As the last in their friend group to remain married, Jessica and Mitch attempt an open marriage in order to help save their relationship. This book very real feel to it that made me laugh out loud and parts and cringe in others. Without giving anything away, the book gets a bit more and more over the top as it progresses. I think some of the drama (with the neighbor, high school student in therapy, etc) could have been left out and it would of been just as strong of a book.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

When I read Matthew Norman's We're All Damaged, I was immediately reminded of one of my favorite writers, Jonathan Tropper, specifically The Book of Joe (my favorite Tropper) -- New York guy goes back to his hometown for a family emergency and has to deal with his past, to great comic effect. When I came onto Goodreads to learn more about Norman, I saw Tropper named right at the start of the description of Norman's debut novel Domestic Violets.

So forgive me if I come at his forthcoming third novel, Last Couple Standing, through the prism of a Jonathan Tropper fan -- or more precisely, a former fan, as Tropper has long since abandoned writing in favor of ultraviolent TV shows. From that point of view, thank you Matthew Norman for picking up the mantel. Not to suggest that I view Norman as merely a stand-in for Tropper of Nick Hornby (who has published only one novel in the same ten year period Tropper has not published any).

Like all of the great Tropper and Hornby books that I love, Last Couple Standing is a comic novel about love, friendship, and family written from or by the male perspective -- in a world replete with chick lit, few men do it, even fewer do it well, as well as these guys. In Last Couple Standing, a professional Baltimore couple with two young children alter the terms of their marriage in order to avoid the fate that has claimed the marriages of their closest friends and neighbors -- divorce.

It's not just that comic hi-jinks ensue. Norman also finds some good insights about how marriages survive (or don't) when children, careers, complacency, aging, and dating apps intervene. And he makes excellent use of objective correlatives as metaphors -- Golden Oreos, broken bed frames, dogs driving cars, even E.T., to name a few. Likewise with pop culture references, which are used judiciously but effectively, like "vintage rap". These are devices I like to use, and therefore like to read.

Character development begins at a potentially weak point, with archetypes that seem to come right out of central casting and dialogue that is a little too snappy to be realistic (though it makes for good humor). But I see them growing into credible individual characters and find myself rooting for all of them. Like the characters, the plot doesn't break new ground, but it does provide a base for the aforementioned comic hi-jinks, objective correlatives, and marital insights.

Overall, I would normally rate this at 4 to 4 1/2 stars, but I'm going 5 stars because I've been so starved for this kind of book from my favorite practitioners of the genre and I welcome Matthew Norman into that group as the last man standing.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Last Couple Standing. It was a fun story and I felt like the character development was great-Mitch was the best! I have literally lived through 3 sets of couple friends divorcing so I know what it’s like to be the actual last couple standing. I honestly couldn’t accept the premise of this story because I feel like I’ve lived it.

Mitch and Jessica are the last couple out of their group of friends called the Core Four to not go through with the big D(divorce). One would think they would be jumping with joy but instead they too are feeling the pressures of marriage life and feel like it may be time for a change. This story is a cozy family drama read without being too predictable and keeps a quirky yet funny charm throughout the story.

Let me start out by saying I am 42 years old and still cannot watch ET. My kids have never seen it for all the reasons hilariously scattered throughout this book!
Ok, on with the review. I like Matthew Norman's writing style. He adds humor, wit, and personality to real life stories and issues about family and family dynamics. Many of the little bits and pieces in this book are absolutely relatable, especially at this point in life.
The story is a good one, though perhaps a bit far fetched, but it may be possible that I live in a bubble and real people do this sort of thing. There are a lot of characters at the beginning, but you don't have to pay too close attention to who is with/without whom because it doesn't really matter. Jessica and Mitch are the main characters here. Jessica is looking to spice things up a bit and affable Mitch is along for the ride to make his wife happy.
Plenty of humor with grown-up situations and some serious relationship notes. I enjoyed reading this ARC from Netgalley and look forward to future books.
Go find We're All Damaged and Domestic Violets for more good reads.

Slightly lightweight premise. I think I enjoyed this book more than I normally would because I live in the same place that it takes place and the author really used a lot of details about actual Baltimore locations in it. He should know that the City Paper folded quite awhile back and he should just sub in the Sun or Twitter.

Also, I don't understand the point of telling us that the custody judge near the beginning of the book was African American and like Oprah. What was the point of singling out her race? Saying she was Oprah-like (why? how?) was basically a weird stereotype/microaggression. I get that the characters were probably supposed to be sort of racist because they left the city they all lived in when they had kids to move to largely white suburbs but this description was in the prose, not a character's dialogue.

Last Couple Standing was a quick and quirky read! It was a fabulous blend of humor, heartache, romance, and lessons learned. It does follow a trope, but it’s entertaining nonetheless. It’s not trying to be revolutionary- it is what it is and it’s a fantastic read through and through.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book! A more comprehensive review will be posted on social media closer to the date of release.

The Core Four have been friends since college: four men, four women, four couples, four marriages, three sets of children, and now three divorces. "Last Couple Standing" is about one couple's exploration into an open marriage to see if they can avoid the same fate that befell their friends. Here, Mitch and Jessica relax a few rules to see if that will help them guarantee a chance at success.

Part of the reason why I gave the book three stars is because of all the subplots in the novel. I thought that the writer tried to juggle too much and ultimately, it became overreaching without a central focus. This included tackling divorce, an older man in crisis dating a much-younger woman, an older woman hooking up with a younger man, even a significant chunk of time devoted to the movie, E.T. There's more than I haven't listed, including trying to tackle friendships for both the female and male lead. We never quite spend a lot of time with Jessica's friends. I felt that the reasoning and motivations behind Jessica's character were never fully explained and as a result, she was certainly portrayed as less sympathetic in comparison to Mitch, her husband. As a result, she never felt fleshed out.

While I breezed through the book and certainly found parts of it quite funny, I think it left a lot to be desired on my part, especially since I've read other novels tackling similar subjects that hit the mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced reading copy of the novel, scheduled for release March 2020.

As a woman whom had multiple friends married and/or divorced, this is a realistic depiction I how hard a relationship can be and what drives us apart despite the best intentions. I enjoyed the evolution of the Core Four and would read more from this author.

I enjoyed this book a lot, just felt like it was a little underdeveloped in a few areas. While the book alternates between the perspectives of Jessica and Mitch, it's much easier to get a read on Mitch and have empathy for his character. I wasn't always clear what Jessica's motivations were. Kind of seemed a bit like she invented the challenge merely to justify cheating, which felt a little shitty to me.

There were some humorous bits in this book (I too make the gravely stupid choice to watch E.T. with my kid, scarring her for life) and some thought provoking things to say about the state of marriage when you're middle aged. Indeed, when all of your friends are getting divorces, it very much seems like the grass is greener for the newly single. However, this book (and first hand accounts I've gotten in real life) have given me a more well rounded perspective on the situation.

In some ways, this book has a tough job to tackle-balancing the tough topic of divorce and a marriage in crisis with some misadventures in dating that are sometimes played more broadly for laughs (the finale of the book resembles a traditional farce.) While I appreciate the author's deftness in striking that balance, at times the touch felt a little too light. At its core, this is a pretty sad story, so it didn't always feel good when it made you laugh.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Matthew Norman. It was funny, perplexing & imaginative! (Note to self-don't fix what isn't broke......)
Being married 15 years has it's challenges. Imagine going to college with 3 other couples, watching them marry & then divorce. This scares Jessica & Mitch. Neither of them want to wind up like the other 3 couples, whose main problems were sex-they were mostly not having it or at least not with each other. So Jessica & Mitch try an experiment. to save their marriage.

As the last couple with an intact marriage, Jessica and Mitch find themselves worried they too will end up divorced and make a plan to avoid that fate. Versions of this story have been told numerous times in both books and film, that isn't a reason to skip this book. They come to learn that not only is the grass not always greener, but that reality is more complex than they might have originally thought.
The author explores the complexity of marriage through the couple's perspective, but also includes chapters from auxiliary characters. Characters have authentic voices and there are clever details throughout the book. Some reviewers have mentioned that this book made them sad, but I can't say I had that reaction at all, I found it to be real and hopeful in small ways. I have few complaints about the book as whole and read it incredibly quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House and Ballentine for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly love Matthew Norman's writing style. Modern, quirky, funny, sarcastic and genuine. I fell in love with We're All Damaged and the affair continued with Domestic Violets. In his latest novel, Last Couple Standing, he is not quite on his game in some parts of the book but it does not take away from the story. The subject matter keeps it somewhat solemn and serious but there are brilliant hints and scenes of wit and sarcasm. It was not what I was expecting from Mr. Norman but nevertheless it still was a 5 star read for me. He does the regular guy so well. He always does "the Dad" characters spot on. I just could not put it down. The story is about the Core Four, four friends and their significant others, but centers around Mitch and Jessica. They are far from perfect and weirdly trying to survive the chaos in the midst of their best friend's relationship woes. Their decisions perplexed me in a way I could never relate to but the story was strong and entertaining. I wanted to reach in and knock some sense into some of these characters. But in the end, it all came together and it was a great read for me. Enjoy.

Lately I have been reading mostly historical fiction, so when #Netgalley had this #drc as one I could request, I gave it a shot. Romcom is not my normal go to genre, but you need to branch out every once in awhile. And I am so glad I did!

This is a book about 4 couples, friends since college. The couples do everything together. From vacations, to having babies, and even divorce as a group... Well almost. The storyline was good as far as this genre goes. It was laugh out loud funny in places. (driveway scene in last chapter) It was a little cringe worthy in places, and sometimes a little predictable...But that is what you need sometimes in a book. A book that lets you relax, enjoy and say to yourself "Damn, I'm glad that's not me!" I can honestly say that I am so glad I chose this book and that I am glad the publisher gave me a chance to read and review this! Such a fun, fast read!!

I give this book 3 1/2⭐. It made me laugh, and it was exactly what I needed!

Thank you @netgalley and #ballantinebooks for giving this ebook to me in exchange for my honest review.

Last Couple Standing by Matthew Norman will reach the heart of every middle aged married couple in today's world, answering the age old question of "Is the grass always greener?" This book is impossible to put down, and left me with a renewed and energized approached to my own marriage. Kudos Mr. Norman, in creating a true picture of what it is like to be married in this day and age.

This book was compelling, and also incredibly depressing. It's a book about the human condition, what it means to have and live through an adult relationship and it had many morose and dark moments. But that's life, and for that I actually really enjoyed it. The dynamics in the book are very real and relatable and the ending makes sense in the context, but I think that's the only part that felt forced. It was as if the author forgot the entirety of the book he had been writing up until then, or perhaps editor intervention and so the ending didn't quite fit to me. The characters were well developed, except I felt there was a clear villain and that kind of drove me crazy. A roaring this is all your fault, and you're terrible because it seemed it all stemmed not quite from passion but almost nonchalance and it seemed like this created this whole conflict and it could've been avoided. Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot, and having recently married gave me many moments to reflect upon life and the lives of those around me.

While the concept is a bit intriguing, I guess I don't buy into the core concept of the book ('all our friends are getting a divorce, so now we're going to try an open marriage to save ours?'). Additionally, this read a little too much 'white hetero-normative problems' to be much more than a surface level book. I would've loved just a bit of diversity. As other reviewers have mentioned, the characters are all somewhat one-dimensional and I don't particularly understand their motivations for behaving the way they do. I will say I did want to eat Golden Oreos after finishing this book.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The novel is an easy read. There is a core group of four couples who have been friends for twenty years, fast forward to present day and three of the couples have split. The Last Couple Standing, Jessica and Mitch, decide to have an "open marriage" in the hopes of keeping their marriage intact. The novel does not break any new ground on the subject of marriage and infidelity.. I would have liked the author to develop the characters more. The ending, to me, was rushed.

Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of an ARC of this novel in return for an unbiased review.

This was my first book by Matthew Norman and it has been a pleasure to read. He has an amazing ability to create a world where you feel at home, that the characters are your own friends and you are just on the sidelines watching it all play out. I felt connected to the story, as many married individuals may, because at one time or another you may have had the same feelings and thoughts as those characters. I thought I had the story line pegged from the beginning, but I was completely wrong (and I love that).

*I received the ARC for this book from netgalley. All thoughts and comments are my own. *

An interesting read, not sure I loved it but it was definitely an interesting take on the romance genre.