The stunning jacket illustration and double-meaning title may be the best parts of Good Company, the sophomore novel by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. It asks the age-old question: If you could relive portions of your life, would you make different decisions? And if so, how would the revised decisions alter your current life?

This character-driven novel explores two marriages as well as the relationships among the four adults and one couple’s 18-year-old daughter. While the plot isn’t compelling, I was interested in the characters whose professional lives as actors in theater and television are completely different from my own. Thank you to Ecco and NetGalley for the review copy.

This was an engaging novel and I enjoyed learning about the unique relationships. This one was so well written I loved the way the author wrote about all the people and their characteristics, both the good and the bad. I also liked how the story developed as you learned more about the complicated family and friend dynamics. I now need to check out other works by this author!

Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney is the story of marriage, friendship, and the ability to forgive. Flora Mancini is a New Yorker who is trying to make it big like everyone else. Flora's friend Margot invites her to a party where she meets Julian who runs a small theater company. Can Flora forgive the pair for the dark secret they share?

Flora Mancini falls for Julian who has a troubled childhood. While Julian is putting his all into Good Company, Flora gets pregnant with Ruby. Julian soon feels left out of the family. A chance to make a new start arrives as Julian takes a job in Los Angeles where their long-time friend, Margot, lives with her husband, David.

The move to Los Angeles gets Flora into a new career, out of the small NY apartment, and close to her best friend. Things are looking up!

As Flora searches the garage for Ruby's graduation gift, she finds something Julian lost years ago at Good Company. The past comes flooding in. Can she live with a lie?

A story to be read in one sitting! Well, I did sit down to read "for a bit" and finished nearly half the book. It's in the style I like: the trials and tribulations of family.

There are a lot of theater aspects in the book which I enjoyed, and I am not even a theater person. If you love theater, I am sure you'd be in awe.

This book came with a lot of hype and was written well. I also enjoyed the previous one, the Nest. The book kept me going but was somewhat predictable and I enjoyed the first half better than the second. The relationship between the daughter and the parents was a little bit weird.

I had really enjoyed Cynthia D’Apris Sweeney’s The Nest and was happy to receive Good Company as an arc. And it is just as good as her previous novel. It follows two couples through two decades of friendship, marriages, heartbreak and forgiveness. I also loved the juxtaposition of storyline between the theatrical stage in New York and television drama in Hollywood. I highly recommend Good Company. Thank you to Ecco and NetGalley for the arc.

This book is about events that occurred in the lives of Flora, Julian (her husband), and Ruby, their daughter. The story is told from various POV, at different periods of the story and it shows how all of their lives are intertwined. I felt that the story was a little choppy and slow and it made it hard to follow. I felt like it made it really hard to read because it was so slow. I did like all of the details in the story and I felt like I got to know the characters which was really nice.

This is one of those books that is about nothing and everything. That is intended as a compliment. It takes the story of a couple of people and uses it to explore larger themes of love, career, parenthood, betrayal, etc. It was well written and enjoyable, but not necessarily a story that will stick with me.

4 solid stars. Not reading any prior books by this author but hearing the hype of The Nest, I went in with high expectations and I wasn't disappointed. Having recently read Firefly Lane, I initially thought there were similarities with the main characters as two best friends, a husband and daughter dynamic in a world revolving around theater/acting, but I actually enjoyed these characters much more. This book also went at a quicker pace. But for anyone who loved Firefly Lane, I would recommend this book.

Trigger warning: extramarital affair

***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book!

On the afternoon of her daughter Ruby's high school graduation, Flora Mancini, while hunting for an old family photo, stumbles across a lost wedding ring, a ring that was supposed to have been lost and forgotten at the bottom of a pond for years, but somehow has reappeared. The discovery of the ring throws Flora's life into turmoil and casts her history with her husband, Julian, into doubt. Flora always thought she and Julian were the real thing, now she's not so sure. Over the course of the book, Sweeney weaves the present with the past of Flora and Julian and their friends Margot and David, creating a rich drama of family and relationships that comes to a reckoning at the very place where the photo that lead Flora to the ring was taken.

Poor Good Company seems to be having a rough go of it in the reviews I've read so far. People seem to think it doesn't live up Sweeney's smash hit debut, The Nest. Lucky for Good Company, I'm not that great at reading books, so I haven't even read the much-acclaimed The Nest, so Good Company gets to stand on its own merits. And it has them! Frankly, the way that the plot unfolded, acquainting readers with the characters and the histories by spending time with each character reminded me a bit of Maggie O'Farrell's style, which I love. I love a story with layers that slowly pulls them off until the characters and their stories feel real, and I long for their redemption as much as they do. I love the slow burn of this style, and I love the payoff, the moment of redemption or the moment when that redemption at least seems possible. I think Good Company accomplishes that without making things that are hard seem too easy.

In addition to what Sweeney does with her characters, I appreciated her talent for setting scenes. The book takes place primarily in three places - California, where Flora and Julian are finally both making a good living after years as struggling theater actors; New York City, where both characters got their start in the theater; and Stoneham, an idyllic upstate New York farm that hosts a yearly outdoor, avant-garde theater production. Sweeney captures the languor of a countryside summer interrupted by the excitement of a theater production. She brings to life a California that was meant to be a temporary stop for Flora and Julia, but a sun-washed spot where they made a home. New York and the theater scene is arguably the most well-drawn, and Sweeney captures the excitement of the theater people with big ideas trying to make them work and eke out a living, the scraping and struggling for roles, the living in a miniscule apartment, but also the magic of when it all just works.

I enjoyed Sweeney's sophomore effort, and if it is, indeed, the lesser of her two novels, then I imagine I'll quite love The Nest!

Thanks to Ecco books for the free book.
I actually ended up listening to this on audio because Marin Ireland narrates, and she's one of my favorites.
This is a character driven novel, which I'm learning are not my favorite, but I always tend to get sucked in by the beautiful writing. The people and relationships are developed so deeply in these kinds of novels, that it's easy for me to get sucked in because I come to care about the characters so much. I also love the attention to detail when it comes to the setting in these types of books. The author can take the time to devote so much attention to these two aspects because the plot is not the main focus.
What I wanted more of was the exploration of the problem between Flora and Julian. I wanted to see some more of their conflict - again this is probably a me thing in wanting more plot action.
Highly recommend this to character driven and literary fiction book lovers.

I read The Nest years ago so I was really excited to read Good Company.

This is a tough book for me to review. There’s nothing “wrong” with it. It’s really well written. D’Aprix Sweeney’s writing is beautiful and poetic. The characters are interesting. It’s a character driven book but there is enough happening to keep the story moving along and I found myself reading quickly to see how things would turn out.

Ultimately, it just wasn’t the right fit for me. I felt so many emotions while reading this but the primary ones were sadness and melancholy. I can’t write too much without giving away plot points but some of the characters actions were unforgivable, in my opinion, so I struggled to connect with them. I also like books to have a definitive and conclusive end and that wasn’t the case here.

At the same time, I will say that this book had me thinking about the characters after I finished reading and gave me an emotional response to the story so job well done in that respect.

I know many people will love this book. There is so much to discuss about the story and it would be great for a book club! I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys beautiful writing, complex characters, a character driven plot and a book that sticks with you.

Lifelong friends and secrets, who doesn’t love a story with real life problems. Two lifelong friends and their husbands create Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. The friends come from different worlds and yet end up in the same school. One is from Queens and one is from Manhattan. Their differences aren’t too great and they are able to forge a friendship. Both find themselves to be young actress’s and one is better than the other. Flora and Margot are the heart of the story. Flora then marries Julian, also an actor & Margot marries David a cardiac surgeon. As the years go by, each friend’s life has highs and lows and their friendship is the glue that keeps things together. They cross cross the country for acting work, summer in Larchmont NY for summer stock and think that the others life is some how better than the other’s. Then a deep secret comes to light and the author shows how friendship and secrets don’t always mix and can some secrets just be too big to heal from? I loved The Nest, by D’Aprix Sweeney. To compare the two is not even possible apples to oranges. The author can tell a very descriptive, story and her characters are so good. I enjoyed this story a lot but there were parts that seemed to be over kill. But it is an excellent example of friends, different lifestyles and social standings and how to overcome and hold on to that friendship. This was a four star read for me. I have shared this book on my Instagram page and shared my review as well. As always I am so glad I got this ARC from Netgalley and the author.

I was such a fan of THE NEST, and I’m thrilled to say that I really enjoyed the latest as well. Nothing like a page-turning domestic drama with human characters that breathe fragility and humanity. It’s a wonderful read, and one I’m very happy to chat up.

It took me a little bit to get into this book. Once I got into it, I was hooked.

The story kept me interested. It was real life. It was things that people go through everyday.

I really thought it was going one way and it went a different way. I enoyed it.

Warm, fun, (but also upsetting). A light reading that maintains interest from page to page. I personally loved the context within a theater/acting environment.

An accidental discovery turns a family's life upside down and makes a couple question their marriage, their life choices and their friendships in this tender and captivating story. You won't want to put this one down and it will make for a great book club pick!

Although I have heard good things about the author's debut novel, this one is actually my first experience with her writing. It came to my attention when I heard some speculation that this would be one of the April Book of the Month Club choices (and it is a late addition add-on!). I had some high expectations for this one accordingly, and I must say, it didn't disappoint. It's quite a compelling read - and I genuinely couldn't put it down!

More character-driven than plot-driven, the family at the center - Flora, Julian and their daughter, Ruby - along with their good friends, Margot and David make up the central cast. Set in Los Angeles for most of the present and New York City for most of the past, the book opens on the day of Ruby's high school graduation. Flora, while looking for a specific old photograph, stumbles across the wedding ring that Julian claimed to have lost 13 years earlier.

Past and present unfold in a surprisingly captivating way. Margot, Julian and Flora are all actors with varying levels of success. The acting profession in novels doesn't always come across very realistically, but here it feels more genuine with openness around financial struggles. In some ways, the book almost feels gossipy - as though you are catching up with old acquaintances that you hadn't heard about in a while. The inner lives of the characters really do come to life. I wish that the ending had been a bit more satisfying - or at least further out into the future, but I suppose not wanting to see the book end is more of a plus than anything else. I really enjoyed this more than I even expected to as there are some elements here that I don't usually enjoy in fiction, but it all just really works well here! It may not be a traditional, plot-driven page-turner, but I really couldn't set this book down - and I am even more curious now to check out the author's debut novel.

Another reviewer summed this up nicely: “White upper middle class bi-coastal actor types struggle with midlife malaise and marital discord”. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. If you’ve seen the movie Marriage Story you’ll find this reminiscent of that story. I enjoyed this author’s last book, “The Nest”, thought I didn’t think it lived up to the incredible hype it received. This one proved even more lackluster, though there is nothing wrong with the writing I just didn’t find it captivating and truly I’m a little tired of reading about upper middle class white married couples in various stages of disillusionment when there are so many more compelling stories to be told.

Thank you so very much to the publisher and NetGalley for a free, electronic ART of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited to read Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's book “Good Company” because of the amazing things I heard about her debut novel, “The Nest.” The beginning automatically captivated me, “where did the ring come from!” was what I wanted to know and kept me reading.
However, instead, I ultimately found Good Company moving at a pace inconsistent with its premise and characters with unlikeable personalities in which I found myself unable to get behind or root for. I found the author’s unique writing style of time jumps and narrator switching to be more confusing than captivating. I would argue that some of the flashbacks were just added fluff and thus made it even harder to build any connections with any of the characters.
Overall, the theme of forgiveness was apparent throughout the novel and really got me thinking - I wish it was dug into more.
I am ultimately happy I read it, and got to experience something from this author based on her previous reviews.

Good Company is the latest book by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. The main focus of this story is Flora and the people who are closest to her. Ms Sweeney goes back and forth in time and does use some points of views other than Flora. Ms Sweeney does an excellent job of making the reader feel Flora's emotions. I want to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for a copy to review.