Good Eggs was not what I expected it to be. The description was not altogether accurate. I expected to be laughing along with characters. I expected sarcasm and irreverence. I expected wit and charm. Instead, I got meanness and pettiness, I likable characters, and a story about a very messed up family. It seemed to get somewhat funnier in the end. There were touching moments, funny moments, and witty moments. They just held most of them off to the end, leaving the book itself unbalance and something I had to force myself through to get to the pay off instead of a journey I enjoyed taking with these characters.

3.75 stars

Quirky novel about a likable Irish family. Grandmother Millie is given to vagueness and a bit of shoplifting, son Kevin is having naughty adulterous thoughts, his wife Grace is a workaholic, and their four children keep things lively.

As the novel opens, Millie's in trouble with the police over her sticky fingers. Kevin finds a caregiver for her which turns out to lead to other problems. Meanwhile teen daughters Nuala and Aideen aren't getting along. They pop Aideen unwillingly off to a boarding school, which she predictably loathes.

There is a madcap element to this family's daily life and events lead to some truly crazy consequences. Lots of humor and family insight along the way. Kevin, Millie and Aideen are the most fully drawn characters, and they each manage to be appealing despite some awful behaviors. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

🥚To be spoken of as a "good egg," one is usually thought of fondly and is generally considered to be a good and/or kind person.🥚

In Rebecca Hardiman's debut novel "Good Eggs," she turns that phrase on its Humpty Dumpty head as she shares the trials and tribulations of the "good eggs" in the multigenerational Gogarty family! While none are exactly "rotten eggs," Hardiman keeps the reader engaged and cheering for this flawed bunch of imperfectly "hard-boiled eggs!" As they "scramble" their way in and around their big, messy intertwined and oft-times misunderstood lives, we see how families often miss the hugely important ingredients required to hold their family "omelet" together!

Hardiman's novel takes a sometimes light-hearted yet serious look at life, living, caring, and surviving this wonderful thing called family! And it's no "yolk" that I thank Rebecca Hardiman, her publisher, and NetGally for an advanced digital copy of her debut novel and provide them with my honest review.

#GoodEggs
#RebeccaHardiman
#NetGalley

this was a cute quick read. The characters were endearing and I liked the pace of the story. The setting was also perfect!

A hilarious and heartfelt debut novel

Happy Publication day to Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman

This book follows three generations of a Irish family with tensions busting at the seams. Millie is 83 years old, and is caught shoplifting again, now her son Kevin has no choice but to hire an American home aide to keep watch. Meanwhile, he is recently unemployed, at his wits end with his own children, and a wife who always seems to be traveling. Can this family come together or will everything this family is come undone? Described as the perfect novel for fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over and Where’d You GP Bernadette.

This novel showed much charm and humour. But in the end if was only a three star book for me. The book exposed us to many different problems and I felt that in the end I wasnt satisfied with the outcome of each problem. I wanted to know more. I also thought that this book probably could have been 100 pages less than it was. In the end, I am still glad that I read it. I think my favourite was the relationship that formed between Millie and her granddaughter.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of "Good Eggs" by Rebecca Hardiman. This book was fine. The three-generational POV was different and semi-interesting. I liked the Irish-ness of it. That was probably the best part, actually. The main characters themselves were not very likable to me, especially the dad, Kevin. But I could tell it was going to be the kind of book where people got better and things worked out, and they weren't so unlikable that I couldn't push through to the end. I saw the main twist coming from a mile away, but they did resolve that in a satisfactory manner. All in all, it was decent. There was nothing I really fell in love with about any of the characters or the plot, but it wasn't horrible either. Thus, it gets a solid middle-of-the-road rating.

I just hated the main character so much, Probably reminds me of someone in my own Irish family. DNF I tried to muscle through it, but it just wasn't for me

This is a multigenerational story meant to draw you into a family, so that you experience the love and heartbreak along with them. Following the Gogarty family, we get to know Millie, Kevin, and Aideen and learn more about how they interact with each other and attempt to peacefully exist. Although I wanted to enjoy this book, I had a really hard time connecting. I didn't find any of the characters that engaging independently and couldn't really lose myself in the story like I was hoping. I think there is definitely an audience for this story, but it wasn't me.

3/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a gem! Millie is a pistol and I found myself cracking up at the “good egg” and cheering her on! The octogenarian Millie wreaks havoc in her grown son’s life with various disasters and a little shoplifting incident. Meanwhile, he has a hot mess of his own to contend with in his family household. I’ve read several stories of old men doing crazy shit and regaining their joie de vivre and it was refreshing to have a female character in this situation. Sharply funny, I’d recommend this read to anyone who enjoys a good laugh!

In Good Eggs, Kevin Gogarty has 99 Problems and a light-fingered mum is one. Eighty-three year-old Millie is caught shoplifting in the local shop. But it was only a birthday card and a packet of crisps. What’s the worst that could happen?

“A single horrid thought filters through: if the police become involved, Kevin will find out. Kevin cannot find out. He’s already sniffing around, trying to build a case, with a stagey, lethal gentleness that terrifies her, to stick his poor mom into some godforsaken home for withered old vegetables. Millie Gogarty has no plans to move in with a bunch of wrinklies drooling in a corner.“

Meanwhile, Kevin’s sulky teenage daughter, Aideen the brainy twin, is plotting no end of schemes from her boarding school prison. Kevin has been made redundant by his job while his wife travels the world with hers. Now he gets to play house dad for their other two children: Nuala the pretty twin and little Cieran. Life sucks for Kevin in general and in particular within this hilarious novel.

Anyone with teenage children and/or elderly parents can relate to Kevin’s life. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments to, momentarily at least, make you forget your own mask-wearing, huddling-at-home, yet another dumpster fire year. Good Eggs is a great escape into a witty Irish slice-of-life. 4 stars!

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

The book description says it’s hilarious and heartwarming. Hmm. It is, but only in the last quarter. Does that count? For three quarters of the book I was just plain irritated. The characters are stupid and selfish, causing a lot of annoyance and pain to others. I know that sort of thing is supposed to be funny, but I’ve never understood that kind of humor.

I can’t bring myself to say more about this. This may be a matter of taste and others will think it’s great fun all the way through. But it was definitely not for me.

Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman

I enjoyed this book so much! It was sweet, funny, thought-provoking, action-packed, but always entertaining!

The story is based on three main characters: octogenarian Millie, her son Kevin, and Kevin’s teenage daughter Aideen (even though he also has a wife and three other children). Set in Ireland, it begins with Millie (who is quite a character!) and certain actions that get her into trouble. She is often afraid that Kevin wants to put her into a nursing home, and sometimes he does! She tries to stay out of trouble, but she doesn’t seem to be trying very hard.

Kevin has his own troubles with the recent loss of his job, while his wife has a high-level job that keeps her busy with late hours and lots of travelling. So Kevin, while looking for a job, is now taking care and keeping track of the children and their various activities. Unfortunately, his attraction to Aideen’s school’s secretary gets him into a little bit of hot soup.

Aideen is going through her own teen angst and gets into some trouble at school. Her father, Kevin, tries to deal with it, but she sometimes goes to her grandmother, Millie, for comfort and attention.

The whole story comes together when an in-home caregiver, hired by Kevin to watch over his mother, comes to help Millie out a few days a week. After that the story really starts to rev up and get your attention! And it’s a lot of fun -- if sometimes a little unbelievable!

I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and sense of humor. I would definitely read other books by her.

I'd like to thank NetGalley, Rebecca Hardiman, and Atria Books for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman is a charming and wonderful book about three members of the Gogarty clan in Ireland all at a personal crossroads. Quirky octogenarian Millie faces limitations on her independence due to early dementia. Kevin, Millie’s son and father of four children, is acting as stay-at-home father while unemployed, suffering from depression and gradual breaking down of his marriage. Aideen, one of Kevin’s teenage daughters, is seemingly troubled and unhappy at home and sent to boarding school against her will in the hopes that it might be a better fit for her current school.

Hardiman well develops each character’s perspective and world and conflict they are currently facing. This story was downright hilarious at times, especially when in Millie’s perspective. I loved the depiction of each character. Each is flawed, but endearing and they don’t always make great decisions. Through obstacles, they learn and allow themselves to be vulnerable and come together as a family. I listened to the audiobook which was perfectly casted! They really breathed life into each of the characters. I would recommend this to people who enjoyed quirky reads by Rachel Joyce or Frederik Backman.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Rebecca Hardiman's debut novel should have everything that I love about a novel. A fiesta eighty-year old gran set in Scotland in a small town where everyone knows everybody's business. I love stories like this. This is my favorite kind of story. I cannot say how sad I am in that I didn't love Good Eggs.

I found that I didn't like or dislike these characters for the most part except for Kevin. Kevin's plan to have an extramarital affair just made my stomach hurt. I didn't feel this added anything to the story except for Kevin's lack of invovlvment in his mother's care. Kevin's choice of caretaker for Millie proves to be a bad bad decision for his mother who has suddenly had sticky fingers and some memory issues.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because the very beginning of the book did make me laugh out loud.

All thoughts & opinions are my own. I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher.

A fun, quirky story about a family in Ireland. Although it has some funny moments it's balanced by more serious issues as well. The story follows a coming-of-age teen, the middle aged son/father/husband and their aging mom/grandmom and how their struggles, both their own and in relation to each other, play out. I found myself looking forward to reading this story and the writing was engaging. A great debut and I will keep the author on my radar.

This book is a nice combination of a humorous domestic drama and the growing genre of books that focus on people who are entering their senior years. We follow three generations including Aideen, the obstinate and misunderstood teenager, Millie, the senior trying to maintain her independence despite indications that she needs some assistance, and Kevin, the unemployed father/son stuck in the middle. I really enjoyed both Aideen and Millie characters. They were spunky and defiant and were easy to follow along. However, I wanted to drop kick Kevin on multiple occasions. I know we were supposed to sympathize with him having to handle the home duties, including his renegade mother and daughter, but I couldn't. It truly felt like he brought most of his troubles down on himself. Guess any emotional reaction to a character is the sign of good character development, right? That all being said, this was a fun quick read about a family trying to get by.

Setting: Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Millie, the matriarch of the Gogarty family is simply put....a nuisance.

Her son, Kevin, an unemployed father of four, is currently having misgivings of the personal kind while also attempting to rein in his mischievous mother. A task even the most sensible would find taxing.

Enter Aideen, one of Kevin’s flippant, uncommunicative, adolescent daughters whose antics become the tipping point of this story.

Hardiman whisks together these characters, adds a few extras in to spice things up, scrambles in calamities for good measure and what you have left at the end is ultimately, a story about a few good eggs.

Ultimately, I found this to be a rapid read with plenty of chuckles along the way!

Thank you to #netgalley #atriabooks and @rebeccahardimanwriter for the Advanced Reader Copy.

DNF at 44%

I really wanted to love this book, but I'm so bored. I kind of like Millie, but even she is grating on my nerves. Everyone else in this book is truly terrible. Kevin takes the cake though, I couldn't dislike him more. There seemed like there might be a lot happening in this book, but as of yet, nothing is happening. I've heard that the second half picks up, but I just can't bring myself to read this anymore.

GOOD EGGS is a charming debut novel about three generations of a family. Millie is the matriarch, and she was my favorite character in this story. She’s zippy and marches to the beat of her own drum, despite aging and reaching the latter part of her life. The story was funny and heartwarming and I think everyone will be able to find pieces of their own family within these characters and story.

Set in Dublin, Ireland, this story centers around the Gogarty family, which is experiencing a myriad of problems, seemingly all at once. Millie is 83 years old, a widow who seems to have a habit of nabbing a few items now and then from shop shelves that end up going home with her. Kevin, her 50-year-old son has his own problems to deal with, having lost his job too many years ago, and feeling unappreciated for what he brings to the table in other ways and disconnected from his increasingly distant and bitter wife, Grace. Among their four children is 16-year-old daughter Aideen, who loves her grandmother Millie, and seems to see her for who she is, and not just a crazy old lady. But when Aideen’s behavior veers into a more disturbing and disruptive mode, her parents decide to send her to boarding school.

Meanwhile, Kevin has to decide what to do when Millie’s tendency to shoplifting has drawn more attention, and he ends up hiring Sylvia, a young American woman to watch over her, despite Millie’s insistence that she neither wants or needs this young woman’s help. It isn’t long before Millie has developed a fondness for her, considering her an ally, a protector from Kevin and his bah-humbug attitude that she is unable to care for herself. Meanwhile, Sylvia is busy worming her way into Millie’s life, and soon it is Millie doing Sylvia a favour, which backfires. Soon after, Kevin finds out that Sylvia has lied to him, and she’s sent packing and Millie ends up in a Convalescent Center, which she is determined to flee as soon as she can find a way.

The second half of this story centers mostly around Millie and Aideen, and a trip they embark on, which was more focused and which I found more enjoyable. Millie and Aideen’s little “vacation” brings some much needed balance after all the craziness and hijinks of the first half.

A romp through the life of a grandmother and granddaughter, and their determination to live life on their terms.

Published: 02 Mar 2021

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Atria Books