I have read everything that Marian Keyes has ever had published and have enjoyed them all so I was very grateful to receive my ecopy of her latest book from Netgalley.

Keyes can always draw an audience with her recognisable and yet sometimes caricature versions of an Irish family and The Break lives up to expectation in this respect. There are no one dimensional characters, each one adds to the storyline in a vital and compelling way. The humour was there, and I totally empathised with both Amy and Hugh but to me something was missing.

I didn't feel the urge to read on until Josh appeared on the scene, then I knew this was a true Keyes novel and then some. I could relate so well to this new relationship and I was totally caught up from then on. Many tears were shed, especially during the Sofie drama. Every word was now so true to life that I could almost believe that I WAS Amy. The enormous comedy value of both Lilian and Alistair were a great device to occasionally lift the reader's spirit and even Pop's dementia was a tool for comic outbursts that didn't reduce the respect one felt for his and his wife's suffering.

Yes, overall I would say that Marian Keyes has once again lived up to her fantastic reputation; how many more books has this lady got in her? I, for one, can't wait to find out

Picking up a new Marian Keyes book is always a pleasure. One of Ireland's best contemporary writers today there is always something a bit quirky in Keyes' stories. Beautifully written they are always teeming with larger than life characters and the kind of people that you wish you knew in real life.

Amy runs a PR agency in Dublin with her two business partners. She has a chaotic but happy life with husband Hugh and their extended family. Oldest daughter Neeve is from her first ill fated marriage to a professional footballer, second daughter Kiera was a surprise arrival from her fledgling relationship with Hugh and unofficially adopted niece Sofie who spends more time at their house than she does with either of her parents.

Hugh has been struggling emotionally since the death of his father and when he loses his best friend as well it just makes the situation even more unbearable. His mid-life crisis mode kicks in and he tells Amy that he is going away for six months "to find himself". Six months off from his marriage travelling in Asia so that he can find the real Hugh.

Naturally Amy is devastated as her husband packs up and prepares for his "Break". She is left behind with the gossiping friends, the financial struggles and three girls to steer through the ensuing chaos. Amy is trying to be understanding and not to hate Hugh as he struggles through his mental health issues but when compromising photos of him and a young woman in Thailand appear on Facebook that situation is about to change.

Keyes' stories always have such a richness to the characters that they just leap off the page at you. Who could fail to love LOCMOF (Lilian O'Connell, Mother of Five) matriarch of the family and up and coming VLogger!

The Break is the perfect book to curl up with now that the evenings are starting to draw in. Lose yourself in the madness of this Dublin household coming to terms with loss and change.

Supplied by Net Galley and Penguin in exchange for an honest review.

UK Publication Date: Sept 7 2017. 400 pages.

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I really enjoyed this book written from the perspective of Amy, a woman in her early forties who has lost her way and her husband, who, grief-stricken by the death of his father and soon after his brother, decides unilaterally to pause the marriage, while he travels across the Far East. Damaged Amy is hurt, but hopeful that Hugh will return. The story explores Amy's relationships and exposes some of her flaky friendships. It also reminds those of us who live in Britain about Ireland's (North and South) arcane misogynistic laws championed by religious and political bigots who believe in their right to determine how women should manage their bodies. I am loathe to reveal too much as this will spoil some genuine surprises. I highly recommend this book.

Amy would appear to have a happy,secure marriage but when Hugh decides to take a 6 month break with no promise of exclusivity, it all falls apart. The reader also begins to wonder how she would cope in the same situation. A compelling read with well written characters. Marian Keyes never fails to please.

I am a big fan of Marian Keyes earlier writing, but I'm not finding that she and I are growing together as we age unfortunately. I know that this novel will appeal to many but for me it was confused in style, and over acted in the main - it was lacking the believability that her earlier novels had for me. Amy at home with her husband & children felt more real and true - but throw in the extended family & the extra man, and it took a manic tone that I didn't feel comfortable with.
It was a good holiday read, but not something I would rush out to purchase

My very first Marian Keyes read, definitely not my last. A book that I know is going to stick with me for a very long time. Not an easy read for me, I had so many emotions and I can't really describe them all without some major spoilers. So very difficult to review without giving away too much, I will say though, as a happily married forty (nearly fifty) something, I have been questioning myself, my husband and my morals since reading this book (and I’m not talking about infidelity per se). The story questions life and relationships, not just marital but also family, work colleagues and friends). The main characters, Hugh and Amy are happily married (or think they are) until a series events leave Hugh needing a break from life, Amy handles it all admirably, until she doesn’t. With some superb supporting characters, some laugh out loud moments in and amongst the drama. I had so many mixed feelings while reading this story (set mainly in Ireland), the story is written completely from Amy’s point of view, the writing I found faultless, I was transformed into the story and Amy’s life, I was hooked from the first page through to the very last line. I was provided with an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bestselling author Marian Keyes’ latest book centres around forty something Amy, whose husband Hugh has decided he wants a break. It’s not that he doesn’t love her; he just wants some time for himself. Six months’ worth of time in fact. But if he’s on a break, then surely Amy deserves a bit of freedom too? An amusing, easy read for curling up with on a cold winter’s evening.

A Marian Keyes special! Loveable characters that you can visualise and want to meet! A good plot and a good read! The sort of book which is so well written you dont realise you are smiling as you are reading it!

The Break is the story of a family unit hit by the Dad deciding he needs 6 months of to travel. The family are from Dublin and Amy the mother works in London 2 days a week the rest in her Dublin office. She lives with a strong family around her which introduces some great characters, with comedy, romance and life all mixed in to this wonderful read. I have enjoyed this read and yes a real page turner that will keep you hooked till the last page.
I have been given a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for a honest review.

This is, unbelievably the first Marian Keyes book I have read! It won't be the last as I really enjoyed it. Rather disfunctional family with some strong characters. Reminded me of Maeve Binchy, must be the Irish humour. Highly recommended

I love Marian Keyes' books, so I was delighted to see she had a new one out. And it didn't disappoint. Her books are always page turners, easy to read, but with a bite of realism that makes you sit up, laugh, and shed a few tears - The Break is as good as they get. A hugely believable heroine, quirky friends and family (though I did sometimes lose track of who was who!) and a troubled, complicated husband, an interesting mix, and one which worked well.
The story was written in the first person by Amy, who I identified with very easily. And since this was a Marian Keyes book, it wasn't always obvious how it would end up!
I loved every page - thank you.

Amy and Hugh are long married and quite happily trundling along with their non-standard thrown-together family unit. Complacency has snuck in; they take each other a bit for granted, inappropriate crushes on colleagues have developed but not been acted on – the kind of thing that tends to happen when you've been with the same person for a long time. But all said and done, they're happy. Then Hugh drops a bombshell.

Following the recent death of his father, he appears to be having some kind of mid-life crisis and decides he needs to take 6 months out from his domestic life and go backpacking around some exotic countries to find himself. No, seriously. "Finding himself" also appears to include enjoying whatever fate unravels with any willing females he happens to find, but he promises Amy that he will come back and this is a temporary blip on an otherwise satisfactory landscape. Amy is devastated by his decision and is not convinced that it will be fixable when he decides to come back, but she loves Hugh, and tries to be the understanding wife - albeit rotating between being completely broken, then furious, then confused. Left with all the mental, physical and emotional load of supporting her family, all the while managing to maintain her demanding role as a publicist, hopping between London and Dubin every week, Amy does her best to hold it together - but let's face it – who wouldn't struggle under those circumstances? Throw into the mix a ridiculously good-looking TV star client, a handful of sexy co-workers and the right circumstances – what would you do if you got the chance to make that heart-stopping crush a reality, seemingly without consequence? More importantly, what does Amy do?

One of the most interesting things for me about this novel was that when you read the synopsis, you could be forgiven for thinking that Amy is just a silly cow who should have kicked Huw out when he came up with his stupid idea, but as you read the book, it becomes clear that it's perhaps not all that simple. Life isn't black and white, it's shades of grey, and Amy, veteran of a disastrous starter marriage with a self-obsessed footballer who ran out and left her holding the baby, isn't stupid. Or a doormat. She just really doesn't want to mess up her future with Huw over a silly phase he's going through because she knows Huw isn't a bad person. He's proven that on many an occasion - he's essentially a nice guy who is behaving badly. But Amy knows that she deserves better than that, she knows she needs and deserves to be first prize.

Slowly, but surely, Amy adapts to the new world she is forced to enter. She (re)discovers her self respect and though Huw's behaviour, has knocked her for six, she gets stronger, she makes decisions she never thought she would be strong enough to make, and ironically, while her husband is off 'finding himself', she actually begins to find herself too.

Most readers will be familiar with Marian Keyes - a wonderful writer, her reputation for building larger than life characters and cleverly observed, complex, relationships is well deserved. In 'The Break' her ability to turn the minutia of daily family life into such tragi-comedy situations is an absolute joy to read. But as with her previous work, it's never without pathos and a good dollop of realism – the person who seems to be behaving particularly badly, may well have their reasons – you're just not aware of them. There's also a lesson about not getting complacent with your life and taking those in it for granted– you never know the moment you'll realise how lucky you once were to have everything you had – even if you didn't realise it at the time.

To sum up, "The Break" is yet another fantastic novel from Marian Keyes – sure to be one of Autumn's big hitters.

Another great book from this fabulous author.
Move over Mammy Walsh, there's a new Nan in town.

I always love Marian Keyes novels and this one was no exception; she writes with humour above all and I find her voice equally authoritative on serious issues affecting women and absent of condescension or judgment.

This book follows the travails of a middle aged woman whose erstwhile loving husband sudddenly announces his inability to continue in their marriage as it is due to bereavement-related stress and unhappiness. The six month 'break' duration seems arbitrary and I wondered if it was entirely necessary to put that time limit there, as there was no sense that he had any idea that would be long enough (or too long) to work through his problems. But it was still interesting to join Amy as she processed this twist in her relationship and its impact on her and the extended family.

I'm always pleasantly surprised at how unique and well-developed the families in Keyes' stories are; you never get bored because she always comes up with intriguing mixes of people and interesting connections between them. Here we have an elderly Alzheimers sufferer; a half-Latvian, informally-adopted daughter; a blended second family; single women (both happily and unhappily so); women who have sacrificed for their families and some who seem unconcerned by the responsibility of motherhood; two fathers who habitually neglect their offspring and one who doesn't, yet who (sort of) abandons them anyway; career men who sleep around honestly and married men who sleep around dishonestly or married men who don't sleep around but perhaps wish they could.

A circus of characters who are easy to identify with is one of the most appealing features of Marian Keyes books (that and her reliable obsession with make up/skincare poducts!) and I look forward to reading her next adventure.

loved the book, had me gripped from the start, loved the style of writing the story....Felt sorry for Amy at times, full of different emotions, laughed cried, got annoyed.....really enjoyed it and couldn't put it down once I started, found myself waking up in the middle of the night to rea a bit more, cant wait for the next bo

Great easy read. Love Marion Books this was no disappointment

A new novel by Marian Keyes is ALWAYS a moment to celebrate - and in #TheBreak we have a fabulous story of real people, dealing with real emotions in real relationships. A wonderful heartbreaking and at times heartwarming story, this is Marian at her very wisest, peppered with just the right amount of LOLs and tears.

This is definitely one of the better books that I've read this summer. The characters were a hit for me from the beginning, with the dialogue so naturally written that I could hear the Irish accents in my head. This is not at all an easy achievement so the author has certainly made a fan of me. When Mrs. Keyes writes 'Ask not who the "U ok hun? tolls for, it tolls for thee', anyone who uses social media in this day and age knows exactly what she means.
What struck me the most is how very relatable the situation is between Amy and her husband Hugh. I found myself nodding along more than once at Amy's introspection as she unpacks her relationships in her mind. Even as we learn that she may be more than a little complicit in her turn of events, many women will understand her dilemmas. There is also a great turn later involving Amy's young daughters and ward that I felt was apt, considering the fight for women's rights and proper healthcare that we see so often now both home and abroad.
The whole book is shored up by an amusing cast of characters, all of them just as interesting as the quirky lead. Although I felt the epilogue several years on a bit of overkill, I found myself thinking that I might enjoy visiting this family, their friends and acquaintances later down the line. I'm glad I stumbled upon this author via Netgalley, and I'm sure to check out more when I have the chance.

Amy is on her second marriage, which she thinks is her forever family, but work, children, parents, death and everyday life start to impact and she and her husband both start looking for some excitement. She has a friend she just meets for dinner once a week, but her husband decides they need a 6 months break whilst he goes travelling to find himself.

6 months is a very long time to be left behind with a family, and there's only so much shopping a girl can do. Will things be the same when he returns?

This is an amusing, well crafted book that takes you through a whole range of emotions. Many of these things could happen if n any family, and the fact that it is taking place in Ireland adds its own interest and set of problems.

All in all a good read.

It is always a delight to read a Marian Keyes book, I just love her inclusive, chatty, easy-to read writing style; her books always make me feel like I’ve met up with a good friend for a coffee and they’re telling me the latest goings-on in their life.

In The Break we meet Dubliner Amy O’Connell just as she has her world turned upside down when her husband, Hugh, decides he needs a break – six months off to travel around Asia to be precise – and there’s not much she can do about it. He’s adamant it’s not a break-up, just a temporary break from his life at the moment.

However, as Hugh leaves Amy with three teenage daughters (technically two daughters and a niece), Neeve, Kiara and Sofie, to look after on her own, while dealing with this huge emotional blow, balancing relationships with her friends, large family and busy job in PR (I loved the little insight into the way PR really works), Amy is understandably overwhelmed by her new set of circumstances and really has to figure out what she wants and how to deal with everything.

I have to say, Amy is one of the most rounded, developed characters I have encountered in a while. I really felt like I knew her, genuinely cared about her and when I’d finished the book, missed her daily life updates, as it were. She was just so relatable – by no means perfect, but trying her best and, like all of us, could be irrational, anxious and uncertain, but equally loving and funny. For me, it was all the little details that really gave her depth and realism – the references to her retro dress-sense, love of make-up and off-the-cuff comments about celebrities.

I haven’t read all of Marian Keyes’ books, so couldn’t say for certain, but, to me, Amy felt like one of Marian’s most autobiographical characters. Having previously read Marian’s collection of real-life essays and columns, Making it Up as I Go Along, there were a few anecdotes from that book that I recognised happening to Amy in this one, from Amy’s love of Strictly Come Dancing and Sephora to her friend she nicknames, ‘Posh Petra’.

Also, there is an interesting – and important – sub-plot about Amy’s niece having an abortion. Abortion is illegal in Ireland, and Marian is a supporter of Repeal the 8th – an Irish campaign that is gathering signatures to call for a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment that makes abortion illegal. So, when the below exchange happens to Amy at a UK abortion clinic, I read this as Marian making her feelings quite clear on the issue:

The woman says, ‘We have a lower rate for those coming from Ireland. Because it’s already costing you so much.’

‘Thank you.’ It’s decent of them, extremely so. And yet I feel ashamed that a foreign country is helping us because our own country won’t.’

These links between Amy’s fictional world and the author’s real one made this an even more interesting read for me and the fact that Marian makes you think about big issues, while drawing you in with such endearing, realistic characters is a wonderful combination – and the reason that I will always look forward to her clever, charming stories.