I love Marian Keyes novels and this one didn’t disappoint. It’s the story of an extended family and all the characters feel very real. Some you root for; some you instantly dislike (Liam). I agree with the other reviewers who say it’s a bit confusing to begin with trying to remember who is married to each brother but I got there in the end. The most heartbreaking story is of a character who has bulimia, and people with personal experience of this issue may find it a difficult read - but I think Marian handles it very well. If I had one criticism, it’s that this book hasn’t got as many comedic moments we come to expect from Marian. But, all in all, a great read for fans of the genre.

How refreshing to read a story about ‘real’ grown ups who don’t have their shit together and don’t necessarily (spoiler!!) have ‘they all lived happily ever after’ endings. Jumping between the narratives of three brothers and their families, Grown Ups is realistic, relatable and sometimes a little bit too close to home to be a comfortable read, but at the same time it’s like a reassuring hug. A great read, on many levels.

Marian Keyes is one of those writers that everybody has heard of, she has written a ridiculous number of bestselling books and is one of the warmest and most generous authors out there. Her latest book, Grown Ups, is another excellent book about family, relationships, love and the intricacies of modern life.

In Grown Ups she takes us deep into the heart of the Casey family and reveals them to us, layer by layer. They are a large and sprawling family, presided over by Johnnie and Jessie who own their own business and are, quite frankly, loaded. There are regular family get-togethers with Johnnie’s brothers, Ed and Liam, their wives Cara and Nell respectively and the brothers assorted children. There are weekends away, sprawling lunches, parties; a week doesn’t go by where the Casey family don’t see one another. You’d think they’d know all there is to know about one another by now, right? Wrong.

We meet the Caseys at a birthday lunch and tensions are running high. Then Cara, suffering from concussion spills the metaphorical beans and every Casey secret and lie is laid bare. What she reveals is kept from us and we pinwheel back in time to 6 months earlier. Slowly, month by month we watch as the inner workings of this family are laid bare at a variety of parties, murder mystery weekends and holidays to Italy.

There’s Cara who works in a boutique hotel and can manage the most difficult of guests without breaking a sweat, and her lovely, sweet husband Ed. Liam and Nell are newlyweds who are madly in love with one another. She is younger than him, impossibly cool, incredibly lovely and the whole family adore her, it’s just a shame Liam is such a complete and utter tool. Then there is Jessie and Johnny who are generous and kind but their history is complicated and it looms large over their present.

We are brought deep into the heart of the Casey family and Marian lets us fall in love with them. She allows us to peak through a crack where things may not be quite as they seem then quick as a whip she moves on leaving us wondering if that sentence means what we think it does. We jump from character to character, all of them fully formed and completely real and soon we are deep into this family and desperate to find out what Cara has revealed.

The thing is with Marian Keyes’ writing, is that on the surface it is all very jolly, there’s some humour and some moments of brightness and joy but bubbling underneath the surface there is darkness and some very difficult subject matter indeed. It’s just like life I suppose, you never really know what is going on behind closed doors.

Marian Keyes is so clever and such a brilliant storyteller. This isn’t a small book coming in at 656 pages but I really didn’t want it to end. There are moments in this book which will stay with me forever, interactions between characters which were so powerful that they took my breath away and a major book hangover when I finished it. Warm, generous, tender, sensitive and compassionate, Grown Ups is wonderful. Marian has done it again.

Now I am a HUGE Marian Keyes fan, I've read every book and quite often go back so some of the really early ones when I need a 'happy' read...

This just isnt one of my favourites 😣

There are a whole load of characters to remember and not only who they are but their place in the family and the dynamics of the whole family... its definitely a brain strain!

Sadly I just couldn't connect with a single character which is so unlike any of Marian's books previously, they just didnt warm me in any way.

In all honesty I had to force myself to plough through this one, to keep picking it up and not throwing it to one side in frustration. I suppose I had expectations that just weren't met this time around.

I ended up skimming the pages looking for something or someone to grab my attention but it never happened.

I'm super sad to give such a low rating on this one but honesty is asked for so honesty is what's given!

2*

A big thank you to netgalley and Penguin UK for the ARC.

I’ve enjoyed many of Marian Keyes books in the past, I love her writing style and how she mixes humour with darker themes. This story didn’t disappoint, I loved getting to know the characters, you really get to know them through Marians writing. I did mark the book down a star as there were so many characters I got a little lost at times, and some of the characters were not at all likeable and you do wonder what on earth their partners are doing with them.

Having read several Marion Keyes books in the past, I was really looking forward to this one. Sadly, I was disappointed. Too many characters, I couldn't work out who was who, and I didn't particularly care for any of them. Not for me.

Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with this book.

I was expecting the wry wit and acerbic humour of Keyes' other novels but this lacked bite. It was a detailed character study of the Casey brothers and their families, exploring what it means to be an adult, what makes us happy and the impact of carrying secrets for years. Those character studies were interesting and engaging but overly long and there wasn't much drama in the 500-odd pages that described the six months prior to the current events of the novel.

I hoped that the concussion-fuelled revelations by Cara outlined in the blurb would be more climactic. In fact, the scene was only a chapter long and just didn't have the explosive quality I wanted.

I enjoyed exploring the characters' lives and thought Keyes' writing was high-quality as ever but this just didn't pack the punch I expected it to.

Marian Keyes is probably my favourite author and this latest book didn't disappoint. The story begins at a family dinner celebration, where dark secrets are revealed. We then go back in time, reliving the last 7 months and how we reached this point. Such a moving, well written book. Another book I've read where I'm disappointed it has come to and end!

Just a classic Marian Keyes, which always feel like a soothing balm. There's a comfort to getting stuck into one of her books and the characters and the wit and the warmth never fail to disappoint.

Ahhhh opening a Marian Keyes is like stepping into a warm, cosy bath. This one didn't disappoint - full of her usual wit and warmth. I both loved, and was infuriated by, the characters and I could have carried on reading about their lives for pages and pages more. Keyes writes so well that I always get the feeling I've just eavesdropped on the lives of real people for a time, then quietly taken my leave.

I have read all of this author’s books and this one was of the usual high standard. Loved it. Can’t wait for the next one.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Marian Keyes for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

It's Johnny Casey's 49th birthday and his two younger brothers and their wives and the children are gathered round the dinner table. Suddenly, secrets start to unravel. We then move back several months and steadily move towards the dinner, learning about the Casey family.

Surely a classic Marian Keyes book. It is long and satisfying. The writing is insightful and witty. Plenty of emotion too. I greatly enjoyed it and was sorry when it ended.

The story begins at a birthday dinner where the Casey brothers, Johnny, Ed and Liam and their wives Jessie, Cara and Nell appear to be a close family unit until an innocent remark causes ructions between them. The story takes us back over the preceding months where we discover what secrets are being kept and what lies are being told until we come full circle back to the dinner.

A compelling family saga with a vast array of characters. A heartwarming and humorous book which was an easy and entertaining read.

I'm a huge fan of Marian Keyes and this book didn't disappoint. With her usual charm and wit and relationship focus, I really enjoyed this. Thanks NetGalley for the chance to read this book!

Sadly I gave up half way through. I could not keep up with the dozens (it seemed) of characters in the story. The Casey family seemed ruled by Jessie and her wishes. I really tried, going back to the story time after time, but just couldn't find it readable.
I'm sure it was well written but I couldn't engage with the story.
Thanks to NerGalley for the chance to review the book.

I love books which explore families and relationships and boy do the Casey family provide excellent reading . We first meet the three brothers, their wives and families at a birthday celebration where secrets are about to be unintentionally uncovered .

We then go on a voyage of discovery into the lives and events of each family member prior to the birthday party. I admit I struggled initially remembering each character and their relationship to each other but as the story progressed I found with a stronger connection to each character this issue disappeared.

This was a compelling read , proving that every family may look postcard perfect from the outside but most have their own personal struggles underneath.. Being a grown up sometimes is difficult, and this is portrayed beautifully throughout the book. Life throws us all curve balls and the way we deal with them is individual to us all ,,so when the Casey clan suffer issues such as low self esteem, eating disorders, grief, age, death and divorce I was intrigued to find out how it would affect them.

This is quite a long book with such a beautiful mix of humour and heartache and truly believable characters that will have you hooked. Fantastic insightful writing by Marion Keyes I found it the perfect book to curl up with,, my one problem is I’d love read more about the Casey’s.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for my chance to read this beautiful book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest offering from Marian Keyes. Full of vim and vigour but with enough depth behind it that you feel it in your heart, this is classic Keyes. The Casey family, fractured, torn, and hiding secrets from each other, isn't perfect - what family is? But as their story unfolds over the course of a series of family events - birthdays, holidays, family dinners - you get to know each member of the family, and investigate just what's going on under the surface. A cast of couples anchored around the three Casey brothers - Johnny, Ed, and Liam - puts a lot of moving parts in play, but Keyes balances them just right. Cara, Jessie, and Nell are our three main characters, three very different women with a very different set of problems, but I loved them all.
The structure of the book was great - starting at a family birthday dinner for Johnny. In the prologue, Cara's suffering from a concussion, and has become the accidental keeper of all the family's secrets. But, confused and concussed, she lets it all out, scattering grenades into relationships between partners and families. Then we flash back several months to trace the development of these difficulties. And through a series of family occasions - in a variety of locations, but almost always with Jessie, successful entrepreneur, paying - the strings begin to tangle and unwind, only to tangle again.
This was an intensely satisfying book to read. We flipped between characters quickly enough not to get bored, but lingered long enough on each of them to develop a real connection, particularly with the three leading ladies - Jessie, Cara, and Nell. All three are having trouble in their relationships, but sometimes this is the symptom of a deeper-rooted problem. And as the months pass, we come to know and love and root for these women, who are acting like grown-ups in the way everyone acts like grown-ups - actually acting like children and just pretending to be grown-ups when anyone calls them out on it.

There are some hard-hitting issues in this book, and one really totally unsympathetic character who I absolutely could not warm to at all. I hope he ends up miserable for the rest of his life. But it's all suffused under a layer of realism and warmth which emanates from Keyes' books and makes them feel so real. I almost wish I could go to a Casey family dinner, just so I could hug Cara and tell her she's doing great, kick Liam in the shins, and ogle Ferdia to see if he's actually as sexy as he seems to be.
Just the right mix of serious and funny, light and heavy, Marian Keyes has done it again!

As are most Marian Keyes books, this is a long read at over 600 pages. Covering a relatively short period of time in the lives of the extended Casey family there's certainly plenty going on between the pages to keep the reader entertained.

The story starts out with the family gathered together to celebrate Johnny's birthday where Cara, his sister-in-law suddenly starts speaking her mind, no holes barred after a previous fall causes her concussion. From there the book goes back over time giving the background to all the members of the family and the dynamics of their relationship with each other. Eventually it comes full circle back to the events of that rather disastrous birthday party.

Jessie has assumed the position of matriarch in the family. She earns a good living from her restaurants and likes to share her wealth by paying for her family to accompany her on luxurious holidays, parties and general get togethers. Her husband Johnny also works in the family business, though what his actual official position is I don't think we ever really find out.

It did take me a while to get into this book. I'd estimate I had read at least a third of the book before I finally decided to stick with it and read it to the end. I didn't like Jessie and even as I reached the end I still never really grew to have much sympathy for her. I had more sympathy for her husband Johnny, as he worshipped Jessie and everything he did was to please her. Most of the characters from the Casey family were quite insecure people, and as a result of their insecurities and low self esteem did a fair bit of whinging if I'm honest. Or maybe I'm just not a very sympathetic reader, who knows.

For me it was Nell married to Liam, the youngest of the Casey brothers who gave saving grace to the beginning of the book. I liked Nell as she was the most down-to-earth of the characters in the family. She had her head screwed on, knew what she wanted from life and often felt somewhat uncomfortable at the amount of money Jessie lavished on everyone.

Once I'd got into the book I did enjoy it very much, once again showing me that perseverance and a bit of patience pays off. It's a story of family dynamics, and insecurity. I preferred the younger characters, Nell and Ferdia. They were very likeable whereas the older ones, especially the women just kind of annoyed me really. I did actually think it was time they grew up, especially Jessie.

Overall I found it a compelling read once I'd got past the initial stages of the book, with humour, chaos and interesting story lines being the trade mark of a good Marian Keyes novel.

Review to be posted to blog a week before publication. Posted to good reads now.

I enjoyed the premise of this book - the birthday dinner where secrets are inadvertently given away at the beginning of the book - and then the background is painted for us as we go back over the months prior to this dinner. We meet the Casey family - the three brother and their wives and families all organised by Jessie. all hiding secrets and all needing to do some growing up.

I struggled a little with some of the detail of how Jessie came to meet both her husbands - I did skim some of this detail to focus on the most recent developments. Overall the characters were well drawn - if not always totally believable - and I was drawn in and wanted to finish the book to find out how the partnerships evolve.

An interesting enjoyable read.

Marian Keyes is very good. She’s good on families, she’s good on relationships, and she writes excellent, realistic dialogue. And she really knows how to tell a story. Grown Ups is an insightful, enjoyable read with a memorable cast of characters.