Fantastic Marian Keyes' book! At first, I thought I was missing something- another previous book maybe? It felt like I should know all the characters sitting around the dining table. But the gifted author gives you a sneak peak, then takes you through what happens before hand in the months leading up to that dinner. Then we brings it full circle. I enjoyed reading about the characters. (Which doesn't mean I like all the characters. Some are just wrong! But it allows us to see why they did what they did.) Overall, another great book!

This is a great story that focuses on the relationships in a dysfunctional family. I was a bit confused at first with who everyone was, but once I read a bit more about the characters I was on board.

It's a long book that I feel could have been a bit shorter, but other than that I loved it!

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend this book and author to all!

Another funny book by Marian Keyes! This is a long book about the Casey family - three brothers and their large families. I have read some mixed reviews due to the length, but for me it was great to have something long to immerse myself in during these days of isolating at home! There are lots of characters - some more likeable than others (Bridey = likeable), but that’s like any extended family. There are funny bits and poignant bits and annoying bits; again like any family. I enjoyed this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Another fabulous read from the incomparable Marian Keyes! Grown Ups tells the story of several members of the Casey family as they meet up (sometimes under duress) to celebrate various important events in their lives. As always, Keyes gifts the reader with fully-developed, believable characters, and infuses her story with humour, even in the midst of pathos. I cared about Cara, Nell, and Jessie, and was invested in finding out what would happen to them, and the family as a whole, as their various secrets were revealed. Keyes handles important and serious issues with sensitivity and without being heavy-handed in her delivery. Highly recommend! My thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Grown Ups ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review.

I had a very hard time with this book. I loved the plot but had a tricky time with so many characters introduced so quickly. I always enjoy family sagas and this one was excellent. It took me awhile to read but I really liked it.

This book was fantastic. I felt like I really knew the characters, and connected with them immediately. They were so well-developed. It was great to read about the different characters and the relationships the family all had with each other. I devoured this book, and can't wait to read it again to see if I pick up on anything else. What a delight that the characters were messy, conflicted, and full of pain and personality in their own times. Would definitely recommend.

Oh how I love Marian Keyes books - and this one didn't let me down. What I love most is the way her books have matured along with the author. Having read 'Watermelon' and 'Rachel's Holiday' along with all her others of the chick-lit genre - all brilliant! - Marian Keyes is now writing about more mature characters with families of their own; wonderfully dysfunctional families, skilfully unravelled with the author's trademark wicked humour.
The story revolves around the Casey family, a multitude of complex characters linked by brothers, Johnny, Ed, Liam and their wives and children. It begins in the present at a family dinner hosted and paid for by Johnny's wealthy wife Jessie. Ed's wife Cara, having temporarily lost her inhibitions due to a concussion, begins to speak a few uncomfortable home truths....
As we jump back 6 months to the events leading up to the dinner, Marian exposes the complex characters and relationships that make up the Casey family as they begin to unravel before us.
'Grown Ups' is a long book, with a lot of characters, so it may have taken me a little longer than usual to get into it, but stick with it, it's worth the read!
I give this book 4 stars.

I enjoyed reading this book, and it kept my attention enough to finish it, but I found the middle to be quite slow and long.
The start is amazing. It sucked me right in. It’s a very long book, and the middle got a bit draggy. Then all of a sudden the pace picks up and it turns into a whirlwind of action at the end. Considering how long the book, and how slow the middle are, I feel like some edits could really improve the readability.

Overall a good book, but sadly, not as great as most of her other books though.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions

I am the type of reader who can devour a book in a sitting or two if it grasps my attention immediately. Although this book had some wonderful parts and I could connect with a character or two I felt like the book for me dragged a bit. I put it down and came back to it a lot. There are a lot of characters and different plot lines that I found parts hard to keep up and some parts dragged on. Overall once I got further into the store (almost half way) it got a bit better for me which is why I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the advanced read.

I have never read a Marian Keyes book before. I had heard so many positive things about her style of writing, and because her style of writing was something I did not usually go for, I was keen to access this e-ARC of 'Grown Ups' and give it a test run. What I found in this book was that my perceptions matched the stories that unfolded. I could not really keep track of all the characters, their children and connections. I think I stopped reading a third of the way in and started again (just so I could get a grasp on who everyone was. I became lost in the characters and each of their stories several times. That said, each of the characters was so detailed that you felt like you knew them so deeply, even those darn bratty kids collecting easter eggs.

The story does somewhat revolve around Cara, but every time I read into her world, I felt like I had run a marathon and was exhausted. Cara was highly stressed, totally insecure, with a husband (Johnny) who loved her In one way, Cara’s concussion was the most eventful part of the book as it created the angst and release of family secrets, grudges, stupidity and problems all hidden behind the happy family vacation attending family they wanted to believe they were. Other characters like Ferdia were off putting and annoying, and he was irritating as a character as well as to read about, and I was tempted so much to skim over anything to do with him because of how his character was relayed throughout the book. There seemed to be too many issues to resolve and deal within this family. I was not able to warm to any of the characters, or even find any that I could empathise with. I have no idea if this is similar to many other books Marian Keyes has written, and if it is, I don’t think I shall return for another. If you are a fan of Marian Keyes, this book will be for you.
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Marian Keyes is one of those authors I will always remember because her books were foundational in my love of reading as a young adult. When I saw Grown Ups on NetGalley, I couldn't request it fast enough. Her Walsh Family Series, especially "Watermelon" and "Anybody Out There" will always remain extra memorable for me.

Keyes always succeeds in sharing complex family dynamics in a light-hearted yet engrossing manner. Grown Ups is no different and shares the daily ups and downs of three brothers and their wives and families. There is a great mix of humor and intrigue (a big family secret gets revealed!) mixed with plenty of hijinx.

I did find that it was tricky at first to keep track of all the characters because there are many!! I connected more with some of them than others but all in all this was a super endearing and humorous read. I am so happy to have Marian Keyes writing back in my life and I look forward to what she shares next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada/Doubleday Canada for sharing an advanced copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks for ARC
I always love stories that have family drama
This one had good amount of it and also it was very entertaining
It was a very very long read though

I have been a long-time reader of Marian Keyes and love her books. Grown Ups definitely had a lot of her wit and Irish charm as she tells the story of three brothers, Ed, Liam and Johnny and their crazy family. The three did not grow up with the easiest of parents and so there's a sort of crazy bonding that happens due to this. As with any family, you can have some drama and it all starts with Cara, who has hit her head, coming out with all sorts of secrets and truths at a family dinner. The story then jumps backwards and delves into the crazy relationships this family has with one another. While I do love Keyes humor and wit this book just rang long for me and was confusing at times with all the family members and their dynamics. It also was a bit on the darker side than I normally expect from this author. Grown Ups was definitely not a favorite of mine but I will definitely continue to read Keyes' books in the future.

I am on the fence about this book. The plot was light hearted, but there were too many characters to try to keep track of, which made me feel lost.

I always enjoy Marian Keyes! She can write about dysfunctional wacky families without becoming maudlin like no other. Grown Ups is no different. I enjoyed being taken along for the ride with the Casey brothers. The bits we learn about their parents made me wonder how they managed to function as well as they did at all. I did feel like the book was a little long--it must have been well over 600 pages! I think it could have been trimmed a bit, there was a lot going on and in the beginning, it was difficult to keep everyone straight.

When will I learn to stop getting books that have family trees in the first few pages? Similar to what other reviewers have said, the plot was too rambling and did not feel compelling. I was not able to finish the book. The character development was awesome, but this did not feel like other Keyes books I have read before.

I will be glad to provide a full review once the copy can be updated. I was not able to get through the book because of formatting issues and, more importantly, missing characters throughout.

I honestly don't know what to say here. This did not read like contemporary Marian Keyes to me. The whole book was jumbled with too many characters and plots that it felt like I got a never ending story of a family I did not care about a whit. I also have to say that it's gross that we see two people in my eyes exploiting relationships with younger people in this one. I think that Keyes in some weird way was okay with the one relationship, and disgusted with the second. I thought they were both messed up. There also seems to be some discontent a bit here about eating disorders and I just don't know. The book as a whole had too much going on.

"Grown Ups" follows the Casey family. We have Johnny Casey and his wife Jessica and their kids (I refuse to remember them all except for Ferdia). Ed Casey and his wife Cara and their two sons. And finally Liam Casey and his new wife Nell. The family is doing a get together at a posh hotel and then after Cara is injured and reveals some secrets the family is never the same.

Unlike with previous Keyes books I didn't like one character. I mean, I was indifferent to Ed and Cara, but I outright disliked Jessica and loathed Liam and Nell. "The Brightest Star in the Sky" by Keyes followed a lot of people too, but it held together much better in my opinion than this.

The book starts off with some of the reveals and then jumps back in time to weeks earlier and then to the present day and it just go so confusing after a while I started to give up trying to work things out. Since I had an ARC, there were a ton of typos and that made me tracking sentences and who was speaking problematic too.

The ending...once again we only get a real resolution with one of the above couples, we can guess about the other two I suppose. But seriously this book read as unfinished. It definitely needed tighter editing. And the cast of characters needed trimmed down a lot.

I like Marian Keys books and this one is no exception. This book is about a very crazy, dysfunctional family. Written with Keyes witty and insightful style. The plot moves along although there are a number of characters to keep track of with along with all their dysfunction,. I think book clubs would really enjoy the discussion this book will generate. Looking forward to her next novel!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy.