Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel was a fun and charming read with a bunch of characters I liked getting to know Poeppel's characters but I feel that I would have appreciated this story more if I knew/cared more about music.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up. I loved Poeppel’s book Small Admissions. This has many of the same charms and humor and fully drawn characters.

Bridget comes from money but is never annoying about it. She met Will when they were students at Julliard. She plays the cello and he the piano. They’ve stuck together for years through relationships to other people and many violinists in their trio.

This summer, Bridget is hopeful that by spending some weeks away from the city, she’ll take her relationship with novelist Sterling to a new level before a new violinist joins the group. She and Will are hoping this bright young woman will get her and Will out of the struggling-to-get-gigs funk they’ve been in. Sterling backs out of visiting the falling apart family home in the country, and suddenly her twin 20-something children show up entirely unannounced with crises of their own.

The first part of the book was a challenge for me to get into because there are a lot of characters to keep track of and backstory to piece together, but as soon as soon as I figured out who was who, I really got into it and enjoyed it. There are a few coincidences that strained credulity, but they worked, so I didn’t mind.

Another wonderful accomplishment from Poeppel. Thanks so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES July 21, 2020.

Absolutely loved this book and the cast of characters therein. I was casting the movie as I was reading it. I wanted more! More character development, more story-lines- so I could spend more time with the book!

Poeppel has a knack for creating ordinary but interesting characters, and settings so real you feel like you are visiting. I enjoyed meeting her characters in this one and then going along for the ride.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read other books by Amy Poeppel and this wasn't my favorite even though it was funny and relatable. Maybe I am just being grumpy but it didn't delight me as much as it should have, though the plot was good. Maybe I have high expectations for 2020 reading because 2019 was so good.

I would still recommend this but it just wasn't my cup of tea for the moment. Il'll try re-reading this at some point and giving another review.

This book is light-hearted and romantic, yet serious enough to support some great discussions. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I am looking forward to recommending it to readers. Bridget and Will are at the center of this story, and are two parts of a musical trio of some renown. Unfortunately, they keep having to replace their violinist, and as the book opens, they are having their ups and downs with that effort. In fact, they are having ups and downs with all aspects of their lives. One of the best parts of this book is the multi-generational cast of secondary characters, who are beautifully developed and fascinating in their own rights.

Musical Chairs is a fine way to wile away an afternoon by the pool, for fans of Where'd You go Bernadette.

A relaxing summer with her new boyfriend turns into something completely different when her boyfriend breaks up with her, her grown-children move home to deal with their own things, her career changes directions and her father makes a surprise announcement. Bridget is looking forward to a summer relaxing in the country when life gets in the way. A story of finding yourself and your way when life gives you hiccups.

I want to begin by thanking Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this absolutely delicious novel.

During one summer in Connecticut, the family of the world famous maestro, Edward Stratton is completely upended, reconfigured and moved toward a perfectly lovely future.

Poeppel has managed to create a novel full of delightful eccentrics. Though I generally don’t like novels with a great many characters, the author is pitch perfect in her depictions and leaves plenty of space to develop them, especially the main characters, Bridget and Will.

Every part of this novel is richly drawn and easy to visualize. Though it can’t be classified as humor, I found myself laughing out loud at some of the moments. I must admit to liking the fact that the clearly middle aged heroine, Bridget, was moving towards new horizons.

This is a bright, engaging and enjoyable novel. I’m smiling as I write this review and can’t wait to recommend it to all my book clubs.

I have always been a fan of Amy's work and this book did not disappoint.

Bridget is looking forward to a quiet summer with her boyfriend Sterling while her Trio, Forsyth is on vacation for the summer.

Her plans take a turn when family implodes and adjustments have to be made by all. While, I don't know much about classical music, I truly enjoyed the book. The story had the perfect flow to it.

This book should be a the top of everyone's TBR list this summer.

Thank you to the Publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.