I received this book as an ARC with the promise of a review. This story is filled with interesting characters that experience love, honesty and heartache. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about families and relationships.

GOOD COMPANY is a sophisticated character study and if you're in the mood for a slow burn literary story, you'll probably enjoy it. I am unable to rate the novel higher because I had a hard time getting into it. While Flora was interesting enough, I wasn't as invested in Margot or Ruby's story lines. And let's be clear: very little happens in the present day. This is a story immersed in the past. Know that going in and be prepared for digressions left and right. Don't get me wrong; the digressions are well written and mostly entertaining, but it's best not to expect a lot of action or forward momentum.

There's quite a bit about acting -- theater, TV, voice over work -- so readers with this interest should be pleased for this "insider look."

This book explores, friendship, marriage, motherhood, infidelity and so much more. The story of two families and their relationships with each other, Flora and Julian, Margot and David. Written with great passion and insight. These relationship both hurt and bind all parties involved.

Twenty years into their marriage, actors Flora and Julian seem to have finally reached a level of comfort, career-wise. Flora finally has a regular voice-acting role on an animated TV series, while Julian's star is rising as he's been promoted to series regular on his police procedural role. Their daughter, Ruby, is getting ready to graduate and begin college. But when Flora finds Julian's long-lost wedding ring — and nowhere near the pond where he claims to have lost it — she begins reevaluating their relationship.

Told in chapters that bounce back and forth between the early days of their relationship and their current situation, as well as between Flora and their close friend Margot (a much more successful actress), this sophomore effort from Sweeney offers up a nuanced look at the evolution of relationships, both romantic and platonic. I loved this book and I can't wait for others to read it!

*This book is scheduled for publication April 6, 2021.

This book is about theatre, actors, television production, not a genre I've read about before. I was not familiar with some of the terminology, and it wasn't explained in the book. The theme mostly about trust, infidelity, friendship, marriage, life. I was engaged enough to want to finish, to see how it ended, to learn if there was forgiveness. The characters were interesting, some of the sentence structure needed editing, way too long. I would not read again, not because it was bad, just not my interest. Minor spelling issues: "Julia" instead of "Julian".

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley. It is the author's second novel, following the highly successful debut, The Nest.

I had very high expectations for this book, though I didn't know what it would be about. I just remember how well the author created characters in The Nest. That is also what Good Company does. Good Company is a study of characters, two married couples, one without children and the other with an only child, a daughter.

There is very little plot in this story about these people, their marriages and their friendships. What plot does exist revolves around the rediscovery of a lost wedding band that one of the men claimed to have lost while swimming. What was the real story?

The book is set in New York and Los Angeles and the author goes back and forth in time over about a twenty year span, from the couples met through the time the only daughter prepares to go to college. The challenges and complexities within marriages and friendships are well-illustrated by the author.

An enjoyable read if you allow yourself to just enjoy good character studies.

I sped through this book in about 8 hours. Wonderfully paced, smart, likable characters, no stereotypes or tropes. I loved the inside look at Hollywood and the entertainment business. I especially loved the LA and New York comparisons and competition.

“Good Company” is a book about two couples, Flora and Julian, and Margot and David, who met in New York, where everyone except David was an actor. The three met David, at the time a surgical resident, when he stepped up on the stage at a Shakespeare in the Park production to save the life of an actor suffering a heart attack. The four eventually move to Los Angeles, where the three pursue their acting careers and David becomes a consultant in his family’s practice. The book starts when Flora is searching for an old photo of her and Julian’s daughter, Ruby, to frame as a high school graduation present for Ruby. While searching for the photo, she finds Julian’s wedding ring that he claimed to have lost in a pond in upstate New York years ago. The rest of the book is a long rambling digression supposedly regarding the relationships of the two couples and the significance of the found ring.

At least 80% of the book details the inner thoughts of the various characters, primarily reminiscing about the past, in a non-chronological fashion. During the first 25% of the book, I tolerated these digressions thinking that it was being used to set up the characters. Unfortunately, this blathering style continued throughout the novel. On the rare occasions when there was actual dialog and character interaction, the book was good as it did an excellent job of developing the character’s personalities and motivations. However, the 20% of the novel that was good did not save it from being an absolute torture to read because of the 80% that was narrative fluff. I gave this book three stars, which was being generous.

An engaging follow-up to THE NEST, this book was wrought with fully-formed, flawed characters, an interesting, though common dilemma, and lovely language. I was riveted learning about the lives these characters had built over the course of their acting careers.

Cynthia D’Apix Sweeney, author of the wonderful novel, ‘The Nest’, unleashes a collision of universal forces: love, sex, marriage, parenting, friendships, ambition, jealousy, desire, infidelity, careers, social chronicles of turbulence, economic rivals and seductive pursuits, in “Good Company”.

It’s a story about grownups and growing up...from New York to California.
Page turning - women’s fiction - the story deals tenderly and honestly about adult life - shifting dynamics and tensions between two couples....and one daughter.
Flora is a voice over actress. Her husband Julian started his own Theater Company called ‘The Good Company’.
Margot plays a physician on a popular soap opera series. Her husband, David ‘is’ a physician (pediatric surgeon).

The characters are all seriously real.
When unexpected adversity descends upon Flora....she must navigate a discovered secret and betrayal.
The fragility of marriage— complicated by friendships— and parenting is profoundly humane.....reflecting the unease that life can be....

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney imbues human flaws with generosity of spirit
and observed intelligence. She’s a natural storyteller....but where ‘The Nest’ is more animated in scope—‘Good Company’ warrants a more quiet introspective contemplation.

.....A moment of peaceful beauty....(a simple ‘excerpt’ I experience at my house, too):
“When Flora walked outside into her yard, which always left her breathless....
she loved the smell of “the bitter morning air perfumed with eucalyptus, saw the hummingbirds darting in and out of the flowering bougainvillea and the tiny yellow finches eating seeds from the wild rosemary”.

Thank you Netgalley, Ecco, and Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

It took me until about the 30% mark to really get into this book but once I got there I was hooked. The characters were so lively and interesting. The acting world is so different from mine that it was fun to read about it and pretend I was part of it.

Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney recounts the relationships/lives of two married couples who have remained close friends through adulthood from their 20s to their 40s. Flora & Julian: voice actor/mother and actor/director. Margot & David: TV star and former pediatric surgeon. They all met and married in NYC around the same time and moved to LA about 10 years later for different reasons. Early on, they formed a small theater company. Since then, they have all lived different lives.

The characters are fascinating though they're not always likeable. Sweeney skillfully reveals the story and relationships by going back and forth between present day and past. Sweeney does a wonderful job illustrating how romantic relationships and friendships change over time because of children, life events, and job changes. I liked how Good Company makes you think about your own relationships and forgiveness. I listened to the audiobook which was deftly narrated by the actress, Marin Ireland.

Thank you Ecco / Harper Audio and NetGalley for providing this ebook and audiobook ARC.

I’m judging a 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

“The three of them were logy and irritable from indulgence—days of cheese and baguettes, foie gras nearly every night, the croissants, the chocolate, the wine. Fifteen-year-old Ruby had been in a mood. ‘I’m not being ungrateful. All I said is that the Parisians are pretty sniffy for people who can’t even get air conditioning right.’”

I enjoyed the humor, the pacing, the tone, the dialogue, right from the onset of this novel.

Good Company has strong character building & a sense of realistic family drama. There is a mystery at its center which intrigues the reader throughout. It's also is a lovely ode to the rollercoaster ride that is parenthood - the jealousy when your children seem to prefer others over you, the bittersweetness of your children growing up and living their own lives. I thought it was a well crafted plot with genuine and relatable characters.

The only qualm about this book is that so much of the story hinges on telling backstories and flashbacks. This telling instead of showing aspect of the book inhibited my ability to stay transfixed. Still enjoyable & interesting.

Good Company follows two best friends and their families as they journey through the challenges of marriage, children or lack thereof, and career choices. We begin the story as Flora's daughter is about to graduate high school and leave on a long trip. This is a defining point of parenthood and marriage already as they are faced with an empty nest, but then Flora finds Julian's supposedly long lost wedding ring.

The story weaves through the past and back into the present and does a good job of connecting all of the characters. The shape of the story itself worked well. I enjoyed learning exactly how their past had shaped everyone's current situation. I did struggle, however, with the characters themselves in this character-driven story. Everyone focuses so much on the negative aspects of everyone else in their own narration, as well as their own faults. It made it difficult to find any of them truly likable or want to root for them. I also felt like the only character who could have grounded the story got the least amount of attention. I had a lot of empathy for David, and we got very little from him. I think, ultimately, where I struggled with this book was that it felt too much like real life. Another reader might really enjoy that aspect. I think a little more spark would have made this book more enjoyable for me personally, but I also don't feel like that was the author's goal. It's just not my favorite type of story, ultimately, but the character study could be well-liked by another.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC,

I listened to the audiobook version of Good Company. The narrator did a fabulous job and I throughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to @netgalley @eccobooks and @cynthiadsweeney for my final read of January!

I was immediately invested in Flora and Julian’s relationship from the moment she found his long lost ring and had to know how Margot played a part in the story as well. With changing points of view throughout the narrative, we learn more and more along the way. No matter how much we think we know someone, there’s always a chance we don’t know everything. How do we come to grips with the truth after learning someone’s secrets?

Favorite Quote:
“If forgiveness was an action, maybe atonement was one, too.”

I have been eagerly anticipating another book from Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney since The Nest, and she did not disappoint me with the riveting Good Company. The author puts a new spin on the complexity of friendship, marriage, motherhood, and relationships. The novel starts with a search for an old photo with a disturbing discovery, and that’s where it unravels.

The story is compelling, told from multiple points of view, and focuses on a group of friends in television and theatre on both coasts (New York and Los Angeles) over the years.

Flora and Margot are best friends and roommates, an aspiring singer and actress who meet their future husbands, Julian and David and their lives take different directions. Julian starts his own theatre company in New York called the Good Company and Flora embraces motherhood. Margot becomes a soap opera star, and her husband is a physician. But the four friends meet up again as Julian, Flora (with their daughter Ruby) eventually move to LA to pursue their new acting careers.

The novel explores their struggles and triumphs with flashbacks and insights into these very relatable characters and how their lives are entwined. I highly recommend this entertaining novel, and my thanks to NetGalley for letting me review it.

5 enthusiastic stars for this book-- Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney does it again. Follow the trajectory of two couples, Flora and Julian and also Margot and David as they transition through 20+ years together. The accurate portrayal of life, marriage, careers and parenting's ups and downs left me sinking into the complexities of relationships. Sweeney's writing was reflective, witty and beautiful-- so much so that I'm going to pick up The Nest for a re-read so I can visit her talent again.

I’ve been seeing Good Company a lot lately so I was excited to get this copy from @netgalley and @harpercollins!

This was a character heavy book about a couple and their surrounding friends and family as they navigate through infidelity. The book alternates between present day and the beginning of their relationships really smoothly. Though you really got to dive into each of the characters and their thoughts, the lack of plot here was kind of hard for me. The ending, while vague, made sense to me given the topic. 2.5 ⭐️