A really good, at times emotional but ultimately ultimately uplifting read that covers love, life, family and just trying to get by. I like that although there is a love story element to this book, it's not the central focus. The book follows the lives of an unconventional family, but ultimately it's what they are, a family and it shows perspectives from different generations. There's grief in different forms, falling in love at different stages of life, forgiveness, finding yourself and overcoming the tough things in life. The story is mainly from Lila's POV but it does change a few times to teenage Celie's which is nice, because she's also going through a lot at a pivotal age and while Lila sees her actions/moods from the outside, her chapters let us see how she's coping, why she does what she does. And I found it very relatable to some of my own teen years and experiences and it allowed you to empathise with her. There's also a couple chapters from other characters perspectives too. This book shows that what may look perfect on the outside isn't always so perfect. It shows the realities of how life can be, how chaotic life and family can be. It's beautifully written as always by JoJo Moyes who just seems to be able to get to the heart of characters, and find something in each of them that even if you don't relate to, you can feel for. Well most characters, there's usually one who you just can't like. A really well done story, that encompasses life in general. Allows us to see that everyone makes mistakes, we don't always know the truth of a person and sometimes it takes some hard times to see what was there, and maybe what we should have seen earlier. Loved it.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc.

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes
Published by Michael Joseph, Random House
Publication Date 11/2/25

No Spoilers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved this book. A great and engaging story of modern life and blended families with characters you believe in and care about. I’ve enjoyed the author’s previous books very much too and this one certainly keeps up the exceptional standard we have come to expect from her. I found it hard to put down as I raced towards the ultimately satisfying ending.
Thanks to the author, publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Lila, the main character, made a lot of mistakes, often jeopardising some of her most important relationships, but I was still rooting for her throughout. She experienced the full gamut of emotion – grief, regret, embarrassment, anger, envy, joy, laughter, passion, hope and love – and I felt like I was right next to her through each one. I appreciated how she learned and grew over the course of the novel.

Lila’s blended family was messy to say the least. No character was one-dimensional. Each seemed to be at their own crossroads. They were allowed to fail, make mistakes and try again. Even Lila’s biological dad Gene was afforded redemption. The story didn't seem to give up on anyone.

For much of the book, Lila was either at the whim of or left picking up after a string of unreliable, disappointing men. It was so satisfying getting to see her systematically detach responsibility/loyalty to each of them. This enabled her to focus on and nurture the relationships in her life that really did count, ultimately leading to a heartwarming ending.

OVERALL: Making sure that no character was left one-dimensional, this novel kept its strong (even if sometimes reluctant) sense of family at its heart. Every possible emotion was felt on the page.

Thank you for my copy of this book to read and review.

I’m fairly new to this author, only recently having read her previous book. I enjoyed it so much that I requested this as soon as I saw it.

A story full of wonderful characters, it was well paced, hooked me from the start and kept me wanting to read just one more chapter.

I will definitely be looking up her previous books.

Lovely family drama book full of modern family dynamics, London life, extended families, humour and Joie de vie throughout. Thanks for a good read.

Yet another superb read by Jo Jo Moyes. A tale of family values and the ups and downs of relationships and trying to move forward. A great immersive read that had me hooked from start to finish.
A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review. It was a great pleasure.

A beautiful tale revolving round a so-called dysfunctional family. Highly entertaining with some bittersweet moments. Another hit from the queen of literature!

Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and Michael Joseph =Penguin random house and the author jojo Moyes for a early copy of her book to read.

Ive read a few books from this author. Lia is married to Dan who leaves her for a younger woman leaving her with two children..her mother dies and her father turns up after 35 years..this book is about the family relationship.a good story found it slow reading.an emotional read.

This book will be reviewed on goodreads and Amazon.

Lila Kennedy's life is falling apart, her house is crumbling, her teenage daughter is rebelling, her ex-husband’s new partner is always in sight, and she’s completely stuck on her next book. Just when things couldn't get worse, her estranged father shows up, stirring old tensions.
Jojo Moyes crafts a beautifully written story about imperfect families, second chances, and learning to embrace life's chaos. The characters are perfectly imperfect, this makes their struggles and growth deeply compelling. Emotional, raw, and refreshingly fun 😊

Forty-two-year-old Lia Kennedy is an author, and her life is in turmoil. Her Husband Dan has just left her and moved in with a younger woman, leaving her to look after their two girls Celie and Violet. Her mother has recently died their house is deteriorating around her and father decides to turn up at her doorstep after 35 years.
This is an emotional story about one woman trying to keep it together and getting her life back on track. This is quite different style to the authors other books. Although I did quite enjoy this tale of a family’s life of ups and downs. At times I did find it a bit predictable regarding Lia’s dating life. 4 stars from me

A lovely, funny, chaotic tale of modern family life and how to get on with living when newly separated and over 40. A delightful time was had with Lila and her two dads and although some of it was obvious it was a fun and fresh journey.

Lila Kennedy's life is in turmoil. Her house is falling down around her, her teenage daughter has reached the rebellious phase, her agent is pestering her for the book she hasn't even started writing, and each day she has to face the woman her husband abandoned his family for at the school gates. The last thing she needs is her estranged father turning up on her doorstep.

I've read the odd book by Jojo Moyes in the past but I wouldn't call myself a "fan". I sickened myself with chic lit thirty years ago and Jojo Moyes always seemed to sit firmly in that category as far as I was concerned. The synopsis for We All Live Here grabbed my attention and has completely changed my opinion of the author's writing.

I loved every word of this tale of the messy lives of a blended family. Lila is struggling to cope. She's still not come to terms with the death of her mother or the fact that her husband, Dan, has left her for another woman. Shortly before Dan left the couple bought a large house with the intention of doing it up, unfortunately, it's turned into a money pit. To make matters worse finances have become a problem. The money from her best-selling self-help book, ironically about reinvigorating a stale marriage, has just about gone and Lila's struggling to even start her next book. Added to this misery is the fact that Lila has to see the other woman every day at the primary school gates.

The couple have joint custody of their daughters. Violet is a precocious child with an obsession for x-rated rap lyrics and poo. As you would expect Violet has no filter. Celia is sixteen and has reached that moody and rebellious phase where all adults are the enemy and parents are the absolute worst.

And then there's Bill, her stepfather. Bill has been there for most of her life after her real father, Gene, abandoned Lila and her mother for a life of fame. Bill has been lost since his wife died and has moved in to "support" Lila.

The sudden appearance of Gene is a catalyst for everyone. There is immediate friction between Bill and Gene, to the extent that Lila compares it to having two toddlers to deal with. Gene is self-centred and flaky, you immediately dislike him, but as the story progresses you begin to realise that he's unselfish, bighearted and altruistic.

Each character is so well written that as the story focuses on them and the issues they are dealing with you feel every emotion, particularly for Lila who is trying to hold everything together, striving for perfection instead of accepting "good enough". I cared deeply about what happened to everyone, especially when Jojo Moyes avoided a series of saccharin-coated plot points and threw in a couple of anguishing moments. The story reminds us that life isn't perfect, it's chaotic, challenging and unexpected. We need to learn to enjoy what we have and embrace the imperfections.

This story was definitely character driven, centred around 42 year our Lila whose husband left her and her two kids for a younger school mum.

Lila is a writer and battles with whether to write about her personal life again or not. She goes through many ups and downs throughout this novel, including dating again after a separation and dealing with two children, a grieving stepfather and an absent father returning.

Overall I enjoyed getting to know each character and going on the journey with Lila. I felt satisfied by the way it all wraps up. However I did find the first half of the book a bit slow to get into, I enjoyed the second half much better. This book is not as deep or emotional as other Jojo Moyes books, it’s more of a lighthearted domestic drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An absolute gem of a book from the Queen that is JoJo. You'll instantly fall in love with the characters & get lost in the story. I cannot recommend this book enough. It's superb

A great read! What really stood out for me in this book is the characters; the character development is so well done that I really felt like I knew them and was part of their lives.

Lila at 42 years old, is a recently divorced mum of two girls, and her ex-husband's new and younger partner, who he met in the playground on the school run, is pregnant. Her mum died recently and her grieving step-dad, Bill, who is more like a real dad to Lila, has moved in with them for a while. And then her biological father turns up, penniless and full of apparent remorse, which Lila can see straight through, and starts winding Bill up and leaving mess all over the place. Lila is at her wits end with them all, plus she has financial pressures and is behind on her deadlines for her new book. There is so much depth to the story, loads of emotion, but also a whole lot of brilliant comedy. The relationship between the two dads, the tension in the playground, two hormonal daughters, a possible new love interest and the gardener who somehow ends up having Lila's frustrations all aimed at him - all brilliant and totally relatable.

A heartwarming story about love, loss, family and acceptance.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Jojo Moyes and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Author Lila is a woman trying to do it all and failing miserably. Now a single parent with two girls since her divorce from Dan, she has a book she is struggling to get going, a step dad who has sort of moved in and taken over, a very barky dog that tries her patience and that of the neighbours, and last, but not least, an old house that has plumbing seemingly from another century. With her bestie Eleanor seemingly enjoying an active ‘social’ life, and ex Dan living in bliss and totally besotted with new partner Marja, Lila thinks is she is missing out. Can things get any worse? Maybe they can once she discovers that Marja is pregnant and then a blast from the past appears on her doorstep.

To give this book 5* is underplaying its brilliance. It has it all and then some. Certainly from my POV one of Moyes’ best and I will be surprised if the screen play isn’t snapped up. No one writes domestic life quite like she does.

The style of writing, the pace and the characters are all so very good, it’s a book that leaves the reader wanting more, and feeling sad that it has to end.

There are no great surprises and the reader does need to suspend belief now and then, but the outcome is a joy. And who doesn’t get a wobble when Celie supports Hugo?

100% 5*.

Thank you NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House.

Jojo Moyes (author of the hugely popular Me Before You). The plot follows Lila - an author - and her family. She finds herself in her 40s, with her marriage ended and her mum passed away, living with her stepdad, long lost father and two daughters. It follows her journey finding herself after so much upheaval and learning to forgive, love again and move on with her life.
Moyes has created some truly complex and relatable characters within this raw and beautiful story.

Another fabulous story by Jojo Moyes about Lila and her dysfunctional, but adorable, family. After Lila’s divorce, she finds herself struggling financially and emotionally as a single parent who has to face her husband’s new partner every day on the school run. She is also coping with elderly parent/step parents as well as a difficult teenager and younger child too. Throw into the mix a potential new relationship, a struggling writing career and we have a recipe for disaster. However, Lila is likeable, relatable and extremely engaging and I really enjoyed the funny exchanges between her and her best friend. A great book and thoroughly enjoyable,

I have enjoyed all of JoJo Moyes' books, but perhaps her last two most of all. Maybe because I hard identify with so many of the themes (family, midlife, motherhood, work) and maybe just because they are so good.

AWe All Live Here is fantastic read that encapsulates what it is to be a woman who is trying to keep everyone else happy but often forgets about herself. Teenagers, elderly parents, divorce, bereavement, dating and an errant dog are all in the mix as Lila tries to get her life back on track. Absolutely loved it - an easy five stars from me

I loved We All Love Here, another great book from Jojo Moyes. It's got family drama, romance, I didn't want it to end!