**Spoilers ahead**

Calling this an Irish Schitt's Creek seems like a misstep. The characters in Schitt's Creek are a little quirky and very flawed, but they are also incredibly charming and likable. This was not the case with the characters in Good Eggs. 

Kevin, the father, is particularly appalling. He's unemployed and spends most of the book feeling sorry for himself, being a cad, and more or less dunking on his wife for working hard to keep things afloat. His complete disregard for his daughter's feelings while simultaneously wallowing in his own was the cherry on top. The grandmother is not much better with her "hijinks." The multiple car accidents, drugging the guard, the stealing, and then taking off to a foreign country with a minor...are kind of glossed over but they are seriously alarming. It's brushed off as just the result of a semi confused old lady but she isn't confused, she's just an a-hole.

The first 75% of the book was difficult to get through, as there is not a lot happening. It isn't until the last 1/4 of the book, once Millie and Aideen jet off to the US, that it gets to be interesting. The misadventures of an 83 year old Irish woman and her moody, teenaged granddaughter in a foreign country actually made for a fun read and ultimately brought this back from a one star for me. The majority of the book though was pretty dull and it really took a long time to get to the meat to the story. 

Unfortunately, I thought this one was just okay. The comparisons to Schitt's Creek was the most disappointing part for me, as I just did not find that to be true. 

Thank you to the author, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. An eBook copy of Good Eggs was the only compensation received in exchange for this review.

An Irish family is dealing with life's many problems, particularly those of a take charge grandmother needing help and a moody teen who in trouble.  Millie is a light fingered, irreverent free spirit who gets duped by the caretaker her son finds for her.  Her granddaughter is having trouble of her own and being sent to a boarding school hasn't stopped her from falling in with the wrong crowd.  These two will find themselves on a grand adventure to find the thieving care giver and Millie's stolen funds.  It is heartfelt, funny and shows the rest of the family that they have truly underestimated these two.  This debut will appeal to fans of books featuring quirky characters, mixed age groups and a positive message. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This is a fun and uplifting book about an Irish grandmother that is trying to keep living by herself but ends up agreeing to have some help around after an incident that sent her to the police station. At the same time, one of the granddaughters is sent to a boarding school supposedly to help with her behavior. The two of them will end up uniting forces and pairing for the most unlike of adventures that will take them to the US without telling their father and son about their plan. Overall, it is a nice and fun novel.

Predictable, yet wholesome. All in all, this was a good egg. 

With a slow start, I was unsure where this was going. But somehow the arrival of Sylvia just seemed too fishy from the beginning. At the mere mention of going by the bank on Millie’s behalf made it all too obvious. Obvious as it was, I enjoyed being along for the ride. Millie is a handful and a half, but you can’t help but imagine how entertaining she would be in real life. I could have done without the husband cheating with the school secretary cliche side story.

What was in the velvet pouch? I’d like to think Sean found the ring before ditching his aunt and shipped it to Aideen for its safe return. But I guess we’ll never know!

This is fun novel set in Ireland about the Gogarty family.  Told in alternating viewpoints you get Millie, the 80 year old mother of Kevin who is the father of Aideen a 16 year old generally harmless troublemaker.  Millie is caught shoplifting and Aideen is causing trouble in school and Kevin is at his wits' end with the both of them.  After a home health care worker (placed by Kevin) causes some trouble, Mille and Aideen team up against Kevin.  I thought it was great contemporary fiction.

Great book!  Couldn’t wait to read it, and it didn’t disappoint!  Grabbed my attention within the first two chapters, and then I didn’t want to put it down.  Excellent character development - I think that every reader will find a character to whom they relate.  I enjoy books where there is character development, and then also a surprise, and this book provided both!  Looking forward to reading more from this author!

A heartfelt story that had some humorous moments—I really enjoyed the story and the way it was told. 

I loved Millie and really felt for her. 

Kevin...not so much. 

I had a few issues with the story as there were some unbelievable events that took place.

A heartfelt, life is messy, family story. We would all be better to each other to imagine our parent’s as well as our kid’s point of view consistently. Imperfect yet lovable characters I was rooting for.

2 stars
I really had high hopes for this book; however, it just did not live up to its hype. Good Eggs just fell flat for me when the potential was so great for this to be a phenomenal book.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Good Eggs, the debut novel by Rebecca Hardiman, is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a while. The story of the Gogarty family of Dublin is touching, funny, and quite relatable. Grandmother Millie is 83 and has a shoplifting problem, son Kevin (50) is unemployed and having somewhat of a midlife crisis as one of his children, sixteen year old twin Aideen is trying to figure herself out as she is sent to a new school. Chapters rotate and interconnect among members of the family as problems arise and are solved in one way or another. It's a quick read, great for book groups looking for something that's not too heavy. I certainly hope Ms. Hardiman has another book in the works.

A fun filled multi generational novel starts when 82 year old Millie is arrested for shoplifting again. Kevin her son is,out of work and overwhelmed between his mother and daughter, Aileen who is a handful. Dysfunctional, sad and funny. A good read.

What is it about a book set in Ireland that makes me fall in love with the characters and the place? In Good Eggs, it's the Gogarty family who may be at their wits' ends, but truly love and care for each other.

Kevin Gogarty gets a call from the police after they have arrested his 83-year-old mother, Millie, for shoplifting. Again. She refuses to go into assisted living, so he hires help in the form of Sylvia, an American, who couldn't be more perfect. Until she isn't.

Kevin's daughter, Aideen, is acting up and being sulky, to the point that she is sent to a boarding school...where she quickly befriends the other trouble maker at school. After getting in trouble multiple times, she runs off for home, but ends up at her grandmother's.

Kevin has been out of work and caring for the children and household. He's getting towards middle age and feeling like nothing is in his control. When he meets one of the office workers at Aideen's new school, he is smitten and finds himself courting his own kind of trouble.

I loved the multi-generational characters and the family love throughout this book. The setting was great: the pacing was perfect. 

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel tackles the problems of three generations of an Irish family.  We have 83 year old Millie, accused of shoplifting and obviously suffering the first effects of dementia.  Her son, Kevin, unemployed and aging out of his chosen career, being a stay at home dad to his teenage kids.  When one of the sixteen year old twins becomes too much to handle, she is shipped off to a boarding school.  And Aiden, the teenager in question, trying to find friends and then romance.  Enter into this mix an American home aide, meant to help Millie.  And Kevin, well, Kevin is a tool.  As much as I wanted to feel sorry for him, dealing with his mom, he just made me so damn mad.  Although I warmed to him as the book progressed.    
The book is described as hilarious and heartfelt.   No, to the first and yes, to the second.  It’s mildly humorous.   But my heart definitely went out to Millie.  She perfectly captures the pathos of the elderly.  Parts of the book swerve into the unbelievable lane and it took away some of my enjoyment.  
Spoiler - I struggled with this book.  I’ve had an elderly loved one caught up in a scam and this hit way too close to home. 
My thanks to netgalley and Atria Books for an advance copy of this book.

Cute book! I do love stories about Ireland and these types of books are a nice respite in between the heavier books (all the WW II ones and the ones about violence and trauma). This was a treat to come to my Kindle, similar to how Bear Necessities did last year, bc quirky characters done right are very good books indeed.

A sweet story that unfortunately wanders far afield and never really finds its way back.  There is much confusion but at its core the story of Millie, a senior citizen who meets many challenges as she ages is touching and relatable.

I loved this book! It was such a charming and hilarious novel, featuring main characters from three generations. Millie was an absolute hoot and totally made me miss my grandparents (although my mother is now closer to her age), her son Kevin had his issues but ultimately won me over, and her granddaughter Aideen was so adorable and such a typical teenager. I adored riding shotgun on their senior, middle-aged, and adolescent adventures in Ireland, Florida, a boarding school, and a nursing home. Fun, fun, fun.

I appreciate Netgalley taking the initiative and offering me a free copy in advance for review! Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. 

When it mentioned a bumbling Irish family in the summary, I thought maybe something like the show Derry Girls? Unfortunately family-oriented stuff is often not for me, and I found myself annoyed at the teenaged children, the confused grandmother, and the gossiping patriarch from the start. 

The writing is good and it seems like it'd be  a charming book if you're into a homey vibe in your reading. I prefer escapism and so, again, probably a lovely read but not for me.

GOOD EGGS is a quirky debut novel from Rebecca Hardiman focusing on a complicated family and their relationships with one another. It focuses primarily on three generations of the Gogarty family: Millie, a eighty-something year old who has just been caught shoplifting at the local store, Kevin, her aggrieved son, frustrated by his mother, his struggles in finding a new job in the changing media landscape, and his adversarial relationship with one of his daughters, Aideen, a shy teenager upstaged by her twin sister who finds solace in her love for a teen pop star. Kevin decides to get a caretaker for Millie, which at first appears to be a good fit, but ends up propelling the plot in the second half of the book when not all is as it seems. 

The terms good and bad egg are used multiple times throughout this book to indicate how one character feels about another. But for those highlighted in this book they really could be seen as either or both at times. Several of the characters are quite unlikeable. Kevin seems quite self-centered, and tries to validate his worth by trying to attract the attention of a younger woman. His wife Grace is quite one-dimensional as she is the breadwinner for the family and is removed from much of the family drama. The other three children we do not learn enough about to engage with. The relationships between the three main characters are challenging and ultimately provide insight into how a difficult relationship can also be quite rewarding. Millie is quite funny at times, and reminds me a bit of some of Fredrik Backman's characters in his early books, Overall, I wished there was a bit more of a feel-good angle in the end, and some of the secondary plots/characters could have been diminished, but the complex characters that are displayed I enjoyed my time with. And I very much appreciated the Irish-ness of this novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with this advance reader copy for honest review.

This book Good Eggs was gifted to me as an ARC.  It is the story of a multigenerational family and the hilarious things that can happen to a family.  Grandma is quirky, her only child is at wits end with her but dealing with his own wife and kids.  It's too much and causes the son Kevin to come to a breaking point.  He needs a job, he needs to find a care taker for mom (she isn't having it), one of his twins needs a new school because she is overshadowed by her sister, his wife is consumed by her job.  It's all boils over of poor Kevin.

The family works together to overcome their challenges.  It was lovely read.  You will enjoy it!!!!

good eggs by rebecca hardiman is such a fun read!  characters are quirky as the story follows three generations of a family in ireland.