Musical Chairs was the definition of a feel-good read. There were a few conflicts, yes, but many of them were internal conflicts that were enjoyable to read about. I found myself flying through this book because I just wanted to pick it up and keep reading it.

Something I particularly liked was the unbelievable connections between the members of the ensemble cast. Many of the characters are related or friends for a long time, but there were some times when new characters with some sort of connection to the main group also popped up in the most serendipitous places. I also really liked the familial themes of the book. While not every person in the book is related, there is a large sense of found family throughout. The Stratton family makes many other characters feel welcomed. In addition, there is a subplot involving paternity that becomes resolved in a heartwarming manner.

I would recommend this book for any adult readers looking for a fun book who also love musical references.

Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel is a fun book that takes place over a summer so it was a nice addition to my summer reading list. The story focuses on Bridget, a talented yet struggling musician, as well as her family and friends.

Bridget wants to maintain her chamber music trio with Will, a pianist and her best friend. As she escapes to her Connecticut summer home, she plans to energize the trio while spending time with her boyfriend. Within the first several chapters, the summer plans are turned completely upside down. In addition, her adult twin children make unplanned visits. Then, her elderly father, a well-known musician, announces his plans to get married.

There are several side stories including the true paternity of her twins, the struggles of her homosexual son’s love life, her daughter’s lack of direction, Will’s new love, the calamity of her father’s new assistant, just to name a few.

The story is a mix of funny, sweet, and sad emotions. While I enjoyed the story, at times it felt like there was too much going on. I wish there were fewer characters and deeper development of those characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for sharing the copy.

Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for a digital advance readers copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This was so entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny. The title of "Musical Chairs" was perfect for this Oscar Wilde-like comedy of manners that takes place over a summer mostly in the country (Connecticut) with brief trips to New York. Many of the characters are keeping secrets from each other, some relationships develop and others blow up. As the novel progresses all the disparate pieces come together so that things that seem to have no connection suddenly click into place with hilarious results. Classical music, dogs and cats, lederhosen, and a wedding. A fun novel, especially during this COVID-19 summer.

I loved the multiple POVs, the families relationships with each other and and how entertaining this story was. Honestly the beginning took me a bit to fall into a groove with the story since there are so many characters but once I got a hang of it, I loved it! Each person helped to bring this story to life. This is a great character driven novel and was wonderful for a summer read.

An entertaining story that is heartwarming and sentimental. There are a lot of characters in this book and sometimes I had to stop and figure out who a character was and how that person fit, but its all good. The main characters are Bridget and Will who are long-term friends and are musicians who play in a trio together and live in New York City, but they don't have a romantic relationship. The story focuses on changes in their lives over a summer at Bridget's country home in a small town in Connecticut.

I enjoyed the characters and the relationships were interesting. I also enjoyed all the animals: the dogs, cats, sheep. I also found Bridget's wealthy father very interesting at his advanced age with the changes in his life.

This was a fun book and the first book I've read by Amy Poeppel. I will be picking up others by her as I enjoyed this one and some friends have recommended others.

Thanks to Atria Books through Netgalley for an advanced copy.

This family story with a musical backdrop isn't my new favorite Amy Poeppel book, but the story and characters were enjoyable to read about. Set in the Connecticut countryside with a wide cast of mostly very privileged characters having personal crises that bring them all home, they are quirky and funny (and some of the best moments are the one where the patriarch's assistant takes narration and is clearly befuddled by the family and their relationships).

This was a relatively fast read with a cute story. There were a few areas I wish had been expanded or at least developed further but still worked at the end of the day. I look forward to reading more by Amy Poeppel.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

A cellist arrives at her summer home ready for some alone time with her boyfriend. When events upend her plans and her family starts infringing on her space, she’ll have to figure out where the boundaries are—including her own. Author Amy Poeppel returns with a sweet story about the bonds that tie family to one another in the lightweight but well-written novel Musical Chairs.

The start of summer has Bridget Stratton grinning from ear to ear. She gets to spend three months with her new boyfriend, Sterling, in her Connecticut vacation home. Sure, the house needs some repairs—okay, a lot of repairs—and Sterling will have to spend part of the time working on his new book. But at least they get to leave behind the craziness of New York and their lives: the Forsyth Trio in which Bridget plays as premiere cellist and Sterling’s ex and young daughter. Bridget’s twins are grown and independent, and even though her famous composer father lives right down the street she knows she’s going to enjoy the quiet of the country.

Except Bridget didn’t count on her best-laid plans getting waylaid. Sterling breaks up with Bridget over email. Her daughter flies in from her corporate job in Hong Kong unannounced, stating she’s done with her life there. Her son comes to the vacation home limping, convinced his marriage is about to end. Both of them need handholding, and Bridget is flummoxed.

Fortunately, she knows she can call on her friend, Will. The second member of the Forsyth Trio, Will and Bridget have been close since their days at Juilliard. They founded the trio with a third student, Gavin, who has since moved on. Bridget and Will have tolerated their share of diva violinists through the years who have attempted to fill Gavin’s spot. None of them have stuck with the trio like Bridget and Will, though, and the two have bonded as only the best of friends can.

Will shows up in Connecticut dealing with a crisis of his own: his apartment building has just gone up for sale. Plus, he gets into an argument with the newest violinist he and Bridget have been courting, and she quits before she even starts. Without a violinist, the Forsyth Trio won’t be able to fulfill the performance schedule to which they’ve committed. Now Will has to figure out how to find a new violinist without making it sound like a big deal to Bridget.

Then Bridget shares news of her own: her 90-year-old father has announced that he’s getting married again. The lucky lady is a German socialite the family has known for years; Bridget and her sister think she’s lovely. Her son, however, is another matter, but Bridget and Gwen know they can handle him.

It falls to Bridget to host the wedding at her well-worn home, and she’s panicking. She can’t even get the washer and dryer to work, and her twins have managed to generate more laundry than she remembers from when they were kids. Also, with everyone bringing their pets and new friends coming over, the house is always full and always loud.

Will rolls up his sleeves and jumps in to help. As the best friends muddle through one challenge after another, they’ll rely on their friendship again and again. Through it all, their summer will bring them new opportunities, new love, and new music.

Author Amy Poeppel gives readers a rare occurrence in fiction: a man-woman friendship that stays just that. Readers might be tempted to look for signals that Bridget and Will have begun to fall for one another, but that never happens. It’s a refreshing change from other novels in the genre.

With the absence of the pressure of a looming romance, Bridget and Will have the freedom to support one another and admonish one another as the situation demands. They’re protective of one another, no doubt, and elements of jealousy do creep in but it’s minimal at best. Will and Bridget really do just want the best for one another.

Poeppel has created a cast of characters that will make readers grin, laugh out loud, and shake their heads by turns. Bridget’s famous father is as indulgent of his daughters as he is pompous about his work. The other characters in the book—Jackie, the personal assistant; Marge, the housekeeper; and even Gavin—fill their roles to perfection. They all feel like real people.

Readers looking for a light, easy read will definitely enjoy this book. I recommend readers Bookmark Musical Chairs.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for a copy of Musical Chairs in exchange for my honest review.

I first came into contact with Amy Poeppel's work with Limelight and was very excited to get a copy of Musical Chairs. The premise of Musical Chairs with family mischief, finding oneself and a little bit of music sounded like a good read but for me it fell short. I couldn't connect with the characters. They all seemed like privileged adults who are lucky enough to run away from their troubles. The story just felt stale to me and it didn't feel like a lot happened. I know it did from reading it but with the slow pacing it didn't feel like it did.

Although I didn't care for Musical Chairs it won't stop me from looking forward to future books from Amy Poeppel.

Bridget thinks she's going to have the best summer, escaping New York City for her old, dilapidated country house in Connecticut: her kids are grown up, she's got a new love interest who is coming to stay. But then it all goes downhill from day 1, with her adult children quitting jobs or being on the brink of divorce and showing back up at the nest, her elderly and famous father getting up to some antics, and the new member of her musical trio being a bit of a diva - oh, not to mention getting electrocuted by the old shoddy wiring at her crumbling home. The title of the book is a play on the musical profession of the main characters, Bridget and her best friend Will, but it also conveys the nature of the story in terms of that game musical chairs, where people are constantly moving spots and maybe ending up with nowhere to sit at the end of the round - all of the characters in this story hit unexpected snags at various junctures in life, whether with employment or relationships or living situations, and then they all end up at Bridget's country home, all bedroom-hopping as the place fills up with so many unplanned houseguests. It's a multi-generational dysfunctional family story in a light and witty tone, kind of a comedy of errors. And since the characters are pretty much all wealthy, their foibles and worries all seem to come out okay without too much concern - but it can be fun to go along for the ride and see their interactions, or to get the sharp social commentary by way of their personalities or actions. It put me in mind of books by authors like Jonathan Tropper, Maria Semple, or Abbi Waxman. My main complaint is that there are so many characters, that jumping around between of them just left me feeling not super connected to any of them. At some points that was part of the story's charm, seeing how things came together for the various characters, but at several points I just wanted to focus in a bit more on a couple of main characters. I did appreciate having a story about a female protagonist in her 50s, not an age I feel like you see represented super often in this contemporary fiction genre. Pick this one up if you like light, comedic extended family drama of the wealthy East coasters variety.

Bridget Stratton is starting her summer at her summer home in Connecticut, unpacking her bags in the midst of toppling fences, shock-producing electrical outlets, and other signs of neglect in the aging farm house and barn. The plan is for her boyfriend, a successful novelist, to join her, but she’s still preparing a writing eyrie for him at the top of the house when he emails to cancel not only the summer, but their entire relationship. On top of that, her adult children, 27 year old twins, are each dealing with separate crises, and arrive one after the other to stay, bringing dogs and laundry and heart breaks and mysterious changes of plans.

Bridget is a cellist who has spent much of her adult life as part of a trio with her best friend Will, a pianist, and an ever-changing violinist. They started with Gavin Glantz, now world-renowned, soon after the 3 of them graduated from Juilliard, but they’ve had several other violinists through the years. Bridget is also the daughter of the famous Edward Stratton, a well-known composer. Edward loves attention, tends towards pomposity, and has just announced his marriage to the widow of an old friend. Meanwhile, Will and Bridget have such a close relationship that people often assume they’re a couple–but Will, an inveterate New Yorker, has just fallen for a woman who runs the local nursery, and Gavin, who had a major crush on Bridget back in the day, has agreed to reunite the original trio for a special performance.

Musical Chairs reminded me of a Shakespeare comedy–it has all the complexities, quirkiness, messiness, and delights! It’s structured in such a way that all the different characters are each important in their own right and almost certain to show up again later, and as storylines weave in and out the reader will delight in remembering each character anew and tracing their development. It even ends with a wedding, and with all the characters satisfactorily paired off.

Musical Chairs is in some ways a perfect book. I loved it and didn’t want it to end. It’s the sort of book that can be labeled the perfect beach book or airplane book, or fall book to read on cozy afternoons. It’s an excellent read!

Any Poeppel is a great writer! She made me laugh and I love books that can do that! I loved everything about this book - the characters, plot, humor and writing style.

You can't go wrong with a messy family of musicians in a house in the country in Connecticut for the summer. I felt like I was a fly on the wall watching all the funny antics and multiple points of views of all the characters taking place. Or even at times feel like I was watching a movie! In fact this would make a great movie! One of those train wrecks where you just can’t look away!

I loved all the music references even though I’m not up on all the classical music. The great part of it was you didn’t need to be!

I loved Bridgets character the most. The fact that she wasn’t a helpless young female made it easier to connect with her. It was nice having an older character for a change.

I want to say so much but I won’t because I don’t want to spoil it!!

If you are looking for the perfect easy funny read then this is your book! Seriously everyone needs to read it!

Thank you to Netgalley, Amy Poeppel and the publisher for this ebook in exchange for my honest review. These thoughts and opinions are my own.

Such a cute story about the power of friendship. Loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Now I want to go hangout at a big rural farmhouse and watch the romance spark. With a little NYC and @amypoeppel ‘s spot on humorous dialogue. I think Jackie the personal assistant was my favorite character. And oh, yes, there are cats and dogs! So many characters moving around. Perfectly titled!! Treat yourself to this fun novel! #weekendread

Musical Chairs is about family (related and non-related), generations, finding new beginnings, and reaching for dreams. I love both music and dance and so the musical references and themes made me very happy. This was a cozy read for me about a family each finding their bearings in life and making big decisions that will catapult them into their own happiness. The tension was easy going and everything ended just right. My favorite quote is, "...as he was dancing so happily to it, reminds me that life is a perfect combination of chance and choreography." Well said and well done!

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *


Bridget is the daughter of a famous musician and conductor. She’s also a very talented musician in her own right. All she wanted was a long, sexy summer at her house in Connecticut with her boyfriend and to escape New York City for a few months of rest. Instead she gets dumped and her life gets upended in a series of events she didn’t plan on. As the summer moves on, she must look at her life and her past and see where she’s really meant to be and do.

This was a fun read with great characters - each interesting and engaging. This was my first book by Amy Poeppel and I can’t wait to read her other stories!

This is my first book to read by Amy Poeppel, and now that I have, I will definitely be visiting her backlist. Musical Chairs was, at first, a little slow for me. But at about the halfway mark I felt invested in these characters and their lives. This book is light and quirky...a great end of summer read for me.

Classical musicians Bridget and Will have been playing together in a trio for years and suddenly they are in a crossroads in their life. Bridget is planning to spend the summer relaxing in Conneticut and having a break from New York, when suddenly the situation is turned on its head.

I enjoyed how the central character of this book was of another generation than usually. Also, I really liked how the author played with the musical chairs and the trio using the characters. As I like classical music, I would have liked even more references to it. Overall, enjoyed to read about these people and liked to be around them. Definitely recognized some exchanges and feelings from my own family. On top of this - an absolutely delightful ending!

This was my first Amy Poeppel novel and I’m so happy I came across it here on NetGalley. The story and characters are very well developed and it feels as if you’re watching a movie. I could picture the scenes in my head! Fresh, innovative, and just down right enjoyable.

Bridget and Will have a relationship which is close, intimate friends but nothing more. It is something that is platonic but very deep rooted. Bridget is with her head in the clouds on most practical things and would drive most people nuts! she is lucky her children see the goodness in her beyond the slightly scatty behaviour!

Bridget has also got a egoistic father Edward who is famous and at 94 thinking of embarking on marriage (on a big scale at that). Bridget has also just been dumped in the most appalling fashion by her lover and Will has just fallen head over heels in love with Emma in the most unexpected of places (in the small village lives) Will is not a village type!

Bridget and Will are musicians part of a trio. The third party has now led them down and Will has now approached Gavin a former member of the trio to rejoin them without running it by Bridget who has a history with Gavin, unknown to Will and when she does unveil the secret it catches all of them unaware of the repercussions.

Slightly muddled, absolutely fascinating, me wanting to know what new mess everyone has got into because believe me they do. Chaotic and excellent reading. Family loyalty above all lots of love around.