This is a novel bursting with interesting and compelling characters. As ever the author makes them seem very real and I felt they were actual people I would have liked to meet.
Lila is a single mother dealing with the loss of her own mother, the terrible grief of her stepfather, Bill and her annoying ex husband Dan who has left her for another parent at her younger daughter’s school.
When her own father Gene suddenly appears , a larger than life American actor, famous for being in a “Star Trek” like programme many years earlier, Lila is completely overwhelmed. This is someone who abandoned her and her mother a long time ago and now he wants to play happy families.
However, unable to say no, Lila offers Gene a roof over his head, despite having Bill around in the house too.
This is a modern story about blended families, the pain of loss and of course the redemptive power of forgiveness.
Gene brings a light hearted touch of humour to difficult situations and seems to know the right things to say despite his absence from Lila’s earlier life. He builds a relationship with his grandchildren as best he can although Lila remains wary.
There are even hints of romance in the story which come from very unexpected quarters.
I found this book oddly moving and quite touching in places as the characters gradually worked through their problems and Lila tried to bring a semblance of normality to her family’s lives. Gene was great fun and he certainly lightened up what could have been a rather sad story as Lila struggled with her day to day problems.
I definitely recommend “We All Live Here” as an engrossing and entertaining read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

“Yes, maybe this is a family. With all its mad history and chaos, heartbreaks, stupid jokes, ridiculous triumphs, and distinct lack of Noguchi coffee-tables, maybe this is my family.”

We All Live Here is a warm and lighthearted novel about the bonds of family from bestselling author JoJo Moyes.

It’s barely been eighteen months since Lila’s husband moved in with his much younger mistress (just weeks after the publication of her debut nonfiction book offering advice on how to build a strong marriage), followed by her beloved mother’s tragic death in a traffic accident, leaving Lila trying to keep it all together for the sake of her two daughters. But with writers block, recalcitrant plumbing, a grieving stepfather, dwindling finances, a dog that wont stop barking, and the unexpected appearance of her estranged biological father, Lila is barely hanging on.

A character driven novel, I was quickly invested in Lila’s struggle to reclaim her equilibrium in the wake of betrayal and loss. She easily earned my sympathy while navigating the needs of her family and herself, despite her mistakes. I enjoyed Lila’s conversations with her best friend, and the romantic subplot that has Lila torn between affable landscape gardener Jensen, and suave single dad, Gabriel.

With warring elderly fathers, a rebellious teen, and a guileless eight year old under one roof, Lila’s family dynamic is complicated. Plus there is her ex and his newly pregnant partner, whom Lila regularly has to face at the school gate to factor in. Moyes effortlessly communicates the daily chaos, compromises, and caring, familiar to every family. I liked the various strong-willed personalities of the main characters, and their interactions with one another.

I found We All Live Here to be well paced for a novel with close to 500 pages. Exploring the themes of heartbreak, longing, regret, forgiveness, and redemption, the serious moments are well balanced with humour. There aren’t really any surprises in the story but the author’s observations about what it means to be a family are witty and thoughtful.

An engaging read, We All Live Here is an amusing and satisfying domestic drama.

Another great read from this author. A simple read about family life dramas. No other plots whatsoever.

The characters in this book are well developed and are all dealing with different things in their lives but are all soldering on as best as they can. Throughout the book It has made me laugh in some places and then feel sad in others, a novel about love, forgiveness and most importantly family.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This took me a while to get in to but because I've never read a bad book by Jojo Moyes, I persevered and I'm glad that I did.
This is a very character driven / blended family book which will make you laugh, cry and have a bloody long think about life in general.
There are parts that are very relatable and others that are less so - but it all makes for interesting reading, if a little predictable at times.
A touching story about family, friends, grief and love.

In this new book from bestselling author Jojo Moyes, we follow 42-year-old Lila as she navigates her life as a decent divorcée with her two daughters and two step dads.

The book is light on plot but heavy on character development. It managed to make me laugh and then cry a few pages later. I found the characters compelling and the writing immersive. I'm actually going to see this author talk early next month and can't wait to hear what she has to say about the writing of this book!

A recommended read for fans of Jojo Moyes and character-driven family drama.

Thank you to Netgalley and Michael Joseph for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

We All Live Here is a heartfelt, relatable novel following Lila and her family as they come to terms with some big life changes: Lila's husband, and the father of her two kids, has left them to live with another woman - another mother at the same school! - and Lila's stepfather has moved in with them following the death of Lila's mother. With money troubles and writer's block, Lila isn't having the easiest time - and in We All Live Here we see things come to a head...

The story itself is well written and enjoyable but fairly predictable at times. We could all see elements of the storyline a mile off and some parts felt a little cheesy. However, you can always rely on JoJo Moyes's great writing and this book has that in abundance. The characters feel convincing and although there are some sad moments, it still felt very uplifting. I really enjoyed reading about the family's interactions, with various moments that made me laugh out loud. We All Live Here is an easy, fun read that I'd recommend.

•𝕎𝕖 𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝕃𝕚𝕧𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖
•𝕁𝕠𝕁𝕠 𝕄𝕠𝕪𝕖𝕤

Thanks to @netgalley for this one.

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated.

Then her real Dad turns up on her doorstep, when will it all end?!

An easy read that focused on the trials & tribulations of Lila's life. Both emotional & humorous this book was a joy to read.

4🌟

@jojomoyesofficial

#jojomoyes #netgalleyuk #wealllivehere

'We All Live Here' follows mid aged Lila dealing with her complicated and chaotic life - 2 dads, 2 daughters, an estranged husband and a flagging career, to name but part of it. There are a lot of characters to sort but once I'd grasped who's who I enjoyed the story. It's a good escapist story with plenty of family drama. Many thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for an early e-read.

If you want a book to cheer up the dreary days of Winter, this may be the one. Jojo gives you laughs at the most inappropriate situations and keeps you guessing until the end how things will end up. You will end up rooting for all the characters (well maybe not one of them! 🤫) but you will chuckling out loud to their antics throughout.
A thoroughly good escape read.
My only hope is that she takes the best friend character and gives her story a go next...she was fab.
Thanks Netgalley for my advance copy to give an open and honest review.

This book had many layers and felt so relatable at times. Lila had been left devastated and stranded, after her husband left her for a younger woman and her mother died unexpectedly. She’s got a lot to deal with, along with two girls to provide for, a stepdad who feels lost and a flighty father who has never really been there for her.

The best part of this book was the journey Lila goes on. Her growth and development is great. I wanted to shake her at times through frustration and her shortsightedness, but then at other times I really felt for what she’s dealing with and was rooting for her entirely. There is such a good undertone of humour in this too. I laughed out loud multiple times.
I loved getting to know Celie more and getting that glimpse into the high pressure world of a 16 year old girl. I would have loved to see more of a development in her relationship with Lila. It felt distant at times.

I went from being absorbed in the storyline, and escapades of Lila’s life, to feeling the pace had slowed quite a lot. But overall, I still very much enjoyed this.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read and review this one!

Absolutely loved this one! No one does memorable characters like Jojo Moyes. I'll forever remember the way this one made me feel.

All the stars!

Jojo always writes a great book this is particularly resonant as I am at that age where you feel like you’re being pulled in all directions by our family. She gets relationships no matter how tricky. This will be an instant bestseller

Lila is trying to get through life at the moment with her daughters Violet and Celie. Her stepdad Bill is helping but it’s a struggle. With her house, ex husband, playground mums and a dad who has reappeared after a long absence causing all sorts of problems she’s losing herself.

I have always been a fan of work by Jojo Moyes and unsurprisingly absolutely adored this book. I loved the plot line, the character development throughout, it was very moving and my emotions were changing throughout from laughter to sadness, and my heart full of love for Lila, who was really struggling with everything life was throwing at her (living with her stepdad and her two daughters (Cecile who is 16 and Violet who is 8) after the death of her mum and the end of her own marriage to Dan after he leaves her, then on top of that her birth dad shows up in need of a place to stay which only causes conflict between him and her step dad. Then to put the cherry on top of Lila's less than stressless life her husband was having an affair with the one of her children's classmates mother, who is now pregnant. I honestly relate so much to Lila in some ways and also my heart was breaking for her. I was so glad that she was able to piece her heart back together a bit with TWO love interests which also managed to get her head in the right place again to start writing. Such a beautifully woven story, full of real life situations that a lot of people would be able to relate to, in one way or another.

The complicated lives and times of “extended” families. It all gets messy when Lila’s widowed stepfather and her estranged biological father both come to stay with her “temporarily”. And, that’s even without her own love life.
This all seemed so true to life and all the characters believable if not all likeable. I found myself saying “Don’t do it” and wanting to give her, probably unwanted, advice.
A fascinating read

I was quite disappointed with my last Jojo Moyes book Someone Else’s Shoes but thankfully We All Live Here was much more enjoyable. While the plot was pretty predictable in a most places, it touched on a lot of relatable subjects, had a lot of heart and the character development was really strong and the protagonist very likeable. A lovely, comforting read.

I found this book quite dull in comparison to the many other JoJo Moyes books I have read. I don’t like giving up on a book so I did persevere and the last third was a little more fast paced and interesting.

It’s very much a character driven novel with the main character being Lila, a 43 year old, who’s written a best-seller about keeping your marriage alive. Two weeks after publication, Dan, her seemingly perfect husband, left her and is now living with Marja, a younger woman who has a son at the same school as one of Lila’s daughters. Her stepdad, Bill, has moved himself in as his wife, Lila’s mother, died recently. Lila’s daughters Celie and Violet are both causing stress in different ways. Then Gene, Lila’s long estranged biological father, turns up and causes even more chaos in all their lives.

I found it very slow with little happening other than the fractious day to day lives of a blended family. All the adults in the story seemed to behave without regard for others and irritated me. If you live a novel with strong characters, dysfunctional family dramas and a whole gamut of emotions this may appeal to you but it was not my favourite of the author’s books.

With thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lila’s life is chaotic. Her bestselling book about how to keep marriage alive has been undermined somewhat by her husband leaving to begin again with a new woman (and new baby) and her publisher is on her back for new work. She has recently lost her beloved mother and her straightlaced stepfather appears to be quietly moving in with her. Her teenage daughter refuses to say much or talk about what is bothering her and her youngest sings far too many inappropriate rap songs. And for the icing on the cake, her estranged father has appeared on her doorstep needing help years after abandoning her and her mother.

This was such a wonderful read and so much of it rang true - the changing nature of family life, the pressures of having to deal with the problems of children and aging parents at the same time, navigating new relationships after a long marriage - and it managed to make me both laugh and cry at various points. Jojo Moyes is a wonderful writer about women’s lives and this was one of my favourites of her books, full of warmth and engaging characters. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

We All Live Here is another fantastic novel from Jojo Moyes full of relatable characters and situations. Lila’s husband has left her for a younger woman who is now pregnant. Lila has to see her everyday in the playground while collecting her youngest daughter from school. This happened shortly after her book was published. A book that gives advice on how to freshen up a stale marriage. Lila is also managing her bereavement following the sudden death of her mother. Her elderly step dad has moved into her crumbling home and her real dad suddenly appears after being absent for most of her life. Full of the usual humour and more poignant moments, this is a great read for anyone juggling life and it’s ever increasing demands.

This book articulates perfectly the complications and chaos of family life. Fun, moving, but also very astute and wise. Pure joy!

🤍Book review 🤍


We All Live Here
by Jojo Moyes


Very grateful to the publisher for my copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own.

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes is a heartwarming and entertaining family drama filled with humor, love, and relatable chaos.
The story follows Lila, a recently separated mother navigating life with her two daughters, her stepfather, and the unexpected arrival of her estranged Hollywood actor father, Gene.
Moyes excels at creating well-developed, lovable characters, each dealing with their own struggles.
From teenage rebellion to grief and second chances, the novel explores family relationships in a raw, honest, and often funny way.
The mix of emotions—sadness, laughter, and hope—makes this book truly engaging.
The story feels real, with messy situations, mistakes, and growth, making it easy to connect with the characters.
It’s a feel-good, uplifting read that beautifully captures the ups and downs of a family life.
If you enjoy stories about love, resilience, and imperfect but strong families, this book is a must-read!