Family Drama at it's finest. One wants everyone to believe she is the epitome of perfection, the black sheep wants to be redeemed and all mom wants to do is spend some quality time with her family before life throws another curve into the mixed up life of the Feldman's.
Full of life and some romanticism,this book will keep you laughing, sometimes gasping and then some crying, but overall an enjoyable summer read!

THE FLOATING FELDMANS by Elyssa Friedland is an adventure by word as it is by sea. The nuances between characters that Friedland is able to achieve is awesome and my favorite part of her writing style. I was worried at one point that the book would capitalize on the stereotypical problems at sea but Friedland finds a whole new set of troubles that can befall you on a cruise when you take off with your family and bring more than just physical luggage with you. I loved the story, the characters, and the conflict, along with all the threads that come together at the end. Pick up one of Friedland’s books – they all have different plots but excellent characters!
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

“𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚎 𝙵𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗’𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎, 𝚗𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜!”

—𝙴𝚕𝚢𝚜𝚜𝚊 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙵𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚜

After reading a ridiculous amount of mystery/thrillers this month, I needed a palate cleanse in the worst way! I was so excited to jump in with the Feldmans in this dysfunctional family comedy.

While it was full of funny banter and laughable antics by this high strung family, I was surprised at the depth and real issues and secrets many of the family members were facing. I liked some of the characters much better than others, but I didn’t let that tamper with my overall feel good factor with this book.

I’ll be honest and say that this adorable cover led me to pick it up, and I was happy to say that the story inside lived up to the cover.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars!

*thank you to @netgalley and publisher for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

The Feldmans are a dysfunctional family. They all have secrets from each other and no one seems to understand anything about the other members of the family. The novel is told in multiple voices and we get to hear everyone's opinions on family issues and on each other.

Annette is turning 70 and decides that she and her recently retired husband, David, should take the family on a cruise to celebrate. Their two children can barely spend a few days with them so a week long cruise is going to be different for all of them. Their son has always been a mystery to them - he never reached the goals that they had set for him and has always felt underappreciated. He shows up for the cruise with his new much younger girlfriend. Annette's daughter, Elsie is married with two teen age children. There is little to no communication between her and her children and she is keeping a major secret from her husband...but is he also keeping a secret from her? With all this deception going on, spending 7 days on a cruise is either going to make them or break them....

This compelling novel is about being part of a family and trying to accept each other. The dash of humor that's thrown in, makes it all the more realistic.

I really enjoy this story!! Loved all the quirky characters! This was a first by this author and I’d like to read more by her

Imagine having a family reunion with your immediate family on a cruise ship after years of not speaking or seeing each other very much. Annette Feldman wanted the opportunity to pull everyone back together for her 70th birthday. Everyone had their secrets and hidden agendas for going on this trip. It definitely didn't go as planned as the family dynamics started to shift and change when secrets were revealed and unraveled.

This was a cute, quick read perfect for the summer or while taking your own family cruise. I could definitely see some of this happening on my family cruise.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Title: The Floating Feldmans
Author: Elyssa Friedland
Publisher: E. F.
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"The Floating Feldmans" by Elyssa Friedland

My Rationalization:

I found "The Floating Feldman's" quite a story that lots of families have gone through in one way or another. For this family, this matriarch was turning seventy and invited her son, daughter, son-in-law and the two grandchildren to come along with her and her husband on a week's Caribbean cruise for her birthday that she would pay for. I will say that these characters were really something that will definitely keep you turning the pages to see what was coming next in trying to understand them.

It seems like everyone wanted to come on this cruise but omg what kind of attitudes, trust issues, resentments, insecurities, and secrets did this family seem to have among themselves? How will this vacation turn out for this Friedland/Connelly family? With the uncle having business with his selling of pot, a daughter being a shopaholic whose bankrupted the family, their father being ill and this story will continue on and will leave you shaking your head and saying Wow! And it seems like this family wasn't alone in having problems for the cruise director had problems not only with his cruse people [this family] but in his own personal life too. I could definitely understand his thoughts of if getting married would be the best thing for him after seeing and hearing what all goes on in some families.

Be ready to find some humor in this good read that will definitely add to the storyline. It will be really interesting to see how all of these secrets will come out by the end of the cruise. So to see how this family drama all comes out you will have to pick up "The Floating Feldmans" to see how well this author presents to the reader a well-written story. I enjoyed how well this author will answer all the questions of everyone's situation by the end of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC of this book.

Elyssa Friedland has constructed a clever and compelling story. An evocative family drama filled with tension, secrets and a splash of humor. The setting of the cruise ship added even more to the claustrophobic feel of the story. Imagine three generations of a dysfunctional family confined to a cruise ship. Meet the Feldmans.... Annette thought it would be a good idea to bring the family together for her 70th birthday. Her two children, their significant others, and her grandchildren. Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?

This was such an engaging story, that kept my amateur therapist invested throughout. We got The point of view of all the characters and this made us privy to a lot of secrets. Some characters I connected with more than others and some characters I liked more than others. I thought the dynamics between the siblings, and parents and children were spot on. I am part of that sandwich generation, both my parents and my children are getting older. As time consuming and challenging as it is to parent little kids, it is so much trickier when they become adults. I kept waiting for everything to hit the fan in this book, and when it did oh boy! All I’m going to say is Baked Alaska! This was such a relatable story infused with heart and humor.

Such an enjoyable and sweet story. Annette Feldman decides she wants to do something special for her 70th birthday so she organizes a vacation on a cruise ship for her family.This sounds fun right?

The book switches from one POV to another, it was nice that we could see the members of the family , I enjoyed most of them!I loved it and I could relate with some of them!It was a fun read perfect for summer!

Annette Feldman is turning 70 and in celebration of her birthday, she is taking her family (and all of their baggage) on a 4 day Caribbean cruise. When you are out to sea with family that has secrets and haven’t always gotten along, you can plan for some drama. This book delivers a family drama in the most hilarious of ways. Told in multiple voices, the book breaks up the stories with multiple perspectives, but I found myself rushing through sections featuring some characters (the ones I didn’t like so much, but I think that was the author’s intention) to get to the sections about the characters that I was enjoying. In the end, I left appreciating my own family and our ability to communicate and vacation together!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC of this book.
Release date: July 23

If you enjoy books about oddly endearing dysfunctional families this is the book for you! This was surprisingly poignant look at what happens when on quirky family finally spends more than one meal together and the results were highly entertaining and profoundly funny.

This is told via multiple perspectives, you hear from almost everyone in the Feldman crew and even a member of staff on the cruise. I love a good ensemble cast, and every single one of these people had some pretty juicy secrets. If was kind of one of those situations where you think, do ANY of these people talk to each other? But it was also really apparent that each had valid reasons for keeping said secrets to themselves. I really enjoyed every single one of the characters, they all brought something unique to the table and though I don’t think I would want any of them as members of my own family, I was pretty invested in both their individual storylines as well as their dynamics as a group.The author is a talented writer, she has a sharp and witty insight into family that really shines through in the storyline and I breezed through this one, mainly do to her thoughtful and funny observations. Recommended as a fun summer read, I definitely had fun with this one and can easily see it being popular, but if you’re planning a cruise yourself you may want to wait to read it until after your trip…

The Floating Feldman’s in three words: Sardonic, Enjoyable and Dysfunctional

3.5ish stars, rounded. This felt a little longer than necessary, and it was hard to find likable things about almost any of the characters (not necessarily a deal breaker for me, but I know that it is for some readers). I thought the premise of trapping a semi-estranged family on a cruise together was very entertaining, and provided a great backdrop for family drama. Perspective changes felt choppy at times, and I personally would have preferred to maybe have fewer perspectives, or, if we are going to get the perspective of so many characters, devote more equal time to each of them. This story definitely did not increase my interest in ever going on a cruise, ever, but reading about them can certainly be fun.

Everyone knows that a trip together will bring out the worst family drama. This is an accurate statement when it comes to the Feldmans. This book is told through many family perspectives and the drama is always avaliable. This family is funny and witty throughout the book. You will fall in love (or hate) the many different characters in the book as each has their own unique and special personality. I am a sucker for dysfunctional family stories and this one was no exception.

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews "The Floating Feldmans" by Elyssa Friedland, Penguin Random House, July 23, 2019

Elyssa Friedland, Author of "The Floating Feldmans" has written a witty, entertaining,and emotional novel. The Genres for this story are Domestic Fiction, Humor, and Women's Fiction. The author describes her dysfunctional cast of characters as complex, and complicated, each having their own set of problems and secrets. 

Annette Feldman is going to be 70 and has decided that she wants the whole family to go on a cruise. The Feldmans don't communicate well on the land, so you can imagine what will happen at sea. They all will need their life preservers, that is for sure!! Not only is there a lack of communication, but every Feldman also seems to have a secret.

There is a touch of satire, and I appreciate that the author discusses the importance of family, honesty, communication, emotional support and love. I recommend this amusing and thought-provoking story! Happy Reading!!

The Floating Feldmans is an entertaining family drama. An extended, drifted apart family, forced to spend much time together on a cruise celebrating the matriarch's 70th birthday. Funny and honest, full of great personalities and miscommunication; I really enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGalley for the early reader copy, all opinions are my own.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, aside from the brief description that came with the book. Basic premise is that a family goes on a cruise for a family celebration. I’m not a fan of cruises, so that was one strike. As I started to read the book, each of the family members kind of got on my nerves, almost as if they were exaggerated or caricatures. However, I quickly realized that this was what the story was about. Let’s put these people in a chaotic setting and see what comes from it. And perhaps we could see a bit of ourselves in at least one of the characters.
Whose family doesn’t have issues? This book takes a humorous view at this group who has not come together in years and doesn’t communicate well. Each member seems to have their own secret and doesn’t even think that anything will come out during this week spent at sea.
This is a great read for a vacation, and should be required if you’re traveling with family.
Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

This was a fine, dysfunctional family story. It lagged a bit in the beginning. There was a bit too much introduction to the characters and their problems. Things started to pickup once the family set sail. The author's commentary and flippant comments were enjoyable and amusing.

I've never been on a cruise, but judging from The Floating Feldmans, by Elyssa Friedland, I don't think it would be for me. I actually loved this book, but it will make me think twice before I book such a vacation. With fun characters and a nightmarish setting, this novel was a fun, fast read.

What I Liked:

Setting:

Nothing says fun like a family vacation, right? The cruise ship, with its forced socialization, makes for several funny situations. The daily activities, people fighting over the buffet (they seem to forget that there will be enough for everyone), and nightly themed dinners are all opportunities for the author to make us laugh. Oh, I did laugh out loud over many of the antics in this book.

Characters:
Elise:

I really connected to the character of Elise. Not her shopping addiction (okay, I sort of have a book buying addiction...), but her stress over her family. She's in a place in life where the kids are moving on to college, and she is left wondering what her purpose will be in the future.

Freddy:

Elise's brother, Freddy, is the family screw-up. Everyone expects the worst from him. He is constantly put down. The family thinks he is getting into debt on the cruise in order to impress his beautiful, young girlfriend. Little do they know he is a wildly successful businessman.

Annette:

The family matriarch, Annette, is a control-freak (much like her daughter). So a cruise seems like a perfect setting for her to corral her children to spend time with her and her husband, David. But even having everyone in the same place is no guarantee that they will notice each other. I found her to be a very sympathetic character.

Darius:

Darius (Elise's teenage son) is much like Freddy. Everyone expects him to mess up. He's under pressure from Elise to finish (start, actually) his college essay. But he can't seem to get started. Wow, this has been my own life! Guiding one's kids through the college application process is incredibly stressful, and this book captured the tension, and absurdity, of all of it.

Story:

Getting all the members of the Feldman clan on a boat was a genius way to force confrontations and expose secrets. And wow, do they ever have some secrets! Elise has a shopping addiction, which could ruin her husband's plans (which she knows nothing about), and force her son to go to a (gasp!) community college. Her brother, who everyone assumes is a screw-up, is actually a multi-millionaire marijuana distributor. And one of the grandparents has a life-threatening illness. All their dirty laundry gets aired out over the course of the book.

3.5 stars, rounded down

Annette Feldman has the bright idea to celebrate her 70th birthday on a 4 day Caribbean cruise surrounded by her family. This is not one of those close knit, lovey dovey families. No, her two children seem to resent each other and neither is particularly close to their parents. They have trouble spending a few hours together let alone days in each other’s company. Add in a few secrets, such as a shopping addiction and a very young girlfriend, and as the book blurb says, you’ve got the perfect storm.

The question, dear reader, is what you are expecting from this book. If you’re in the market for a family drama with glimpses of humor, read on. If you are expecting humor, along the lines of Jonathan Tropper’s This Is Where I Leave You, look elsewhere.

The book switches from one POV to another, giving us insights that the rest of the family don’t have. Friedland nails the sibling rivalries and the parental anguish. I found myself feeling sorry for the characters yet unable to relate to them. Elise, in particular, just seemed pathetic and whiny. I would have jumped ship if I was stuck dealing with her. And Julian, the cruise director, seemed entirely unnecessary as a character.

Large portions of the book struck me as dry. Friedland’s humor shines through best when describing the cruise itself. The cruise seemed like one of the circles of hell and reminded me why you’ll never catch me on one.

When things finally reach a crisis, I finally felt a connection with the characters. As Elise says, “I feel like I speak family as a second language.”

My thanks to netgalley and Berkley for an advance copy of this book.

This was an interesting read about three generations of Feldmans on a cruise for grandma's 70th birthday. Every family member is harboring a secret, and being together on a ship at sea brings everything to a head. I liked the differing points of view as each chapter hosted a different family member from which to view events. Another positive was that each family member had his or her own unique voice. All of the cruise ship activities and puns and overabundance of food were amusing and true to form. Part of the time I wanted to be on the cruise and the rest of the time I was glad I wasn't. I haven't read anything else by Elyssa Friedland, but now I will.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.