A multi-generational Irish family, laugh out loud dialogue and dysfunctional characters you just can't help but love fill the pages of Hardiman's debut novel. From an aging grandmother, to an unfulfilled father, to a teen, lost in her own way, Good Eggs takes on the trials and tribulations of family life...one character at a time. Hardiman's heart felt story is peppered with humor that could be construed as inappropriate, but to me was hilarious and on point. I personally enjoy this approach to writing, especially when talking about sensitive topics such as aging, teenage life and infidelity. I absolutely adored the relationship between the grandmother and granddaughter. The difficulties these two endured not only shed light on one another, but brought balance to their relationship. Good Eggs moved along at a steady pace offering me an equal distribution of comedic relief and tender moments. The ending was a bit over the top, but never the less brought a big smile to my face. I think this story would be incredible as a TV series. Move over Schitt's Creek...Good Eggs is coming to town.

I enjoyed the story and that it is set in Dublin. It's well-written and the characters are well-developed. I liked Millie and Aideen, both of them troubled. My heart went out to them as I realized they both struggled with loneliness. I didn’t care for Millie’s son, Kevin, and his frustration with Millie and Aideen. His character could have been softened a bit. I cringed whenever he interacted with Millie. There were a few times in the book when I laughed out loud. I always enjoy humor in a story. Some of the scenarios are outrageous, but very believable. Millie is quite clever for being a bit absentminded, and I loved her resourcefulness. The story line with Sylvia and Sean made the book a page turner, and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my gifted ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I was excited when I read the description for this story. I love a dysfunctional family tale set in Ireland. And there was a comparison to Schitt's Creek. Sign me up! Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman sounded so promising. The story follows three family members in Dublin. Aideen is an unhappy teenager, Millie is her feisty grandmother, and Kevin is Millie's son and Aideen's dad. Aideen is sent to a boarding school because it seems Kevin is tired of being the dad to four kids. Kevin is recently unemployed and unhappy, so instead of communicating with his wife, he starts an affair with the secretary at Aideen's boarding school. Millie, the matriarch, is living alone and to liven up her life takes up shoplifting as a hobby. Kevin does not want to deal with his mom and hires someone to come to her house to watch her. The first 75% of the book is dealing with nonsense from the three characters and mentions of other family members. The last 25% is what made me bump this to three stars instead of two. Aideen and Millie end up in America and I wish most of the book had focused on this trip. I think this story would have been better with just Aideen and Millie as the focus and none of the nonsense with Kevin and his woe is me attitude.

This book was a miss for me. The characters felt flat. When there was action happening it felt rushed. The ending was unsatisfying. Overall it was a disappointing read after the glowing descriptions.

"Good Eggs" by Rebecca Hardiman is the story of three generations of the Gogarty family. When unemployed Kevin decides to hire a caretaker for his elderly mother Millie (after she is once again caught shoplifting), and send his rebellious 16 year old daughter Aideen to boarding school, their lives all change forever. In short, chaos ensues. Set in Ireland, this book is both funny and heartwarming. The author's words set a vivid scene for family drama and she had the attitudes and thoughts of the broody teenager just right. I absolutely loved the character of Millie, who refused to let aging slow her down. I found this book to be an entertaining and fun read, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this lovely book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for this ARC of Good Eggs.

I love Ireland and jumped at the chance to read a contemporary fiction book about the Emerald Isle. While quirky and comical, there were some cracks in the eggs, if you will. Some of Millie’s behavior was downright dangerous and deranged and not a harmless side affect of aging. Also, Kevin got on my nerves quite a bit. I wish he wouldn’t have been so mopey. However I did like the rotating chapters of different characters and the family bond the book focused on.

Some much needed comic relief! Books that make me laugh and cheer me up are always most certainly welcome! Especially in dark, difficult times which has unfortunately became the new normal with everything that is happening in the world. But luckily, books such as this one exist to take us out of our anxious minds and provide a nice escape from the real world, if only for a few hours. But even a few hours of laughter and contentment, even in the form of fiction, make all the difference.

I will admit that I was at first hesitant to read this one when I was sent a widget for it. It didn’t really sound like my cup of tea. Perhaps I would have immediately jumped at the chance to read it if I was a fan of Schitt’s Creek (which I have been meaning to get around to watching, and will...eventually!) , as this book has been pitched as a great choice for fans of that show; an Irish version of it.

Regardless of my have-not-yet watched Schitt’s Creek status (& for the record, seeing as how I haven’t seen that show yet, I can’t actually say if it’s comparable or not as I am obviously not the best to judge when it comes to confirming that) I delighted in this book and found that it was, in fact, my cup of tea. I’ll admit that it wasn’t my favorite type of humor, but I did laugh and found myself grinning from ear to ear often. It made me happy, and that’s the important thing.

This was a fun family centric story filled with family drama and quirky characters, family drama and the antics and shenanigans in the goings on of a family are some of my favorite stories to engage in.

This book is an uplifting story that sheds light on family issues, but in a fun way.

Fans of wholesome books with quirky characters and family drama will definitely enjoy this story.

Much thanks to the publishers for sending a copy of this book my way!

The editor's note described this book as "Irish Schitt's Creek". How great of an endorsement is that?! Unfortunately, I didn't find that it quite held up to that, and missed the mark on some of the humour. It was still an enjoyable read filled with family drama. I found it very slow for the first half, and then all of a sudden the seond half was full of activity, with almost too much going on. There wasn't a lot of character development, and I thought it was pretty obvious from introduction who would be liked/disliked.

Good Eggs starts out slow building a foundation and making me wonder where Rebecca was going with Millie and Sylvia. I was able to see Sylvia’s angles and shady side and OMG Millie was hilarious!!! I really enjoyed how Rebecca detailed the Ireland backdrop.

Thanks so much for the arc of Good Eggs. I love family stories featuring the different generations and this is told from alternating viewpoints. Lovely characters and excellent ending. I also love books set in Ireland. I felt like I was truly part of the story.

An Irish family is dealing with life's many problems, particularly those of a take charge grandmother needing help and a moody teen who in trouble. Millie is a light fingered, irreverent free spirit who gets duped by the caretaker her son finds for her. Her granddaughter is having trouble of her own and being sent to a boarding school hasn't stopped her from falling in with the wrong crowd. These two will find themselves on a grand adventure to find the thieving care giver and Millie's stolen funds. It is heartfelt, funny and shows the rest of the family that they have truly underestimated these two. This debut will appeal to fans of books featuring quirky characters, mixed age groups and a positive message. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This is a fun and uplifting book about an Irish grandmother that is trying to keep living by herself but ends up agreeing to have some help around after an incident that sent her to the police station. At the same time, one of the granddaughters is sent to a boarding school supposedly to help with her behavior. The two of them will end up uniting forces and pairing for the most unlike of adventures that will take them to the US without telling their father and son about their plan. Overall, it is a nice and fun novel.

Predictable, yet wholesome. All in all, this was a good egg.

With a slow start, I was unsure where this was going. But somehow the arrival of Sylvia just seemed too fishy from the beginning. At the mere mention of going by the bank on Millie’s behalf made it all too obvious. Obvious as it was, I enjoyed being along for the ride. Millie is a handful and a half, but you can’t help but imagine how entertaining she would be in real life. I could have done without the husband cheating with the school secretary cliche side story.

What was in the velvet pouch? I’d like to think Sean found the ring before ditching his aunt and shipped it to Aideen for its safe return. But I guess we’ll never know!

This is fun novel set in Ireland about the Gogarty family. Told in alternating viewpoints you get Millie, the 80 year old mother of Kevin who is the father of Aideen a 16 year old generally harmless troublemaker. Millie is caught shoplifting and Aideen is causing trouble in school and Kevin is at his wits' end with the both of them. After a home health care worker (placed by Kevin) causes some trouble, Mille and Aideen team up against Kevin. I thought it was great contemporary fiction.

Great book! Couldn’t wait to read it, and it didn’t disappoint! Grabbed my attention within the first two chapters, and then I didn’t want to put it down. Excellent character development - I think that every reader will find a character to whom they relate. I enjoy books where there is character development, and then also a surprise, and this book provided both! Looking forward to reading more from this author!

A heartfelt story that had some humorous moments—I really enjoyed the story and the way it was told.

I loved Millie and really felt for her.

Kevin...not so much.

I had a few issues with the story as there were some unbelievable events that took place.

A heartfelt, life is messy, family story. We would all be better to each other to imagine our parent’s as well as our kid’s point of view consistently. Imperfect yet lovable characters I was rooting for.

2 stars
I really had high hopes for this book; however, it just did not live up to its hype. Good Eggs just fell flat for me when the potential was so great for this to be a phenomenal book.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Good Eggs, the debut novel by Rebecca Hardiman, is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a while. The story of the Gogarty family of Dublin is touching, funny, and quite relatable. Grandmother Millie is 83 and has a shoplifting problem, son Kevin (50) is unemployed and having somewhat of a midlife crisis as one of his children, sixteen year old twin Aideen is trying to figure herself out as she is sent to a new school. Chapters rotate and interconnect among members of the family as problems arise and are solved in one way or another. It's a quick read, great for book groups looking for something that's not too heavy. I certainly hope Ms. Hardiman has another book in the works.

A fun filled multi generational novel starts when 82 year old Millie is arrested for shoplifting again. Kevin her son is,out of work and overwhelmed between his mother and daughter, Aileen who is a handful. Dysfunctional, sad and funny. A good read.

What is it about a book set in Ireland that makes me fall in love with the characters and the place? In Good Eggs, it's the Gogarty family who may be at their wits' ends, but truly love and care for each other.

Kevin Gogarty gets a call from the police after they have arrested his 83-year-old mother, Millie, for shoplifting. Again. She refuses to go into assisted living, so he hires help in the form of Sylvia, an American, who couldn't be more perfect. Until she isn't.

Kevin's daughter, Aideen, is acting up and being sulky, to the point that she is sent to a boarding school...where she quickly befriends the other trouble maker at school. After getting in trouble multiple times, she runs off for home, but ends up at her grandmother's.

Kevin has been out of work and caring for the children and household. He's getting towards middle age and feeling like nothing is in his control. When he meets one of the office workers at Aideen's new school, he is smitten and finds himself courting his own kind of trouble.

I loved the multi-generational characters and the family love throughout this book. The setting was great: the pacing was perfect.

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.