Marian Keyes' new book features everything you would expect from her books. Big, complicated Irish family - tick. Warmth and wit - tick. An exploration of deep emotion - tick. Fans of Keyes' previous books will be well served here.

In this story, Amy's husband, Hugh, decides one day that he needs a break. A break from family life, a break from routine and a break from their marriage. Amy has no choice but to let him go on his journey of self-discovery (also recognised as a mid=life crisis jaunt) to Asia and give him 6 months freedom. The novel covers the period from Hugh's earth-shattering decision, through the period of separation and his return.

As with Keyes' previous novels, the characterisation is fantastic. Amy is a likeable heroine, although she is presented as far from perfect - her flaws make her gloriously human and recognisable. Her mother (not a stereotypical 'Irish Mammy' figure) and daughters are also well-drawn, rounded characters with warmth and individuality. Keyes is absolutely brilliant at exploring women's lives, especially emotions and the ties between women, and beautifully captures the quirks and humour to be found in a close-knit extended family.

However, I did struggle a bit with the male characters - I found Hugh a bit irritating because I just couldn't accept the justification for his decisions. I also found Josh quite unappealing, which was a shame as it meant I couldn't really engage with the decisions that Amy made. This actually wasn't a huge problem with the novel for me, but I just wished that the men were as wonderfully presented as the women.

Overall, there is so much here that is great and I'd recommend this to anyone who likes Keyes' previous novels or who wants a story that is unafraid to explore complex emotions.

I have never been disappointed by Marian Keyes.
What I love most is the way that she writes about family life, loud, complicated but ultimately loving.
Amy has a good, frantic life but her husband is not happy. He takes a break and this is the story of how Amy gets through this. Great characters, well written plot and Serbian adventures!

As the story opened and the main characters were introduced my heart sank - oh here we go again – the Walsh family (Rachel’s Holiday etc) in another guise.
But no – as the story unfolded the characters became real and I was compelled to keep reading to see how it would all pan out.

Hugh and Amy along with their children have a happy ordinary life. Hugh decides he needs a 6-month break from his life and family. He fails to consider how their lives will still roll on without him. Those left behind have to deal with the husband/father shaped hole in their lives and the trials that life continues to throw at them.

There were scenes, especially towards the end of the novel, that left me wincing - thinking I do that and seeing it described in written form made me think about my own behavior.

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Marian Keyes on classic form. Amidst a chaotic and loving Irish family, all delightfully batty and painfully real, love and daily resentments sever and heal. Once again Keyes manages to turn everyday domestic issues into page-turning prose. Her sense of humanity is second to none, and her ability to write vulnerability makes every word relatable. Life is messy in its beauty, and Keyes makes beauty from the mess.

Charming, funny, tender and utterly unputdownable. Marian Keyes has created a cast of perfectly imperfect characters that will stay with me. At least once on every page, I recognised a part of myself. A gorgeous read.

So I absolutely adored this book. I couldn't put it down. It was every bit as funny, wise, heartfelt as I expected. I loved all the characters.
The characters were so real and well written. They had flaws like all of us but we're still likeable and endearing.

I felt Amy's heartbreak as Hugh her husband decides he needs a break for six months form their marriage.
It's a must read and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. Having read all of Marian's previous books I was highly anticipating this one. The main character Amy is very likeable and I found it very easy to commiserate and celebrate with her. However, I did struggle to get into this book and was only 'hooked' from about 50% in. I feel that this book lacked some of Marian's usual storytelling and humour as there were few laugh out loud moments. Having said that I enjoyed the second half of the book much more and I wouldn’t hesitate to read any more books by this author in the future.

I absolutely loved this book, it made me laugh it made me cry. I feel in love with all of the characters and I will definitely be recommending it to my friends and family.

Another excellent book by Marian Keyes, I haven’t read anything by her for a while but she truly is back to her best.

Amy and Hugh have been married for 17 years, Hugh’s dad has just died and he feels he needs a break. He wants to travel to South East Asia for six months, having no contact with Amy but this will be an anything goes break. Amy tries to talk him out of the idea but Hugh is determined to go with or without her blessing.

Amy is left at home to struggle with all the things that she and Hugh have previously dealt with together and wondering if perhaps Hugh’s mid-life crisis is partly her fault. As the story unfolds Amy encounters numerous problems within the family and it was interesting to see how she dealt with them.

There are some wonderful characters in this book, Amy’s mum who is struggling with a husband with dementia and becomes an internet sensation, Neeve, Amy’s daughter from a previous marriage whose dad is very occasionally there for her when it suits him and how she deals with him. Amy’s co-worker Alastair who was looking for romance but always has her back.

This is an excellent book, full of drama but there are also some lovely moments when you want to cheer Amy on and also want to give her a cuddle. In parts this book is heartbreaking but also it has a lot of humour, I did not want this book to finish. Highly recommended.

I would like to thank Michael Joseph and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Break’ by Marian Keyes in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
When Hugh tells Amy he’s taking a six month break and backpacking around Thailand Amy is devastated, especially when she sees photographs of him on Facebook with young women. But Amy has had a crush on Josh for a while and if Hugh wants a break surely Amy can too?
‘The Break’ is a story about a couple, their love for each other and their family, and what happens when Hugh returns from his travels. It’s a moving and thought-provoking story with amazing characters, which made me laugh and cry.

Another classically heartwarming novel from Marian Keyes. Loveable characters that take you in every direction. This book had me laughing and crying, sometimes at the same time.

Marian Keyes knocks another one out of the park. The book draws you into the family drama whilst incorporating modern life especially as viewed through social media with its consequences. Stories are issues that affect everyday life. A delight to read, I look forward to the next one.

Before I start I must say I am a Marian Keyes fan and have read most of her books. This lives up to her very high standard.
Amy's husband Hugh has decided that he needs to take a six month break from their marriage and family. Amy is left to pick up the pieces with her siblings, children, and community. All of whom believe Hugh has left for good and Amy needs to join her female friends dumped on by men and wish bad things on his manhood.
I love Marian Keyes humour and can relate to so much of it. For example not reaching your 10,000 steps on your Firbit.
If you already love Marian Keyes then you will love this and if you've never read Marian Keyes start now!

It's not news to anyone who has ever asked me about writing and who I admire that I am a huge fan of Marian Keyes. Like - I even embarrass myself with how gushing I am about her - and having now met her a few times, I have made a complete gom of myself on each occasion.

You would think then that being such a huge fan of Marian Keyes would mean reading this book and reviewing it would be a breeze; but it hasn't been for a number of reasons.

1) Before I started to read I took the fear that I wouldn't like it and then I would be all embarrassed around Marian and when she asked (if she asked) if I liked the book I'd have to do that awkward cough and stare at the floor thing or change the subject or feign sudden onset muteness.

2) Second of all, I knew if I reviewed it, there was a chance herself would read the review and therefore the pressure for this to be well written and not stalker-y levels of gushing is high.

3) Thirdly of all, as soon as I heard what this book was about I felt tight knot in the pit of my stomach because already I knew that I would relate to Amy. I would get that person in a bit of a rut and not sure what she wants-itis about it all. I've made a number of huge life decisions in the last year and while they don't directly mirror Amy's - I knew there would be a resonance there. And it scared me a bit.

I was almost scared to start reading - but when I did, I had to fight between the urge to read-it-all-now and the urge to eek it out in little treat size pieces because I didn't want it to end. I didn't want it to end because Keyes writes characters so well you feel as if you know them - they are real, and raw, and flawed, and funny and they fuck up sometimes. They become friends you become heavily invested in.

What this book brings the reader is a marriage in a state of flux - and a woman who has always been there for everyone else finding that the rug has been pulled resoundly from under her feet. She doesn't know how to cope - she lurches from day to day, trying to hold family, friends and work together - managing other people's crises with aplomb while enduring the biggest crisis of her life.

That might sound a bit grim - but it isn't. As with the likes of Rachel's Holiday - Keyes has a way of writing on very serious subjects in a way that pulls the reader in without pulling the reader down. While Amy exists in a void of grief and loss, making some suspect decisions along the way - the reader never feels as if she is wallowing.

She is a strong woman - one of those "didn't know how strong she was until she had to be" characters who you cheer for and want to hug.

Similarly as with the magnificent Walsh family books, Keyes has created such a memorable cast of supporting characters that the book never feels overwritten, padded out or feels as if it has too much focus on Amy.
From her daughters, to her mother (Lillian O'Connell, Mother of Five) to her work colleague Alistair (I love him, I really do. Everyone should know an Alistair) - the characters are brilliantly drawn. They will have you laughing out loud one minute, sobbing the next and cheering the minute after that.

With her finger very firmly on the pulse, Keyes also tackles some pretty heavy issues in this book. She has spoken before how this book involves a take on the Eighth Amendment and the impact it has on women in Ireland. These chapters are strong, emotive, angry even. That Keyes has used her celebrity to speak out so strongly for the 12 women a day who leave Ireland to travel to England is admirable - but it doesn't feel preachy. It doesn't feel shoe-horned into the book to make a point.

I have to admit as much as I LOVE Marian - I would hate to be her. The pressure that she must feel as she releases each new book - with hoards of fans waiting eagerly must be immense. I think I would find it particularly crippling. Has this latest book hit the mark? Will it live up to the greatness of her previous books? Will it help her maintain her position as Queen of Commercial Fiction?

For what my opinion is worth - yes.
This book, more than any other of her's, profoundly touched me. I felt as if Marian was in my head - actually reading my thoughts, my fears, my worries - and putting them on a page for everyone to read. (Killing me Softly with her Books! Sing it if you know it!)

I stayed up until 5am to finish reading it - and when I did, I cried because it was done. And it was brilliant.

No one writes like Marian. No one should even try - her voice is unique, strong and distinctive. Her ability to pull away the layers of the human condition is remarkable.

This book is, simply, brilliant. Her best yet. It has what I thought was impossible was surpassed Rachel's Holiday in my estimation. It will be the must read book of Autumn 2017.

(And the dirty bits are fecking brilliant too!).

Marian Keyes likes to get us introduced to a large family of varied siblings and interesting parents and she's done it again here, with a new family to get to know, with its Friday night gathering, catered by the siblings in turn since Dad got Alzheimer's and Mum found it all a bit much, and including ex-partners and all sorts, because, as the heroine, Amy, explains, they're modern.

Amy has assumed she's safe and settled after her first marriage went wrong and they had to absorb her feckless brother's daughter into their family, but now husband Hugh has announced that he needs a break ... from their marriage, from their family, and from Ireland. But it's not so simple: Amy has huge sympathy for Hugh, who has recently lost his dad and spiralled into depression - well, up to a point, anyway, and she stands to lose an old friendship over her lack of desire for revenge. Added to that, we slowly learn about a patch in their marriage when she might not have been as engaged as all that herself.

It's pointed out to Amy that she's by definition on a break now, too. Will she go and play the field or just plug on with her blended family and her PR job (I loved the descriptions of her working relationship with her two male partners, although a weird tension with one of them was never quite resolved, and it also gives her the opportunity to pop over to London every week, which seems completely normal, the work of a good writer technically).

Meanwhile, Amy's daughter Neeve sees an opportunity for Amy to reconnect with her father, and so, it seems, does he - but can a leopard change its spots? Amy's quiet mum, very ill when younger and now caring for her husband, has developed a secret social life and a new circle of friends, and also becomes an unlikely Internet star. I loved this storyline!

So, there's a lot going on, a huge cast of characters, but we don't lose track and can trust Keyes to steer us through. And while it's bang up to date, with Facebook playing a role in the plot and the intricacies of liking and messaging adding depth to the description of strained relationships, the themes will outlast any slipping out of date that might occur - plus it's good to record exactly how things are and what we use to communicate at various points in history. The book is full of Keyes' trademark wit and charm, and uses one character to skewer modern searches for the meaning of life and others to discuss celebrity and reputation. I will share one quotation which I did love, when Amy is in crisis and wishing she'd learned about mindfulness in time to use it in this situation:

"Only the very, very oddest would think, Hey, my life is perfect. I know, I'll sit and waste twenty minutes Observing My Thoughts without Judgement."

In summary, a great read which will appeal to Keyes fans and more. There are two eating-disordered characters and some of their behaviours are described, I just wanted to add that content warning.

I will be posting a review on my blog a week before publication and will link here to that when it's out.

I have read all Marian Keyes’ books and she is definitely one of my favourite authors. In ‘The Break’, Hugh suddenly stuns his wife, Amy, with the news that he wants a break from their marriage. Not to split up, not a divorce, and he still loves her – he’s just taking a 6-month sabbatical. It’s not just the fact that he’s going, it’s that he thinks he’ll be able to come back in 6 months’ time and pick up exactly where he left off. Amy then realises that if Hugh can take a break, so can she… Marian Keyes delves deep into feelings, emotions, and relationships with her usual wit and perception, and produces another masterpiece.

4 stars for The Break by Marian Keyes, a novel that manages to be both deeply sad and very funny.

I read Marian Keyes books voraciously around about the time that I was embarking on motherhood and marriage but I haven't read any of her more recent books until this one. I was not disappointed: there is the great humour she is renowned for, there are fabulous family relationships (Neeve, Sofie and Kiara are beautifully written, sometimes infuriating, characters), and she does not shy away from exploring grief, depression, anger, feelings of inadequacy, infidelity, abortion, and dementia. Of less interest to me, except insofar as it points out the main character's need for 'stuff' to bolster her sense of who she is, there is a great deal of writing on designer labels, from bags to face creams. Did Marian Keyes always write so much about this? Also I don't remember her writing sex scenes before - these are a bit repetitive and meh. If you can ignore these minor irritations, you might just have a five-star novel.

I received this ebook free from NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph.

The Break is Marian Keyes at her very best, full of grief, humiliation, anger, tears but also laughter, passion and solidarity. Amy is devastated when her Husband Hugh declares he wants a break away to tour South East Asia for six months to find himself, promising to return, but during the time away Amy is not to contact him and he will do what he wants including sleeping with other women.
The grief and upset this decision causes is heartbreaking to read but, with this great writer she still manages to show the funnier side of things.
There was one chapter that caused a great intake of breath with shock, no spoilers but Facebook should be banned, I was so beside myself with anger towards Hugh how he completely blindsided Amy.
We see Amy coping without Hugh, family dramas aplenty, and Amy finding out who her true friends are.
Hugh returns - but read it for yourself, a journey of discovery for everyone including the reader
A brilliant read, one of her absolute best.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for opportunity to review this book honestly

It goes without saying that Marian Keyes never fails to deliver a rattling good read. While not up there with her very best, The Break is no exception. It introduces Amy, her husband Hugh and extended family (there seems plenty of scope here for further stories starring different family members, a la Walsh family).

Hugh wants a break from the marriage - not a breakup, but time off being married. But can a break ever really be just that? And is there any way back for Amy and Hugh?

I enjoyed reading this so much, particularly the family (Amy's daughter Neeve and mum Lilian are terrific, but all of them could definitely have potential for future expansion ) and Amy's job in PR, rehabilitating the image of celebrities who've been caught out in some way. I'd have ideally liked more of that sort of thing and less of Josh, who I really wasn't interested in.

All in all though a brilliant read, and yes I would like to see more of the O'Connell family!

I devoured this book from start to finish. I have been a massive fan of Marian for many many years now and eagerly await every book she writes. This book did not disappoint, I loved the characters and the humour and literally spent my whole bank holiday Monday (Glasgow Fair - local holiday) inhaling every word of this book until I had finished it, I was desperate to see what would happen and how the various characters storylines would play out.

A bank holiday very well spent. Cannot recommend highly enough. Another fantastic book from Marian, she's a joy!