This almost seems like a book I would NOT read because I am not "open" to an open marriage but I like Matthew Norman's writing and sense of humor and I am glad I gave this a chance.

When the Core Four suddenly all divorce, except one couple, Mitch and Jessica, they both wonder if they are next. Scared of the path their marriage is heading they decide to take bold steps to keep their marriage intact.
While they both agree on the pact, only one of them goes through with it and it (of course) has repercussions they did not see.

Funny, yes. Believable, eh. maybe. But I guess I am in the old school of thought that by looking for someone else is not the way back to one another. But when you put your morals aside, its a funny and heartwarming look at dating post-divorce, making marriage work and how the best-intentioned decisions aren't always that great.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

While I personally have never been a fan of open marriages, Matthew Norman’s latest novel, Last Couple Standing, gives a humorous and insightful peek into the pleasures and perils of what it sometimes takes to keep a marriage alive in today’s world of instant gratification, online affairs, and easy-access internet porn.

As the rest of their close friends from college have all recently suffered divorces of varying degrees, Mitch, a high school English teacher, and Jessica, a therapist, make a bold decision to save their own 15-year marriage from the same fate.

After their weekly date night, Jessica goes on a calamitous girls’ night out with her three divorced girlfriends, where she encounters a much younger and brutally handsome bartender, Ryan, who gives her the attention she seems to desperately crave and isn’t getting from Mitch. Jessica then comes up with the idea that the best way to save their somewhat stale marriage and not end up like the rest of their friends is by opening it up to a “relaxed marriage,” with a few carefully crafted rules to ensure they don’t crash and burn in the process.

Mitch reluctantly agrees, and what follows is a hilariously frightening and often heart-felt journey into the land of open marriages, middle-aged dating, and parenthood. Norman’s witty and humorous writing style makes this book a funny, delightful read perfect for the beach, during a flight, or over the holiday while trying to avoid your in-laws.

Matthew Norman is the author of two previous novels, Domestic Violets (2011) and We’re All Damaged (2016). Last Couple Standing is published by Ballantine Books and is available everywhere March 17, 2020.

Last Couple Standing will likely serve as a mirror to the reader. Four couples started with the promise ‘til death do us part. One couple remains - Jessica and Mitch. The novel takes a humorous and somewhat satirical examination of if opening up their marriage can save the marriage. This will likely appeal to fans of Hornby.

I thought the premise of this book sounded very enticing. I have a number of divorced friends and have wondered what it is about my marriage that hangs in there when everyone starts their marriage from a place of love. The idea of spicing things up to keep a marriage fresh is something me and my married friends have talked about. So I was interested to see where Norman would take this - a cautionary tale of how things can go South quickly or an endearing love story of how marriage bonds can be tested and made stronger.

Full disclosure here, I do tend to read books written by women over men. Not totally sure what it is that I prefer, men are more factual and direct in their dialogue and descriptiveness maybe and I can't connect with their viewpoints. In this book, I found the Core Four in this book to be very smug and the lead male character extremely irritating and cringeworthy. Talking like he was still in college with his friends and trying way to hard to be 'cool' with the teenagers. What an idiot! Went through my head on so many occasions. His wife Jessica seemed a little two dimensional. Brainy and full breasted, she hit the mark on men's fantasy but we didn't really get to see her as a mom or a friend. It just became about her obsession with the bartender.

Every character played their part well, this could be great on stage. Again, I felt there was no depth to anyone. Luke and Scarlett were there to help move the story forward but it felt like Norman just threw a stereotype at us. The angry, self destroying girl, the awkward, clever boy. They were bit parts that I would have loved to see more of. I don't mean for this to sound negative. The development of the idea to have an open marriage was great, I liked how Mitch struggled to find someone and that his heart wasn't truly in it. He was doing to it save his marriage when he wasn't really aware it needed saving. Jessica was basically a bit horny for the bar tender and wanted to find a way to justify her desire.

Everything built up to the climax (again this would make a great play). This scene was amusing and the kids were the best although parenting fail in that no-one told them to go inside once. It ended exactly how I thought it would and I imagine the fractured Core Four will carry on their days in the same smug, self important manner.

An easy, light read, thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

This book was fine. Not great. Not bad. Four couples who have been friends since college... Three of them get divorced. How will the fourth save their marriage? They decide on opening up their marriage (a very quick decision,) lay a few ground rules, and off they go. Not exactly my understanding of the best way to start with polyamory, but I'm not an expert.

More of a romance novel than a general or women's fiction, and I'll admit I'm not that into romance novels, so not exactly my cup of tea to begin with, but I gave it my best shot and read the whole thing in just a few days. It does read more like a screenplay for a romcom, and it might be better as one in this case.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book. It has not influenced my review.

Started off with a very interesting commentary on marriage and then ended as a slapstick comedy. Found the end incredibly unsatisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


I really struggled to finish this book. I didn't find the characters likeable and while I thought the description sounded fun, once I started reading I realized it wasn't and that the idea of having an open marriage to save theirs sounded like a horrible idea...

I really struggled to finish this. The plot felt contrived and shallow. The characters were for the most part, one dimensional and adolescent. The themes of infidelity, divorce, open marriage were all portrayed in an unconvincing manner so that the premise fell flat. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book proved to be more of a rom-com, and thus didn't hold my interest. It may not be the fault of the book as much as my poor judgment in choosing it, and may be a fun read for some people.

This was an interesting read. The climax was almost like a movie plot where all characters come together to create a collision.. It was something that I would classify as a beach read. The subject had potential for a deeper dive in to the psychology of marriage but it’s a missed opportunity. Overall easy to read and keeps you engaged.

4 Stars

This book was very eye opening for me! A very realistic portrayal of marriage in today’s society.

Marriage is hard, and when 3 of the 4 couples get divorced within the core 4, the last standing couple decides to take some drastic measures to ensure it doesn’t happen to them. I’m not sure if it would have been an option I would have chosen, but I do believe it ended up showing Mitch & Jessica how much they actually loved each other and didn’t want or need to get divorced. It actually broke my heart in a few places feeling the strain in their relationship. But ultimately they fought for the things that were important to them.

One thing I really enjoyed in this book was the humor the author added. I really enjoyed the banter between “the wives” and “the husbands” when they hung out. And writing was great as well. Overall I really liked Last Couple Standing and would highly recommend it!

What a great book to wrap up with during this chilly fall/winter weather! Be warned: it’s like watching a slow inevitable train wreck. You want the train to stop, but you know it won’t, at least not in time, and you simply can’t look away.
The author, Matthew Norman, writes with a wry sense of humor, which I absolutely love. Even though at times he must write of pain and humiliation, he manages to do it respectfully, and then give his battered character an opportunity to smile at the little things.
Mitch and Jessica are the last of the Core Four, college buddies that married off, raised children, bought homes near one another, and then one by one began divorcing. Their concept of what must be done to save their marriage is one-sided; it seems Jessica has an ulterior motive and Mitch is just too darned good (and also, it turns out, very savvy) to stand up to her reasoning. You’ll probably feel some strong anger from time to time with some of the characters (cram Jessica here right now!), but you’ll also have a place in your heart for some of the endearing ones (insert Luke, Scarlett, Jude, and Emily here).
I must now go back and read Matthew’s first book, “Domestic Violets”. I enjoy his serious humor.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks so much to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for making it available.)

Hilarious, not really. Sad is more like it. Why on earth would two rational adults think doing the wrong thing would help them stay married? The minute they made the agreement I had a hard time staying engaged, it became very predicatable. I will say though, that the scene in the middle of the street when it all came to an end, floored me. In my imaginaiton, it looked like a scene from a National Lampoon movie. I had hoped the book would be funny and insigtful, instead it was a sad commentary on how far society has fallen into despair, grasping at anything to find fulfillment. I only continued reading it so I could give a fair review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine books for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This was the first book by Matthew Norman I’ve read but it won’t be the last. I read this book on a flight to/from New York City and I blatantly laughed out loud so many times some of my seat mates asked me what I was reading. The story is ultimately about the unusual way 1 couple goes about divorce proofing their marriage after several of their friends divorce. The characters are all imperfect but it makes the story feel real. And what I really loved was that Norman does not fall into the trap of wrapping each characters life up perfectly. Let’s be honest, real life and real marriage is hard and I thought this book did a really nice job of capturing that.

The book moves rather nicely and it’s very hard to put down once you get into it. I’d save this for a weekend or beach vacation when you don’t have anything disrupting your schedule.

When Mitch and Jessica see all their best friends divorcing, they decide to spice up their marriage in order to keep it secure. They have have rules about their "game" and they both agree to stick to them. But, of course, fate was not predictable.

I found the premise of this story to be quite off-putting at first, and I almost abandoned the book about about 25%. I'm glad I stayed with it, though, because Matthew Norman wove his characters into a very satisfying fabric. The ending was the best part of the book, and was quite believable.

I would recommend this book to women readers - it definitely has a "chick book" feel. The chapters are short, and the book would be perfect for vacation reading.

I really enjoyed this book and flew through it. The characters were likable and I was rooting for them the entire time. I would highly recommend this book to others!

As the last in their friend group to remain married, Jessica and Mitch attempt an open marriage in order to help save their relationship. This book very real feel to it that made me laugh out loud and parts and cringe in others. Without giving anything away, the book gets a bit more and more over the top as it progresses. I think some of the drama (with the neighbor, high school student in therapy, etc) could have been left out and it would of been just as strong of a book.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

When I read Matthew Norman's We're All Damaged, I was immediately reminded of one of my favorite writers, Jonathan Tropper, specifically The Book of Joe (my favorite Tropper) -- New York guy goes back to his hometown for a family emergency and has to deal with his past, to great comic effect. When I came onto Goodreads to learn more about Norman, I saw Tropper named right at the start of the description of Norman's debut novel Domestic Violets.

So forgive me if I come at his forthcoming third novel, Last Couple Standing, through the prism of a Jonathan Tropper fan -- or more precisely, a former fan, as Tropper has long since abandoned writing in favor of ultraviolent TV shows. From that point of view, thank you Matthew Norman for picking up the mantel. Not to suggest that I view Norman as merely a stand-in for Tropper of Nick Hornby (who has published only one novel in the same ten year period Tropper has not published any).

Like all of the great Tropper and Hornby books that I love, Last Couple Standing is a comic novel about love, friendship, and family written from or by the male perspective -- in a world replete with chick lit, few men do it, even fewer do it well, as well as these guys. In Last Couple Standing, a professional Baltimore couple with two young children alter the terms of their marriage in order to avoid the fate that has claimed the marriages of their closest friends and neighbors -- divorce.

It's not just that comic hi-jinks ensue. Norman also finds some good insights about how marriages survive (or don't) when children, careers, complacency, aging, and dating apps intervene. And he makes excellent use of objective correlatives as metaphors -- Golden Oreos, broken bed frames, dogs driving cars, even E.T., to name a few. Likewise with pop culture references, which are used judiciously but effectively, like "vintage rap". These are devices I like to use, and therefore like to read.

Character development begins at a potentially weak point, with archetypes that seem to come right out of central casting and dialogue that is a little too snappy to be realistic (though it makes for good humor). But I see them growing into credible individual characters and find myself rooting for all of them. Like the characters, the plot doesn't break new ground, but it does provide a base for the aforementioned comic hi-jinks, objective correlatives, and marital insights.

Overall, I would normally rate this at 4 to 4 1/2 stars, but I'm going 5 stars because I've been so starved for this kind of book from my favorite practitioners of the genre and I welcome Matthew Norman into that group as the last man standing.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Last Couple Standing. It was a fun story and I felt like the character development was great-Mitch was the best! I have literally lived through 3 sets of couple friends divorcing so I know what it’s like to be the actual last couple standing. I honestly couldn’t accept the premise of this story because I feel like I’ve lived it.

Mitch and Jessica are the last couple out of their group of friends called the Core Four to not go through with the big D(divorce). One would think they would be jumping with joy but instead they too are feeling the pressures of marriage life and feel like it may be time for a change. This story is a cozy family drama read without being too predictable and keeps a quirky yet funny charm throughout the story.