The Core Four have been friends since college - four guys, four girls. They married each other, had children....and now in their 40s, Jessica and Mitch Butler are the last couple standing. To help avoid the same fate, they decide to try something unique to keep their marriage fresh: they’ll relax the standard rules about sex and monogamy —but they set boundaries! Hard set rules, including no emotional relationships and complete honesty with each other - what could go wrong? What follows is surprisingly hilarious and such fun to read -as expected, jealousy and bad feelings begin to emerge. In the end, what is the ultimate answer on keeping a marriage alive?
This was a great, fun novel to read! I really did laugh out loud many times. With the world around us so serious and stressful, this was just what the doctor ordered. A great getaway!
Thanks to Matthew Norman, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

There’s just something refreshing and fun about a male writing romance, that always intrigues me and makes me want to read them. For this title in particular, I was thrilled to have found the voice i was looking for from a male perspective and it was EVERYTHING.

On your side of the fence, the grass is green as fuck. On this side, there is no grass. There’s just booze and sadness and fucking designer jeans.

I particularly LOVED just the bits and pieces of this book that made me laugh out loud, and how I could relate to the characters and their situations. While I should have been totally skeptical of this approach to marriage in the book for personal reasons, instead Norman’s writing had me laughing out loud and nodding in agreement on more than one occasion.

Thank you to Netgalley & Ballantine Books for allowing me to read this one, it was truly an unexpected treasure.

The premise of this book made me step back and think. It is funny at times, yet poignant at the same time.

The biggest lesson from this book is that divorce isn’t usually a solution and that people should work harder and be willing to forgive transgressions. Couples who love each other need to work hard to keep their marriages exciting, and looking for excitement outside of marriage isn’t the best course of action. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The main flaw in their reasoning is that sex is what makes or breaks marriages. With the odds of divorce at 50%, Jessica and Mitch should have realized that their odds were greatly improved after 75% of their friends group split up. They had a loving marriage with humor, respect, friendship and beautiful kids. When they created the rules, they failed to consider that their feelings for each other who supersede any logic.

I appreciate that this male author was able to fairly capture women’s feelings. Although Jessica was the instigator and the only one to have sex, he didn’t make her the villain of the piece. And with the other couples, one man cheated, one couple each had emotional affairs, and the 3rd weren’t in love, so the blame fell along gender lines. The men stereotypically went after younger women, and the women experienced and discussed the double standard of dating in the new millennium: men go for younger women thereby forcing middle-aged women to date older men. Of course, there’s the occasional cougar relationship as well, but it’s no more fulfilling than the older man-younger woman scenario. Bottom line is that sexual attraction complicates things, and seeking out extramarital liaisons is opening Pandora’s box, even if both partners are seemingly in agreement.

I loved Mitch. He’s the perfect man as far as I’m concerned: funny, devoted, loving, loyal, and a devoted father. Yes, he was tempted by a pretty young thing, but his love for his family kept him from crossing the line. The whole ET subplot is all about how even the best parents can make mistakes, but that they do everything in their power to make up for them by being there for their kids.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Ballantine Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own

Jessica and Mitch are officially the last married couple still together from their core group of friends, and they are feeling unmoored. Worried that their marriage is doomed to fail as well, they take drastic measures to keep it intact. They decide to…wait for it…sleep with other people. They make all sorts of rules, like they can only sleep with non-Facebook friends, and never more than once. They have to be honest and tell the other person when they’ve slept with someone. And when they do, the other person can only ask three questions about the non-affair.

Naturally, these rules are almost immediately broken. (Apparently hot bartenders don’t appreciate sex with stipulations…) Jessica and Mitch may have begun the experiment convinced they would unlock the key to next-level marital bliss, but eventually they find themselves stuck in the same ol’ predictable drama you’d expect when a significant other starts sleeping with someone else. The real question is, will they have what it takes to make amends and come together again?

MY THOUGHTS
I put off reading this book based on a couple meh reviews I read. I worried Last Couple Standing would be cliche and rife with weird, opportunistic midlife-crisis sex. And while, yes, there is a whole lot of Midlife Crisis happening here, there is so much more to the story. Last Couple Standing explores what real commitment looks like, what it means to make the choice to be married. Marriage is hard, and parenthood, yeesh, is so hard. Those two things together will suck the soul right out of you. But these connections also give us direction, meaning, focus, and love.

The most surprising thing to me about this book is that it isn’t heavy or even depressing. In fact, it’s actually really, really funny. I laughed while Jessica and Mitch tried to figure this stuff out. There’s nothing more entertaining than watching a bunch of 40-year olds try to be single again. Lust is hot, but being single is it’s own kind of hard work. Just thinking about swiping right exhausts me. In the end, I fell in love with these characters and all their little quirks. I felt like I understood them and empathized with them. And I can’t even begin to say how much I adored the ending. That final scene in the driveway actually had me laughing out loud. This one gets all the stars from me.

A couple determined not to end up like their divorced friends try a radical experiment—and get in way over their heads—in this hilarious, heartfelt novel from the author of We’re All Damaged.

I love a good book about relationships and the lengths couples will go through to sustain and maintain their relationship. I'm not a romance reader, but I wanted to give this one a try and I didn't regret it.

Great concept and love the cover, both of which made me want to request the book. About 25% in just felt predictable and I lost interest.

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I really liked this book and felt it had a unique take on a typical romance book. I will definitely be recommending it to family and friends!

Wow! What a breath of fresh air. So unlike anything I’ve ever read. This is my first Matthew Norman book, and I was delighted. In it, we follow the Core Four: a group of four couples who’d met in school. When 3 of the group members get divorced the “last couple standing” , Mitch and Jessica try to spice things up to keep their marriage strong. But quickly come to find their presumptuous plans have holes in it. Will disaster strike? Will Mitch and Jessica thwart divorce? Or will they end up just like their friends?

Final thoughts…
Felt this book was funny, which I wasn’t expecting. It has everything you want in a book and sucks you in from start to finish. Thank you so much NetGalley, Matthew Norman for providing this copy to review. All thoughts and comments are my own.

Jessica and Mitch used to be part of, The Core Four (four men, four women, four couples) but the Core Four feel apart as couples broke up and got divorced except for the and they plan to keep it that way. The come up with an experiment in which they will be allowed to have sex with other people - just as long as they follow the rules. The rules are simple, you can't have sex with the same person more than once and you can't have sex with anyone you know.

It sounds fun and exciting but emotions and obstacles get in the way and Jessica and Mitch will need to make some decisions on what direction they want their marriage to move.

Last Couple Standing is a hilarious yet realistic look at monogamy, relationships, divorce and life.
I wouldn't call this book "sexy" it's comical and entertaining.

This is the perfect book to help you pass time and stay away from people during this Pandemic.


* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so good both funny and addicting! This will make an awesome beach read! Make sure to add this to your must reads of 2020!

loved, loved this book which had me thoroughly laughing throughout this novel! First time author and was very impressed!

Thanks to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a very easy read, it was light and charming. The writing is great and the story flies by. The characters, particularly Mitch, are well-drawn and relatable. It had some funny parts and I highly recommend it.

This book was so fun to read. I loved watching all of the characters work through their issues. The story flowed and had very likable characters.

Matthew Norman has put a funny spin on a situation that could be serious. The characters are very likable (even though they had flaws) and the story flowed easily. This is an enjoyable book about people in their 40s who have been married for a while and are trying to keep things interesting. I definitely recommend this book. It is well-written and a satisfying read.

Last Couple Standing by Matthew Norman is a story a couple trying to save their marriage after their three close friend couples divorce. Jessica and Mitch Butler believe their friends divorced because of sex, having it, not having it, wanting to have it with other people. The couple talked about it and decided to relax and experiment. I enjoy this book writing, but I couldn't get behind the subject and how this couple moved forward, especially Jessica. This book was not for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Soooooo, do I agree with Jessica and Mitch's decisions? Not even a little bit, but that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying this crazy read. The dialogue is brilliant, the characters are everything I could ask for and more, and the story is completely engaging. Whether you'd do what this couple did or not, don't let that stop you from giving this one a whirl because it's terrific and kept me turning pages long past time for the lights to go out.

The core four! A close knit group of friends 4 couples, together for years. That is until all found themselves walking down the path of divorce. All except Jessica and Mitch.
last ditch effort to save their marriage. Jessica and Mitch embark on a rather risqué move that looked better in theory than practice.

A well written lighthearted read with plenty of witty dialogue. I quickly found myself enmeshed in the lives of all the characters.

This was my first read by this author and I will definitely be looking for more of his work in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for an ARC to read and review.

Desperate Times, Call for Desperate Measures!

The Best of Friends in College, The "Core Four" paired up and got married, 15 years later, out of the four couples, only one is left standing, leaving Jessica and Mitch terrified that they too will be headed for divorce right quick. Their only thought is to do something drastic. Experiment in their sex life. At first it seems kind of harmless, and then well, yeah, not so much.

Heartbreaking, moving, thought-provoking and humorous, "Last Couple Standing" is a novel that strikes a chord with anyone who has every been married. Well done!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the arc.

What if you were the last couple standing in your tight group and you wanted to make sure you would last? Mitch and Jessica decide to open their relationship to other one-night stands in order to save their own marriage. Do you think that is a good idea?

Matthew Norman wrote a really funny and witty book about a rather odd way to make a relationship stronger. It had some twists in it that I didn't see coming. It is a book that you can whip through in a day and the light-hearted nature of the story makes for fun reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book for my honest review.