Having fell in love with Grace Atherton, I was both excited and full of trepidation at reading Anstey Harris’s new novel - could it possibly match up to her debut novel that will always keep a place close to my heart? 

I had no need to worry, Where We Belong is everything I could hope for, and more. Although entirely different to Truth & Triumphs, Anstey Harris conjured up the same magic of love, loss and new beginnings in her exquisite writing. 

Few books bring me to tears and few books keep me planted to a spot where ‘just one more page’ is played on repeat. Where We Belong is one of those books. 

Harris’s beautiful and descriptive writing makes me feel as if I know the characters, and that they know me personally. Such stunning detail in the storylines -  Something so beautiful growing out of something so tragic. 

I cannot wait to have a physical copy of this book sat on my shelf.

'Where We Belong' is an absolutely gorgeous novel. Anstey Harris writes beautifully, with an assured and elegant tone. I expected this to be a light, fluffy novel- and it was, in some respects. But it was also a lot more than that. 'Where We Belong' is a story of love, loss, friendship, and starting over. 
The setting of this novel was what initially drew me to it, and with good reason. I was totally sucked into the magic of the utterly bizarre 'Hatters Museum of the Wide World'. Harris described the museum so vividly that I felt like I was there with Cate and Leo. It was such an unusual place- both as a museum and a home- and I found myself falling completely in love with it. The animals in the gallery freaked me out a bit, with their glassy eyes, but the gorgeous descriptions of the rest of the building more than made up for that. 
'Where We Belong' made me cry more than anything I've read so far this year. The snippets of Cate and Richard's life together absolutely broke my heart. Cate was such a realistic character and I understood her feelings completely; I felt like I knew her within the first few pages, and that feeling never wavered. Richard's story just broke my heart, and I felt so much sympathy for Cate and Leo. I thought that Harris' decision to portray Richard's illness in such a realistic way was brave and exceptionally done; I also liked the fact she didn't include any details of how exactly he died. 
Every character felt tangible and real to me. Harris did an exceptional job with her characters; they really brought the novel to life and I completely fell in love with Cate, Leo and Araminta. The three of them made an odd little family but it worked. I loved Leo's boundless energy, Cate's unbeatable strength, and the warmth beneath Araminta's tough exterior. 
Overall, 'Where We Belong' is an absolutely gorgeous novel, with a cast of amazing characters. Just make sure you have plenty of tissues to hand before you start reading!

I really enjoyed 'Grace Atherton' so was very pleased to be sent an ARC of this novel thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.
It tells the story of Cate and her son Leo who go to live at Hatters,the house and museum owned by the family of Cate's late husband Richard .The museum is run by Araminta,an enigmatic and chilly family friend.At first things are difficult for Cate as she tries to fit in to her new surroundings but as her son settles in to his new surroundings and she starts to rebuild her life,she starts to get her life back together.A new relationship with a local artist holds promise but then events lead to more changes for Cate and Leo.
I found the pace of the story very slow and for some reason I found Cate's narrative quite irritating.It's nearly all written in the present tense and I kept just wanting the story to move on,as there's a lot of introspection and analysis.So I would say that although it's very well written as far as descriptive language and setting go,I didn't enjoy this book as much as the author's last one.

What an interesting story!  It is based in a type of museum filled with stuffed animals that I believe actually does exist.  It tells a tale of a mother, Cate and her son, Leo, who have been left homeless while  Cate has also lost her job.  Because of their circumstances they are forced to return to her dead husband’s family home, which is an apartment in the museum.  A relative of her husband, Araminta, already lives in one of the apartments and appears none too happy to receive Cate into her home.  As the story develops we are given glimpses into Cate’s past and the difficulties she has faced with her husband’s depression only helped by their friend, Steven, who has supported the couple over the years.  The museum and the creatures within are central to the plot along with the people Cate and Leo meet in their new life.  There are many themes to this book.  It looks at how deceptive appearances can be as Cate makes judgements about people which are based on appearance and end up being incorrect.  Overall it is an excellent read with great characters based on the importance of love and friendship.

** spoiler alert ** I don't know if I missed something at the beginning of this book,but right up till the talk of extra chromosome and saying how old Leo was,I had two much younger characters in my head.
Never really shook off that mental picture of Cate.
I really enjoyed the parts of the story that involved Richard,the museum,the restoration,learning to start again .
Somewhat I felt though,that things kept getting in the way of that story.
The fire,the fight with the board,the thefts... almost as if the book was trying out different genres.
Overall though,I felt slightly heart warmed by the small family of Lyon Morris we leave behind,and will remember the animals as quite the thing!

Beautiful characters and setting. Just loved this story. Flowed beautifully. Will be looking out for more by Anstey.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher.  What a fabulous story of family life and its ups and down and the setting for this book was beautiful.