Grown Ups, by Marian Keyes

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And I'm here with my first review of 2023! 

Grown Ups, by Marian Keyes! 

I have a lot of thoughts on it, as it's quite a big book. 

I hope you enjoy it. 

Title: Grown Ups 

Author: Marian Keyes

Genre: Contemporary 

Release date: 6/2/2022

Status: Standalone 

Pages: 633

Blurb: "Meet Jessie, Cara and Nell. 

Married to brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam Casey. 

Three very different women tied to three very different men. 

Every family occasion is a party- until the day the secrets spill out. 

Playtime is over. 

But where are the grown-ups?" 

My Thoughts

I'm not gonna lie- this was a slightly intimidating book, going into it. But when you're looking forward to delving in as much as I was- it almost doesn't matter much, the size of it. Besides, I know that if I couldn't read a book that I was this excited about- what chance did I have of conquering the vast, epic fantasies I want to get to this year? 

At the start, it was a little difficult trying to differentiate whom was a parent, or cousin, or sibling of another character, seriously there were so many characters to get to know, but once I got past maybe the fifty page mark, I more or less had everyone worked out. 

Let me paint you a map. There are the three Casey brothers, Johnny Ed and Liam. They're all married, to Jessie, Cara and Nell (whose POV's your reading from for the majoritiy of the book); then there are the children, Ferdia, Saoirse, Bridey, TJ, Dillie, Tom and Casey. They're not all characters that you read from, because they range from about nine years old to twenty-one but it's easy to see why it took me a while to get to know everyone. 

From the outside, the Casey family just look like a close-knit family, living a life of luxury. That couldn't be farther from the truth. They all have their faults, but that's what sold this book for me. The imperfections, because those are what made the Caseys real to me. This was very much a character based book, and I had no problem whatsoever with that. 

One of my favourite aspects to this book was how many storylines took place within this book. There was so much going on in any one chapter, but I never once felt like I was overwhelmed, or there was too little/ too much of a storyline. There was perfect balance. 

Same with the characters. I had a few favourites (of course I had to) but nobody got lost anywhere, I never forgot who anybody was, or where they fit in the family. Flawless characterisation. 

Another aspect that I really loved to see were the family dynamics. It was great to see characters go from hate to love and back again. 

So, the book starts at a random dinner where the whole family is in attendance. At this point, you don't know the characters from Adam, and Cara has a concussion from something that happened earlier that day. Incidentally, she spills every one of the secrets within the Casey family. (Which at this point, the reader doesn't care about.) 

You're then thrown back several months, which is the start of the actual story. You jump from holiday to holiday that the Casey family go on, as the events unfold. I wish I'd paid more attention at the start to be honest, so I could theorise how certain conversations might make those secrets become the secrets they were, you know?

For example, Cara- at the start was always struggling with food portions, or Nell, marrying Liam whilst only having known him for a few months. Certain details that were either mentioned in that scene at the start, or the very start of the book, when you're at the earliest point in time. I wish I'd paid more attention to details like that. 

I've already written a lot, but it feels like I've barely touched on some things. But nope, that's it. 

Overall, such a great, great book. Wonderful characters, explosive secrets that come out in the best (or the worst) way possible, I wish I could read it again with new eyes. 

What an amazing read. To be honest, this book makes me worry about what kind of expectations I'll have for the rest of her books, cos it'll be sky high. 

All I'll say is that, if you're after a detailed, naunced story about a dysfunctional family, drama, relationships and careers, then this is the book for you. 

I loved this immensely. 

There, that's it. I'm done. 

Okay! That's my review for Grown Ups, by Marian Keyes. 

I hope you enjoyed it, and if you've read it, leave a comment down below! 

I hope you have a wonderful evening and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeeeee! 

-Abi xxxxx