that’s what makes her interesting, her trauma believable, and her healing journey satisfying. Normalize unlikable FMCs.
- I could see a lot of my own struggles and regrets in Lorna’s. I could empathize with her feelings of being misunderstood by others as well as herself.
- the narrator’s varied voices for each character

What I didn’t like:
- the trust conditions weren’t believable for me

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the advanced audiobook.

Lorna Lott seems cranky about almost everything and everyone. But when an email she never meant to send, which details all the petty names she calls her sales team, gets sent to her team, Lorna is forced to attend a 30-day rehab to confront her issues.

While Lorna's goal, to save enough money to buy back her grandparents' house, feels sympathetic enough, Lorna, as a character was very unlikeable and uninteresting. I found that there was little that redeemed her, other than her very cute Corgi, Agnes. Even with a strong narrator for the audiobook, this was a story I couldn't get behind.

Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the kind of book that stays with you for a long time after you finish reading it.

Lorna is a top dog at sales but a curmudgeon in the social sphere. Nobody else likes her frosty, bitter, domineering, and curmudgeonly personality, but she's built this 'bomb shelter' intentionally. Closing herself off is a way to keep her safe from connecting with others and either disappointing them or having to deal with them disappointing her. Her boss forces her to go on a month-long wellness sabbatical to 'deal with her issues' and confront what's making her so hostile and hard to work with. Lorna reluctantly agrees because she's relying on an upcoming promotion to give her the money to buy her grandmother's house. During the retreat, she's pushed to 'connect with her inner self' (which she thinks is a load of crap) and confront the things in her past that are holding her back. She ends up going on an 'apology tour,' seeking out the people and relationships she believes have been damaged beyond repair as a result of her sister's actions (Kristen, who is an addict). Along the way, she ends up finding surprising connections, having new revelations, and coming to find out that her past and future might be different from what she thought. While she seeks forgiveness from others on the apology tour, she also ends up needing to seek forgiveness from herself.

This story was incredible in the sense that it 'meant' so much. I went into it thinking it was going to be a funny but heartfelt story about a woman who visits some past friends and talks about some antics from the past. It ended up being so much more. It speaks to addiction and the impacts it has on the people who are so desperately trying to help someone who doesn't want help and doesn't want to help themselves. It talks about what 'family' really means, 'who' it 'means,' and how it is found and created. I cared about ALL of these characters immediately. I especially loved little Bean, who teaches Lorna the most about family, friendship, change, and forgiveness.

While Lorna's apology tour and rocky family dynamics stem from her sister's addiction to drugs, I think the turmoil and feelings that Lorna goes through can resonate with lots of other kinds of addiction. As someone who has struggled with mental health in ways that could be considered 'addiction,' this book is going to stay with me as a reflection on how I'm impacting others. Even if Lorna ultimately finds that she has to forgive herself, a lot of what she went through in the past DID result from her sister's addiction and its rippling effects. The book really made me think about that in respect to how my struggles and resistance to change (like Kristen's) are making things difficult for the people around me.

The story left me with a lot to think about, and I think it will be one of the books I don't forget. I'd recommend that everyone read this - in some way, whether it be struggling with a loved one, needing to face and discover why you don't like yourself, needing to forgive others and yourself, etc., I think everyone will feel a deep connection to Lorna's story. There are so many important messages about forgiveness, change, and relationships of all kinds.

It was a super interesting read for me, too, because Lorna was an unlikeable main character, but in a very 'meta' way. The whole point of the story is that she is unlikeable and knows it! That made it gripping because Lorna is simultaneously trying to change while fighting that change. She doesn't want to be unlikeable (and even she doesn't like herself), but she also has purposefully crafted her 'unlikeable' nature as a strategy.

Amidst how meaningful the story was, there also was humor! I really enjoyed the humor, characters, and the subtle romance subplot. The time jumps to the past did a great job of providing insight into how Lorna's life and experiences were impacted by Kristen's addiction and, ultimately, how Lorna came to be how/who she is. I think the narrator of the audio did a good job with giving different intonations for the character and expressing emotions (to note, I listened at a speed of 2). Again, I cared a lot about the characters and felt invested in the story. The pacing was 'just right' for me - not too fast or slow.

To reiterate, this was a really impactful story that I would recommend to anyone (checking trigger warnings beforehand)!

*Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for access to an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I had read several of Julia London's previous books. They were entertaining from what I can remember so I was excited after reading the summary for Everything Is Probably Fine.

Lorna is struggling in life. She is successful at her job but her coworkers want nothing to do with her. She accidentally sent an email to her coworkers that was intended for her sister. In the email she spoke very unkindly about them and now she is on forced sabbatical to work on her anger issues.

Lorna must face her issues or her "bomb shelter" as Lolo refers to it. It is a story of self awareness and growth and forgiveness.

Is this the best written story? Will it receive all the book awards? Probably not but it is a great book for many different reasons. For me the cast of characters in this story is what earned a 5 stars from me. Lorna, Bean, Agnes aka Aggie, and Micah are just a few of the amazing characters that London created. Also Loran's growth as a human was heartwarming.

The banter and relationship between Lorna and Bean was just priceless. London knocked it out of the park with this book. These characters will stay with me for some time and this will definitely be one of my favorite books of 2025.

Possible triggers: alcohol and drug abuse, vehicular death, "minor" parental neglect

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Harper Muse Audiobook and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

i REALLLLYYY wanted to love this! i love the cover and the premise of the book, and maybe if i come back to it at a different time i would love it. After trying to read the digital and the audio multiple times and getting to about 30% i have decided to soft DNF. I am hoping it’s just a mood issue and i’ll be able to come back to it in the future!

⭐️ Book Review: Everything Is Probably Fine by Julia London ⭐️

At first, Lorna Lott is tough to like. She’s sharp, angry, and so closed off that you can almost feel the heat rolling off her in waves. Marni Penning’s narration captures that beautifully—the tension crackles in every conversation, and you feel the weight of Lorna’s self-loathing and bitterness. Marni was the shining star in this audiobook, bringing every raw emotion and nuance to life.

But this book is all about transformation. Lorna’s journey toward self-acceptance and forgiveness is powerful and deeply moving. Her story is heartbreaking, and the way she’s so hard on herself makes her unexpectedly relatable. When she finally starts recognizing her own worth, you’re right there with her, rooting for her, and falling in love with the person she becomes.

I felt everything reading this novel—rage, sorrow, hope, and joy. Julia London delivers a story that’s raw, real, and ultimately uplifting. A word of caution: there are significant triggers around addiction and anger, but if you’re prepared for those, this book is absolutely worth the read. Highly recommended.