Loved this book. Every character was relatable and believable. I'll be honest after reading the first two pages I was sure it wasn't for me but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. Already ordered two more books by this author.

3.5 ⭐️ Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an ARC. This was a fun read. Pretty hilarious, and definitely a bit of a farce toward the end. I didn’t necessarily love the topic. The wife in the lone surviving married couple among a group of friends suggest an open marriage might help keep them married. But the book as well as the main characters were entertaining. Of course, as I’m sure the author (a male) intended, I was team Mitch (husband) more than Jessica (wife.)

Gorgeous writing draws you right into this story of couples who have been friends together, got married together, moved to the suburbs together, and are now struggling to survive in these marriages. I loved the writing and absolutely all of the characters. A fantastic story that I didn't want to end.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley however all opinions are my own. It just wasn’t my taste. It was fairly well-written but I just hate people who play at open marriages and polyamory. It’s just mocking a true and real relationship type. I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters and felt frustrated by the storyline. It just didn’t stick for me. I don’t think it was bad per se but just not a dream.

I had high hopes for the Last Couple Standing but it ended up just being an okay read for me. It is definitely a rom-com but the premise just fell flat for me. There was some laugh out loud moments but I felt that it just was a little too "out there" for me when main characters felt so flat.

I did enjoy the commentary on marriage and kids but some it is was just too cringe-worthy and a little juvenile. The characters were very one dimensional which made it hard to really connect with the storyline. Some readers may really love this, it just wasn't for me.

This one did not hit for me. Confusing at the outset. The plot was campy in parts and outright cringeworthy in others.

This book was SO GOOD. I loved every bit of it, I laughed so much and my heart smiled. This novel takes a dive into the relationship insecurities, fears, and curiosity we all have whether single/dating/married. Packed full of crazy twists and major LOL moments, Last Couple Standing was probably my favorite romance of the year. 100% pick this one up when it’s released in early 2020. Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this gem early, all opinions are my own.

I struggled with a rating for this book. Although it kept my interest, some parts were not lacking substance to me.
I give this book 3.75 stars.

The Last Couple standing is about Jessica and Mitch who decide to loosen their marriage in order to remain alive and save their marriage. They are the only couple of their closest friends who are not divorced.

Part One: The Divorces was very confusing to me. This is the part of the book where the author introduces the characters and explains how they met and how their marriages ended. With four couples, I found it hard to keep up with who was married to who. I think the author could have separated the introductions better to lessen the confusion.

After the introductions are made, the plot does evolve and keep the readers' interest! There are parts of the book that are definitely page turners where you are eager to see how things unfold.

However, the ending of the book was a little rushed to me. I think there should have be more dialogue with Jessica and Mitch when her love lover was exposed.

While reading this book, the old saying " the grass may look greener on the other side" is definitely displayed.

It is a good story that explains " the grass may look greener on the other side but it isn't"

Oh, this was lots of fun. I really enjoyed the relationships between all the various characters--Norman has done an excellent job of giving each of the Core Four distinct personalities, and while I still couldn't remember their names, it was fun to match. Even a scene involving four younger girls felt well thought out due to the traits that each character had previously displayed.

I'm a proponent of the importance this book placed communication. Though unconventional, Norma examined marriage, what it really takes to make one successful, and what successful even means in a deft and thoughtful fashion, though the book was still lots of fun and lighthearted all the way through.

And ET!!! ET was such a delightful recurring theme.

I found the premise of this book to be both different and interesting.
This story begins with a group of friend who pair into couples and call themselves the "Core Four". Four couples, friends since college, who have all divorced save one.
Jessica and Mitch, who are the last couple standing, watch as their friends marriages fall apart and decide to do something drastic to make sure that it doesn't happen to them. The path they choose is not a choice that I would make, and in the long run, after some unfortunate choices, they realize it's not the correct path for them either.
Follow Jessica and Mitch as they start their journey into saving a marriage before it needs saving.
I laughed, I cried, I loved it!
I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a story that explores alternative viewpoints and choices.

Four couples pair up in their college days, move on to get married and start families, but after about 15 years or so, only Mitch and Jessica are still together. When they see how their friends have all split up, and how “couple’s night” has turned into single’s nights for most of them, they start to wonder if they need to be more proactive in keeping their marriage together. In comes a little experiment – not quite an open marriage, but maybe a relaxed one. At least, relaxed in thought and action, but how much so in reality? This is the first book I’ve read by Matthew Norman, but I really enjoyed it. I think there was a lot of humor in this book – a fast read with likeable characters. Is it realistic? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s definitely enjoyable!

NOTE: Special thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a fun read, and the writing was really funny, but the whole time I was reading it, I was thinking, this was definitely written by a man! I’m not sure if I would categorize it as women’s fiction.

Mitch and Jessica, the last remaining married couple out of a friend group of four couples, decide to put some “fun” into their marriage in order to stay together. Jessica, who was the character I found most unbelievable, saw her husband looking at a lingerie ad at a mall and decided “hey, let’s sleep with other people!” Lots of feelings ensue.

Mitch and Jessica are the last couple standing. When the other three couples in their set all divorce within a couple of years, suddenly their own previously happy marriage seems almost up for grabs. With infidelity at the root of most of their friend’s problems, they decide to experiment with a temporarily open marriage to see if they can forestall what feels like the inevitable. Jessica — a therapist — points out “Love is a feeling. Monogamy is a rule. One we came up with twelve-thousand years ago when we started worrying about property rights.”

While the first chapter is a kind of leaden background — explaining how all four couples got together and what went wrong in the other three — both writing and content picked up after that. Lots of humorous and interesting dialogue and plenty of non-gender conforming behavior. In fact, I really appreciated the fact that each character was an individual with his/her own ideas and standards — none of which felt stereotypical to me. Scarlett — one of Mitch’s wilder students (and simultaneously Jessica’s client — they work out of the same high school) — really throws some good curveballs at them both with her own ideas about sex, love, and the #metoo movement.

I found the book increasingly insightful and relevant and enjoyed how it portrayed a wide variety of viewpoints.

Some good quotes:
“Like we used to before the kids sucked the life out of us like vampires.”

“For Mitch, being married to a therapist had some advantages and some disadvantages. She was unfailingly reasonable. She was incredibly smart. But sometimes it felt like he was talking to a robot that had programmed to read WebMD pages aloud to him.”

“I haven’t had sex with a guy once since my divorce who hasn’t tried to come all over me.” “Same,” said Sarah. “Which is such a delight, because God knows that’s exactly what we’re hoping for.”

“How much easier would life be if, the moment you get married, you take a pill, and everyone else in the world turns plain and boring?”

The premise of the book challenges and explores one of the many “what if’s” in long lasting marriages and giving in to temptation. I love that we got to see polarizing experiences from both parties, and thought the book was very clever! I really enjoyed this book! I totally related to the characters, their dynamic reminded me of my own core group of friends, and thought they were hilarious. This was a quick read for me and I laughed a lot, felt for Mitch, and overall I really enjoyed it!

The Last Couple Standing was so good. Funny and heartwarming at the same time - my jam.

In order to avoid divorce (unlike their friends), Jessica and Mitch take on some drastic (or not?) measures to save their marriage and might have found the secret sauce!

While ultimately divorce is no laughing matter, this is one funny book. The core four, a group of 4 couples that met in college and married shortly after graduating, have wound their lives around one another so much so they continue to live near each other and celebrate all holidays together and basic moments in life. Twenty years later, three of the four couples divorce in quick succession. What ensues is the sad and absurd antics of the divorced as followed by the remaining married couple, Jessica, a therapist, and Mitch, an English teacher.
The impact of Mitch & Jessica's friends' choices lead to some introspective moments between the couple and perhaps bad choices in the search for the answer to "is this all there is?"
Last couple standing also pokes around the devastation of the children and spouses left behind in the wake of divorce. Interestingly enough, a fifth couple's divorce is featured. Mitch and Jessica's next door neighbors are also divorcing with the father moving out while questioning his right to be happy. Their teenage son, Luke, is in the throws of awkward pubescence and happens to also be a student of Mitch and their family babysitter. The idea that the teenagers are more able to process what's happening, is somewhat debunked when Luke stumbles upon parental activities both with his neighbor and his mother.
Last Couple Standing had me laughing out loud a few times and smiling often. Quite a feat given the subject matter.
Copy provided by Netgalley for review

Last Couple Standing
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I usually read historical fiction, WWII novels, etc., so this novel was definitely a change from my usual genre and a welcome, refreshing, laugh aloud story. Although, in a literary sense, it is nothing special, it was entertaining, even with the very predictable ending. Overall 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.

If this book isn't made into a movie I am going to be shocked. It is the perfect combination of funny, relatable and serious and everything I love about modern rom-coms.

Mitch and Jessica don't want to end up divorced like the rest of their friends, so they attempt to head off any issues by opening up their marriage. After developing a couple of rules they are off and running navigating this new world they have opened up for themselves.

What I loved about this is that the decision to open the marriage wasn't in reaction to something going wrong or issues they were having. It was a premeditated decision to ensure they wouldn't reach a negative point. The characters involved in this story were really funny, wildly relatable and honest. As someone who hasn't been in an open marriage it felt realistic while also maintaining the rom-com vibe it was going for. I am sure there are parts people could critique and I've seen other comments that people felt like the decisions were not always grounded, but I honestly didn't experience because I did not expect it from this book.

Also, props to a fellow George Mason University alum. I am rooting for this book to be a success!

The book was cute and a quick read, but I really was hoping for something more from it. There wasn't enough of a storyline - they each only went on one date... the premise, in my opinion, called for much more content in that direction, and less time spent on the kids in the story. The ET thing was way overkill. It's an easy beach read, but I wouldnt recommend it as much as I had hoped.

What an absolutely delightful guilty read! If you are married or in a long term relationship...get on this book.
It indulges the reader of the 'what if?' scenarios you've certainly had.

Jessica and Mitch. married for 15 years, are the last of their circle of friends not yet divorced, and they want to keep it that way. They devise a plan called the 'relaxed marriage' which explores a taboo boundaries of an open marriage. I couldn't put this book down - I needed to know how it all played out!

Often, the romance I read are written by female authors so I liked that it was written from a male author perspective, it added a new layer of interest especially on this concept. The writing was humorous, interesting and fast paced. I wish it was a bit longer to flush out the details but overall, enjoyable read and recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.