I started this book but couldn't get into the storyline unfortunately. Nothing wrong with the writing just wasnt my cup of tea.

Cate and her son Leo have been through a rough time with the loss of her husband, job and home. They are now off to live in the family home of her late husband which is also a museum. It hasn't been doing well and theres a chance it may be sold off. Could this be a whole new beginning for them or are things only destined to get worse.

This was a wonderful if at times heart breaking read especially with regards to the death of her husband. It's a difficult subject for most but it's well written in here. The story itself is steady with a bit of drama thrown in to keep the reader interested. I loved the imagery created in this and could easily picture the animals standing proud. The characters are likeable especially Leo, he really makes the story. I love his speech later on in the book. A worthwhile read.

This book gets under your skin. Much like Cate and Leo, whose story we meet in the book, who feel lost and isolated at the book’s beginning, the reader feels adrift by the end, sad that the novel is over. Mum and son end up in what should be a loving, welcoming family home but it turns out to be more lonely and odder than either can imagine. Beautifully written, it takes some unexpected turns – I wouldn’t expect anything less – and I was truly moved by the way it was written and how the story wraps itself around you.

I read "Grace Atherton" and loved it as much as I loved this story.
I love Anstey Harris' style of writing and her poignant and heart warming novels always touch some cords and make me cry as her characters are realistic and bring to memory some experience you lived.
This one was no exception. I loved Cate as she's a fleshed out and strong woman who has to face some big issues and discover some hidden strength in the change of scenery and lifestyle.
The other characters are also well thought and likeable.
I fell in love with the descriptions of the museum and the garden. They are vivid and I craved to the be there.
Ms Harris can surely write an engrossing story that will move you and keep you hooked till the end.
I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I chose this as I've previously read and enjoyed another novel by Anstey Harris.

The book's setting - an old country mansion/museum that houses the an amazing collection of objects - is fascinating (and apparently based on a real place - one for the future visit list...).

I like the author's style. She seems to specialise in writing characters who have"history" behind them and great depth - in this case, telling the story of Cate and her son, interwoven with the backstory of Cate's husband Richard and his family. Some very likeable characters here, and an excellently woven plot.

This is no sugary sweet read though - it made me cry several times - so have a tissue handy.

I'm looking forward to reading more by Anstey Harris.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

Where We Belong by Anstey Harris

Amazingly this is the first of Anstey Harris’s novels I have read. I am now going back to read the others. This novel is magical, emotional and written with such sophistication and class. Cate and her son Leo are in a difficult situation. In the aftermath of her husband’s death, they are having to leave the home they can no longer afford to rent in London. As an emergency measure Cate has been granted permission to live in an apartment that’s part of her late husband’s ancestral home. The house is a museum with living quarters above, but it will be the first time Cate and Leo have ever been there. Due to a family disagreement between grandfather and grandson, Cate has never even visited Crouch-On-Sea or the museum that will be their home. Hugo, Leo’s great-grandfather, was an explorer and collector and in a way that would be totally unethical now, he brought back many species of animal to create incredible displays of the natural world. In a time when people couldn’t travel to far flung places, unless they were rich, he felt he was allowing them to know and understand the world better. In an odd piece of logic he felt he was preserving these varied species for the future.

We learn that Cate fell in love with Richard at first sight, and the instant connection was mutual. Cate was then going out with Simon and he had arranged to introduce her to his best friend. The connection was so strong that she explained to Simon straight away and he remained a loyal friend. The author very carefully places these reminiscences inbetween the here and now, so we follow Cate and Leo into their new lives but continue to find out so much about what brought them there. Every now and again, the revelation makes us totally rethink the present. When the pair first arrive at the house and meet the faithful family retainer Araminta she shows them to their rooms in the top of the house. The next morning she is there to show them the family kitchen downstairs. As the pair get used to using priceless porcelain to eat from and Leo sneaks a second bowl of his sugary cereal, from the way Cate related to him I assume he is around ten years old. Then an extra chromosome is mentioned and I realised Leo is actually much older. As Cate remembers her pregnancy and Leo’s birth, it becomes clear that this was nineteen years ago. It also transpires that it is four years since Richard committed suicide after a long period of clinical depression. Before he died, in the Edwardian house that he and Cate renovate together, Simon and Cate fund hundreds of letters from banks and debt collection agencies. Richard owes hundreds of thousands and it is like this, on Christmas Eve, that Cate finds out they have lost the roof over their heads.

The book is a clever mix of these complex relationships and raw human emotion, with the fantastical and magical world of the museum. The author’s detailed and beautiful descriptions of the collections, particularly the animal galleries, are so vivid I can actually see them. By the end I started to imagine this was a real life place I might be able to visit. It reminded me of a visit to New Walk Museum in Leicester when I was six and an entrance hall full of stuffed animals so much bigger than me. The description of these displays had the same effect as I read them with the complete wonder of a child. The netsuke in the oriental gallery and the statues skating across the pond all have the same feel. I love the slow unveiling of family secrets and the relationships that built, particularly between Araminta and Cate. The writing of Leo’s character is so well done and his development into a young man is shown to be as much about Cate’s viewing him as a young man, as it is about the new lease of life he gets from the museum. I loved reading about the friendships he forms, the art group and his relationship with Sophie.

The most heartbreaking truths don’t come out till the very end, one of which I expected, but the other is a heartbreaking moment, so profoundly sad and borne out of such a great love that can never be lost. Cate comes to realise that there will never be another relationship like the one she had with Richard. They were soulmates and that is rare. For now she has family, friends and a new home and Richard is part of everything that surrounds her, exactly where he should be.

Loved this book. The writing style is engaging and elegant. Cate returns to dead husband's ancestral home with her son and houses heir. The back story of true love and happiness is idyllic and the delight and love in their downs syndrome son Leo is beautifully described. The struggle and frustration with mental illness and eventual suicide are heartfelt. Hatters the house and museum seem like a must to visit.
Altogether an intriguing and lively read.

I just adored this book!! It starts with Cate Morris and her son Leo being made homeless and having to move temporarily into the family home and museum of her late husband.

Her arrival is clearly unwelcome by the last remaining member of staff (sort of), Miss Buchan, and Cate realises she hasn’t exactly been told the truth about her new temporary home.

However, Cate falls in love with the museum and is determined to see it succeed...

This is an absolutely wonderful book, full of charm and love. I just didn’t want it to end..

My thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for the advance copy.

This was a really nice, slow read that has both happiness and sadness inside. I loved the writing. The characters were built very well and realistically.
Very accomplished novel.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

A beautiful book, written with assurance and skill, that looks at love in all its complexities and how events and the past can shape us. It has a most joyous depiction of Leo, who has Downs syndrome, the most positive and enjoyable that I have encountered. Leo's mum, Cate, finds herself living at the odd museum,Hatters, that is in her late husband's family. Richard killed himself and the aftermath is painful and bewildering, and 4 years later Cate is still reeling. The people that Cate and Leo meet at Hatters and the family history that they uncover make a rich, interesting story that will warm your heart as well as make you cry. It is a book to savour, with lessons to learn that everyone has a tale to tell and we are all important.

Cate is facing a very big upheaval. She's been struggling since the death of husband Richard and, when we first meet her, along with son Leo, they are packing up their London home and about to move into Richard's family home for the summer. But it's not just any home, it's a huge mansion house that is mostly a museum. One that is home to a menagerie of dioramas and other curiosities. She is really worried and reluctant, not just for her but also for Leo. He's been through enough in his years already. But needs must. On arrival, they are welcomed by Araminta, the housekeeper and also keeper of the museum. She's a bit brusque and resents Cate and Leo's appearance.
And so begins a spellbinding, wonderful tale which touches on all the emotions as it weaves itself around all the characters. I really can't go into any more detail here as there are so many delights to unearth along the way that you really do need to discover all of them as the author intends. Suffice to say that I loved the journey this book took me on. How the past was reflected in the present. How the characters grew and evolved as they both got to know each other better and learned more of each others' pasts.
I am not a very visual reader in general but there are books that lend themselves to being played out in my head more than others. This is one of those books. I could easily picture the setting and all the animals, so integral they all were to the plot and I think this helped me better connect to the book.
All in all, a cracking read that gripped me from the off, held me captive throughout and left me wholly satisfied at its conclusion. Emotionally spent, but satisfied nonetheless. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a digital advanced review copy via NetGalley - my views are my own.

This is the first novel I have read by Anstey Harris (I do have a copy of The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton on my bedside cabinet waiting to be read). I have seen great reviews for both, so was thrilled to be given the chance to read and review this.

The book is very different to anything I've read before. The story looks at loss, grieving, secrets, a teenager growing up, dealing with prejudice, and a museum full of treasures from the past.

The storytelling is wonderful, full of little details and flawed (but mostly) loveable characters. At this current time with the world hit by a global pandemic, it is a story to escape into and to feel uplifted by the community spirit.

This is such a great book! I was very excited to read it as I had loved The Trials and Tribulations of Grace Atherton. I so enjoyed Where We Belong too. It has the same heartwarming storytelling and memorable characters as Anstey Harris’s first novel.

Cate, having been made redundant, goes to live at Hatters, her late husband’s ancestral home with their son Leo. It’s a fascinating house with a museum of curiosities and a secret history. I love the way that the author reels us in, without telling us too much, and we often find out that our preconceptions are wrong. Gradually secrets are revealed and truths come to light. The beautiful writing kept me turning the pages and I enjoyed being in the world of Hatters. Another wonderful and compelling read from Anstey Harris!

A lovely read, I really enjoyed this.

Cate is struggling to make ends meet after the death of her husband. Together with her son Leo, she finds herself installed at "Hatters", Richard's family home - a decrepit and creepy stately home, also a museum full of extraordinary and peculiar exhibits.

The house itself feels like an additional person in the novel - it is key to everything and has so much character itself. Initially feeling completely unwelcome, Cate must find her own way in this new environment - both leaving the past behind and embracing what it has left for her.

All the characters in this book are fascinating, so many different people carrying different baggage from their own histories - all coming together to form a new future.

I found Where We Belong to be the perfect read while in lockdown and sure it will remain so as a summer read too. I loved the warmth of the characters and the house itself, the main thread of the story.

Cate's husband, Richard, has recently died after years of suffering from depression. Having to leave London she takes her teenage son, Leo, to Richard's family home which contains a museum: ‘Hatters Museum of the Wide Wide World’ with artefacts collected by his grandfather. Although they get a cool reception from the guardian of the museum, Araminta Buchan, Cate is determined to preserve Leo's inheritance and keep the museum going. Along the way she falls in love and family secrets are revealed.

This novel was born out of Harris’ love of the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent and it shows. The only gripe I had was that I felt Leo was much younger than he turned out to be and it is not until quite late in the narrative that it is made clear why he acts the way he does.

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Where We Belong.

A nice warm story. You get to know, like and identify with the characters as the story unfolds but there are still many hidden secrets and surprises to come. Life is not easy or straightforward for our main characters. A comfortable sometimes happy and sometimes sad story.

Cate and her son Leo move to his family seat of craziness, a museum full of character and characters, secrets and half truths and a lot of stuffed (except they are not stuffed) animals!
Coping with the loss of their home and the upheaval of the move on top of the suicide of her husband takes its toll on Cate and the strangeness of their new home and the frostiness of their new flatmate Araminta do nothing to help calm her.
The story unfolds as they settle into their new life and learn more about her husbands family and the unusual collection they live amongst in Hatters museum.
The museum really comes to life as Cate settles into her new role and the collections are so vividly described that you are transported right there.
There is plenty of anxiety, bad decision making and love found, lost and found again throughout and the characters fit right into the surroundings and the community spirit.
I loved this book and really, really want to go to the museum!

A fabulous feel good book which explores how people come to terms with grief and learn to love again. Beautifully written with characters you can really relate to .
Just could not put it down five stars all the way.

**Review**
Where We Belong by Anstey Harris.
‘One summer. One house. One family learning to love again.’
Cate and her son Leo have had to leave their London home. They are on their way to live in Richard’s family home, which also happens to be ‘Hatter’s Museum of the Wide Wide World’, which houses an array of dusty objects and stuffed animals. Will starting a new life here help Cate develop a deeper understanding of Richard? As she delves into the history of the family she begins to uncover long buried secrets, all whilst trying to forge a new chapter in her own life.
I found this books slow to start, but after 100 pages it got going and I was hooked. A well written tale of love, loss, secrets and new beginnings. A beautiful book that tugs at the heartstrings.
I really loved the characters in this story; particularly Leo and Araminta. I also love the way in which the description of the house changes over the course of the book in line with Cate’s feelings and emotions towards it.
I will confess there is no stand out moment of excitement or any massively unexpected revelations. It is a steady, well written book that kept me entertained. A great easy summer read. I will certainly read more by this author and recommend this to others.
Publication date: 14/05/2020

One of the best 'tells' of when I love a book is when I finish it before even adding to my Goodreads account! This is one of those books.

I adored this story with its subtle twists and turns. The characters were brilliantly vivid, they came alive within the pages and I have to admit I shed more than a few tears. Anstey Harris has a beautiful voice; her world is so well written and imaginative, I could truly feel as though I were lost in this story. The prose is elegant, evocative and often hilarious. I will certainly be looking out for more from this author.

I will post this review to Amazon on release day and it is already on Goodreads.