A lovely chunky novel with plenty of engaging characters and a lot going on. At times poignant, at others hilarious, but always entertaining. I really enjoyed this tale of a complex and slightly dysfunctional Dublin family. I could especially sympathise with Amy's problems with her parents as I have ageing parents myself. Her mum is a one-off! Highly recommended.

Loved this book. A real winner. Couldn't put it down. Lived through Hugh's decision to " take a break" with Amy. Some really funny moments, some moments of deep despair. This book had the ability to make me, laugh, cry, feel frustrated along with Amy. Marian Keyes has triumphed again! She manages to engage the reader with the minutae of everyday life alongside the angst of tricky relationships.

A huge great 600 page book full of family drama. Love, loss, friendship, parenting... it's all here. Existing fans of Marian Keyes will love, and the contemporary package may well win her a legion of new ones!

It's been a long time since I've read either a 'chick lit' book or a Marian Keyes book, and I have to say what a refreshing change it made. I loved this book and really felt like I knew Amy and her family.

Marian Keyes has not lost her knack of writing a warming, heart felt book and I could hear her voice throughout it all.

I would definitely recommend this book.

I love Marian Keyes’s books.  Just the other day, I was sitting staring at one of my bookshelves (why yes, I have five, why do you ask?) and wondering which of the books on the shelf I’d had for longest – I came to the conclusion it was probably Watermelon, the first of Keyes’s books about the most excellent Walsh sisters.  I’ve read all but one of her books, and more than once each, I might add. I’m still saving The Woman Who Stole My Life for a rainy day, as I don't want to be left with no new Marian Keyes books to read, so I was beyond excited to be approved for an e-ARC of her newest work, The Break, on NetGalley.

The story of Amy and Hugh grabbed me straight away – we’re launched into a very stable relationship, where they have one biological child together, a child from Amy’s first marriage, and are looking after Amy’s teenaged niece as well.  Everything seems as okay as it can be, apart from typical money woes, when Hugh announces he’s leaving Ireland – leaving his family – and going travelling for six months following the death of his father and his best friend in quick succession.  Amy will be left to be the sole parent to Neeve, Kiara and Sofie, and there's certainly family dramas while Hugh is gone.

I could completely understand Hugh’s reasoning in wanting to go.  And I could understand even more Amy’s devastation and fury as a result of him leaving.  After some fraught discussions, they decide that both of them can sleep with other people while Hugh’s gone, and he’s 100% certain that he will be back at the end of the six months for them to start again/go back to where they were.  But during that six month period, Hugh and Amy aren't going to have any contact, she forbids him from using Facebook so that she and their friends and family aren't bombarded with pictures of what a brilliant time he's having.

So far, so stressful, until the gradual reveal that Amy isn’t as innocent as she might seem, thanks to a certain newspaper editor in London…

I loved this book.  It had Marian’s trademark humour and wonderful characters, but also seemed to delve a little deeper into the motivations behind the characters.  I don’t want to give too much away with regards to the plot, because I feel this is a book you need to enjoy without too many preconceptions, but I enjoyed the narrative device used throughout, and I also liked that as the reader, I wasn’t sure how the story was going to end – or even how I wanted it to end.  I loved Hugh at the start, but there were times when I didn’t want he and Amy to reunite because I didn’t think it was the best thing for them, and I didn't see how they could recover from their time apart.  Amy has a bit of a thing with her newspaper editor while Hugh is away, and although he was a great guy on paper, Keyes did an excellent job of showing that Amy wasn’t always fooled by him, there were plenty of occasions where she’s frustrated by Josh, or he’s a bit rude, impolite or churlish.  Who of us isn’t, at times?  His behaviour didn’t stop me from wondering whether Amy would end up with him, as it’s true that they had a real connection for a period of time – and he was there, when Hugh was having fun with a barrister from Edinburgh in Thailand…

I thought that the ending was a little abrupt, but this could well have been because I raced towards the end and read the last hundred or so pages very quickly indeed! I enjoyed reading the epilogue which showed where most of the main characters ended up a few years after the main story concludes. I finished the book and carried on thinking about the characters for days afterwards; for me, that is the sign of a most excellent book and author.  This book will definitely stand up to multiple re-reads, and thank you to Michael Joseph and to NetGalley for my copy.

I can remember reading and loving Marian Keyes books years ago - pre kindle- but haven't read anything by her for a while. I wasn't disappointed - she has a way of pulling you into a family so you know the characters better than your own family. Absolutely loved this story of Amy and Hugh and their extended family. Didn't want it to end.. Laughed and cried - brilliant story telling.

I was given a Netgalley ARC of "The Break" in return for an honest review.

Another brilliant Marian Keyes book. She really knows how to write a book and all characters are relatable, they just feel real!.

This book really took me on a roller coaster of emotions, it's very rare that a book makes me cry and then a few pages later has me laughing out loud as well!

I highly recommend this book probably my favourite book I've read this year!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book immensely and am sure it will sell well. However I found the overall tone of the novel hard to place. I really felt like the main character was based on Mz. Keyes herself, which is not a bad thing but I think (somewhat ironically) it made Amy rather two-dimensional. Even her 'flaws' were largely perceived as positives by those around her and her narration was glib, making it hard to sympathise. I also felt there were just too many characters featured that didn't add anything to the plot. The backstory with Sofie/Urzela, Neeve's father, Tim at work, Matthew and Dante - they added unnecessary saturation to an already over-crowded narrative. Alzheimers, abortion, step-families, marital affairs; all of these are huge topics and I think by trying to address them all in one book, Keyes was setting herself up for failure. There's a sudden chapter on abortion that completely blindsided me and felt like it belonged in a different novel. I think it would be fair to say this novel would have really benefited from more ardent editing and if Keyes weren't such a well-known name it probably would have received it. It's funny but confused.

Marian Keyes at her best, The Break will make you laugh and cry and its oh so thought provoking. Her characters are so real life, people we know with the same life stories. I didn't want to put it down.

My first marian Keyes title and I will defintley be reading more. Well drawn characters and the story had a satisfying ending. If you enjoy contemporary family stories , that move along then you will enjoy this. Not an action packed thriller, but then i don't like those, But avery beleivable story of real life.

A funny and quick read! Perfect for the holidays! Finished it in one go and found it hilarious!

I loved this book,it's sad,but funny in places,very well written,this is the time when you need your family and friends, must read.

I absolutely loved this book. It grabbed my attention from the very first line and had me snorting with laughter over one-liners straight away. I really didn't want to put it down as I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. I love Irish humour anyway, being of Irish descent myself, so could just imagine everyone saying what they did.

The main character, Amy, is part of a large Irish family and whilst you think you'll never figure out all the complicated relationships (she has a daughter from a first marriage, a daughter from a second marriage and a 'daughter' that is actually her brother's daughter) it actually all falls into place as you go along. Amy is married to Hugh, who has decided that he needs 'a break' for six months, so he books his flight and off he jets to Thailand. It's a complete break, as if they weren't married, so other relationships, if they happen, are allowed. It's a complete shock to poor Amy, although as the book progresses and she reflects on other events she can see where it all started unravelling.

So Amy is left with the fallout, children (albeit older children), family, friends, some so-called 'friends', running around after everyone as usual, until she starts to try and enjoy herself too and move on with her life, as she never expects Hugh to come back.

It's a complete roller-coaster of a ride, and so entertaining. It's one of those books you want to read just one more chapter to see what's happening next. The cast of characters is so wonderful, such diverse personalities. I loved Amy's Mum who looks after her Dad (also sadly hilarious as he shouts all the time and can't remember who anyone is and why they're in his house half the time) who has Alzheimer's, and starts to spread her wings and act like a youngster and actually becomes a bit of a mini-celebrity for a while through one of her granddaughter's internet blogs.

What I also loved is you never quite knew what was going to happen next, or where it was all going to end up, right to the very end. You knew you should really hate Hugh for doing what he did, but he was actually a really lovely guy who made a really stupid mistake.

Absolutely wonderful story-telling, hilarious and sad, and utterly unputdownable!

Oh how I adore Marian Keyes. This book delivers her usual wit and wisdom. We follow the life of Amy and her experiences after her idiot (my opinion) husband takes a break from their marriage and family. She puts the reader in Amy's position so thoroughly that my heart broke along with Amy's. Amy and her family and friends are so alive to me that I miss them now I've finished reading.

Like all of her other books - just bloody loved, loved, loved this one. Another 5*

Firstly, I love, love, love Marian Keyes but I wasn't at all sure I was going to love this book. As a married woman with two children the whole premise of a husband deciding he needed to take a 'break' from his children, responsibilities and marriage for 6 months and then he'd be back filled me with, I'm not gonna lie, horror. To Amy my thoughts were along the lines of ... why would you do that to yourself? And to Hugh ... you don't get to walk away from life, grow a pair and get your head back in the game. So, this was how I started The Break, and granted I stayed that way for sometime, but somewhere along the line I got drawn in and found myself hanging on every word.

Marian Keyes has always been able to spin a great yarn and The Break is no different, the writing is warm, charming, sometimes desperately sad and often funny, funny, funny. The characters are absolutely technicolour and I'm really gonna miss them. This is one of those books that you can't put down until you've finished but then feel bereft because you have. It's a quirky celebration of relationships and human flaws. 'Life is all about the grey'.

A wholehearted thank-you to Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review, I loved this book.

Hugh and Amy seem to have a solid relationship. With three children to look after life is busy. Hugh's father dies and he is devastated. Then a close friend dies and he realises he needs to get completely away for six months. Amy lets him go but is shattered by his decision. However, two years previously, Amy had developed a serious crush on someone she met through work and once Hugh leaves this crush leads to something more serious. Life with all the ups and downs goes on and suddenly Hugh returns earlier than expected. Will they be able to pick up the pieces of their marriage or will the split become permanent.
This is a beautifully written book which will make you laugh and cry and want to finish the book to find out what happend but then be disappointed that the story is over

I adore everything ever written by Marian Keyes. This book has got to be up there as one of my favourites. I laughed, I loved, I cried and got angry at different stages of this emotional roller-coaster of a book. Marian really know how to write such believable likeable and somewhat unconventional characters. You just get to know them as if they are real people. This will be one for the favourites pile.

I love Marian Keyes. She seems like the loveliest, funniest person. And I used to adore everything wrote. But as we have both grown older, we have unfortunately grown apart in relation to books.

I did enjoy a couple of the secondary characters – Alistair and Amy’s mother especially.

But “The Break” was a bit slow-moving and I was definitely left waiting for something big to occur. It was a struggle to finish and I was just dissatisfied overall.

'Myself and Hugh . . . We're taking a break.'
'A city-with-fancy-food sort of break?'

If only. Amy's husband Hugh says he isn't leaving her. He still loves her, he's just taking a break - from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together. Six months to lose himself in south-east Asia. And there is nothing Amy can say or do about it. Yes, it's a mid-life crisis, but let's be clear: a break isn't a break up - yet . . . However, for Amy it's enough to send her - along with her extended family of gossips, misfits and troublemakers - teetering over the edge. For a lot can happen in six-months. When Hugh returns if he returns, will he be the same man she married? And will Amy be the same woman? Because if Hugh is on a break from their marriage, then isn't she?

What I thought

I happily admit I'm biased when it comes to Marian Keyes because while her writing invariably involves a romance, she primarily writes around the effects of depression, sadness, mental illness and ways of coping with life. Grief, breakups, death, drug addiction, and unplanned pregnancies have featured along the way and have made her much more than a cliche genre author.

In The Break, a single event with a pretty obvious bad guy (the husband for leaving) is traced back over time to the origins of the relationship and what really took place in the dynamics of the family.

Keyes' writing skills are excellent and, no matter the topic, she consistently shows and doesn't tell while sustaining more than one -or two- narratives and storylines.

This is a great read.

The Break by Marian Keyes is published on 7 September.