Grown Ups is everything I've come to expect from Marian Keyes: a lively, fast-paced, and moving story of an Irish family and all of their entwined stories. I adored the story of Cara, struggling bulimic and her work in the hotel industry, her worries about her finances plus those of her husband's brother's, whose wife Jessie was a superwoman who was super stressed, super anxious, and utterly overwhelmed by keeping up appearances of "having it all," and then, finally, my favorite, lovely Nell, a newly married set designer in the small world of theater who was learning her new husband was not, in fact, the man of her dreams, but that his family was marvelous. The various dramas were all well done but in addition to adoring Cara's story, I *loved* Nell's. I actually cried (yes! I did! It was great to be so enraptured!) at the end, for Nell, who'd come so far and been such a force of good for herself and her in laws family, especially her doomed romance with someone else in the family.

Marian Keyes's books are hard to find in the United States, although she did have a lot of her backlist published here at one point, and so Grown Ups may be a bit harder to find but it's worth it. It's so, so worth it! Absolutely wonderful, absolutely recommended, and one of the best books I've read in 2020.

This may be the best book I have read all summer! Although it was very long, I thoroughly enjoyed the complexity of the story and the families. Coming from a small family, I enjoyed seeing how the dynamics of all the individuals made the story even better. I would recommend this book to anyone who watched the show "Brothers and Sisters".

A family saga with a lot of humour, well written characters and a plot that kept me hooked.
Even if it's a long book I read it quite fast as I was turning pages as fast as I could.
An excellent read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I didnt love it like i thougt i would. It started off okay, but after that I struggled to engage with the characters and the story. I had a hard time keeping up with all the characters and kept having to go back and reread. With that being said this a VERY long book with 656 pages which is normally fine but it did seem to drag a bit so i found myself skimming some pages.
It does have some very serious issues divorce, eating disorder, etc.
im sorry to say that this wasnt as fabulous as i thought it would be. Perhaps ill try to read again in the future and my view will change.
Thanks for the opportunity


.

Unfortunately I found this book very long winded and a lot of characters and things to keep track of while reading which led me to put it down and pick it up at a later date multiple times to try and get into it as felt it was a bit too much. There were pieces that could have been left out to condense the book down to make for a better read and while a few things like that irked me I did like the characters, they were flawed and vulnerable and the story was good also.

I really enjoyed this book. It was long, but I didn't mind because it was a treat. Really fun while dealing with serious topics at the same time. The perfect summer read!

This was my first Marian Keyes book, but I will definitely be looking for more! Loved the book, loved the Casey family. There is a lot packed into this story, and for some reason the draft I received was very rough and not proofed or formatted so it was tough to follow at times when the characters changed, but the story is just that good that you want to wade through it and figure it out. Many families have dysfunctional aspects and the way Marian Keyes is able to portray real issues while maintaining humor and interest is a real testament to her writing. Really liked the book and cannot wait for more.

I adored Grown Ups by Marian Keyes. The story of the Casey brothers. Johnny, Ed and Liam and their families. This story reminded me of great family tv dramas-Brothers & Sisters, and Parenthood. A big, dramatic, character driven book., it was everything I love in a book! And it takes place in some fabulous settings in Ireland so I felt like I had multiple holidays while staying home.

If I had one criticism, in each of the family get togethers, the interactions are basically the same. And this family gets together a lot!

Overall, I really did enjoy #Grownups and would recommend to anyone looking for a good family drama. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the e-copy in exchange for a review!

[2.5 stars] I really wanted to love this, but this one just didn’t do it for me (except for the last 100 pages). There are too many characters, not enough connecting elements and the book is quite long (over 600 pages). It had the potential to be really good as it explores the messiness of being a ‘grown up’ and I loved that it touched on so many interesting themes like family, bulimia, money, etc. I wouldn’t recommend this one, but I would urge you to pick up previous books Marian Keyes has written.

This book was SO good that even if it was 600+ pages I couldn't put it down and finished in 5 days!

It tells the story of the Casey family: Johnny, married to over-achiever Jessie; his brother Ed, married to nice and complacent Cara; and his other brother Liam, newly married to hippie Nell; as well as their children and step-children. They are a big family that usually get on big gatherings together.

Coming from a small family, I love books about big families (and of course, big family dramas!). I liked almost all of the characters (except for Liam, which I despised). I was inmersed in the story and felt like I knew all of them pretty well. I also think the author did a magnificent job wrapping the end up.

I had read some other Marian Keyes's books (I read the Walsh family ones maybe 10 or 15 years before) and I was looking forward to reading her latest one. And I haven't been dissapointed! She is even better than I remembered.

** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion **

I almost gave up reading this book because my download was formatted so wonky...but I am so glad I stuck with it! What a treat! I loved every minute I spent with the Casey family. “Grown Ups” is a must read for anyone who enjoys family dramas. Marian Keyes did a fantastic job of balancing well developed characters with an interesting plot. I will definitely be picking up more of her books!
#NetGalley #GrownUps

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. I typically drift towards any story about large family dynamics so I had high expectations for this one and I have to say, it didn't disappoint. Keyes is a talented writer. The storytelling is composed of both tear-jerking and laugh-out-loud moments. It's a large book; however, you could chip away at it over a month in the summer or cozy fall weekend.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Presenting the Caseys: Johnny, Ed, and Liam; and their respective wives and children. Each attempting to show an image of perfection while struggling with different issues behind the curtain.

The story starts mid-scene right before a huge revelation, quickly jumping back months ago to show us the events that led to this starting scene. It is told through all the adults' perspectives; letting us in, unwrapping the secrets they keep from their loved ones. Touching on several problems which include: finances, exes, trigger warning: bulimia, cheating, and much more.

I loved how the author managed to make this so compelling and heart wrenching, while at the same time giving us hilarious moments. The characters and their lives are so well developed, it lets you believe these characters are real.

P.S. I love Italy and they also take a trip to Tuscany, so I especially loved that section of the book.

Loved the book. The plot is based around the intertwining lives of a large blended family. The characters are real, flawed but relatable. It can be confusing to begin with because there are so many characters who are introduced quickly, the story is told in first person, switching between characters but once you've established them all, it's a joy to read. There's depth to the characters, I felt emotionally connected to them. There was humour, sadness, anger and more emotions experienced while reading this book. I'd definitely recommend it.

I'm a huge Marian Keyes fan and just thoroughly enjoyed the world and family she built in this book. Will definitely recommend this book to others.

I found this book very confusing. For the majority of the book, it was simply a stating of mundane, day to day tasks. I guess that was the character development part, but I found it very flat and boring. The most exciting part happened at the very beginning of the book and the very end. At the beginning of the book, the Casey family is gathered for Johnny's birthday celebration. Cara, who is married to Ed Casey (Johnny's brother), had fallen earlier that day and hit her head apparently giving her a dose of truth serum. She starts blurting out what all the family secrets are about each other basically destroying every marriage at the table. Then the next 90% of the book is a collection of random flashbacks showing the moments that led up to this birthday dinner. Most of them were disjointed and I honestly had a hard time keeping my timeline straight. Then at the end of the book (thank goodness!), we reach the birthday dinner again, but this time we spend a little bit of time examining everyone after the dinner to learn how they dealt with the shocking information.

I thought the idea of this book sounded cute, but it just didn't work for me.

I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

Synopsis: The Casey’s, 3 genetically charming brothers with their self-made, strong, talented wives living in Dublin, Ireland find themselves in a pothole or you can say in an utterly naked situation with all their secrets out in open in front of each other. How they ended up being so vulnerable in each other’s face? and What caused this for them to be in a pickle after spending so much time together in those fancy Get-togethers at exotic and way expensive holiday locations all year?

Characters:

Johnny: Eldest Casey Brother, Partner at PiG, h/o Jessie
Jessie: Owner at PiG, Ex w/o Rory, Mother of 5
Liam: Ex- Athlete, Works at bike shop, ex h/o Paige, h/o Nell
Nell: Theatre set-designer
Ed: Botanist, h/o Cara
Cara: Head Receptionist at Ardglass Hotel,
Ferdia: Eldest son of Jessie-Rory

Weak Points:
* Way lengthy without much impactful plot.
* A lil’ difficult to cope up with many characters & their backstory.

Strong Points:
* Monthly categorized events and plots.
* Character details and backstory makes them alive.
* Grabs readers attention from the Prologue page.
* Frequent twists and character development keeps the story interesting.

Conclusion: Firstly, I am a big @Marian Keyes fan from the day I picked “Sushi for Beginners”, my first ever novel by her. In a typical Marian Keyes Novel world, there is One big plot with loads of characters surrounded by many small twists and turns, and strong talented working female protagonists, also the novels are reallllly thick (U know what I mean). So, coming back to #GrownpUps the characters are well written with a detailed backstory to bring them alive and easily relatable. The story begins with a big Dramatic family drama (being a bit confusing with huge no. of characters) and revelations disclosed by Cara’s concussed state. The story is about how adults with their busy complicated lives try to avoid any mistakes, and yet being hugely wrong by their doings whereas kids being kids still act as grown ups in situations where adults find it difficult to manage. Just like any other novel by author, this novel also has self- established, strong female characters. The story is well structured to show the reality behind lives of families where at one point everyone seems so close to each other yet moments later whinging behind their backs.
Lastly, the novel leaves the reader wanting to read more even after 650pgs(lol).

Thank You #netgalley for the #arc

I rarely pick a book outside my comfort zone, but hearing so much about Marian Keyes, I finally dived in. It's a long read (over 600 pages), but I couldn't put this down en read the book in a mere two days whilst on holiday. 'Grown ups' has got everything you want in a book: it has fun and wit, colourful and in-depth characters, a thrilling plot, heartbreak. It tackles complex issues as money problems, eating disorders and of course love. You will love the Irish Casey family from beginning to end. Well, maybe, not all of them...

I loved every word of it. Is this going to be filmed? It needs to be filmed! In the meantime, there's thirteen other Marian Keyes novels. I know what I'll be doing this summer.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#GrownUps #NetGalley #MarianKeyes

I have read other books by Marian Keyes and was entertained. This story was very hard to follow. It starts in the present and then jumps around a lot. I could never tell what had or hadn’t happened yet. And there were so many characters to get to know. It wasn’t until the story started wrapping up that I felt I knew who was who.

Families can be so complicated -- and fun to read about, as in this great story. I look forward to recommending this book to readers who enjoy Jojo Moyes or Lianne Moriarity.