I thoroughly enjoyed this book about marriage, friendship and family. Relationships can be so complicated and the author does a wonderful job of illustrating what goes through one’s mind. When making difficult decisions. I found myself unable to put this book down. Thank you to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read the advance copy of this book.

Have you read The Nest? I’ve read it four years ago and it was my pick for our book club back then. And when I see her new book coming out, I want to read it. That being said, I enjoyed The Nest more than Good Company.

It is a story about family bonds, marriage and friendship. Flora happily married to Julian for more than twenty years. They have a daughter, Ruby, who just graduated high school and about to go to college. Everything is going smoothly with herself, her work, her marriage and with her best friend Margot until she finds her husband’s wedding ring hidden in an envelope, the one he claimed he lost one summer when there daughter was five. Then everything that she believes in and struggles to build is suddenly a lie as she starts questioning her decisions, the sacrifices she made and the what ifs.

It is a slow family drama that might be a common plot in a story and something that happens in real life. While reading it, I was looking for more to happen but realized the story is slowly unfolding. The story gets better half way thru it with all the complications of marriage, parenthood and friendships, thinking of yourself moving forward and making decisions that would somehow affect the people you love. I still think its a well written story and realistically done. I am just probably looking for more.

Thank you NetGalley and Ecco for giving out the e-ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. Pub date - April 6. Rating: 3.5 stars

Good Company was a quick and easy read, which is sometimes exactly what I'm looking for. However, I was not particularly a fan of this book. I'll share below what I liked and didn't like.

****SPOILERS AHEAD!****

What I liked: All of the settings. I enjoyed the theater company, NYC, LA, the theater in the park, etc. All of the settings helped bring the story to life.

What I didn't like: Pretty much everything else. The story felt very "surface level" and anticlimactic. After decades of marriage, Flora finds Julian's wedding ring (which he claimed to have lost) neatly tucked away in a filing cabinet. Of course, as a reader, your mind goes to..."he cheated". But you don't expect the answer to be that obvious. Only, it was. He cheated, hid it from her for decades, and her best friend knew about it.

While it's not for me to say whether or not Julian deserved forgiveness, it felt like Flora was maybe lacking in self-respect. She felt "lucky" that Julian and Margot (Flora's best friend) had welcomed her into their lives. It seems that maybe they were the lucky ones to have Flora in their lives, but we never saw Flora recognize that fact. Maybe it was just me, but she came across as a bit of a doormat, and I found that frustrating.

I felt that the story was rather predictable. While I of course didn't guess the exact plot, I had an idea of how it would all pan out, and it essentially followed that script. It just feels like an overused plot and I had hoped for something unexpected or more emotional. I found the characters pretty much unlikable and did not personally feel connected to the characters or the story.

Thank you to netgalley and ECCO for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of those book that I could have sat and read from cover to cover if life didn’t relentlessly barge in.
I just loved it. Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney has written a couplet of characters that are flawed and real and for me, entirely identifiable. I know these people. Have sat in dressing rooms with, laughed and cried over cocktails, have lamented over scripts, have waited backstage for, and watched as our lives forged different paths.
At times it felt like this was a much kinder, gentler “Marriage Story’ mainly due to the similarity of artistic couples going through their lives between the New York stage and LA television scene. It’s a true testament to good writing that you find yourself sad when you’re leaving a story, and by the end I felt completely sated yet melancholy as the final picture was taken.

I loved The Nest and this new one did not disappoint. I will heartily recommend it to anybody who is interested in the life of theatre folk, and domestic life/getting by in New York City. But it was also just a rich and complicated family tale. I could picture the characters and the situations described so vividly -- trying to raise a little kid in a tiny New York apartment, the whimsy and squalor and too-close-for-comfort life of a theatre company. I especially liked to see the variety of professional work availble in the acting profession -- from Margot's more glamourous life, and TV successes, with Flora's workaday voiceover career, to the just-getting-by careers of the people trying to make it in live theatre. It was a pure joy to read and all the characters were likable, so it was fun and illuminating to hear the story from all of their points of view. I honestly did not know how the story would end for Flora and her husband, as it was painted in such a nuanced way. And, I loved the mother-daughter relationship, and just the fact that the author was very realistic about the teenagers' role in the family dynamic. This was a lovely, sweeping, and multifaceted read which I will recommend to ALL lovers of contemporary literary fiction. It will not be a hard sell either, since The Nest was such a hit with multiple copies still circulating.

Thank you !

I am struggling to provide an opinion on GOOD COMPANY, the newest book by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, an author with a previous bestseller. The synopsis sounded good, a woman finds a wedding ring her husband told her he lost years ago. But the tale itself doesn’t live up to the energy suggested in the synopsis. This book is a long incursion into middle-aged reflection without anything really happening. It’s a slice of internal life with multiple characters, none of whom are particularly likeable. Maybe no one caught in middle age maelstrom is truly likeable; suggesting a second awkward adolescence, where personal parts are more developed than the whole. The book is a long rumination on relationships without much activity. These characters might be more interesting in old age but in this book, they are still becoming something adult-ish. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

If you liked the author's previous book, The Nest, you'll probably like this one too. If you didn't, well, you probably won't. I love D'Aprix Sweeney's style (it reminds me of Ann Patchett, whom I love). This is a slow, meandering look at two couples and their marriages and relationships. There is a central plot point, but it's more about the characters themselves.

This is an intense long-term look at friendship, love, marriage, and parenthood. The central character may be Flora, but similar to [book:The Nest|25781157], there is a deep well of developed characters that add to the richness of the story. I think the book summary glosses over the best part of the book to focus on what might be considered the turning point. But, in a story like this, that event is just something to center on and isn't the value of the book: the scrutiny of the relationships. I enjoyed the being drawn into the lives of these people and getting to feel their emotions as they navigate the changes in their worlds. Regardless of their mistakes, these characters become very dear to the reader and that is a testament to the author's writing ability.

I really enjoyed the story of Good Company. This character driven novel focuses on the marriage of Flora and Julian and their best friends Margot and Dave. all set during a summer with flashbacks to the past. Margot, Flora, and Julian all have careers in the acting field so a lot of the book centered on the impact that these jobs had on their relationships with each other.
The story starts out when Flora finds Julian's "missing" wedding ring hidden in the bottom of a file cabinet when the story behind the missing ring was that it had been lost while swimming in a pond. How did this ring get here? What is Julian hiding? The strong marriage and friendships are all put in question while Flora figures out who she can trust.
I really enjoyed this book, I did not love it as much as The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney but would definitely recommend with the trigger warnings of adultery. I did feel lost a few times with the flashbacks to the past that were embedded in the present-day story. I wish there was a bit more structure of dates or chapter breaks to define these moments.

If you loved the novel Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel then you will enjoy Good Company!

Thank you, NetGalley, for advance access to Good Company. Sadly, I think fans of The Nest will be disappointed. A goodreads reviewer compares Good Company to A Marriage Story with Adam Driver. I never saw that movie but I would say it compares to the novel Monogamy by Sue Miller. I liked Monogamy better though. Point for a very pretty cover!

Good Company is a book about two couples and their friendships, marriages and careers over several decades. Set around the entertainment and theater industries, this character-driven novel was a quick and enjoyable read. It begins when Flora finds her husband’s wedding band (that he claims to have lost years earlier) in the back of a filing cabinet, which leads her to question their relationship. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend for someone looking for a quick and easy read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book on under 24 hours! It was a pleasant departure from my usual thriller novels

Great character study. I loved that the setting was both sides 9f the coast (LA and NY).

Thanks to Netgalley .and Ecco for my ARC.

Overall an okay story but it did not pull me in and hold my interest. I guess as a reader the story was simply not for me.

Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney is a story of family, friendship, coming of age, and the pitfalls/glamour of the acting lifestyle, but at its core Good Company is a story of adultery. This being said, Good Company is one of the only books featuring marital adultery that paints the husband in a flattering light. I couldn’t stomach the second half of the book and details of the affair because they were absolutely well done. While Good Company was not the book for me, I cannot recommend it enough for its beautiful writing and portrayal of a dysfunctional family. I have thus given it a five star rating as not to deter other readers from reading this excellent book. Big trigger warning for infidelity.

Sadly I loved this authors book The Nest, but this one I could not relate to. About 25% in I gave up. Characters that were self absorbed and annoying, I still had no idea what the point was. Didn’t finish. Won’t review a book I didn’t finish.

I enjoyed this book. This is a book about a woman who finds her husband's ring in an envelope. She thought she knew her family and friends around but does she really? Her story is one of heart, long relationships and wounds they cause. This is a story written with alot of heart and emotion. The characters in this story will pull at your heart strings in one moment and make you laugh in another. They bring a story to life that has life struggles and healing. I enjoyed how they are relateable and truly made the story for me. This is a fast paced story that kept me turning pages just to see what the characters would do next. I highly recommend this book.

𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Flora Mancini has been happily married for more than twenty years. But everything she thought she knew about herself, her marriage, and her relationship with her best friend, Margot, is upended when she stumbles upon an envelope containing her husband’s wedding ring—the one he claimed he lost one summer when their daughter, Ruby, was five.
Flora and Julian struggled for years, scraping together just enough acting work to raise Ruby in Manhattan and keep Julian’s small theater company—Good Company—afloat. A move to Los Angeles brought their first real career successes, a chance to breathe easier, and a reunion with Margot, now a bona fide television star. But has their new life been built on lies? What happened that summer all those years ago? And what happens now?
My Thoughts: This is my first book that I have read from this author. I really enjoyed how the characters were developed throughout the book. However, I really didn't care for the whole playwright/ theatre storyline throughout the novel. I had a very hard time getting into the book, but I did finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh, I have mixed feeling about this one. On the one hand, Sweeney really knows how to craft words. I really enjoyed her writing style, her descriptions, the way she weaves in and out of different perspectives. I have not read her first, THE NEST, but I do want to check it out after reading this one.

On the other hand, I had a hard time connecting with the characters... and for me, that ranks very high in terms of enjoyment. I waffled over what I thought about them. In some moments I really liked them all... and in other moments I was rolling my eyes at their self-indulgence. In fact, I found it a little ironic near the end when the characters have reunited at their old summer theater venue and Flora and Margot are scoffing at the earnestness of it all... That's how I felt through a lot of the book. Maybe it's because I don't know very much about being a wealthy 'bicoastal' actor. ;-) And let me tell you, they tried to play it off like Flora and Julian weren't wealthy, but actions speak louder than words, friends.

Overall, the book was entertaining, I'm glad I read it, but this one probably won't be very memorable to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free review copy of this book in exchange for am honest review.

I had difficulty engaging in Sweeney's latest novel, Good Company. While I loved Sweeney's earlier novel, The Nest, I never connected with the characters in this one. The found ring and what it seemed to imply was what kept me reading. While the storyline was interesting, I often found myself skimming for more about the ring. I don't doubt that some will love it, but for me, it was just an ok read. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC ebook version of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Good company is the name of the Julian’s theatre group and stands for the friendship between Julian and Flora and David and Margo. The two couples are close and enjoy theater and supporting Margo and Flora’s acting endeavors. All that changes when Flora finds Julian’s wedding ring, that he claims to have lost years ago, in the bottom of a filing cabinet. She waits to confront him until after their daughter Ruby’s graduation party. He has no good answers, and the truth alters Flora’s love for Julian, her trust in him, and changes what life may look like now that Ruby will be off to college. The glimpses into the life of a television star and the camaraderie and work of a theatrical group were so enjoyable. I enjoyed the struggle of how to go on when secrets come out and trust dissipates. Great book with characters that are varied and well developed.