The first thing to say about this book is that it is funny and I really loved it. It is told from three points of view and how the author manged these VERY different points of view is beyond me....I believe she did a bang up job though. One is a teenage girl, one is a middle aged man and one is a octogenarian woman. I loved all three characters, faults and all BUT Millie and Aideen really captured my heart. 

Millie is quite the character and how she interacts with people is hysterical. She just doesn't care what anyone says, she is going to do what she wants and the way he expresses herself becomes incredibly funny. The author involves the reader in every Gogarty family tribulation. It’s highly enjoyable companionship albeit with three unwilling escorts. The writing captures the reader in its simplicity as it creates a world of complexity that creates havoc to a family and all those they encounter. I predict that you will take this book to your heart and you’ll probably not forget it...This was a treasure to read.

Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman is a highly recommended farcical over-the-top family drama.

The Gogarty family is the manifestation of a real life Irish soap opera. The matriarch, eighty-three -year-old Millie, is a bad driver who has shoplifted one too many times at a local shop. The police are called and Mille is hauled into the station to wait for her fifty-year-old son, Kevin, to come in and talk to the police. The result of her shoplifting is that she must have a caretaker to keep an eye on her. Kevin finds Sylvia, an American, to keep an eye on Millie and take care of her, much to Millie's chagrin.

Kevin has his own issues. Unemployed, he is now the parent in charge of the family of four children, three living at home, while his wife, Grace supports the family and often has to travel for work. Their daughter Aideen, is a moody, recalcitrant teen who is sent off to a boarding school. Once there she befriends the school rebel. Kevin, however, has eyes for the school receptionist and sets out to have an affair. In the meantime, Millie and Sylvia eventually get along enough that Millie lends her a large sum of money.

That is just part of the events that make Good Eggs a campy, slapstick drama of preposterous proportions. This is not a novel to take too seriously. If you do, you will be very disappointed in it. Every event is a dramatic ordeal while the dialogue, especially anything Millie says, is exaggerated and melodramatic. Kevin is whiny and always feels beleaguered upon as he has to be the one to care for the family. You won't actually hear about him doing much caring or cleaning, however, but you will hear him complain, deal with Aideen and Millie, and lust over the young receptionist. Ultimately, Hardiman does demonstrate how much her characters care for one another.

The only characters that really have any development are Millie, Kevin, and Aideen. Millie and Aideen are the best developed of the three, but since the plot is decidedly comedic and even ludicrous at times, I didn't expect a whole lot of serious character development, especially after I started the novel and realized that the characters are presented more as caricatures. Millie's actions and words are often so absurd that they border on the ludicrous. Good Eggs is a comical, entertaining novel with some small serious keen insights, but mostly it is just a diverting lively romp with three generations of an Irish family.  

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Atria Books
After publication the review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Set in Ireland, "Good Eggs" is the story of Gogarty family -all of whom are really Good Eggs, but just going through some rough patches.  Millie is living out her senior years after the death of her beloved husband.  She is bored and lonely, watching all her friends and acquaintances die.  Her son thinks dementia is setting in, and while she has become quite forgetful and not able to care for her home as she once has, she is still more mentally cognizant than he thinks.  She does have one bad habit that will be the spark to set off a chain of events that rips apart the bad patch they are muddling through.  

After Millie is caught in petty theft at a local convenience store, her son, Kevin, uses the opportunity to force her to get a caretaker.  As Millie begins to accept Sylvia's help, Kevin's home life begins to split.  At odds as to what to do with his surly, angry daughter Aideen, he enrolls her in a boarding school and tries to look for a job to take the pressure off Grace, his wife who has become the family's breadwinner.  Aideen is furious at being forced into a boarding school and continues to get in trouble - not purposely, but through a series of bad choices.  

Everything comes to a head when Sylvia absconds with Millie's savings, Kevin almost cheats on Grace, Millie sets her kitchen on fire and Aideen poisons her headmistress.

I loved the setting for the book; and I loved the characters.  It was a little slow for me to get into, but as one thing after another kept happening to this family (as it tends to do!) it picked up the pace.  I would recommend to "youngish" middle-agers who are dealing with teenagers and senior parents.  

You'll like this if you liked:
 "Better Choices" by Rod Pennington,
"We're All Adults Here" by Emma Straub, 
"The Floating Feldmans" by Elyssa Friedland

Pros: This book is for readers who like to read about dysfunctional families. The official publisher description will catch the attention of and appeal to many readers.

Cons: I’m burned out on dysfunctional family books, and I did not like or care about the characters in this book. 

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 on the NetGalley scale.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book!

This book deals with family drama in the most comedic yet at times poignant way.  For the most part, I’m banging my hand against my head being grateful that I’m not having to deal with the ridiculous situations of this book.  It’s this perfect train wreck that you cannot not watch.  And then you wonder, how the author is going to sort this all out.  Of course, there were “contrived” moments, at least I felt that.  There were situations where the author moved the story forward through just, I guess, suspension of disbelief, or was it humor that we were laughing and forgot that the story moved forward with a micro glitch.  Real life doesn’t work that way, but that’s why this is a fun and crazy story. It’s a perfect palette cleanser if you are looking for a lighter read.

What a fun book this was, a perfect read to lift your spirits up! I absolutely love quirky and zany Millie and was chuckling out loud in every scene she was in. I adore her and her crazy antics! I would love to have a grandmother or relative like her, as much as she would keep me on my toes! All of the characters in this book were unique and compelling, I could not get enough of them. I can completely see this turning into a TV series such as Schitt’s Creek for sure. How awesome would that be? I was surprised and disappointed to see that this was the author’s first novel. Surprised because it was so good, and demonstrates such talent, that I thought for sure she had a handful of previous published works already! Disappointed because I went to add her other books to my TBR list and was saddened to see that there aren’t any to add! Hopefully that will change one day as I am now a fan of Rebecca Hardiman and am eagerly waiting for her next book!

I was excited to read this book based on the description and the posted reviews, but quickly realized this was not the book for me. For whatever reason, I struggled to connect with the narrative and wasn't engaging with the characters as much as I could be. It's well written, but I wasn't in the headspace to finish past the 30% mark.

I absolutely adored Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman. It’s a family drama with a bit of light-hearted, laugh-out-loud scenes that are sure to put a smile on your face. The story follows an Irish family, The Gogarty’s, who are in the midst of several life changes when an American is hired to help care for the matriarch, Millie, and chaos ensures. The story is told from multiple perspectives, all from different family members of various generations. Kevin, who is currently navigating the rocky landscape of a troubled marriage while raising teenagers and caring for his aging mother. Millie, the matriarch and Kevin's mother, seems to be having trouble remembering the simplest things while in the throws of mourning the passing of her husband and feeling like she is being pushed out of her house. Finally, there is Aideen, Kevin's teenage daughter, who has been sent to boarding school and forms a bond with her grandmother in the midst of family drama. The story is light-hearted, sweet, and humorous with undertones addressing more serious topics - the stress of the "sandwich generation", the loneliness the comes with aging, and the loss of loved ones. Millie was my favorite character. Her character development was really well fleshed-out and I found myself tearing up at some points of her narrative. She is relatable, quirky, and has a great spirit to her. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read filled with some laughs and some pensive thoughts.

It has been the perfect quick, light read that I needed. I would highly recommend pairing with your favorite tea and finding a cozy spot to read this in.

The Gogarty Family is a mess and it is not a laughing matter. Living in Dun Laoghaire on the Irish coast, Millie, the octogenarian matriarch is out of control, smashing up her Renault, shoplifting, distracted and lonely. A few miles away in Dalkey a pretty seaside village, her married son Kevin is out of work, and the carer of his four children. Grace, the mother is the breadwinner, not around much and not a very effective parent. Gerard the oldest child is out of the house and managing nicely. His teenage twin daughters Nuala and Aideen are at each other’s throats and wow, I would have thrown in the towel long ago. They are horrible to each other and maybe just horrible in general. The youngest, Ciaran, by all appearances is a lovely little guy.

So, what’s wrong here? Teenagers acting up and out, constantly in trouble. Senior dumping and abuse. Mid-life crisis described in excruciating detail. The “f” bomb used constantly with the rejoinder that “it is an Irish thing.” Wrong and wrong again and so unnecessary. The hateful, destructive, mean and nasty acts perpetrated on fairly innocent victims are off-putting and again unnecessary. Other than the vision of an 80 year old woman climbing in and out of a bathroom window the humor was lost on me.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy. The opinions expressed in this review are mine.

I was excited to read this book as the description was very interesting and the books it was compared to are ones I love. However I really struggled to get into the book. I did not like some of the strong language in the book. I think the book could have been wonderful without it. That’s my personal opinion and I know from the positive reviews many others loved this book. It just was not a book for me.

Good Eggs tells the story of the Irish Gogarty family, who can only be described as slowly (or maybe quickly?) falling apart. The multi-generational narrative alternates between grandmother Millie, who deals with getting older by shoplifting from the local market, father Kevin, who's recent unemployment has triggered a mid-life crisis, and rebellious 16-year-old Aideen.

I really enjoyed Millie and Aideen's portions of the narrative. Both were well-written and hilarious, yet sympathetic, characters. I greatly empathized with the transitions and struggles they were both going through. I had less patience for Kevin's chapters. I don't have much sympathy for male characters and their mid-life crises, especially when they bring their problems upon themselves (which Kevin absolutely does).

I found the book a bit slow to start, as most of the action takes place in the second half of the book, but once it got going I couldn't put it down. I would have liked to see less background building and more plot, but by the end I was fully invested in the Gogarty family and their shenanigans!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A multi-generational Irish family, laugh out loud dialogue and dysfunctional characters you just can't help but love fill the pages of Hardiman's debut novel.  From an aging grandmother, to an unfulfilled father, to a teen, lost in her own way, Good Eggs takes on the trials and tribulations of family life...one character at a time.  Hardiman's heart felt story is peppered with humor that could be construed as inappropriate, but to me was hilarious and on point.  I personally enjoy this approach to writing, especially when talking about sensitive topics such as aging,  teenage life and infidelity.    I absolutely adored the relationship between the grandmother and granddaughter.  The difficulties these two endured  not only shed light on one another, but brought balance to their relationship.  Good Eggs moved along at a steady pace offering me an equal distribution of comedic relief and tender moments. The ending was a bit over the top, but never the less brought a big smile to my face.  I think this story would be incredible as a TV series.  Move over Schitt's Creek...Good Eggs is coming to town.

I enjoyed the story and that it is set in Dublin. It's well-written and the characters are well-developed. I liked Millie and Aideen, both of them troubled. My heart went out to them as I realized they both struggled with loneliness. I didn’t care for Millie’s son, Kevin, and his frustration with Millie and Aideen. His character could have been softened a bit. I cringed whenever he interacted with Millie. There were a few times in the book when I laughed out loud. I always enjoy humor in a story. Some of the scenarios are outrageous, but very believable. Millie is quite clever for being a bit absentminded, and I loved her resourcefulness. The story line with Sylvia and Sean made the book a page turner, and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. 
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my gifted ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I was excited when I read the description for this story. I love a dysfunctional family tale set in Ireland. And there was a comparison to Schitt's Creek. Sign me up! Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman sounded so promising. The story follows three family members in Dublin. Aideen is an unhappy teenager, Millie is her feisty grandmother, and Kevin is Millie's son and Aideen's dad. Aideen is sent to a boarding school because it seems Kevin is tired of being the dad to four kids. Kevin is recently unemployed and unhappy, so instead of communicating with his wife, he starts an affair with the secretary at Aideen's boarding school. Millie, the matriarch, is living alone and to liven up her life takes up shoplifting as a hobby. Kevin does not want to deal with his mom and hires someone to come to her house to watch her. The first 75% of the book is dealing with nonsense from the three characters and mentions of other family members. The last 25% is what made me bump this to three stars instead of two. Aideen and Millie end up in America and I wish most of the book had focused on this trip. I think this story would have been better with just Aideen and Millie as the focus and none of the nonsense with Kevin and his woe is me attitude. 

This book was a miss for me. The characters felt flat. When there was action happening it felt rushed. The ending was unsatisfying. Overall it was a disappointing read after the glowing descriptions.

"Good Eggs" by Rebecca Hardiman is the story of three generations of the Gogarty family.  When unemployed Kevin decides to hire a caretaker for his elderly mother Millie (after she is once again caught shoplifting), and send his rebellious 16 year old daughter Aideen to boarding school, their lives all change forever.  In short, chaos ensues.  Set in Ireland, this book is both funny and heartwarming.  The author's words set a vivid scene for family drama and she had the attitudes and thoughts of the broody teenager just right.  I absolutely loved the character of  Millie, who refused to let aging slow her down.  I found this book to be an entertaining and fun read, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this lovely book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for this ARC of Good Eggs.

I love Ireland and jumped at the chance to read a contemporary fiction book about the Emerald Isle. While quirky and comical, there were some cracks in the eggs, if you will. Some of Millie’s behavior was downright dangerous and deranged and not a harmless side affect of aging. Also, Kevin got on my nerves quite a bit. I wish he wouldn’t have been so mopey. However I did like the rotating chapters of different characters and the family bond the book focused on.

Some much needed comic relief! Books that make me laugh and cheer me up are always most certainly welcome! Especially in dark, difficult times which has unfortunately became the new normal with everything that is happening in the world. But luckily, books such as this one exist to take us out of our anxious minds and provide a nice escape from the real world, if only for a few hours. But even a few hours of laughter and contentment, even in the form of fiction, make all the difference.

I will admit that I was at first hesitant to read this one when I was sent a widget for it. It didn’t really sound like my cup of tea. Perhaps I would have immediately jumped at the chance to read it if I was a fan of Schitt’s Creek (which I have been meaning to get around to watching, and will...eventually!) , as this book has been pitched as a great choice for fans of that show; an Irish version of it.

Regardless of my have-not-yet watched Schitt’s Creek status (& for the record, seeing as how I haven’t seen that show yet, I can’t actually say if it’s comparable or not as I am obviously not the best to judge when it comes to confirming that) I delighted in this book and found that it was, in fact, my cup of tea. I’ll admit that it wasn’t my favorite type of humor, but I did laugh and found myself grinning from ear to ear often.  It made me happy, and that’s the important thing. 

This was a fun family centric story  filled with family drama and quirky characters,  family drama and the antics and shenanigans in the goings on of a family are some of my favorite stories to engage in.

This book is an uplifting story that sheds light on family issues, but in a fun way.

Fans of wholesome books with quirky characters and family drama will definitely enjoy this story.

Much thanks to the publishers for sending a copy of this book my way!

The editor's note described this book as "Irish Schitt's Creek". How great of an endorsement is that?! Unfortunately, I didn't find that it quite held up to that, and missed the mark on some of the humour. It was still an enjoyable read filled with family drama. I found it very slow for the first half, and then all of a sudden the seond half was full of activity, with almost too much going on. There wasn't a lot of character development, and I thought it was pretty obvious from introduction who would be liked/disliked.

Good Eggs starts out slow building a foundation and making me wonder where Rebecca was going with Millie and Sylvia. I was able to see Sylvia’s angles and shady side and OMG Millie was hilarious!!! I really enjoyed how Rebecca detailed the Ireland backdrop.

Thanks so much for the arc of Good Eggs. I love family stories featuring the different generations and this is told from alternating viewpoints. Lovely characters and excellent ending. I also love books set in Ireland. I felt like I was truly part of the story.