This a delicious and delightful book, written with a light yet vibrant style, about a serious subject.

The Core Four, as they call each other, are four couples who met in college at Johns Hopkins. Originally the core eight, four woman friends and four men friends, when they all eventually meet, as they say, worlds collide, they pair up and eventually marry, and at the time of the story, all live in Maryland.

That’s the backstory. Moving forward about 20 years, they’re all still living in Baltimore. Two of the couples have children. Everyone has a good job. But as paint wears thin over twenty years, cracks start to appear in three of the marriages, and three couples rapidly divorce, leaving Mitch and Jessica Butler wondering if the grass is greener outside the constraints of life, and if their friends appear to be having a great time solo, what’s wrong with them if they are not?

Thus the Relaxed Marriage for Mitch and Jessica. Just as their divorced friends seem to having fun, both Mitch and Jessica think their partner is having fun. But of course, not even a river always flows smoothly.

I’ve purposely omitted the details to avoid spoilers. There’s a lot to like about Mitch and Jessica, and their two children, Jude and Emily, are possibly the most hilarious children I’ve ever read about, including their mutual and fear of ET and their ability to be in the right place at the wrong time and vice versa. The two young people who play solid roles in dramas of their own, Scarlett and Luke, are also terrific. To add to the deliciousness of this story of relationships and their inevitable bumps in the road, both Scarlett and Luke are students in Mitch’s English class, and Scarlett is in therapy with Jessica. One of the most memorable moments of the story is when Jessica and Scarlett are in the same place, in a compromising position.

I liked this book a lot, and look forward to reading more by this author. She’s very talented.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

Last Couple Standing: A Novel

Very funny, very well written. Recommended.



Review copy provided by publisher.

Jessica and Mitch, and their cadre of friends, have been married for 15 years. While Jessica and Mitch are still a close-knit couple with kids, all around them the marriages of their closest friends are failing. so Jessica decides that to keep their marriage fresh, she and Mitch should have sex with other people. Hilarity and heartbreak ensue. Good, quick read, but not particularly memorable.

I found this to be not as enjoyable as I thought. Life happens and people change and borrowing trouble is one way to cause sure disaster. (That's just my personal opinion!) It wasn't what I was expecting at all...

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of Last Couple Standing.

Mitch and Jessica have been together since college, the last couple out of their Core Four of friends to remain married.

As a way to prevent their marriage from going stagnant, they embark on a not so original, radical experiment to 'sow' their oats without consequences.

Yeah, like that ever works in books and real life.

I did enjoy the writing, there was some jokes and humor, and I found myself drawn into Mitch and Jessica's life.

But, the character development was poor, especially in regards to Jessica.

Mitch wasn't a bad guy, but as I kept reading, it felt like the author was not so subtly making Jessica the bad guy here.

There are a few subplots, including one that involves a client of Jessica's, rom-com tropes, constant reminders about how stacked Jessica is (as if I needed more reminders that the author is male), and some family humor.

This wasn't a bad read, but it could have been better if the characters had been fleshed out.

This book started out pretty interesting especially the Baltimore part- being born and raised there I could relate to all the locations and it was nice to be brought back. However, diving into the rest of the story the characters fell flat and I needed more from them. The storyline itself appeared juvenile to me as well. Maybe this just wasn’t the story for me although I finished it and it was enjoyable at times.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A couple who doesn’t want to get divorced tries a radical experiment to maintain their marriage.
Four couples have known each other from college days, and now 15 years later, find them in the process of getting a divorce.
They band together to try and save their marriages
A very poignant and heartfelt book

This book was absolutely not for me. The premise was promising enough, one couple figures out a way to keep their marriage alive as their friends are divorcing all around them. What is turned out to be was the movie Hall Pass in novel format. As I was reading, I kept thinking “this has to have been written by a man!” And it was. The characters are one-dimensional, and their decisions do not seem to make any sense. There is one scene at the end of the book that was humorous and tied the plot together, but that was the high point for me. This should have been a DNF (did not finish) for me, but I wanted to be able to give a fair review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica and Mitch wanted to make a change as they see all of their friends starting to get divorces. They saw that the core of their friends' issues were no sex, not enough sex or even the boredom of sex had lead to the demise of their marriages. Jessica and Mitch came up with a plan to have an "evolved" marriage.

The story was easy to get lost in as it is an easy read and easily enough to relate in a relationship or marriage. However, I find the characters were bland and their emotions no where near life like. Everything seems to be skimming on top from the story to the characters never got any deeper as the story went on. Even the ending left me without feelings, it was just there. That's it, the end. The characters and story never really developed. There were actually no conflicts; which I find extremely odd.

This was a different sort of book but one that was good. I know it was fiction but it made you really think about marriage and how much you know about the person beside you.

LAST COUPLE STANDING doesn't tread any new ground. I feel like I've read this story before. However, Norman is a top notch writer and I enjoyed the story very much. I guess if you like this sort of plot, then by all means check this one out. LAST COUPLE STANDING combines smart writing with wit and even a bit of humor. The characters are relatable and the ending felt satisfying.

Unlike the other popular novels that were inspired by Ross' mantra, "We were on a break!", I found someone to root for in Mitch Butler. In the 'Last Coupling Standing', Mitch and Jessica decided that with all of the divorces swirling around them, their marriage needed a break (spouse-sanctioned infidelity) in order for it to naturally evolve. Will it save their marriage or ruin it?

The writing was a perfect balance of wit and humor, engaging the reader and offering up the chance for a little bit of introspection on marriage, contentment, and middle age. I think the tale was wonderfully done, unfortunately, I did not necessarily enjoy the book. For me, the premise of temporarily cheating just weighed the story down. Regardless of the outcome, I found it all terribly depressing. However, it was a worthwhile read and I will definitely seek out more material from this author. I absolutely love his writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Matthew Norman for an ARC of 'Last Couple Standing' in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
This book features the classic tale of a married couple testing the waters of a more open relationship to try to fix something that isn't broken. It doesn't really break any new ground or offer any novel perspectives but the characters are realistic, likable, and easy to root for. The author does a great job of finding little ways to tie in seemingly random, mundane things that really improve what would otherwise be a pretty basic, predictable plot.
The ending is a little rushed. All hell breaks loose in about two chapters and then the last chapter takes place several months later and doesn't provide much detail about what happened during that time.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters capture and hold your attention and the plot is mostly lighthearted (unless you start to wonder about your own relationship...).

Huge thanks to NetGalley & Ballantine for allowing me to read this book!

"Last Couple Standing" by Matthew Norman is a glimpse inside of a marriage that has survived the honeymoon/baby years but is thrown off-course by the divorces that rock their once-stable friend group. While the novel doesn't make any new inroads, it takes into account the female perspective/gaze and allows the women to be agents of their own desires, albeit in a somewhat formulaic manner. I enjoyed it for what it is, light reading that is entertaining and well written; if you're looking for a deeper take on the tides that turn a relationship, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Found it very hard to get into this book. The concept was great, but the character development was not. I didn't care a thing about any of the people.

This novel follows a path set by several authors in the past few years that the way to save a marriage is to allow the couple to have outside relationships.

Jessica and Mitch make this decision because 3 of the couples they are close to are getting divorced. Can sanctioned cheating save a marriage?

This one is well written and and main characters are likable but it’s been done too many times and seems predictable. Personally, I thought Elyssa Friedlander did it much better in Intermission.

A perfect “lite” read, but nothing new or earth shattering.