The first time I read a book by Carmen Reid, I was blown away. The right amount of laugh-out-loud moments makes this a great summer read!

We all have our own dysfunctional families at times, and this was set in the backdrop of that.

Thank you, NetGalley, Publisher, and Author, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a wonderful book about family. Sasha does not get along with her family so a weekend celebrating her parents anniversary with her family will be interesting.
I read this book in one day and am not sorry I did. It is a great, easy book to help you forget the world around you. I would classify this as women’s fiction which is one of my favorite genres. There are plenty of funny scenes in this book that everyone will relate to. Family is great but getting family together for a weekend can be stressful. Everyone has their own secrets that will eventually come out. A very enjoyable relaxing book.

This is a gem of a book which, if it had been a swimming pool, had me gently paddling in the first few chapters before becoming fully immersed and then not wanting to come out! As the story unfolded, I felt as though I was on one of those steep waterslides, as I couldn’t stop turning the pages.
I was immediately drawn to Sasha. Her love story with Ben, their meeting and subsequent marriage, ticked every box on the romance stakes. Of course, nothing in this life is perfect, and so we learn more about Sasha’s delightful family.
From her stiff-upper-lipped parents to her indulged siblings, they were each introduced in a way that was bound to make the reader dislike them. Chadwell House put me in mind of so many stately homes owned by the fur coat and no knicker brigade. The people who host lavish parties but can’t afford to fix the roof. True to form, her parents are struggling to maintain the house and are worried That their anniversary party may have to be the last hurrah. I don’t believe in spoilers, so I’ll leave the story there.
What I learned from this book is the power of communication. Had there been ongoing dialogues between the main characters, there wouldn’t have been a story, but it’s hard not to get caught up in the fictional lives as they fall from the pages.
There’s a lot to unpack with this story and so many elements are hidden behind secrets and pain that it takes a while for the proverbial dust to settle and a more positive future to emerge. As the first few threads begin to unravel, the reader needs to hold on tight as the surprises and shocks keep on coming. I’m not ashamed to admit that I shed a few tears as I found myself willing the characters toward a happy ending.
Carmen Reid has excelled herself with this book. I just loved everything about it and I’m thankful that I dived in.

The premise of "You can't choose your family" runs through this story effortlessly, ad you can feel Sasha's awkward reluctance at attending her parents' 40th anniversary at the family home - or should that be mansion?
As the middle child, she's always felt she hasn't lived up to her parents' expectations, believing her old sister and younger brother were each the favoured child of her dad and mum. While she and her husband are running a business together, a blow to their finances makes her think she'll be seen as a failure alongside her incredibly successful siblings.
But there are things Sasha doesn't know about her family members, secrets that come to the fore during her stay there, secrets that make her reflect and reconsider her long-held opinions.
The author presents a story of family dynamics filled with poignant memories, new understandings and the realisation that Sasha has no need for a new family. The one she has is pretty special after all.

I loved this and will check other books by this author right now.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This book looks into the family kinetics, the secrets kept and the relationships.

All three siblings are not alike at all. Adele is successful and also financially secure. But Sasha, is finding it hard to make ends meet and has a tag as “the wild child”. The third child, Beau is the youngest and their mothers favourite.

The three are going to their country home to celebrate their parents wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, everything doesn’t go to plan, there’s secrets that come out, misunderstandings cleared and as everyone help, tell each other what’s going on in their life, they begin to understand each other.

A hilarious summer read with some genuine laugh out loud moments! What I also really enjoyed was that the characters all had their faults but were ultimately very likeable. And it was a very satisfying ending. I’ve never read any books by Carmen Reid before but I am definitely going to now.

This was a funny light hearted read with a few unexpected twists. This was set in the backdrop of a dysfunctional family like our own at times, they all get together for an anniversary party with hilarious outcomes.
There is a mixture of laughs and tears and Carmen Reid delivers them beautifully.
Well written and definitely a book to get lost in
Highly recommended

New Family Required
The BRAND NEW laugh-out-loud, uplifting read from Carmen Reid for summer 2022
I usually read mystery books, this was a refreshing change from all that. Very entertaining, funny, and just what a book that everyone needs to just laugh at, and I did plenty.

Thanks for the advanced copy. The book starts with a major disaster for Sasha and Ben and a reluctant visit to the family home, where secrets are revealed which help them get their lives back on track. I enjoyed the book, the story held my attention and was a pleasant read

Sasha has good grounds for jokingly wanting Ben to place and advert for a new family. She doesn't really seem to fit into her own one, and certainly doesn't want to let them know about her true feelings, or their financial position.

But yet she has to go and spend a weekend in the manor house to celebrate her parents 40th wedding anniversary.

I could feel her dread at attending from here, and really felt for Sasha, and Ben who seem like regular normal people. Over the course of the weekend let's say nothing goes smoothly, and there is drama, there are some far too vividly described scenes that made me feel as ill as the characters, there is a mystery behind where on earth the missing earrings are, and there are laughs too.

But most of all, it is the change in family dynamics as the weekend progressed that I found most fascinating.

I couldn't get enough of this book, it was a delight to read, and once again another book from the author that I completely and utterly loved. What a triumph!

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

The story follows Sasha as she returns to her family home for her parents' 40th anniversary party. With spoilt siblings and parents that treat her like a spare part, she’s not particularly looking forward to the weekend. When she discovers husband Ben has another secret to reveal, the party goes from bad to worse.

Lighthearted and fun. This was a quick and easy read.

This was a wonderful family book. I would recommend it to anyone that loves a good story about a family. It shows that you should be grateful for the family you do have because there for you no matter what they got your back.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Boldwood Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


The perfect palette cleanser if you typically read thrillers or a grittier genre. Lighthearted, funny, heartfelt.

Sasha's parents are planning a 40th anniversary party with all the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding. This is something Sasha could do without. She has always been the family rebel and although she loves her parents and siblings she has little in common with them.
This is a lighthearted read where the party is fraught with all sort of problems but there is a serious undercurrent of family friction. I loved the way the author shows that sibling rivalry exists well into adulthood and that petty jealousies have to come to a head before you can move on.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Funny story. I read it pretty fast. Highly recommend for a summer read beside the pool or in vacation. The cover is cute.

A great read from Carmen Reid .
Is your family disfunctional??
Follow the story of Sasha Greenhope as she heads to her family home to celebrate her parents 40th wedding anniversary. Will it all go smoothly or is it going to be a strained family get-together?
Sure what can go wrong when all the family are under one roof???

Another fantastic book by #carmenreid.
Perfect summer read.

✏️ARC Review- Coming to you July 12, 2022!✏️

📚64/100
New Family Required by Carmen Reid
Format: 📱 (E-Book ARC) This book was compliments of NetGalley and Boldwood Books- thank you so much for the opportunity to read in exchange for publishing reviews!

Fans of “This Is Where I Leave You” and similar family dramas will enjoy this novel full of dysfunction, family secrets, and an honest look at what keeps a family together. Short chapters and quick, dialogue heavy writing made this very readable and entertaining- would be a candidate for a travel or beach read!. The characters in this story were intentionally a bit unlikeable, but I still found myself rooting for them to find their way through their turmoil. The plot line was occasionally fairly predictable, but one could argue that this gave it a comfortable and “unfussy” feel. The writing style wasn’t my particular taste in some parts, as I like any moral point to be a bit less obvious, but a well-done, quick read!

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*Spoiler Free Summary*

Just in time for her extremely particular parents’ anniversary celebration, Sasha and her husband, Ben, have taken a hard hit to their family owned business. To say that the relationships in this family are strained is an understatement, and anxiety continues to build as they balance financial downfall and the impending familial drama. The couple decides to hide this reality from Sasha’s complicated and overbearing parents and siblings- until the celebration night goes awry and even more family secrets come in to play.

Check out “New Family Required” when it is released on July 12!

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The story took me a little while to get into, but once I’d gotten past the first few chapters I was hooked.
You felt for Sasha on so many levels, at so many times. Struggling, unseen and unheard in her family. Her parents and siblings began as hatable characters, but throughout the book they became more full and grew and you pitied them all in different ways. Wanting them to grow and talk and help each other. A lovely ending with lots of hope and potential. A little unrealistic and fast in how it happened, but at the same time, completely enjoyable.

A fantastic lighthearted read that delves into family dynamics, relationships, history and secrets!
The three griffon siblings are very different,Adele high achieving successful and financially secure, Sasha the middle child struggling to make ends meet and always thought of as the wild child, and lastly Beau the youngest and favoured by his mother!
As adults they are all invited home to the country pile to celebrate their parents wedding anniversary, things don’t go to plan and secrets are revealed, misconceptions resolved and a new found respect and understanding achieved as the parents and siblings open up, share, and support each other proving that family is everything and to be treasured.
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

This is a fantastic, engrossing story! While most families do not have a huge mansion that they can call their family home, they do have all the complexities that are part of this book’s plot. Roles taken in childhood often are retained as adults. Families often have secrets not shared. Hurtful things said are not let go of and fester. All that and much more is woven into this thought provoking story. The author, Carmen Reid, has a wonder gift of writing a humorous, heartwarming tale while tackling serious issues. She did an excellent job in writing this book!

I was immediately invested in lives of the Griffon family and enjoyed every moment I had with them. This was definitely a page-turner for me!

A huge thank you Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the immense pleasure of reading the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.