Absolutely, totally amazing.

A character led book which is utterly mesmerising - one I will definitely read again. Full of heart and humour and pain - Keyes has definitely gone back to her best style. Blown away.

“Grown Ups” is the latest book by Irish literary Queen, Marian Keyes. The Casey family seem to have it all; wealth, status and good looks; and self-appointed head of the family, Jessie, works hard to make sure the family spend time all together and spends a fortune so that time is spent in the nicest of places. She likes everything to be perfect but scratch beneath the surface of this “perfect” family and a very different story emerges.

Wow! Every time I start a new Marian Keyes I worry that it won’t be as good as the old faithfuls that I love but every single time she manages to write another book that ticks all the right boxes for me.

I adore Keyes’ characterisation. The Casey family are all quite complex characters and very relatable despite their wealth. I love the dynamics within each couple and also between the different family members. The core focus of the book is on the three Casey brothers and their wives, which does mean some characters aren’t explored as much as I would have liked but the book was fairly lengthy and would have had to be much longer to explore the other characters further. I would have liked a bit more about Canice and Rose Casey in particular; the frightening parents of the Casey brothers. The emotional abuse is mainly hinted at and only briefly shown but I would have liked to see more about this. Also maybe more about Jessie’s younger days, again there are hints around this and why she is the way she is but would have liked to have seen more. I do feel that is the beauty of Keyes’ books though, she always leaves me wanting more. I’m always left wondering what happens next for her characters, maybe there will be another book about the Casey family at some point. Who knows.

Most of the characters have something going on in their life that they are hiding from the others. As always, Keyes deals with some serious and very topical issues with sensitivity and realism. In this book alone she deals with bulimia and body dysmorphia, the problems faced by refugees in Ireland, gaslighting, depression and emotionally abusive parents.

Keyes’ writing is as exquisite as ever with moments of laugh out loud hilarity and absolute sadness all jumbled together. The style of this one may not suit everyone but I thought it worked really well. We start almost at the end of the story and then we jump back several months and work our way forward until we get back to where we started and then continue on with the fallout from the events at Johnny’s birthday. It means you have a hint all the way through that things aren’t quite what they seem and you then watch as everything starts to unravel.

I was absolutely gripped by this from start to finish, I’m holding Keyes fully responsible for my lack of sleep the last few days as I just couldn’t stop reading! I’d love to know where her ideas come from and this book is an absolute gem, yet again, I can’t praise it enough.

Marian Keyes is the purest of cinnamon rolls and just generally a delight and I never want to say anything even remotely critical about her work. But. But. I do think her latest offering, Grown Ups, could have benefitted from some pruning and editing. It’s classic Marian, which many will love- a rich, sprawling story of an extended Irish family and their various vices and failings. Eating disorders, money problems, infidelities, minor scandals, marital woes, secrets and lies.

And herein lies the difficulty- it is perhaps too sprawling. There are gazillions of characters. The Casey family at the heart of the story encompasses three brothers and their wives, ex-wives, multiple children some from previous relationships, cousins, colleagues and so on. I found it cluttered to the point of distraction- really I wanted more focus on the three main women and their struggles, which are when Marian is at her best. She’s a genius at creating interesting, relatable characters but this one felt like too much dilution. Too much of everything, in fact. I ended up not caring very much about any of them (except possibly Nell-I liked Nell) and found myself skimming through the pages looking for something to hold my interest in fully in the midst of the crowd. It didn’t ring as true for me as The Break or tug at my heart like Rachel’s Holiday or Is Anyone Out There and I found myself longing for Helen Walsh to arrive and help cut through the waffle.

That said, it’s still a fun and sometimes funny read. I’d definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys long family sagas and it’s the sort of thing that is perfect for a non-taxing holiday read.

I adore Marian Keyes - she's been a firm favourite since I read her fist book more then twenty years ago - so I was particularly thrilled to be approved to read an early copy of Grown Ups.

Given my high expectations, I'm delighted to confirm the book didn't disappoint. Written with Marian's characteristic charm, warmth, and humour I couldn't put it down. A hard copy has been pre-ordered for my keepers' shelf.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A funny heart warming story. I found it a bit hard to follow the switch between the time periods and there were a little too many characters for my liking but I still enjoyed the book!

I loved this. Once again Marian Keyes has delivered characters that you completely fall in love with. 100% recommended!

This is the story of the Casey brothers, Johnny, Ed and Liam and their wives and families. Their parents as we learn later in the book, are cold and verbally cruel so it’s the biggest wonder they are able to function at all. It shines a spotlight on family secrets and grudges that are hidden for the sake of family and appearances. The secrets come spilling out at a family dinner party at the beginning of the book then it backtracks to where it all blurted out. There are some serious moments and some funny moments as you would expect from Marion Keyes.

I very much like that the children in the story are actually more grown up than the grown ups especially Liam who is beyond selfish. The standout child for me is Bridey who I think is hilarious and I love that she puts the adults in their place from time to time. A lot of the characters are very likeable, especially Nell who is Liam’s wife who the whole family love. The author is very good at creating good characters with witty repartee. The book does have some funny moments but it also features some very serious issues. Cara, Eds wife binges and is bulimic which she tries to hide with limited success. I think this part of the story is very well done. There are two characters that Nell introduces to the family who are asylum seekers from Syria. This is very thought provoking as Perla is Christian and a doctor so she challenges stereotypes. It also gives you a lot to think about in terms of what asylum seekers are and aren’t allowed to do in Ireland and it may very well be the same in the UK.

Whilst there is a lot I like about this book there are an awful lot of characters to get your head around and it took me a good while to sort everyone out. I also think it takes the story a while to really get going but once it does you see the point that Marion Keyes is making. The adults are not very grown up, they need to face reality and face their varying truths. The children are actually more grown up than they are. The end is good as Cara unwittingly forces them all to stop messing up their lives and embrace their problems and move on.

Overall, a bit of an uneven read at times but it has a good message and I did enjoy it.

A good book, but not my favourite book by Marian Keyes. As other reviewers have said, there are a lot of characters to keep up with, that and the fact you start with a family gathering, then go back in time, going to key events leading up to the family gathering. Some tough issues were dealt with, and sensitively so. What was missing for me was the usual humour you get in Marian's novels. Perhaps she's trying something new. I really liked Jessie, Johnny, Ed, Cara, Nell, and all the kids. I did not like the third brother, Liam. He wasn't given any redeeming features either. The ending was realistic and I found it to be satisfying. I did enjoy it, it kept my attention, but I would have liked more humour.

I’m going to be honest and state I didn’t actually read this, my wife wouldn’t let me, we had the pleasure of attending a talk the author gave at a literary festival a couple of years ago and she is a delight, my wife read this book and I quote “ it’s one of her best”
I’m not going to argue with my wife!

I usually love Marian Keyes books but this one had so many characters that I got confused and couldn't keep up with them all

I am a big fan of Marian Keyes books and was delighted to receive a copy of her new book Grown Ups.
This is a story of three brothers and their families. There are a lot of characters to remember and it took me a while to sort out where they fit within the family. Unfortunately I did not engage with any of the characters and sadly missed the humour that I usually find in Marian's books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Marian Keyes is my favourite author, I adore her books so I was delighted to receive an arc for review.
I love her characterisation, the Caseys could well be the new Walsh family! There were a lot of characters introduced but you soon get the hang of who is who and I loved finding out about their lives. This is a story of ordinary people and how they deal with whatever life has to throw at them. I would love a sequel, in fact a series, featuring the Caseys so we could get to know them all even better.
Reading a Marian Keyes book is just the best thing ever, there is always a lot of humour and I just love the Irish setting and characters. This is quite a long book so cancel all your plans and settle down to enjoy.

I always love Marian Keyes, she makes me laugh but think so deeply about how people act and think.
Three brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam are close despite their parents. It is Johny's wife Jessie who glues the three families together, she has the money, she wants this to happen.

Over a year we see the unravelling of this situation, not the bonds but the reasons why people act and do what they do as the adults of the story begin to grow up.

I have read a couple of Marian Keyes’s previous books- I particularly enjoyed The Break- so I was excited to receive this new one via NetGalley.
I started reading and although I was expecting to really enjoy it I just could not get into it. There were many characters and even after I’d managed to work out who they all were and the story of the weekend away in a posh hotel had started, I just did not warm to any of them. I got about a quarter of the way through and I realised I was not going to finish it. I really had to force myself to pick up the book which was quite telling. There was none of the humour which I was expecting after reading the earlier novels and I sorely missed it!
I think that some judicious editing is required as in my opinion the book did not seem to be heading anywhere.
However this is just my own view and I am sure many readers will thoroughly enjoy the novel when it is published.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

I laughed a lot reading this book. I loved the characters. They are believable and I got totally caught up in their lives. Reading a book by Marian Keyes always feels like a treat.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A fabulous story of a modern day Irish family that work and play together. Jessie starts her gourmet food business with help from her husband Rory. Tragically Rory dies and Jessie remarries. They have a large family, Jessie’s Bunnies whom she loves dearly. To hold everything together Jessie treats her extended family to wonderful meals and holidays. The cracks then start to show, the problems of jealousy and for one couple they learn that marring in haste has its problems. For another an eating disorder causes problems for for their marriage. Marian Keyes at her very best, interesting believable characters and a story that held my interest until the very last page.

Oh my - I love looooved this. I’m a huge fan of Marian Keyes but for some reason didn’t enjoy her previous novel, The Break, as much as I usually enjoy her work, so I was a bit wary about Grown Ups; I had absolutely no reason to be. Although Grown Ups is quite lengthy, I still got to the end wishing for more - more laugh out loud humour, distinct relatability and dark undercurrents. At first I thought I’d never remember who all the characters were and how they were related, let alone get to know and empathise with them, but alas by the end I wanted to know how everyone’s story ended (apart from maybe Liam) and wished for them to all have their happily ever afters (again, apart from Liam). My favourites were Nell, Cara and Ferdia but Jessie, Ed and Jessie’s younger ‘bunnies’ stole my heart too. Keyes is able to make each character so different, with individual personalities, whilst they remain achingly knowable; their insecurities and quirks so relatable: Jessie’s desperation to fit in; Cara’s crippling body image issues; Ed’s underestimated steadiness; Nell’s self doubt; Ferdia’s need for approval. Overall a brilliant read and a big 5/5 from me - can’t wait for her next!

*I received an advance review copy of Grown Ups from the publisher through NetGalley.

This took me a while to get into and for one of the characters (Cara) I was initially very concerned as to how this would be written as I am a parent of a child with Anorexia and Cara who is a bulimic said she envied the discipline of anorexics which was difficult for me to process however Marian turned this into a sympathetic and realistic insight into the pain of eating disorders for all concerned. Overall it was a good perspective of insecurities and how we measure ourself as well as a great birds eye view of the complexities of family. This is yet another typically insightful novel from Marian Keyes.

This was a great, entertaining read. I hadn't read a novel by this author in a while and I'm glad I requested to read this one. It had great characters, an interesting storyline and in the end I just couldn't wait for another opportunity to pick it up and start reading it again!

I can not remember the last time I read a Marian Keyes book,and I used to read them all.
No reason I stopped,they just didn't come I to my orbit.
But this one did. I'm so glad.
From the opening scenes,the characters were well defined... quite something to introduce me to over 10 new characters and I know immediately who was who.
Going back then from the opening painful dinner party,I cringed at the mass family gatherings,but enjoyed the interactions between the family.
It wasn't long before I knew who I liked and who was a d**k.
Grown ups,each with their own problems/issues,not always going about the best way to fix them.
I breezed through the book,and it's a big one... and came out thinking I've got some past books to catch up on now.