The book features the Casey family from Ireland, three brothers, their partners and a host of unruly offspring.

Business owner and mum of five Jessie Casey takes great pride in organising family ‘get-togethers’. Her enthusiasm and family dedication is not shared by all, but the brothers and their families comply partly down to the fact that her soirees are free, luxurious and far out of their own price ranges.

At first, I did find it a little difficult to keep track of all the family members, but they are all completely diverse, individual characters and soon everyone fell in to place. Throughout the book relationships change, issues are uncovered, insecurities arise and all of a sudden the Casey’s become a complex, multidimensional and totally fascinating group of people.

The book deals with serious issues that are described in-depth, impeccably researched and entirely relevant. I enjoyed the humour introduced by the younger children which gave balance to the more complex storylines and gained insight into the angst-ridden and complicated life of teenagers and young adults.
This character-driven, family drama draws you in slowly and doesn’t let go until the final page. It deals with every emotion imaginable, problems which arise in every age group, the strength of relationships and the importance of family bonds.

The Irish wit and relatable characters make this another hit for this talented author.

At first I loved the idea of getting sunk into a long book – around the middle I kind of felt it was a slog if honest – but then the end picked up and loved it.
I love Marian Keyes and always devour her books, so maybe the above dip was just me having a reading dip in general.

The lives and loves of the Casey family with Jessie at the head of the fold as the breadwinner and deemed the controlling but loveable mother of the family.
She keeps the family of 3 brothers together – of which one she is married to Johnny. Organising family occasions from birthdays to breaks – you can see family is important to her., with no expenses spared. The story is woven between all the key central adult characters – mainly the 3 brothers – Johnny, Ed and Liam and their wives.

However as with every family it is not all sweetness and light and there are tensions, dislikes and clashing….plus some unexpected romance. Heartwarming and heart breaking in equal measure.

The story unfolds with the present time of Cara – Eds wife after getting concussion and revealing some truths and secrets at a family dinner which cause fallouts all around and change the family dynamic. What we then flit to is the months leading up to this and the messy lives of adults.

Just feel that within the middle, you could of easily skipped chapters and not missed much – overall a good read just could of done with less puffing out of the plot.

Marian's latest book Grown Ups is a big family affair, involving the 3 Casey brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam, their wives Jessie, Cara and Nell and an assortment of children and how their lives connect and the secrets they share. We start at a get family get together for Johnny, a few hours after Cara has suffered from a concussion, which causes her to start blurting out a bunch of secrets and being very blunt. This has a disastrous effect and we go back in time several months and work through everything that leads to the get together. We see the characters and their sometimes complicated relationships, their interactions and how these secrets grow and build.

Marian is so skilled at writing characters and family dynamics. It's one of my favourite things about her writing. Cara's storyline made me uncomfortable to read at times but I think it's because Marian is just superb at highlighting women's issues and really making the character's voice seem so authentic (something I think really applied well in Rachel's Holiday and The Mystery of Mercy Close). There was something about the book that I didn't connect to as well as those other books I mentioned and I think it's possibly because there's so many characters and some many events. I didn't find it confusing to follow but I felt with all the events and interactions, it slowed the pace a bit. I think if one of the events or story lines was dropped it might have felt a bit tighter. The book is steeped in Marian's signature wit, I especially liked some of the interactions of the younger children. Overall I did enjoy it and the idea and structure of the plot but it wouldn't be one of my favourites by Marian

I was looking forward to a new MK book after enjoying lot of her previous books, but sadly having a hard time getting into this one. Seems like there are too many people to keep track of and unfortunately it is not holding my attention in the way her previous books have. Sorry!

I’m not sure I have enough words to describe how good this book is. Marian Keyes is the Queen of fiction I love her so much. I felt like I wanted to highlight parts of the book as she is so wise but also so funny. Jessie and Johnny are the power couple who have everything and pull the family together for holidays, birthdays and get togethers. Ed and Cara are such a great couple .Liam and Nell are recently married and maybe Nell doesn’t know everything about Liam. Grown ups makes you realise that we all have problems and secrets and it’s how you deal with them. I’m bereft that Ive finished this book.

I usually love Marian Keyes but for some reason I found this a little hard going. Maybe because it was talking about a family dynasty - and I have an instinctive dislike of those sorts of books. However I did persevere with it, and although to me, it's not as good as her other novels, it was still well written and I am sure it will appeal to Marian Keyes fans.

I really wanted to love this book and even though I did make it all the way to the end, I really don't think this was the book for me. I really loved the opening chapters at the dinner party, but after that I struggled to engage with the characters and the story. I didn't find myself racing to pick this one up as I usually do with Marian Keyes's books.



I really loved getting to meet the Casey Family but there are an awful lot of characters to remember, and to workout how they fit into the story. The marriages, the businesses and children, it was just a bit overwhelming at times. I really liked Cara as character, I feel like I gelled with her most because I feel like she was flawed in a way I could relate to and so I found myself connecting with her scenes more than some of the others in the book. I also enjoyed the relationship that Johnny and Jessie had. I think I found their story arc easiest to follow.



One of the things I did like about this book was the strong family dynamics. This family spends so much time together. We have various birthdays and public holidays as well as trips away together when all the siblings and their children get a chance to mingle and interact. It is through some of these gatherings that we expose the intricacies of what it takes to be a grown up. This book also deals with infidelity, what happens when you struggle with a financial burden and also eating disorders. All of these things are dealt with incredibly well individually, it was just slightly difficult to keep track of things when more than one issues came to the fore at a gathering.



If you are a fan of an epic family saga then you will definitely enjoy the ins and outs of this plot. You will also be a fan of this book if you love a slowly revealing story line with multiple timelines and multiple families involved. Unfortunately this was just a step too far in that direction for my taste and just verges a little too much into the literary fiction territory. The writing was beautiful though and the characters really good fun getting to know. A solid offering from one of my favourites Marian Keyes but just not for me on this occasion.

I’m a big Keyes fan. Just putting it out there to set the scene.😂

My absolute favourite thing about Keyes writing is her characterisation. Not just characters in their own right but how she writes relationships and dynamics between characters is truly remarkable. The characters in GROWN UPS are written with authenticity and in such detail, as families have flaws, they fight and are basically messy! The three Casey brothers, Johnny, Liam and Ed a long with their wives and children spend a lot of time together and the book opens at a family event where everything seems to fall apart. Ed’s wife Cara has suffered with concussion after a head injury and is spilling out family secrets which leaves the family in chaos. Awkward!

As always, Keyes writes with such wit, warmth and charm, but don’t be fooled as there are some powerful themes on extended families, grief, marriage and body image in the book. It’s not a quick read (at over 600 pages) but I found myself immersed in this family, so yes it’s an investment but it’s worth it. I really enjoy a family drama especially when its told from multiple points of view and the characters did come alive off the page. Keyes brings out the best and worst in her characters and all of them appear to have secrets. Keyes epitomises the feeling of trying to be a grown up! Not really knowing what you are doing or feeling like you’re enough but just trying to keep up!! I’m still trying to figure out how to be a grown up….

GROWN UPS is charming, honest, funny…basically, Keyes at her best.

Marian Keyes as reliable as ever. If I’m having difficulty deciding what to read next or if I’m just looking for an easy enjoyable read, I know I can always rely on Keyes and she didn’t disappoint with Grown Ups.

I absolutely love her humour and I really love the families in her stories. I got invested really quickly in the Casey family and it’s definitely left me wishing there were a whole host of stories about the Casey brothers just as there is for the Walsh sisters!

In this novel, just like many of her others, it isn’t all just about humour and family, she touches on some really deep issues too. This particular novel seemed loaded with them but it was all weaved together perfectly - addressing mental health, immigration, feminism to name a few.

The whole thing made me realise that there will never be a magic time in my life when I’ll have everything figured out - life doesn’t work that. Instead we have to make the best with what we have!

Can’t wait to see what Keyes brings us next. *Maybe more about Nell and/or Ferdia* hint hint!

I haven’t read a Marian Keyes for quite a while but I am so glad that I changed that and read this latest book.

The book tells the story of the Casey brothers (Johnny, Ed & Liam) and their families. Although a close family there are plenty of secrets and lies to be exposed throughout.

Johnny and his wife Jessie are the couple that everyone seems to look up to. Jessie runs a successful business and her and Johnny have a lovely home and children. However, Jessie was married before Johnny, but her first husband died. Jessie was close to her in-laws but after marrying their sons best friend they couldn’t forgive her and they no longer talk to either of them.

Ed is married to Cara and they have two children but Cara is keeping a big secret. Everything comes to a head when Cara puts her health at risk and the family are scared they will lose her.

Liam is newly married to Nell, after a whirlwind romance. All starts well but suddenly Nell finds Liam is nothing like she thought and she finds herself drawn to another family member.

I absolutely loved the relationships between all the individual members of the family. I loved Jessie and Johnny (and their children) as well as Ed, Cara and Nell. They are all so different but most believe that family is everything. Although slightly confusing to start, with so many different names, stick with it and you will soon be used to all members of the family.

Thank you to Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

I actually gave up reading this book as there were far too many characters to try to remember. One day, I may pick it up again

I'd not read a Marian Keyes book in a while, and I'm really pleased that I got the chance to read this. The characters all seem so natural and the idea of focussing on a large family means that the trials and tribulations all feel natural and plausible rather than a stretch too far.
I can't say I was drawn to anyone character over another as they all had ups and downs but this was a great read.

I'm afraid I can't give a positive review on this book. I only managed to read a few chapters, and it wasn't for me.

I have to be utterly honest and admit that I could not make it to the end of this book. I have loved Marian Keyes for years and devoured her books with relish but this book was too much for me for some really personal reasons. I have suffered from an eating disorder that has led to me being hospitalised for a lot of my twenties and although it is very well written, it was simply too triggering for me.
I am sure that if this hadn't been an issue for me, I would have loved it and I also applaud Ms Keyes for acknowledging that eating disorders are forms of addiction, I'm simply sad that I couldn't enjoy this. I just feel that I should warn other sufferers that if you are struggling right now, it might not be a good time to read this.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin UK-Michael Joseph for providing me an ARC copy of this novel that I freely chose to review.
Marian Keyes is a very well-known and popular Irish author, but this is the first novel of hers I read and therefore I can’t compare it to her previous novels. Based on reviews, some readers feel that it is less tight and less funny than some of her other books, but not everybody agrees. I’ll leave it to her fans to make their own minds up.
This novel is the story of a family, well, or of the families of three Irish brothers, John, Ed and Liam Casey, their wives and children. It is a family saga of sorts, although it does not cover several generations of the same family. I must confess that when I read the description I thought this would be the story of what happened when Cara, due to her concussion, started spilling the beans about everything and everybody, and how that would evolve. But Keyes uses that point in the story as the introduction to the characters, and then goes back in time, to a few months earlier, so we learn the reasons behind some of the secrets she reveals, and we also learn a lot about the characters. A lot. This is a very long book, and at first the timeline can seem confusing because of the initial scene, but once we go back in time, the novel progresses in a chronological order (not perfect, because often the characters will remember their past, how the couples met, or details of their previous lives, and those will be interspersed with the actual events), up to the point where it catches up with the birthday celebration dinner for Johnny (quite late in the book), and then moves forward until the end of the novel. We learn about each couple and each individual (at least the adults, not so much the children), although we learn more about the women than about the men: we learn about Jessie’s role in organising family events, inviting everybody and keeping the family together; we read about Cara, who is eminently practical and loves hotels but lacks in confidence in other areas and suffers from a very unhealthy relationship with food (that develops into a full blown bulimia); we read about Nell, the newcomer to the family, an unconventional theatre designer whom everybody loves despite (or perhaps because) of her unique style; and about the brothers: Johnny, who married the widow of his best friend and is at times overwhelmed by his wife’s need to control and organise and by the legacy of her previous marriage; Ed, who is the kindest and more supportive of the three; and Liam, who seems attractive, light and fun to begin with but things aren’t always as they seem. Ferdia, Jessie’s son from her first marriage, is a young man who changes enormously through the novel. Oh, and he is a hunk, as we are reminded quite often.
As you can imagine from the description, the book delves into secrets, family relationships (these three families are very enmeshed and that explains some of the bizarre happenings), the nature of love, trust, confidence, self-worth, how relationships change over the years, there is an important subplot about body image and bulimia (very well done, in my opinion), parenting… There are also funny/dreadful murder-mystery parties, luxury hotels, alternative festivals, romance (with some age difference)… This is not a page turner in the sense of a plot moved by action and suspense. It is more like a soap opera where the lives of the characters ebb and flow, with some peaks of excitement, triumphs and disappointments.
I have mentioned the main characters, although there are many others, including the younger children, friends, work colleagues, staff at the different places where they spend time, collaborators, and although some of the secondary characters are quite memorable, and I didn’t dislike the main characters either (apart from one, but no spoilers), I can’t say I connected with any of them in particular. I liked Nell, Cara (her struggle with bulimia is one of the most realistic and best written parts of the book for me), and Ed, but I didn’t feel personally invested in their stories, although I kept reading, and it’s a long book, so that is saying something.
The story is narrated in the third person from the alternating point of view of the main characters, especially the females, but we also get snippets of what the men think at times. The change in point of view can take place sometimes within the same chapter (several of the characters can meet at an event, for example, and the point of view will then follow someone else), but I didn’t find it confusing, as they are all very different, and we quickly learn to tell them apart.
Keyes writing flows well, and she can easily pass from describing an interior, to making readers share in the state of mind and distress of one of her characters, and although she touches on serious subjects, her writing is not over dramatic or heavy. There are some light scenes, but the book is far from funny overall, although there are moments where the wit of the writer shines through (as I said, some of her habitual readers complained about the novel not being as funny as some of her previous ones, and I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking for a laugh-out-loud read). I very much enjoyed the Irish expressions and some of the dialogue sparkled, showing the talent and range of the author. As a little taster, here I leave you with a snippet of a conversation between Jessie and an analyst who is helping her decide how to move her business forward. He is “slightly” creepy.
‘…And the thing is, the thing, Karl that I have just remembered—‘
‘Yeah?’
‘Is that I have a very sexy, non-repulsive husband.’
‘Forty minutes ago you could “never forgive him”.’
‘Time is a great healer.’
The passage is witty but it also illustrates how contradictory we can all be, and there is plenty of that in the novel.
Everything is resolved in the end, and although I think some situations dragged a bit, overall I enjoyed the ending and it fulfilled my expectations.
In sum, this is a book I’d recommend to readers who love stories about big families, especially set in Ireland, who aren’t looking for a lot of laughs, or for diverse characters, and who don’t mind spending a long time with a book. I did wonder if this book wouldn’t have worked better as a collection, with individual volumes being dedicated to each one of the families (I think that at least some of the books, for example the one dedicated to Cara and Ed, would have been stronger), and a tighter edit might also have turned it into a more manageable book for the general public, but I have no doubt that Marian Keyes can write compelling characters, and I’ll check some more of her work in the future. Ah, there are some very mild sex scenes (at least very mild for me, and I don’t like erotica), in case somebody is looking for a totally clean book.

Wasnt sure about it to begin with then got hooked. My favourite grown up was Cara and could have read a whole book just about her. Marian Keyes certainly knows how to write dysfunctional families.

This is a book that is so easy to get lost in, warm, funny and heartwarming. Marian has a real knack for making you feel that you really know the characters, you care about them and genuinely feel sad when you reach the end.
Great book - Marian Keyes at her absolute best!

Thank you to netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. Marian is such a good writer and the story flows so well. There are six main characters and although it’s a lot to take in at the start, you soon get to know exactly who’s who. The characters are well written and you feel that you actually know them. I definitely recommend this book. Thank you #netgalley

I was excited to have the opportunity of reading a pre-publication copy of Grown Ups by Marian Keyes. It is a very entertaining, funny, enjoyable drama about a large family, lead by a self-appointed and slightly selfish matriach. They all appear to be happily and calmly living their lives all be it somewhat in each others pockets but beneath the surface they are frantically trying to keep their lives from unravelling and secrets escaping. I thoroughly recommend this - Marian Keyes at her very best.

This has been such a joy to read! Anyone with any type of family - partner, kids, siblings and / or in-laws will identify with the many situations in this book, and be filled with awe, horror and laughter!

The Casey family consists of Johnny, Jessie and their five kids. The wider family unit includes Johnny's brothers, their partners, ex-partners, children and just about everyone and anyone on Jessie's radar. They are always getting together for weekends, holidays - in fact, any occasion at all! However, like most families the face each presents to the world is entirely different to what's going on inside; just how long can secrets remain hidden?

I LOVED this novel - it's Marian Keyes at her best! A spread out family, each with differing priorities, worries and successes getting together even when some would rather not. There are friendships within the group, the kids are an absolute riot - I giggled so much at their dialogue - and the relationships between each and every one of them could be any member of any family. I think that's what makes me such a fan of this author's work . . it's all realistic and believable. I love the Irish names (I always need to google how to pronounce at least one in each book) and this time there were several which, as a Scot, I had not come across before. Real life people in real situations with humour twinkling throughout make this a sparkling five star read, and the highest recommendation from me!

My thanks to publisher Harper Collins for my copy via NetGalley. As always, this is my honest, original and unbiased review.