A homely, heart-warming novel about family relationships and what it means to be husband and wife, I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of this Irish couple and their shared history. The book follows a realistic pattern of life’s ups and downs, as Amy is left to cope alone in Hugh’s absence and realises what it is that she wants from life. Thought-provoking and relatable, this book will tug directly on your emotions until the last page.

*Full review available on the blog*

Unfortunately I have had to DNF this book which is a disappointment to me as a long time read of Marian Keyes. It is not the writing that I have not enjoyed but the story itself. For a romance writer I have found this to be a depressing storyline and I don’t know where it will go. I may revisit this book at a later time but at this stage I had no plans to finish it.

I was really looking forward to reading this as I had heard so much about Marian Keyes. I brief - Amys husband Hugo decides he needs a 6 month 'break' to travel the world. Leaving Amy to deal with children, life and the confusion /hurt caused by Hugos actions.

However the book left me disappointed. For a start it was too long - it could have been cut in half and still covered everything it needed to!

Sadly the main character, Amy, is just confusing and boring whereas Hugo is frankly just a selfish man having a midlife crisis. Neither character has anything which makes the reader want to back them.

Love this book, another Marian classic, not frivolous, delaing with real life relationships, but in a deep way. I also liked how the Repeal the 8th campaign was covered, and Marian included what it must be like for Irish women to have to go to England for help. Very moving.

Anyone who refers to a log burning stove as "needy" is going to win my heart and it is Keyes' keen observations and use of language that attract me to her work.
The Break looks at modern relationships - and not just between spouses or lovers - what do we want from relationships, how to we measure their worth, how we connect with people, what makes a family and so on. But it does so within a world of media, vintage clothing, style blogs and modern Ireland.
It is not a hard read but does give food for thought.

What do you do when your husband, out of the blue, announces that he is taking a 6 month break from his life with freedom to go where he wants and do what he wants? This is Amy’s dilemma. I would have really liked this book, but it was way, way too long, so much so that anything and everything to do with work, the mother plus other inessential characters I just skimmed over or missed out entirely otherwise I would never have got through it all! Hugh was a drip and I didn’t take to him at all and man magnet Amy was annoying to say the least. There weren’t any surprises or “didn’t see that coming” moments. This would be perfect for those readers who enjoy LONG chick-lit books.

I would have given this book 5 stars however the main character Amy really started getting on my nerves! Her husband Hugh takes a 6 month break from their marriage to travel to South East Asia. She is left with a busy full time job, a home to run and 3 teenage girls to look after. We start to feel sorry for Amy but when her story goes back in the recent past, is she without guilt in Hugh's decision to leave? Read on.

The Break focuses on a time in the main character Amy’s life when her husband Hugh has suddenly announced he needs time out from their marriage.. Marian Keyes’ writing describes her characters so vividly that while there is a lot of them and they seem extreme at times you are very familiar with them. There’s also something just so ‘Irish’ about Keyes’s writing that is easy to read from my point of view. Some strong viewpoints came across within the story as the characters lives unfolded quite pertinent to today’s Ireland. For myself it was an easy read although some aspects of it such as the language while being very Irish in current culture wouldn’t be my style so I didn’t rate it as highly personally but I’m sure it will prove popular. Many thanks to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and Netgalley for this ARC

An achingly honest account of a relationship, which explores every single detail of it, right from the very highest point to the very lowest. It deals with subjects that are extremely emotional, difficult almost impossible moral decisions, betrayal, jealousy, mistrust, intimacy, everything. It has humour, it has envy, it has fear. Its light hearted, to the point of being hilarious, then it plumbs depths that make you stop and think. But almost all of the book is delivered in such a delightful, witty, light hearted way, even when talking about the most difficult issues and dilemmas.

This is the first book I've ready by Marian Keyes, and it won't be the last.

The Break is the story of a big, messy, complicated, Irish family (and yes, I also enjoy Mrs Brown's Boys - bite me...) and in particular it is the story of Amy. She is a mother, sister, daughter, aunt, PR professional, friend, and, at the end of the list, a wife. She has to find time to support friends who are newly single (again), to provide emergency care for her father when her Mum needs a rest from dealing with Alzheimer's, to care for her fragile niece when her brother and his ex-wife seem to be harming rather than helping her and to try not to strangle her annoyingly independent older daughter - so it is no surprise that her relationship with Hugh, her husband, is low down on the list of things she has time for. Hugh, struggling to cope with the death of his father, shocks the whole family by declaring that he is leaving them - not forever, but for six months; not a break-up but a complete break.

Keyes is, as ever, great at telling a warm, funny family story. Amy and her family are all well-rounded characters, yet all individuals and you become fond of them. I particularly liked the double act of Neeve, Amy's older daughter from an ill-fated marriage in her youth, and Amy's mum Lillian who take the beauty vlogging world by storm. She is also, as ever, unafraid to touch on more difficult subjects. Not the fact that Hugh deserts his family (and can't rule out the fact that, as part of his 'break' he may meet and sleep with other women) but the fact that he does so because he is depressed and can't see any other way to get his life back on track. You want to hate him - to wish all kinds of nasty things to happen to him (and his sexual organs) like Amy's man-hating friends and sisters - but, in many ways you can't. We get flashbacks to the earlier years of their relationship and we can see that this is a marriage which is really worth saving, a man who has given his all to his family. We also touch on the sorrows of living with Alzheimer's, the falling away of friends (when you fail to react to adversity in the way they think you should) and the horrors of reproductive politics in Ireland. But, you know, chick-lit is just froth...

As always a reminder that Marian Keyes writes brilliant novels - full of laughter and tears - which deserve a wider audience. Remember people, good chick-lit is for anyone, not just for giggly girls...

I’ve read a few of this author’s books and I have enjoyed them all, this one included. Marian Keyes can definitely write and she does it effortlessly and in a compelling and realistic manner. This is a book about family life, about mid-life crisis, about love lost and found again. At some point in the middle, I lost interest for a bit, perhaps because there were a few storylines going at the same time and maybe not all of them relevant, but all in all I have enjoyed the story and the character development.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy of the e-book in exchange for an impartial review.

I've been a fan of MK for as long as she's been writing and was thrilled to get NetGalley approval for this book. I really enjoyed the book and by the standards of many authors this would be a 5* book. However, as an MK book I was a little disappointed that this has strayed from the style and standard of her earlier works. The plot was a bit rambling at times and in the early chapters some of the characters were a little irritating. The book was overly long too. Perhaps I'm being too picky but it's not my favourite MK book.

I really enjoyed this book, a great read! I loved following the story and was gunning for them all at the end.

Oh. My. Goodness. Where should I start? What should I say? The Break is one of my most anticipated books of the year. I've been a fan of Marian Keyes for over twenty years, I've followed her through all of her novels, through her ups and her downs, watched her vlogs, subscribed to her mailing list .... all of those. She's one of those people who are just so naturally funny whilst talking about quite mundane and everyday things, she makes me smile. She also brings a lump to my throat at times; whether it's through her fiction, or when reading about her own life - she's a complete and utter genius with words. A pleasure to read.

The Break is a huge novel; over 550 pages in the hardback edition - it's hefty, but for God's sake, don't let that put you off .... if you really find it a bit heavy, please buy the ebook - don't miss out because this novel is just too good to skip.

Lead character Amy is a fabulous feisty woman in her mid forties. Married to Hugh with two daughters and one niece who lives with them. Their extended family is vast, and eccentric and eclectic. There's a teenage beauty vlogger, a Poor Bastard who never speaks. There is Pop who doesn't recognise anyone and LOCMOF, or Granny who is finding a whole new world full of glitter and lipstick and the internet, and is, quite possibly, one of the most wonderful characters ever created.

A large, diverse family, full of exquisitely created characters who each have a role to play, there is no padding here, none at all. They all fit, every single one.

As the title indicates, and the book blurb tells; The Break is the story of Amy and Hugh's mid-marriage break. It's Hugh's break really as Amy had no idea it was coming and spends much of the first few chapters like a rabbit in the headlights. Hugh does go off though, with a rucksack, to the other side of the world and Amy is left with her online shopping habit, her vintage clothes and the mounting problems and issues facing her and her family.

I couldn't help but picture Amy as Marian. I heard her voice, I saw her face - the voice is so wonderfully done and the humour at times is essentially Keyes. This author's ability to portray that wonderful Irish sense of fun and turn of phrase is perfectly executed throughout the novel; I laughed til I was sore at times.

However, The Break is not all fun and laughter. Marian Keyes cleverly includes many serious and relevant issues within her story, both social and personal. Her clever interpretation of the grieving process and the impact of this on a family is so perfectly put together, and as the story progresses the reader learns more about both Amy and Hugh's background. Their losses and their struggles over the years and how they've come to cope with them, and how they've affected their relationship.
The author also looks at the issue of abortion in Ireland and how the state still dictates what a woman can and can't do with her own body. Delicately and sympathetically handled, yet brutal and honest; there are issues within this beautiful story that will anger and shock the reader.

Marian Keyes' writing is honest, funny, and always moving. Her ability to create such depth alongside laugh-out-loud comedy is incredible. She surely is one of the finest authors of our time.
The Break comes highly recommended by me, one of my favourite books of the year, probably the decade. Bravo!

As I didn't enjoy the book I chose not to write a review as it is my personal opinion only and I wouldn't want it to put of potential readers. I will never make a review of under 3 starts public as it does the author a disservice

I loved this book and read it and read it and read it. So much happened and the writing style engaged me and encouraged me to just keep on reading.

I am not normally a fan of Irish family dramas, but this was different and a grand exception.

This is a very modern mixed-up family. the children from many marriages and even one not 'belonging' to them. All provided for in a rather ramshackle way by Clare and then with her husband helping out - but not her previous husband at all... or the parents of the 'not theirs' child.

I am not sure how i would have coped with all her responsibilities. flying to and fro London and Ireland. running a commission based business with 2 lovely partners but still effectively self-employed. and not earning that much after expenses - which are high in the PR world. still establishing a business name, still trying to manage her wayward clients, still trying to help her girls through school and exams and business start-ups. and then there is her father with Alzheimer's and her mother wanting help.

I am surprised she doesn't have a complete break-down. but maybe she does? Maybe her behaviour is a breakdown of sorts - and who can blame her?

I know that these kinds of novels are full of introspection, but The Break could have been a lot shorter (and more enjoyable) if Amy had stopped obsessively shopping and sobbing under the duvet. It meant that the book dragged for the middle third when all I needed was some kind of resolution (much like Amy). The cast of characters were great, however, as were the settings of Dublin and London and it was good to see topics such as cheating and abortion dealt with and with relative sensitivity.

I am exhausted! I did not put this down unless I had to, when I did I was resentful of the time I had to spend not reading it, I felt as if those lives would go on without me and I might miss something. I know, I know, it’s a book, it stops when I do.
Seriously, this is the most compelling story I have read for a very long time….it also covers so many different issues for so many differing age ranges. An interesting and realistic viewpoint of love, families and the messiness of life.

I absolutely loved this book! I laughed, I cried and I sympathized with the protagonist. Everyone looking for a delightful easy read, look no further because this is the one for you.

Very entertaining book in the usual style of the author. This book brims with humour, sadness and warmth all wrapped in to one. The characters are easy to like and empathise with. This makes it a lovely book to curl up with on a cold day with a cup of coffee, highly recommended.