We Live and Breathe Books: In a Nutshell Reviews

Fun For the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith
Published by Ballantine Books on April 15, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
four-half-stars

Goodreads

A breathtaking, joy-filled novel about the people we love, the secrets we keep, and the enduring power of family, from the bestselling author of The Unsinkable Greta James.

The four Endicott siblings—Gemma, Connor, Roddy, and Jude—were once inseparable, a bond created by the absence of their dazzling, mercurial mother, who would return for a few weeks each summer to whisk them off on sprawling road trips around the country.

Decades later, the unthinkable has happened: the Endicotts haven’t spoken in years . . . until an out-of-the-blue text arrives from Jude, now a famous actress, summoning them to a small town in North Dakota. They’re each at a crossroads: Gemma, who put her own ambitions aside to raise the others, now isn’t sure if she wants to be a mother herself; Connor, a celebrated novelist, is floundering after his recent divorce and suffering from an epic case of writer’s block; and Roddy, at the tail end of a professional soccer career, is dangerously close to losing his future husband for the chance at one last season.

Jude is the only Endicott who seems to have it all together—but appearances can be deceiving. As the weekend unfolds, and the siblings wrestle with their shared past and uncertain futures, they’ll discover that Jude has been keeping three secrets . . . each of which could change everything.

A captivating journey and an ode to forgiveness that takes readers across all fifty states, Fun for the Whole Family brims with heart and resonates long after the final page.

After three years of estrangement, the Endicott siblings answered the call from their sister, Jude, to spend a weekend together in North Dakota. They didn't know why they were summoned, but they did not hesitate to reunite for the weekend.

This was a wonderful and sometimes painful family drama about people with a complex family dynamic. Smith helped me understand the events that shaped them via flashbacks while also filling in some gaps as the siblings hashed things out with each other. I felt like I really understood each of them as these characters came across as fully realized and well drawn with peeks inside their head to give me even more clarity.

They grew up with an absent mother and emotionally distant father, but it was ok because they had each other. All successful to some degree, there was still something missing for each of them. It seemed they needed to come back together in order to find that missing part of themselves. The family did have a lot of fun during their weekend getaway, but the best parts were seeing them reconnect and heal.

Though the story highlighted each member of the family, Jude had a large role in it all. She called the family together because she had three secrets that she had been carrying, some longer than others, and it was time they all knew the truth.

This book was way more emotional than I expected. At times, I was filled with glee for these people and celebrated with them, but I also shed some tears. I was thankful that they had this reunion and were able to make peace with their past because I was invested in these characters and only wanted the best for them. (spoiler) I won't lie, I was a sobbing mess at the end of this book, and I am crying as I write this review. After forgiving JES for The Comeback Season, she does this to me. 😭

Overall: A bittersweet and heartwarming story of family, love, forgiveness that touched me in many ways.

My Return to the Walter Boys by Ali Novak
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on April 15, 2025
Age/Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
four-stars

Goodreads

The highly anticipated sequel to My Life with the Walter Boys, the internationally bestselling novel that inspired the Netflix series!

Jackie Howard returns to the Walter ranch after a summer in New York. She needed space—and got it. But she doesn't know where things stand with her and Cole Walter after that goodbye kiss. Over the summer, she stopped texting him. She never stopped thinking about him.

Still, with Cole living off in town to work at Tony's garage before he heads off to college, Jackie thinks it'll be easy to avoid him—only to find that when she sees him face to face at last, it's, well... impossible to resist him. Things are getting complicated: he's the boy she can't get off her mind, and the Walters have become the family she loves and needs. How can Jackie move forward when she's afraid of taking the next step?

Jackie returns to the Walters after her summer in New York. The summer was a tough one for her, being back in her family home with so many reminders of the loved ones she lost. It seemed that absence made the heart grow fonder as Cole was eager for their reunion, but Jackie wasn't sure if she was able to risk what she had built with the Walter family to be with Cole.

I first met Jackie and the Walters back in 2014. It's been a loooong time, but it was great to be back in this chaotic world. I cannot lie, the push and pull between Jackie and Cole drove me a bit batty, but I will say that Cole seemed to have matured some. He was making choices and plans that impacted his future in a positive way as he worked to let go of his football past. I was happy with him in this installment. He wasn't perfect, but he did show growth.

Jackie and her grief continued to break my heart. She suffered a devastating loss, but her fear of losing another family made my heart ache even more. At least she had plenty of people to help her through it. Again, the strength of these books are the relationships between and among Jackie and the Walters. This time around, Isaac and Nathan got a lot of page time as their personal struggles were worked into the plot, but we also saw Parker get a little storyline. It was wonderful to see all the Walterses bond with Jackie grow.

The ending gave me some answers, but it also seemed unfinished. I do hope this means we will return to this world. It would be fantastic to see Isaac and Nathan's storylines resolved, as it seems that Alex was all set for now.

Overall, it was a lovely surprise to get this sequel after so many years, and I hope we will get other opportunities to revisit this big and vibrant family.

*ARCS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER