What a fantastic book by Laura Barnett.....I absolutely loved it.

It follows the intertwined stories of 6 fiends who all met at university.
They are brought together by a wedding which is being organised. As they come together, they remember old memories while making some new ones. Their stories start to intertwine again as they decide to keep contact and move forward, remaining friends.
But have they changed or are they still dealing with the same old problems. Broken marriages...and new ones, deaths and births through some real challenges at the group. Have they become older and wiser to deal with them or are they fundamentally the same as they were when they were together all those years ago?

Definitely a thought provoking book about the choices we make.

Of friendship, love, and the ever-changing nature of relationships. Following six university friends—Zoe, Al, Rachel, Rob, Yas, and Indie—over a year, the book captures the complexities of growing older, rekindling old connections, and navigating the unpredictability of life.

When Rob’s engagement party reunites the group, old emotions surface. Passions reignite, long-held resentments re-emerge, and life-altering events unfold. Over the next twelve months, there will be a birth, a marriage, and a death, but the question remains—whose? Through multiple perspectives, Barnett expertly weaves a story that is as much about the small, everyday moments as it is about the big milestones that shape us.

One of the book’s greatest strengths lies in its characterisation. Each of the six friends is drawn with such authenticity that their struggles, desires, and choices feel instantly relatable. From Rob, the history teacher with a trail of failed relationships, to Yas, the fiercely independent surgeon, and Al, the widower stepping into his father’s funeral business, every character is distinct and memorable. Their differing personalities and experiences create a dynamic, engaging read that will resonate with anyone who has ever navigated the complexities of friendship over time.

Barnett’s writing is immersive and thought-provoking, effortlessly shifting between past and present, between nostalgia and the realities of adulthood. She captures the nuances of human relationships—the tension, the tenderness, the misunderstandings, and the unbreakable bonds that endure despite time and distance.

Births, Deaths and Marriages is an emotional, heartfelt book about the joys and sorrows of life. It is about love in all its forms, the friendships that shape us, and the quiet moments that define who we become. With its richly drawn characters and relatable themes, this book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys thoughtful, character-driven fiction.

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Whilst I did enjoy this, it too me a bit too long to get into it and for a while I was very confused with the different perspectives. I would have found it useful to have the character names under each chapter title as sometimes it wasn’t clear right away whose POV we’d moved to.

Sadly it's a no from me as I found this book overly complex with too many characters.

I kept with it hoping that it would become easier to follow but unfortunately this did not happen

The book spans 25 years of the lives of a group of university friends as they experience births, marriages, deaths and everything in-between. On the whole I found the book enjoyable and some of the characters, in particular Zoe and Al, really drew me in. At times I wished there were slightly few main characters in order to focus the book a little more but that is a small gripe.

I wasn’t sure about this to begin with partly because of the number of characters, most of which were not particularly pleasant at the beginning but as I read on they became more relatable and I found myself warming to them. The book starts with the six main characters at university to give the reader a bit of background but then moves on to the present were they have all got on with their lives. Zoe, who married Rob but is now divorced, is a midwife and has a son. Al has been married and is widowed and is about to take over his father’s funeral business. Indie runs a coffee business and is married to Xavi but has reached a crossroads in her marriage as he has decided he would like children while she is focused on running and expanding her business. Yas is a surgeon and has been seeing a married man. Her mother has also been ill with cancer so she is juggling her life with various problems. Rachel is a stay at home mum who is struggling looking after small children while her husband is about to drop a bombshell on their lives. They have all been out of touch to some extent until Rob sends them all an invite to his engagement party. Each of the six of them have their own set of problems and to some extent are facing a crossroads in their lives. The characters were well developed as the story progresses and although all very different with different lives they still manage to support one another. I have not read any other books by this author but this book held by interest and will look out for other books by her. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me an ARC of this book.

I found following the storyline very difficult due to the number of characters and the way it jumped around. I really had to make myself read it.

I thought this book was nice - which may seem like a pretty mundane description, but it was a fairly mundane book. If you’re looking for something plot driven, this isn’t it. This is incredibly character heavy and I don’t know if it was really for me, as someone who usually reads plot heavy fantasy books.

It wasn’t heavy reading and was quite refreshing in that sense, with all of the characters being well rounded, and their relationships being written with great detail and attention, but I just don’t think it was entirely my thing.

I really enjoyed Laura Barnett's previous books and was keen to read her latest. The book spans 25 years of the lives of a group of university friends as they experience births, marriages, deaths and everything in-between. On the whole I found the book enjoyable and some of the characters, in particular Zoe and Al, really drew me in. At times I wished there were slightly few main characters in order to focus the book a little more but that is a small gripe. If you enjoyed her previous books, you will enjoy this.

Honestly, I couldn’t really get into this. The story follows six university friends—Zoe, Al, Rachel, Rob, Yas, and Indie—over the course of a year, exploring their friendships, relationships, and life changes.

The multiple perspectives were meant to add depth, but I struggled to connect with the characters. Despite it covering big life events, I never felt fully immersed in the narrative.

While the book explores love, friendship, and personal growth, which are themes I enjoy reading about, it just didn’t hook me.

This book allows us to meet 6 friends; Al, Zoe, Rachel, Rob, Yas and Indie, who found each other after a tragic event during their first year of university and who's friendship has maintained over 20 years of trials & major life events.

The story starts off during their university days, when we get to see their young, carefree personalities, but soon transfers into modern day - where we see the toll that adult life has taken on the group and the struggles they are currently going through (both individually and intertwined).

It is described as a Four Weddings and a Funeral for the new generation and I can definitely see the similarities, but I would've LOVED to have seen more about their university days in the book, and a deeper storyline around them growing up and experiencing some of these life events firsthand, rather than just mentioned as a flashback or a memory.

Personally, I didn't connect fully to any of the characters, but I think that was mainly down to the narrative that switched from person to person so often, rather than the characters themselves. The ever-switching narrative sometimes was hard to keep up with, and left me going backwards and forwards trying to figure out who we were referring to at that time.

If you love a multiple POV, friendship & realistic life events kind of novel, this is definitely one for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld for this ARC.

This book did make me think back to my university friendships and how the people you were inseparable from at the time can then come and go in our life and you're not sure exactly why it happens. The tragedies that should bring us together can often drive us apart as seen here along with the relationships which were and which were wished for at the time.

Made me want to get in touch with people and find out how their life is going.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld for this ARC.

This book is about a group of six friends. Rob, Al, Zoe, Rachel, Yas and Indie meet at university and loosely stay in touch until they all meet again 20 years later for a succession of events spanning a year - parties, funerals and weddings within the group. The six are very different but realistic characters who are everything from single, married, divorced and widowed, have relationship and job problems and different attitudes towards children.

The kaleidoscope of human experience is explored well but the multi POV writing style takes some getting used to as we're hopping from one person to the next, often with matter of fact descriptions of their actions or feelings. There is a lot going on and staying on top of who is who and in love with who is not always easy. Maybe fewer characters would have worked better so we could have concentrated more on their lives and motivations instead of just getting write-ups of "Zoe did this and then Al said this".

The whole thing is a bit too literary for me and I have to confess that I found a lot too mundane and boring. There is no real storyline, just vignettes that don't always join together well. The complex and relatable characters all have their faults but I can't say I disliked anyone, except maybe Xavier. Read if you like character-driven stories about friendship, love and loss.

In this book six friends, all quite different, come together again after many years having taken their lives in many different directions but there is a clear bond still there and they begin to reconnect. For many of them the book covers a period of change that requires them to step back and look at the choices that they have made in their lives. The characters are very human in that we meet them complete with flaws as well as endearing qualities which some have more of than others!

There is definitely someone for everyone to relate to and whilst you might lament their choices - older and younger ones - you cannot help but care about them. This book covers all those landmark occasions in life when we are at our most raw and you will be cheering this crew on whilst also sometimes wanting to sit them down for a Mum-style chat!

This was a very cleverly written book, I found myself drawn into the characters quickly and although working out the complexities of their relationships and who liked who was tricky to start with, I felt I got to know each member of the "friend"ship group in no time. I think we can all identify with fading University friendship groups and seeing them find each other again was interesting. The individual story lines were varied and felt authentic and appropriate for their age and stage. It's quite hard to describe what the book is about apart from to say that it is a very real description of life in your 40s with each member of the group facing their own battles and decisions, coming together to celebrate those milestones we enjoy and those we hope won't come too quickly. Clever and enjoyable- thank you!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the review copy of this novel. This is billed as a Four Weddings & a Funeral for the new generation and I can understand that label, but in some ways I think it does it a disservice. The novel has a real depth of understanding of the wreck that we can all be in our late thirties trying to assess the choices of the past and how to move forward into our next decade and beyond. The story is structured in a manner that reflects in some ways how fragmented and panicked our thoughts can be by where we are at that time and possibly wondering how we got there. The structure isn’t straightforward; it reflects and reverts to the past and is shared by six viewpoints that at times are very brief before they shift again. But it’s beautifully done. It’s a fine crafting that slowly becomes apparent as the story unfolds and as you come to understand the flaws and merits of each character.

Six people, who at university had been a group of good friends, four of whom shared a house together, are now at different kinds of cross roads in their lives and are drawn together by one of them hosting an engagement party to celebrate his nuptials to an older man. One of the group, Yas, a brilliant, sharp tongued consultant surgeon from a working class background has reached her goal that she’s worked hard to achieve, but now she finds she’s pregnant from a one night stand. She’s never really thought she would have children or marry, but suddenly she finds herself in turmoil. Zoe, a divorcee and midwife, is facing her son Gabe leaving the home to attend university and for the first time since her surprise pregnancy in university she will be on her own. Handsome teacher Rob, the ex husband and father to Gabe is engaged to an older man who adores him and yet Rob is panicking, just as he’d done so many other times in his life. Indie, a coffee entrepreneur is considering taking her business, Mother Bean, to the next level in America, is stunned when her husband of ten years declares that he wants children, something she’s said from the beginning was something she would never consider. And Rachel, a wife and mother to two boys under five is feels likes she’s drowning under the weight of motherhood and her husband’s failing business. Al, a partner in his father’s funeral business, is waiting for his father to retire and his chance to implement his vision of the business though his personal life is halted by his grief from his wife who’d died suddenly ten years before. All six of them meet up at this engagement party, the former tangled crushes and relationships still hanging on in various ways, and find that this meeting acts as a catalyst in different ways to make decisions and understand how their life has progressed. In the months following the party the shift is cataclysmic, cathartic or moves them beyond the point they all felt stuck in before the party.

Cleverly crafted and filled with deep rich characters this is a story that will resonate for many who have experienced those feelings in their thirties or any time of life. At the very least it’s a story about our deep selves that can be doubt filled and questioning no matter what time of life we’re in. Very good read.

From the moment I saw the title I was invested in this book, and who wouldn't be with the title? This a charming, delightful and somewhat relatable book about six friends who met at university and carries on twenty years later. The writing is beautiful and keeps you want to keep turning the pages.

Thank you for the ARC and I can't wait to read the next book by this author.

I enjoyed this story of six former uni friends, their relationships and how they navigate life’s challenges over the course of a year. The characters come from a variety of backgrounds and have different attitudes to life, which made it believable. The characterisation is excellent. If you’re interested in people and what makes them tick, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

A really enjoyable story from beginning to end taking you through the challenges within a friendship group and how that stands the test of time.

Initially you are bombarded with so many characters that it takes you a little time to remember who is who. Once you have all the characters clear in your mind an enjoyable read follows.