I adore Marian Keyes and this is yet another success of hers. From the first page I was hooked. Amy's husband is leaving her for a 'off duty six months' and her world is turned upside down. As with all Marian Keyes books there were parts where I laughed out loud and other parts where I hit the sofa in frustration! It's the perfect thing to read on a summer holiday (or in the early hours when your baby won't go to sleep!).

A wonderful read ....funny, sad and totally believable. Amy's husband decides he is taking a 6 months break from their marriage. Will he return? Experience the months of absence with Amy, her mad family, her work colleagues and her collection of friends. All have their views on what Amy should do and all help to put added pressure on her hectic life. She has to cope with a daughter's unwanted pregnancy;demanding clients at work; unsupportive girlfriends; a "life begins at 70" mother and a father with dementia. All this whilst she is trying to come to terms with the absent husband and his misbehaviours. I don't want to give the ending away............a must read.

I have to admit that despite writing many books, I have never read a Marian Keyes before! She is wonderful at developing characters and I found them all very likeable, especially the Granny. She portrayed the crazy Irish family so well and had some moments that made me laugh out loud. I felt the story was a bit slow to start with but that soon past and then I couldn't put it down, even though the ending was a bit predictable.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this advance copy for an honest review

Classic Marian Keyes. Reading her novels is always a bittersweet experience - you spend the first half wishing it would never end and the second half realising that it's going to and hoping that she is writing another new book (very fast ideally). Read in one sitting. Highly recommend. Especially loved Lillian (aka LOCMOF). Wish she could come and be our Gransnet vlogger

This is a book about mid-life crises, a book about modern families, a book love and betrayal in the era o social media. As always Marian Keyes portrays a strong working woman, Amy whose life is shaken up when her husband decides they need to take a break. Funny, entertaining, this was a captivating read, though not as strong as the Walsh family series. Though with a family like Amy's, maybe there's room for a new series?

This book follows the lives of a modern Irish family through the ups and downs of life. After loosing his Dad and friend close together Hugh decides he needs a break from his wife and his life for 6 months to go and find himself. Amy deep in shock is left to deal with real life just her and the girls, while Hugh is swanning around Thailand with an attractive young woman on his arm. The hurt and the anger of seeing these Facebook photos cause Amy to then go against her principles and have an affair with a married man. This book takes you through the knock on effect all this has on their lives and those of the family too. An enjoyable read

Another fantastic book from Marian. Loved the highs, felt tearful with the lows. A snapshot of quite a lot of longstanding marriages.

A must read in my view.

Amy and Hugh are having a break, not a holiday but a marriage break. Hugh has decided he needs 6 months and goes off backpacking. Amy is devastated, this is her second marriage, her first ending when the first husband just walked out... so a flood of emotions are laid quite raw on this journey. After those 6 months, can Hugh just pick up where he left off? Will Amy move on and find someone else? Well that is for you to find out.

I found this book slow to start but it soon picked up pace and it is the perfect lock yourself away for a day book to sit and read.

I haven't read a Marian Keyes book in years and always loved them when I was growing up.

Unfortunately I only managed to get through 40% of this book before I gave up. I liked the idea of the storyline but found the story very long winded and didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. It also made me feel quite down when reading it as the narrator seems down and unhappy.

I liked the characters in the story but none of them gripped me enough that much to make me want to continue reading and I did find Hugh very selfish and quite annoying- not sure if he would change my opinion later in the book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read a preview before publication. It's very unusual for me to actually give up reading a book but I really couldn't get on with this one.

Took me awhile to get into this book but once I did really enjoyed it thought it was a book of two halves first half more about Amy's career and second half about her relationships loved all the characters and there interaction with each other each bought something different to the book was surprised at the ending as didn't think she would get back with Hugh but now think it was the right ending fans of Marion Keyes will love it only read one of hers before but would definitely try another

The Break is the best Marian Keyes book I've read. Here with her usual wryness and sense of humour, she follows the journey of middle aged Amy, whose husband of twenty years suddenly decides he wants a six month break. Everyone in Amy's large family is affected by Hugh's decision and what Amy will do when/if he returns to her..

A mid life crisis such as Hugh appears to be suffering from is a scenario with which many of us are familiar and often torn apart by. Now that people live so much longer than previous generations are we still able to stay with
the familiar partners we marry in our youth or should we look for new excitement while we have the opportunity? Marian Keyes explores with wisdom these middle years of marriage and what happens when children grow up and parents have to reevaluate their relationship with each other,

Your readers are so going to love The Break, Marian! Thanks to NetGalley, Michael Joseph/Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review this book which I am sure will be a huge success.

After reading the blurb, I felt confident I could predict what would happen. I was wrong.
As much as I tried to predict the story, she reminded me that life is messy and complicated with no clear choices at times. The characters are flawed, interesting and unpredictable.
Marian Keyes always writes entertaining and emotional books and this is my favourite of hers so far.

Amy is a busy mum, married to Hugh, happy with her somewhat chaotic Irish family and her PR job which means she works between Dublin and London. But she and Hugh are happy, ok their finances are tight and there is never quite enough time for each other, but that's what life is. Then Hugh drops a bombshell, he wants to take a 6 month break from their marriage. Amy is gobsmacked, how can he do this to her, she has always been there for him, they love each other. But, off he goes. How will Amy cope? This is a good read, I found it a page turner. There are lots of side stories, her extended family, her friends, her work. Lots to make you laugh and maybe even to cry. I loved it.

This latest novel by Marian Keyes is magnificent - it delves into the complexities of relationships from all angles and at all levels. Prepare to have your heartstrings played upon.

A lovely chunky novel with plenty of engaging characters and a lot going on. At times poignant, at others hilarious, but always entertaining. I really enjoyed this tale of a complex and slightly dysfunctional Dublin family. I could especially sympathise with Amy's problems with her parents as I have ageing parents myself. Her mum is a one-off! Highly recommended.

Loved this book. A real winner. Couldn't put it down. Lived through Hugh's decision to " take a break" with Amy. Some really funny moments, some moments of deep despair. This book had the ability to make me, laugh, cry, feel frustrated along with Amy. Marian Keyes has triumphed again! She manages to engage the reader with the minutae of everyday life alongside the angst of tricky relationships.

A huge great 600 page book full of family drama. Love, loss, friendship, parenting... it's all here. Existing fans of Marian Keyes will love, and the contemporary package may well win her a legion of new ones!

It's been a long time since I've read either a 'chick lit' book or a Marian Keyes book, and I have to say what a refreshing change it made. I loved this book and really felt like I knew Amy and her family.

Marian Keyes has not lost her knack of writing a warming, heart felt book and I could hear her voice throughout it all.

I would definitely recommend this book.

I love Marian Keyes’s books.  Just the other day, I was sitting staring at one of my bookshelves (why yes, I have five, why do you ask?) and wondering which of the books on the shelf I’d had for longest – I came to the conclusion it was probably Watermelon, the first of Keyes’s books about the most excellent Walsh sisters.  I’ve read all but one of her books, and more than once each, I might add. I’m still saving The Woman Who Stole My Life for a rainy day, as I don't want to be left with no new Marian Keyes books to read, so I was beyond excited to be approved for an e-ARC of her newest work, The Break, on NetGalley.

The story of Amy and Hugh grabbed me straight away – we’re launched into a very stable relationship, where they have one biological child together, a child from Amy’s first marriage, and are looking after Amy’s teenaged niece as well.  Everything seems as okay as it can be, apart from typical money woes, when Hugh announces he’s leaving Ireland – leaving his family – and going travelling for six months following the death of his father and his best friend in quick succession.  Amy will be left to be the sole parent to Neeve, Kiara and Sofie, and there's certainly family dramas while Hugh is gone.

I could completely understand Hugh’s reasoning in wanting to go.  And I could understand even more Amy’s devastation and fury as a result of him leaving.  After some fraught discussions, they decide that both of them can sleep with other people while Hugh’s gone, and he’s 100% certain that he will be back at the end of the six months for them to start again/go back to where they were.  But during that six month period, Hugh and Amy aren't going to have any contact, she forbids him from using Facebook so that she and their friends and family aren't bombarded with pictures of what a brilliant time he's having.

So far, so stressful, until the gradual reveal that Amy isn’t as innocent as she might seem, thanks to a certain newspaper editor in London…

I loved this book.  It had Marian’s trademark humour and wonderful characters, but also seemed to delve a little deeper into the motivations behind the characters.  I don’t want to give too much away with regards to the plot, because I feel this is a book you need to enjoy without too many preconceptions, but I enjoyed the narrative device used throughout, and I also liked that as the reader, I wasn’t sure how the story was going to end – or even how I wanted it to end.  I loved Hugh at the start, but there were times when I didn’t want he and Amy to reunite because I didn’t think it was the best thing for them, and I didn't see how they could recover from their time apart.  Amy has a bit of a thing with her newspaper editor while Hugh is away, and although he was a great guy on paper, Keyes did an excellent job of showing that Amy wasn’t always fooled by him, there were plenty of occasions where she’s frustrated by Josh, or he’s a bit rude, impolite or churlish.  Who of us isn’t, at times?  His behaviour didn’t stop me from wondering whether Amy would end up with him, as it’s true that they had a real connection for a period of time – and he was there, when Hugh was having fun with a barrister from Edinburgh in Thailand…

I thought that the ending was a little abrupt, but this could well have been because I raced towards the end and read the last hundred or so pages very quickly indeed! I enjoyed reading the epilogue which showed where most of the main characters ended up a few years after the main story concludes. I finished the book and carried on thinking about the characters for days afterwards; for me, that is the sign of a most excellent book and author.  This book will definitely stand up to multiple re-reads, and thank you to Michael Joseph and to NetGalley for my copy.

Another brilliant Marian Keyes book. She really knows how to write a book and all characters are relatable, they just feel real!.

This book really took me on a roller coaster of emotions, it's very rare that a book makes me cry and then a few pages later has me laughing out loud as well!

I highly recommend this book probably my favourite book I've read this year!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.