Character-rich, Jojo Moyes delivers a family story/romance in WE ALL LIVE HERE that can feel a little slow at times but is ultimately fulfilling. My WE ALL LIVE HERE review is below!
We All Live Here Review
Jojo Moyes is absolutely one of my favorite writers. I of course remember the summer of 2012 where ME BEFORE YOU was the book du jour. You couldn’t go to any pool this side of Las Vegas and not catch people reading it (and presumably trying not to openly weep). Her work in historical fiction is some of my favorite–GIVER OF STARS is of course the hugely popular one that comes to mind. I would also recommend LAST LETTER FROM YOUR LOVER to honestly any one, it’s so good. And I really enjoyed her last book too SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES–just the right amount of fun, caper, and romance.
But I think the thing I like the most about all of these books is the amount of plot Jojo is able to get in to them. They’re all great character works, but there is still a lot of twists and turns and surprises along the way. LAST LETTER FROM YOUR LOVER has a baked in mystery that literally drives the entire book–super hard to do and still deliver on the depth of romance. Jojo is the kind of writer who delivers really memorable characters but also keeps you flipping pages.
Her latest–WE ALL LIVE HERE–feels like a bit of a departure from this. While the character work here is still stellar, the plot feels much smaller in scope. The story revolves around Lila, who is a newly single mom to two girls. Her husband abruptly decided to leave her for another mom at the girls’ school. Having recently lost her own mom, Lila welcomes her uptight stepdad Bill to live with them and help her with the girls. But everyone is surprised when Lila’s real dad, Gene, shows up and needs a place to stay. Carefree Gene left Lila as a young girl to pursue a career in Hollywood. He ended up achieving B-level fame as a cast member of a Star Trek-type show. Meanwhile, Lila’s career as a writer depends on her being able to deliver a new book about bouncing back from divorce while she hardly feels ready to date let alone bounce back. The story is equal parts family story, a story of self-discovery for Lila, and a romance as Lila pursues new love.
This book is definitely more of a slow burn, and focuses more on character development than plot twists. All of the characters are well-rounded and interesting, particularly Lila’s potential love interest/gardener Jensen, her daughter Celie, and of course Gene. There are other smaller characters too who feel well lived in. There’s a lot of humor in this book, particularly in the way that Gene lives in the world and how the world reacts to him. His butting heads with Bill in an odd couple way is particularly funny and understandable. As a result, the book does feel fulfilling when it all comes together in the end. But that said, it can feel a little slow to get there.
Part of that lies in Lila. While she seems extremely grounded and relatable, there’s something about her story that also feels too expected. The surprises and growth in her character come more from her relationships with both Bill and Gene than from her potential love interests. Her relationship with Jensen is sweet, if not exactly groundbreaking.
I’ll always be a fan of Jojo’s, and I think that this book is worth the investment as it has a really warm payoff for all of the characters. As long as you go in expecting something a little slower and character-rich, it has its own appeal for romance lovers who will be happy with Lila’s full-life happily ever after.
My We All Live Here Review Rating
4 out of 5 stars
My Romance Recipe Pairing
I think this book would go great with a fun cocktail! Try it with my Nutella Martinis for a sweet and nutty accompaniment to Lila’s journey!
Synopsis for We All Live Here
Synopsis (from Amazon)
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. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family.
Buy We All Live Here on Amazon
