Marian Keyes

AT LAST, SOMETHING WORTH STAYING IN FOR . . . THE LATEST NO. 1 BESTSELLER FROM MARIAN KEYES 'Magnificently messy lives, brilliantly untangled. Funny, tender and completely absorbing!' GRAHAM NORTON 'SUCH a treat. Like reading the cleverest cream cake of words' CAITLIN MORAN ______ MEET JESSIE, CARA AND NELL. Married to brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam Casey. Three very different women tied to three very different men. Every family occasion is a party - until the day the secrets spill out. PLAYTIME IS OVER. BUT WHERE ARE THE GROWN-UPS? ______ 'Comic, convincing and true. Grown Ups has an almost Austenesque insight into character. Keyes knows how to make serious issues relatable - and get a few grownup laughs, too' GUARDIAN 'Hilarious, alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking. I loved everything about it' DAILY MAIL 'You may have written the best book of your career' CHRIS EVANS, VIRGIN RADIO 'Superb. Warm-hearted, wise and highly entertaining' OBSERVER 'Keyes at her best: capturing everyday voices with humour and empathy with writing that you'll devour in a weekend. Just pure and simple joy' STYLIST 'I loved every word. I will be missing those gorgeous vibrant characters for many weeks to come' LIANE MORIARTY, bestselling author of Big Little Lies 'Messy, tangled complex humans who reminded me that few of us ever really sort our lives out at all' JOJO MOYES, bestselling author of Me Before You 'Her best yet. Charming, funny and poignant, but also profound, heartbreaking' NINA STIBBE, bestselling author of Reasons to be Cheerful

The Sunday Times No 1 Bestseller 2020

Grown Ups

A sweet story based on the human condition that emphasized how even as “grown ups” we fuck up and don’t know what we’re doing at times. This book unfortunately dragged for me, however did reward me with a lovely ending

Kaitlyn Wendler

A brand-new book from the #1 bestselling author of The Break and The Woman Who Stole My Life. They're a glamorous family, the Caseys. Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, their beautiful, talented wives and all their kids spend a lot of time together--birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, weekends away. And they're a happy family. Johnny's wife, Jessie--who has the most money--insists on it. Under the surface, though, conditions are murkier. While some people clash, other people like each other far too much . . . Still, everything manages to stay under control--that is, until Ed's wife, Cara, gets a concussion and can't keep her thoughts or opinions to herself. One careless remark at Johnny's birthday party, with the entire family present, and Cara starts spilling all their secrets. As everything unravels, each of the adults finds themselves wondering if it's--finally--the time to grow up.

Fraser Simons

A really well done family drama that interrogates the ways in which adults get stuck in patterns established at youth. Even when they do deviate from it, they’re unaware of it and can’t seem to break free. A byproduct is a malaise that permeates most every character—but change, though painful, comes calling eventually. When it does, it showcases the adaptability and resilience of people thought broken. 

I liked this a lot but I really like these ‘dysfunctional’ dramas centering a family full of secrets, stagnant, but pushed into frenetic change. The perspective switches often. The characterization feels well done. It’s funny and sad—actually landing the funny bits, a hard thing to do. Everyone is exposed for who they are and there is no capital V villain, though there are absolute assholes. 

No one is spared. All very good.

Swati Raisinghani

Grown Ups by Marian Keyes is a contemporary general fiction/ romance/ drama hilarious, entertaining, and sometimes frustrating reading experience. 
The story is about 3 happily married brothers John Casey, Ed Casey, and Liam Casey if you look at the surface. But as you start going deeper, you realize that the saying is true " Appearances can be deceiving". While each character looks like they have their life sorted, one small mishap creates a domino effect that shatters the rose-tinted glass.

What did I love about this book? 
The characters! The characters are the charm of this read. They are so beautifully developed over the course of the book. The uniqueness of each character is what kept me going on this book. From the eldest to the youngest, each has its own quirks and intricacies and it was a joy each time a new facet was revealed about one of the characters.
The plot of this book is hilarious to say in short. While the first few pages reveal the idea behind this book, its the events and the circumstances that lead to it are what keeps you going on till the end. 
It was my first time reading a Marian Keyes and I like her unique style. I prefer action/thriller/ mystery/sci-fi and kind of stay away from contemporary or family-centered reads unless they fall under the above-mentioned genres. The depth and complexities to each character kept me switching sides, rooting for one character then another as the events unfolded. At the end of this novel, it was the core idea of this book that pacified me. It was the fact that yes! Grown-ups do not have everything figured out in life. You can’t expect people to change most of the time and you have to be ready to accept that and move on. There are always two sides to a story and its better to know both before judging someone. Lastly, no one is perfect and you have to learn to accept people and yourself for the imperfections.

What did I not like about this book?
The frustrating pace of the book. At times, an episode was so long-winded that I would have to sit back and think about what had initiated this scenario. I felt at times some of the chain of events could have been shortened as it felt the novel was meandering.
Overall, it was a fun, entertaining read though a bit long.

Thank you #Netgalley and #DoubledayCanada for providing this ARC!

Readometer rating : ***

Grown Ups by Marian Keyes is a contemporary general fiction/ romance/ drama hilarious, entertaining, and sometimes frustrating reading experience. 
The story is about 3 happily married brothers John Casey, Ed Casey, and Liam Casey if you look at the surface. But as you start going deeper, you realize that the saying is true " Appearances can be deceiving". While each character looks like they have their life sorted, one small mishap creates a domino effect that shatters the rose-tinted glass.

What did I love about this book? 
The characters! The characters are the charm of this read. They are so beautifully developed over the course of the book. The uniqueness of each character is what kept me going on this book. From the eldest to the youngest, each has its own quirks and intricacies and it was a joy each time a new facet was revealed about one of the characters.
The plot of this book is hilarious to say in short. While the first few pages reveal the idea behind this book, its the events and the circumstances that lead to it are what keeps you going on till the end. 
It was my first time reading a Marian Keyes and I like her unique style. I am generally more into action/thriller/ mystery/sci-fi and kind of stay away from contemporary or family-centered reads unless they fall under the above-mentioned genres. The depth and complexities to each character kept me switching sides , rooting for one character then another as the events unfolded. At the end of this novel, it was the core idea of this book that pacified me. It was the fact that yes! Grown-ups do not have everything figured out in life. You can’t expect people to change most of the time and you have to be ready to accept that and move on. There are always two sides to a story and its better to know both before judging someone. Lastly, no one is perfect and you have to learn to accept people and yourself for the imperfections.

What did I not like about this book?
The frustrating pace of the book. At times, an episode was so long-winded that I would have to sit back and think about what had initiated this scenario. I felt at times some of the chain of events could have been shortened as it felt the novel was meandering.

Overall, it was a fun, entertaining read though a bit long.

Thank you #Netgalley and #DoubledayCanada for providing this ARC!

Readometer rating : ***

Jo Buchanan

Messy and complicated and wonderfully fun to read! This book was such a different road than I expected to go on while reading. It was so intriguing and I recommend this to all. This was such a perfect light hearted read after reading horror so much lately. Who can't relate to a such a dysfunctional family?

Grown Ups The Sunday Times No 1 Bestseller 2020

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