Nice heartwarming family-type read. Great to spend an afternoon.
Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

This was a funny book that I really enjoyed. Matt and Alex are together now as partners, and as Christmas approaches Matt decides it's a great idea to spend some time with his daughter Scarlett, his ex Claire and her new partner Patrick. They all go on holiday together, which sounds like a recipe for disaster.

The characters were quirky and fun and the plot was interesting and kept me reading well into the night.
I recommend this book.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Adults is a solid three-star read, with certain passages being five-star hysterical.

The characters, one divorced couple with a child, their new partners, and the child's imaginary friend/rabbit, are actually are very well-developed characters. When they all go on Christmas holiday together, well, what could go wrong, you ask? Name it, and it can.

The chapters are in varying perspectives, and I found the chapters written from the perspective of the child and her imaginary rabbit friend to be well-written but tedious.

But I was bothered by how easily the characters lie to make life fit their needs. And I was really saddened that Alex, a self-proclaimed 'doormat,' does not stand up for herself.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an advance e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hulse gives us a comedic read with The Adults. It is a breezy writing style with changing perspectives of view based upon compelling characters.

With thanks to the author (Caroline Hulse), the publisher (Random House), and NetGalley.com for the advanced reader copy.

Looking for something a little lighter after some deep non-fiction and literary fiction reading, I saw pre=published reviews of "The Adults" by Caroline Hulse and decided to give it a try. Told in chapters with alternating narator, we meet Scarlett (and her imaginary rabbit friend, Posey), her parents Matt and Clair, as well as their new partners Alex and Patrick. The novel quickly builds to a Christmas Holiday trip the five take together as a group - a plan hatched by Matt so he can spend time with both his daughter and girlfriend. Slowly the atmosphere degenerates as their relationships are are tested by behavior, proximity, and unspoken concerns between the couples and Scarlett's parents. Tensions culminate in an unfortunate climax, but the group pulls together in the end and all is right with the world, so to speak. I enjoyed it more than I expected, and attribute that to the good writing and the unique story line.

A quick and easy read, I would recommend "The Adults" for fans of Maria Semple or Nora Ephron.

It’s unfortunate that the publishers bill this as “The most hilarious debut you will read all year.” This novel about a divorced couple with joint custody of their seven-year-old daughter who come together with their new boyfriend/girlfriend is cute and fun, but I only chuckled once during the book. “Cute” and “fun” are not the same thing as “hilarious.” It sets up false expectations. In fact, part of reading about the struggles of Alex, the woman who’s dating the father, Matt, and of Patrick, the man who is dating the mother, Claire, is actually kind of sad.

Alex is a scientist who doesn’t have kids, so she fumbles a lot trying to connect with Scarlett, the seven-year-old. During the book, Matt and Claire get their partners agree to go away for a five-day weekend to celebrate Christmas at a lodge in the woods where there is archery, swimming, dance classes, golf, and so on. There is jealousy and misunderstandings and straight-up lies. Scarlett has long conversations with her invisible-to-everyone-but-her purple rabbit, Posey.

Even if you’re parents never divorced and dated/remarried, even if you’ve never dated a divorced person with kids, you’ll be able to identify with the different characters, particularly perfectionist/competitive Patrick and the well-drawn Alex, who gave up alcohol when she realized she was drinking too much, only to go a little nuts with wine under the stress of living with Matt’s ex-wife and his daughter who thinks Alex, as a scientist, is a murderer of animals (Alex isn’t that kind of scientist, but seven-year-olds don’t always understand the world of scientific inquiry.)

This is a good book. It’s just not funny.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES NOVEMBER 27, 2018.

Really a very funny book that will pull at your heartstrings. I read this over the course of 2 days because I couldn’t stop. Lively cast of characters you will enjoy reading about!

To be honest, when I first started reading the synopsis of this book I though it seemed like a far-fetched idea for 2 exes to go on vacay for Xmas with their new partners and their daughter. You get the impression right away that there’s clearly not been a clean or amicable dissolution of their relationship, so I thought “That would never really happen.” It just seems logical you’d be setting everyone up for a terrible time. However, as I kept reading about the book, I was intrigued to find out exactly what was going to unfold. This story was good. I was hoping for more of a funny streak to run through the story in order to help ease some of the actovities in the story, but I still very much enjoyed the book as I finished reading it in its entirety. I think this had a unique concept and definitely was out of the box. Cute story, good book.

The premise of this book had me wanting to read it. Parents no longer living together go away for a Christmas holiday with their daughter and significant others. It is something a lot of us can relate to, unfortunately, I just couldn't make myself care about the characters. I tried, but ultimately gave up.

#TheAdults#Netgalley#
Review by: I Love to Read/Librarian
A page turner from first to last. A divorced couple book a five day Christmas Holiday at a theme park type resort, for their daughter, bringing along their current significant others, as well. Tensions run high as we're treated to each character's point of view and motivation. I couldn't put this book down it was so entertaining. There were funny moments, sad moments, and tragic moments. A thought provoking story as well as a humorous peek into lives.

What a fun read! On the surface, this does not appear to be a deep and meaningful book...but in many ways it actually is. And...hilarious! The set-up pretty much says it all: Two-exes take their young daughter on a holiday vacation to a cabin in the woods with their new significant others in tow. Mayhem follows...but in a real and believable way. These are not one-dimensional characters, and they are oh, so easy to fall in love with (warts and all). Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital copy of this novel for review.

An interesting idea: a blended family created from past relations, mixing to create a holiday vacation.
Mayhem ensues, lies are uncovered, bonds broken.
And then there's an invisible rabbit, my favorite character.

A holiday at Happy Forest holiday park with a divorced couple, their daughter and their new partners, what could possibly go wrong. I requested this book hoping it would be as dysfunctional as it sounds and I am happy to say that it was and very humorous as well. Highly recommend!

This book was honestly just light-hearted fun. It went exactly where I thought it was going to be but it was a fun ride. It’s written in a format similar to Big Little Lies where it goes back and forth between interviews of an investigation after the incident and the story actually happening leading up to the incident. However, the writing is much more simple and there are not any big "twists and turns." I enjoyed the story but there wasn’t anything substantial that kept me drawn to the plot.

I will be posted a review on my Instagram account @readingnookreviews on 10/27/18 exactly one month before publish date. My review on Goodreads has already been posted and is linked!

This book is about a divorced couple that has agreed to spend the Christmas holiday (5 full days!) together along with their young daughter, and their new partners. This situation obviously is ripe for plenty of conflict, and of course, hijinks ensue. To add to the craziness, the daughter has a very active imagination and has brought along her imaginary friend, a 6 foot tall pink rabbit, who is wary of her dad’s girlfriend because she is a scientist, and therefore, must experiment on rabbits.

I absolutely adored this book! It reminded me of Big Little Lies in that there were interviews with witnesses in between the chapters, the story was told by multiple characters, and you know from the beginning someone got hurt, and the rest of the book explains what happened. I actually laughed out loud multiple times, and chuckled to myself throughout the book. The characters all had distinct personalities and the dialogue was great. I loved, loved this book. I can’t wait for the author to write more! I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

*thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read the advanced copy of this wonderful book!*

Imagine what would happen if you spent Christmas with your boyfriend, his ex-wife, their daughter, the ex's new boyfriend and the daughter's imaginary bunny. That is Alex's reality. Add in the daughter being afraid of you and you have given up drinking and you have the premise of the Adults. Things go from bad to worse as the holiday progresses.and someone may end up in jail.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I was drawn to this book because of its plot and the fact that it was suppose to be a humorous book. For the most part I found the humor was lacking although I totally loved the Scarlett/Posey chapters. The book was just not what I expected from a book billed as “comic”. Also I thought all of the characters were insufferable. I know it was probably meant to come off as “not everyone is perfect” but by the end of the book I was glad someone got shot.

The writing was lovely so I gave it 2 stars for that but I probably wouldn’t put this one high up on my “to be read” list.

Funny, smart, off-beat contemporary drama about relationships with likeable characters who make mistakes and are very human. I LOVED this book! Quite refreshing in a sea of crazy, unbelievable family dramas.... Easy. quick fun read! Do not miss this one! Thanks SO much for the ARC!!!!!

Divorced parents taking their only child for a Christmas holiday with their significant others... Sound like a good idea? The Adults by Caroline Hulse is a train wreck that you don't mind riding on because the book is so fun to read. Changing points of view and hints that an accident has happened during the vacation keep the story moving. A fun, irreverent read!

A sarcastic take on a tradition of a Christmas family holiday, this family is anything but usual. Claire and Matt were divorced, with a daughter, Scarlett who has an imaginary friend. Matt is with Alex, a logical scientist in contrast with Matt’s “lazy arse”personality. Claire is with Patrick, an uptight, rule abiding boring guy. On holiday, havoc breaks loose as old truths come out and new alliances emerge. An interesting take which improved as the book went on, with sarcasm and humor.