As a massive Marian Keyes fan I was beyond excited to be able to read and review her latest book The Break. I settled down in the cosy corner of the sofa seat that my dogs don't give up too often and started reading as soon as I could - and didn't stop again until I'd finished! It's a sign of a great book when I pay no attention to the percentage sign on my kindle. I just couldn't stop reading! I feel like I've been put in the washing machine on an 'emotional' setting - Hughs break was so difficult to read about. I couldn't help but be heartbroken on Amys behalf! There were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments though with a big Irish family and interesting characters to keep us entertained. Another fabulous read from Marian Keyes! I can't wait to write my blog review for this one!

This is a hard book to review, but I've concluded my feelings of uncertainty are entirely appropriate. Life is not all about perfect, predictable endings and there aren't clear rights and wrongs. Marian Keyes captures this exactly. As with the other novels I have read by her, she can tug at the heart strings, leave you reeling with anger or have you laughing out loud. And yet this book felt like a more mature exploration of life and love than some of her previous narratives and captures perfectly how life can throw unexpected curve balls your way and no one should be able to tell you the right ways to react. At certain points of the novel I thought I knew how I felt about the characters and yet my mind changed as quickly as the protagonist's. It was great to read a book about a character who made mistakes that were excusable and human rather than selfish and unforgivable. A likeable and sympathetic narrator with a full cast of funny and lively characters. Pleasingly lengthy yet I was gripped to the last line (and there are some great one-liners!)

Thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for a preview copy of this book. It was an enjoyable read, but a bit predictable. Having said that, once I started reading couldn't put it down. It was certainly thought provoking and in places very amusing. Am sure this book will appeal to any Marian Keyes fans, though does not rank in my list of personal favourites by this author.

Yet another fabulous book from Ms Keyes. I have yet to be disappointed by this authors fantastic stories. This particular book is bursting with brilliantly developed characters, each playing an equally important role. The plot of the story is bitter sweet as sad times and happy times come together and illustrate the complexity of modern life. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I’m not normally interested in mainstream romantic fiction but Marian Keyes is one of those writers who transcend genre. Over the years she has managed to combine some very dark issues (domestic abuse, addiction, bereavement) with sharp humour and zeitgiesty references (though she does write rather more about shoes than I would like).

The Break is about Amy, a woman in her forties with two daughters (and care of her niece) and a loving, responsible husband, Hugh. After a crisis in his life, Hugh suddenly decides he wants to take six months off and backpack round Asia. Amy is left in Dublin to cope with her busy PR career, the three girls, the machinations of her friends and extended family and her own emotional turmoil.

The Break has all the Keyes staples. It’s packed with the usual cultural references. There’s a big, eccentric Irish family (with more than a passing resemblance to the Walshes, who feature in many of Keyes’ other novels) and lots of stuff about clothes, minor celebrities, YouTube vloggers, social media sensations and the ever-shifting norms of middle-class life. Amy is a tougher, more pragmatic heroine than in some of the other novels and so, despite her sadness around Hugh, you feel like nothing too terrible will happen (although conversely there weren’t so many laugh-out-loud moments).

I whizzed through it and mostly enjoyed it but I did feel that it lacked something – and that something was probably a good editor. The period between Hugh saying he’ll go and him actually going drags on for far too long. There’s a lot of the repetition that goes into a first draft as the author’s writing out her preoccupations that should have been smoothed out on a rewrite. There are plot points that are set up but never paid off, some of the reversals come from nowhere, Amy has a superfluous sibling who adds nothing to the plot and becomes just another name to remember (perhaps not coincidentally, there are also five Walsh siblings and Keyes herself is one of five). Key events lose their impact because they take place off camera.

All in all, The Break has an episodic feel, more like a soap than a novel. Big issues are raised, dealt with and then forgotten, rather than contributing to a building of the narrative.

Despite these reservations, it’s a fun, breezy read, with some good set-piece scenes and hardcore Keyes fans will love it.

Yay! Finally a new
Marian Keyes book! As always reading a Marian Keyes is like putting on a comfy pair of slippers and just relaxing. Characters are likeable and funny and i must say as much as i loved "The Walsh" family from previous books, in The Break we meet a whole new cast of characters who are equally as entertaining.

I think I have read all of Marian's books and whilst there are similarities in the extended family structure, foibles and general 'Irishness' each book is different. In trying to describe her books, I have suggested that Ms Keyes is a bit like an acerbic Maeve Binchey with PMT....... she writes great commentaries on life and its challenges. This book lives up to my expectations of the author.

I do enjoy a Marian Keyes novel as she always manages to weave in both fun and serious issues into a novel that packs a punch. This time it’s a marriage gone bad and the consequences of the wife left behind to do...well what she wants to.

Lots of strong female friendships and lots of “what the heck I don’t care moment” which I did find a little odd I have to say - ok your husband’s gone but really? Still a lot of fun though and with her friends I’m not surprised!

What really touched me were the serious issues such as the lack of freedom women in Ireland have over their own bodies. Having just watched the Handmaid’s tale on TV, the scene where they have to take their pill in full view of the office so that no one would dare suspect them pregnant was very sad indeed.

Marian’s books are always warm and inviting. I imagine it would be lovely to sit down with her and chat over coffee one day. She writes and wraps book hugs inside each one of her stories.

Amy's husband Hugh wants a break from their marriage, their children and life together. He wants to go to south-east Asia for six months, and there is nothing Amy do about it. Amy has to hold the family - and herself - together until Hugh comes back.

For fans of chick lit and Marian Keyes, 'The Break' will be really enjoyable. It's easy to read with a fun story and interesting characters.

A great beach read.Not my usual genre but thoroughly enjoyable.I have had a long stretch of intense thriller/dark novels and wanted a fun read.This definitely fit the bill,although there were times I felt so bad for Any I wanted to give her a hug.
Amy was left suddenly by her husband Hugh, who had decided he wanted 6 months off their marriage to go galavanting around the world.What a bad egg!However,Amy picks herself up for the good of her family and you learn what had happened in the lead-up to their split.Marian Keyes wrote the character Hugh perfectly.Sometimes I thought he needed a knee in the balls, other times I was desperate for them to get back together.Amy was exactly the kind of girl you wanted to have a few drinks with too.
Overall, a solid 4 stars.A cracking read but I would have liked it even more if it was condensed just a little bit.

Love Marian Keyes. The Break is brilliant, funny and emotional. Always love Marian's style of writing. Such a good read. Was sorry when I certainly to the end of the book!

Every bit as wonderful as I hoped it would be. Marian is unstoppable when it comes to bringing characters to life.

I love Marian Keyes. Her books are easy to read and good fun. It's chick lit but elevated chick lit, there's always something a bit more to her books and The Break is another great example of this.

I don't think there was a single character that I didn't like - a rarity. They all had their flaws but I was still willing them on and wanted the best outcome for them all. I also love an epilogue, this was a great epilogue it wrapped things up in an incredibly lovely way!

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and Marian Keys for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is my heart on a page.

I have read every Marian Keyes book that has ever come out and I have always been a fan. But, I think it's rare to say that I have ever been affected by a look the way that I have been affected by this book. I definitely think that this is one of my favourite books that she has ever written.

From a very personal perspective I have this year experienced heartache and a lot of the time I have just felt like I've been in a fog trying to place my footing in order to just keep moving, without treally knowing where I was going. Sometimes you have thoughts/doubts that are so personal that you don't know how to express them, but this book expressed them for me. Marian Keyes has perfectly captured what heartache is like (at least my heartache) and the conflict that often rages within you. This book is for anyone who has experienced loss or sadness and deals with so many issues that are more than just a marriage on the rocks. This book is tragically sad, whilst at the same time being uplifting and hopeful. The main character Amy often felt or said things that I didn't even realise I was thinking, but when they were written in front of you, you realised that they were so true.

Everyone is human, and everyone makes mistakes, and I loved the characters in this book. They felt so human and so real. This book is a wonder, you go on a journey with a family that you have no knowledge about but that you develop a deep connection to.

I can't sing this book's praises enough, but I also don't want to give anything away. I want everyone to discover the wonder and magic of this book in the way that I did, page by page in the middle of the night when you couldn't put ti down. In the way that it made me feel a little more grounded, a little more solid and a little less alone with my heartache.

Well - I feel as if I've been put through the wringer with this one and hung out to dry! Yes I've gone through the whole gamut of emotions along with protagonist Amy.

Amy and Hugh are having a break. Not a romantic weekend kind of a break, no this is much more serious. Hugh has decided that he needs a 6 month break from his marriage, his family and his home. He flies to South East Asia on an 'anything goes' backpacking vacation. Amy is completely devastated - she was married previously, and her first husband also walked out on her, and it took a long time before she felt confident enough to trust another man. Hugh WAS that man, the one who was stable, loving, and trustworthy. He tells her he'll be back after 6 months, but even if he is, will he just slot back into family life as if nothing has happened? Or will there be massive repercussions?

The storyline follows Amy through that traumatic 6 months and beyond, but it's not all gloom and doom. There are lots of laugh out loud moments - after all, this is a huge Irish family, full of crazy and interesting characters. I sort of guessed which way this was all going to end, but it was fun getting to the destination. Marian Keyes isn't a top author for nothing - she really knows her craft!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK, Michael Joseph for my ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Marian Keyes at her finest!! This book is a laugh-aloud, cry aloud kind of book. Amy and her husband Hugh are together a long time, had ups and downs and have raise a chaotic blended family. After some sad times Hugh decides he needs a break to go travelling, away from home and Amy. She is left to pick up the pieces and hold the family and their lives together. The reader gets to see her struggle, warts and all.
This journey is well told and we get to see the family life/work life stresses and strains all thrown together. Amys life is shown through flashbacks and present day scenarios. There are some fabulous characters in this story, their daughters all have their own lives and personalities, Amys work colleagues all have their stories and her family is as chaotic as they come!!! Her mother (the famous LOCMOF) has to be one of the funniest characters I have come across in ages. There are some serious topics explored too particularly the role of social media in our lives and the political/medical minefields that exist. Throw in some sexy men (I don't think I have ever heard a man called "ridey" before) and it makes for a delicious, fun and entertaining mix.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Michael Joseph for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am happy to report that Marian Keyes is on her most cracking form with her latest novel, the Break. In fact I would go so far as to say that at times this book is masterful in its telling. The plot seems straightforward- it’s the story of Amy, a fortysomething Dublin woman juggling the demands of home, kids, work- and a marriage which suddenly capsizes dramatically when her husband Hugh suddenly announces he needs six month break to travel in Asia as a single man and “find himself”. Hugh’s decision and Amy’s reaction sets off a ripple effect resonates through their lives- and those they encounter- in both interesting and unexpected ways.

Amy as a character is vintage Keyes- sharp-witted, insightful, yet appreciative of frivolities like shopping sprees and make-up. She is extremely relatable, with a rich internal voice- and while not perfect, she’s never dull. One of the things I most liked about Amy is that- as the story unfolds- we begin to see that her relationship with Hugh is truly complex. Keyes slowly reveals aspects of Amy’s history, both as a wife and as a person and her actions that demonstrate that marriage is complicated and things might not quite as simple as Amy being a victim of Hugh’s impulsive move to leave.

There is a large cast of characters, many of whom make up Amy’s circle of Irish friends and family. I confess this was the one down side of the novel for me- at times I found it hard to keep track of all the family relationships between various siblings and their children- and any goings on with the seemingly standard wacky mother/grandmother figure bored me a little. However Keyes does a fine job at illustrating through Amy’s various interactions with friends and relations how people perceive- and respond to- other people’s marriages in ways that are sometimes helpful and sometimes very negative. Amy plays well off these other characters and at times the dialogue is absolutely laugh out loud funny.

There is a sub-plot with a bit of a political aspect to it that I felt was very timely and relevant. One of things I’ve always loved about Marian Keyes’ work is that even as she is entertaining us one hand with light hearted fiction she manages to also say something about important issues like unplanned pregnancy, depression, addiction or abuse.

If I had one main criticism of the book it would be that the resolution ending seemed to come too quickly and possibly be wrapped up too neatly. But on the whole, this was a highly enjoyable, well paced and entertaining read which deserves high ranking in Marian Keyes’ overall body of work. I recommend it highly.

Absolutely blooming fantastic! One of my best of 2017! This is to be one of the best Marian Keyes I've ever read. I don't want to spoil any of it for you, so go on, read it! If I could give it more than 5 ⭐️ I would!!

Amy is a likeable main character, I think I'd like to go for a drink with her. I like the way her vintage clothes are described, though this seems to tail off in the later chapters, almost as if they're forgotten. I enjoyed the first half of the book more, and the incident (not wanting to give the plot away so no spoilers here) near the end with the video blog feels a little contrived, as though something had to happen to bring the family together. All the characters are fully fleshed out, no cartoon people on the side lines. I enjoyed the people Amy worked with, and her whole working life was interesting too. I love the way Marion Keyes describes women with low self esteem, and confidence crises, this is so real for me.
Overall, a good read.