I’ve read a lot of Marian Keyes books and normally enjoy them.

However I really struggled with this. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and had trouble remembering who was who.

Couldn’t recommend it I’m afraid .

This book took me three attempts but it was worth persevering! I'm a big fan of Marian Keyes and to be honest, I probably would have given up a lot sooner if it wasn't by her. It's a book about a family with a lot of characters so it takes a little while to get everyone straight in your head and work out how they're connected. It excels at examining complicated family relationships and addictions. Once I got into it I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend.

I am a huge fan of Marian Keyes and have read every single one of her fabulous books. I always let out and excited shriek when I learn that she has a new one coming out. Grown Ups has many of Marian Keye’s trademarks which I was glad of but it almost felt like the most honest and tender book she has written.
The story revolves around the Casey family, Johnny, Ed and Liam are brothers and are very different as are their wives, Jessie, Cara and Nell. Jessie is the one with the successful business and a lot of money so she is the one to arrange the lavish family events that brings them all together. As with all families, not everybody gets on all the time and there is a lot of drama. However, this is magnified when Ed’s wife Cara attends a family meal after hitting her head. Her concussion leads her to deliver some home truths to some members of the family, it provides a wake up call that will shake the Casey’s up, they probably won’t be the same again.

Grown Ups is so, so well done. There are a lot of characters involved but once I had it in my head who was who and how they were all connected then I became completely engrossed in their individual stories. I don’t want to give too much away but Keyes packs a huge amount into this book, we have addiction, love, family, friendships, anxiety, ambition and much more. Using a family unit to explore all of these different issues is an excellent idea as it really strips the characters bare, you can rarely hide things from your own family and when you have a large extended family then issues almost become magnified.
My favourite characters were Nell and Ferdia and the bond that they form, it was handled so well and I loved their parts of the book. Nell is a great character, she has married into the family and her husband Liam is not shaping up to be who she thought he was. But what do you do if you like your husband’s family more than your husband?
Marian Keye’s has written openly about her experience of mental health and I felt as though she used her own knowledge and perspective of addiction to offer an excellent insight. One of the characters has an addiction within the book and Keyes presents it warts and all. I liked how she did not tip-toe around the problem but instead showed the impact and consequences it has plus the ways in which it affects the wider family and friends.

Grown Ups is an excellent book and showcases Marian Keyes’ immense talent, I cannot recommend it enough.

Wow what a story! I love the way this starts at one point, then flits back to bring you back to that point again later in the book. Such a story full of the trials and tribulations of family life. This will keep you enthralled from start to finish

I always found the author’s books lighthearted, funny and heartwarming with relatable characters and stories. Whether you’re at the beach or in a cosy place, her books are a great escape.
Grown-ups it’s a very long book. It says the story of multiple families with many characters on two or three generations. I must admit that it took me a lot of time to get my head around it because I found it a bit hard at the beginning to keep up with who is who and what they do. After the first half, everything started to come together and I got the hang of it.
The same great writing style and interesting characters overall.
Thanks to the publisher @penguinukbooks and @michaeljbooks for my review copy.

Grown Ups follows the lives of the Casey brothers and their sprawling families; wives and girlfriends, children, step-children and beyond. Flitting through time, the story explores the lives of each of the principal characters and how their lives became entwined over the course of 20 or so years.

During the initial few chapters I found it difficult to keep up with the sheer number of characters and who everyone was, but everything quickly fell into place as the story progressed. Of the three brothers, each seems to fit a stereotype; Johnny is the oldest brother - seemingly the ringleader of the family, a ladies man, always in control. Ed is the middle brother - quiet, observant and unassuming. Liam is the youngest - bit of a #lad, cocky, careless. Apart from this, the story mainly focuses on the brothers' respective partners Jessie, Cara, and Nell, and their own personal struggles.

This novel really explores the idea of the modern blended family and challenges the idea of a 'normal' family set-up. The relationships between each character is explored in really honest and detailed way, and the issues each character faces are dealt with sensitively throughout, especially Cara's struggle with an eating disorder. The character I most related to was Jessie; she's trying to be everything to everyone, to take charge of her business and family but forgetting that it's OK to ask for help sometimes. Her pride tells her she has to be in control at all times, and any setback is a sign of weakness. I enjoyed seeing the development of her character throughout the novel and I think she's a character a lot of people, especially women, will be able to relate to.

I very much enjoyed this novel and despite a bit of a slow start (for me) I was absolutely hooked by the end and was using every spare minute to keep reading. Marian Keyes does such a fantastic job of exploring the minutiae of daily domestic life and family drama, and I think this is a sub-genre of writing that is becoming more and more relevant. Little Women was the first novel that centred on women's experience and the validity of a life in the domestic sphere, and I love how that has developed and grown into novels such as Grown Ups. I personally love a good character story, one that focuses on one person or a close unit of characters and examines their lives and relationships, and this is a fantastic example.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this!

I’m normally a huge fan of Marian Keyes, but unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. It just didn’t feel anything like her normal work, which was a bit of a disappointment. It wouldn’t put me off reading another of her books, but it was just lacking her normal warmth and humour.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book for review. Unfortunately it wasn't for me and I will not be reviewing it.

A wonderful read. I love Marian Keyes books & this was no exception. A brilliant cast of characters that had me drawn in from the beginning. A story packed with laughter, heartbreak & a dysfunctional family

The typical Irish extended clan provides ideal scope for an entertaining family saga and as a rule I can't get enough of this genre. But my reading experience here felt like being at a large social gathering where I don't know anybody and immediately forget all the names and relationships soon after we are introduced.
The novel has an intriguing premise and prologue but then we are plunged into confusing and meanderingly slow flashbacks detailing the family dynamics of three brothers, their wives children and ex-wives, along with a slew of topical social issues.
Despite this over-abundance of characters, topics and storylines, it is worth persevering as the various elements begin to come together at the half way point. However, I feel this is one for the more determinedly loyal Marian Keyes fans.

I’ve read, and loved, all of Marian Keyes previous books so I was really pleased when I was accepted for an ARC of her new book. However, I just could not get into it. I’ve tried to read it twice (the first time I got to 10% and the second to 30%). There are far too many characters and nothing seems to be happening. Maybe this genre is just not for me anymore...

The Casey family are rich and privileged living what appears to be a charmed life. When Cara, Ed's wife, starts mentioning things that have previously been kept under wraps everything begins to unfold. Is it finally time to grow up? Marian Keyes at her best.

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Marian Keyes is one of my favourite authors however this book took some getting into. Once I got to grips with the flitting of the story from one couple to another I enjoyed reading it and wanted to find out what happened to each of the couples.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

The Casey boys have it all - or so it seems.
Johnny is married to Jessie and together they run a successful business. But Jesse was married to his best friend before he died. Ed is married to Cara - but Cara is fighting an eating disorder. Liam is married to Nell but is all happy there?
Jessie insists and pays for them all to have fantastic weekends and holidays away together with all their children.
She hosts dinner parties and keeps them all together.
One explosive dinner Cara - suffering from concussion- makes some remarks and everything unravels.
They are all left to look at their lives and relationships - who will survive and who will move on?

Wow! Probably IMO her best yet! She didn’t write this book... she crafted it! That family.... felt so real... so real! Attention to detail for each character was perfect. I felt like i had met each one... very clever writing. Not one part was rushed it was a joy to read and savour.

I am so sad to let go of the Caseys'. This is the best book I have read for a long time and I am sure it will be a favourite of 2020. I am envious of anyone yet to read this. Such great characters and awesome witty dialogue with some great backstories with every character all coming to a stunning ending. I loved this book.

I really like Marian Keyes , she seems to have the same mindset as me. Saying that, I found this book hard-going at times . It takes a couple of hundred pages to build up the story which although relevant, seemed to go on for too long without getting anywhere. I could relate to the characters and the story from different viewpoints was OK and gave an extra dimension . Sometimes this can be confusing, but it was fine here because it gave insight into the way of thinking of the characters. The story was, on the whole believable and I liked the ending .... Still thinking about what happened to some of the characters though

I rceived a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review

Whether it's just Marian Keyes style that I struggled to get on board with or the meandering way the story moves forward, I just didn't connect with this book. The opening plunges you right into the middle of a conflict and with so many characters to contend with, it's difficult to find your focus as you get going. I have enjoyed some of Keyes' other novels in the past, but I suspect I'll be judging them on a case-by-case basis now to see if I really can enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed others.

I have read Marian Keyes books before so knew what to expect. The book is however quite lengthy,, over 600 pages, nonetheless I enjoyed the story immensely. The story revolves round the Casey family, three brothers, Johnny, Ed and Liam and their respective families. The families meet regularly for important occasions, birthdays, anniversaries etc, all of which are usually organised by Johnny’s wife Jesse. It’s irrelevant to Jesse whether the other brothers and their families can afford these occasions or even whether they wish to attend, Jesse makes sure they do by paying the costs. At an event for Johnny’s 49th birthday tensions which have always festered below the surface, explode when Cara, Ed's wife, following a bump to her head, spills some home truths and secrets are exposed. Keyes builds up a picture of each character and over a period of six months we get to know them all, their idiosyncrasies, their flaws and the seething tensions in family dynamics..I enjoyed the book enormously getting to know the characters expertly drawn by Keyes, the book is at times numerous, dark it touches on addictions, insecurity ,love and deception. A great read which I would recommend if you enjoy family sagas.