A great story of marriage and friendship. I loved this story about a group of friends and how they deal with life.

Synopsis: Flora Mancini has been married to her husband, Julian, for over twenty years and she feels that they have a successful, happy marriage. They have a daughter, Ruby, that is about to graduate from high school and head off to college soon. She feels that life has been good to her -- that is until she discovers Julian’s wedding ring hidden in an envelope in a filing cabinet. Years ago, Julian had told Flora that he had lost the ring so what is it doing in the cabinet? After Ruby’s graduation, she confronts Julian and gets the truth of what happened with that ring. Learning the truth also brings about another betrayal when she discovers that her best friend Margo knew what happened with the ring and never told her. What does she do with the truth now that she knows it??

My thoughts: I enjoyed the story overall. I found the majority of the characters likeable with the usual human foibles and I think the author did a good job of fleshing out Flora’s emotions and feelings when dealing with this crack in her marriage. I also had to laugh at the character of Ruby and the accurateness of the teenager thinking that everything that happens is about them. I gave this book 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ecco Publishing for a digital copy of this book along with Harper Audio for the audiobook version in exchange for an honest review. The narrator of the audio book is Marin Ireland and this is not the first audiobook that I have listened to where she was the narrator and once again, she did a fantastic job with this book. If you are interested in reading Good Company, I recommend the audio book.

With respect to this author, I read her first novel, The Nest and I loved that book. I found it so interesting because intellectually it was about trusts (the financial kind) and I dealt with estates and trusts for many years of my working life so it was a very relevant story to me but at its heart it was a family drama. If you haven’t read The Nest, I highly recommend it.

This was an interesting book that would lend itself perfectly for book club discussion. Its strength is in its character development; you really get a feel for the different personalities and the interplay between the characters. I would say it's character driven, relationship centered, but the plot seems to lag, the pacing seems to drag at times. I listened to the audio version and the narration is fantastic, one of the best I've heard.

I received an AudioArc in exchange for an honest review.

One thing to know going into Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney is that it should not be compared with The Nest. Once that expectation is set aside, it can be enjoyed in its own right.

Flora thought that her marriage with Julian was solid, but then she finds the wedding ring he claimed to have lost, and everything is put into question.

Friendships are tested, and there's a question as to what can be saved. This is a book about expectation and reality. About marriage and infidelity. About truth and secrets.

The audiobook is narrated by Marin Ireland, which adds a delightful layer to the experience. The run time is approximately nine hours.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts were my own.

I loved this book! I read and adored The Nest when it came out a few years ago and I loved this for the same reason. Sweeney is the master of the fast-paced character driven novel. I often find character driven novels to be slow and un-engaging, but Sweeney's characters are so well written and have so much depth that I never get tired of reading about them. I especially liked that this book was abut characters who are in the entertainment industry, because I am a theatre actor and I really related to a lot of what they went through. Plus, after a year without theatre, it was just exciting to read abut Broadway! I would absolutely recommend this book, I liked it even more than The Nest! 4.5 stars

This book is a beautiful exploration of friendships and life that didn't turn out quite according to plan. The theater and cultural aspects of the book were enriching and made the story more interesting than it'd have been otherwise. Parts seemed to linger longer than necessary, and I wasn't particularly attached to the characters. Overall, a decent story.

Marin Ireland is brilliant, and the narration bumped this one up from 3.5 stars to 4 for me.

I loved Good Company! If you’re a fan of family dramas like Ask Again Yes, I think you’ll enjoy this. Good Company is the story of Flora and Julian and her best friend Margot. Secrets are kept from each other and unravel throughout the book. Will Flora and Julian last? Will Flora and Margot’s friendship be impacted?

This book held my interest and I loved the story and characters. The audio was great.

What do you do when the life you thought you knew and loved crumbles beneath you? When the two most important relationships in your life are changed forever? That's the position Flora finds herself on the day of her daughter Ruby's graduation. Sweeney's novel switches between the viewpoints of Flora, her husband Julian, her best friend Margot and her daughter Ruby as they reflect on the past 25 years and try to untangle the present.

Good Company is clearly a character-driven novel, and Sweeney expertly allows you to empathize with each and every one. Yet, the plot never feels stalled as she immediately hooks you with the question: "Why is Julian's wedding ring at the bottom of the file cabinet?" Then, once that's answered, you're so committed to the characters that you have to see them through to the end.

The story is made even more interesting by the character's vocation. Flora, Julian and Margot are all actors, and you get to follow them from their start on small New York stages to their eventual careers in Los Angeles and see what compromises they choose to make along the way. Good Company covers some important themes: grief, love, sacrifice and — most importantly — forgiveness. And I think that's what made this read (listen) so worth it. It's easy to ask the question, "Where would I be if not for ____?" It's another to reconcile the life right in front of you.

”The people closest to you surprised you in the most disappointing ways.”

Good Company is an up-close-and-personal, introspective look at a group of friends and their lives, choices, and relationships over many years. The story follows Flora, Julian, Margot, and David - two couples who have been friends for decades - and the joys, sorrows, betrayals, challenges, and celebrations they’ve experienced along the way.

”She vacillated between sorrow and fury and seemed incapable of finding some middle ground.”

Like the entire series of Friends condensed into 300 pages, Good Company is heavily character-driven and relies very little on linear plot development. The narrative bobs and weaves, folding over and back in on itself again, jumping from college days to present day, to the early days of their marriages and careers, to what happened 5 years ago. Each chapter presents a collection of memories and how the characters were impacted by those experiences.

”Too often, she looked forward to the end of something—to beginning the remembering—more than the thing itself.”

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney does an incredible job of bringing her characters to life through deep, thorough character development and backstories. You get to know each of them intimately, for better or for worse. They’re not exactly the most likeable bunch, and some of them make some really poor choices, but Sweeney offsets this to an extent, by offering vulnerable, revealing insights into their inner workings. The dialogue is well-written, engaging, and believable.

”They had drifted because Margot and David’s lives were progressing in a way that made Flora feel resentful, left behind.”

Plot-driven readers may struggle with this one, as well as readers who find non-linear timelines challenging. It was hard for me to follow the constant flashbacks and the jumping around between decades & events. It is a relatively light read, which could be a good thing for those seeking something short & sweet, or could be a bit of a bummer for those who prefer a deep, moving read.

”Desire was nothing more than impulse and possibility, with paths leading off into separate but possibly equally satisfying destinations.”

Marin Ireland freaking killed it on the audiobook narration of Good Company. I can't remember the last time I heard a narrator voice the distinctions between varying emotions and moods with such nuanced brilliance. From hesitancy to sarcasm to deliberate cattiness, Ireland absolutely nailed every line, and totally enhanced the reading experience for me.

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A huge thank-you to Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, HarperAudio, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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Good Company is a small theatre company run by Flora’s handsome husband Julian of twenty years. There’s has been a happy marriage, with one funny and charming child, Ruby who is graduating from H.S and ready for college. Margo, a successful TV actress and her doctor husband David are their oldest and dearest friends. But when working on a photo collage for Ruby’s graduation party, Flora finds something that puts her whole life in question. I enjoyed this novel, maybe not quite as much as The Nest, but it was an entertaining read and I was moved by Flora struggle to come to grips with her flawed life.

The audiobook is refreshing. I enjoyed the stories and characters intertwined together. A family drama is always entertaining and I loved The Nest. I felt the story was engaging and memorable.

At first glance for some, the type of behavior and drive that the mothers you meet in “Girls With Bright Futures” may seem over the top. However if you turn on your television lately, the storyline becomes much more realistic.

You meet three mothers and their daughters, who are college bound. The mothers are determined that their daughters will win the one and only “early decision” spot to Stanford, which is guaranteed to students from the prestigious Elliot Bay Academy where all the girls attend.

Alicia Stone, the rich and powerful CEO of Aspyre and financial donor to the university, will not take no for an answer. Her daughter, Brooke, will get that single spot. Nothing less will be accepted for the Stone family. Brooke, however, is more complacent than passionate about her college path.

Maron Pressley is a single parent who struggles financially. Her daughter, Winnie, is an academic genius and is almost surely guaranteed that top spot at Stanford. Winnie has been working towards getting into the university since she was a little girl, it seems. Unfortunately, Maron is Alicia’s personal assistant, so her job may depend on Winnie willingly giving up the chance to apply.

Kelly Vernon, a Stanford graduate herself and queen of the parent volunteering at Elliot Bay Academy, is determined to fight for the spot for her daughter, Krissie. Kelly’s volunteering keeps her close to all the gossip and news at the school. Krissie is a great student, but very anxious about her next steps. If Krissie is too fragile to fight for her Stanford spot, then Kelly will just have to do it for her.

The story takes an unexpected turn when Winnie gets run off the road in what appears to be an accident. Or is it? The authors begin to expose new details and backstory information.The community is aghast and the rumor mill is abuzz. There is backstabbing, plagiarism, and stolen DNA that begin to come to light. Quick moving and very entertaining, I was anxious to get to the end. Applying to college in this debut is like riding a roller coaster where you cannot see all the steep drops.

A good audiobook must have a good narrator, and this one does. The engaging story about relationships, friendships and secrets kept me interested. The plot is well paced and the character development is good. I think anyone who enjoyed her first book The Nest may even enjoy this one more.

This story follows two couples (3 of the people are actors), and one child through their lives as they move from NYC to LA. The idea that one person in every marriage must make sacrifices is an underlying theme. Many of the situational plot points could have been delved into further. The narrator did a fine job of characterization without distracting competing voices.

This character-driven novel about marriage, friendship, and the twists of life that make us rethink everything, is beautifully written and well-narrated. Despite the narrator talent, I would recommend the print over the audio (disclosure: I haven't read in print) to better appreciate the level of detail in Sweeney's writing.

This domestic drama was not for me.

It's very much a character-driven novel about relationships; husband/wife, friends, parent/child. I didn't like any of the characters (I inexplicably hated their names) and didn't find they grew much from beginning to end.

The narrator was too good at doing the annoying characters that every time she'd switch to an intentionally irritating character, I'd cringe.

I want to thank the author and Netgalley for gifting me the audiobook book version. I was not expecting this kind of story. I thought at first a few hours into the book that it was slow going. But as the story progressed I found that I was drawn to the story. This book is not action packed and it just a good lazy read. I would say that I wished it had an epilogue. I really wanted to know what happened to the main characters marriage and friendship. Just one that was maybe 6 months later or a year later, just something. I really liked the narrator's voice. The book does have some bad language throughout if you are sensitive to that. Also there is some graphic sexual parts when the husband is thinking about the affair he had. It was pretty sexual. So if you are looking for an easy read that does not have a lot of action or suspense this audiobook and book is perfect for you.

I found this one to be a disappointment after LOVING The Nest. Character descriptions were too long and it just got bogged down and I couldn’t bring myself to care about the characters.

Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney : 🎧 Book review

This upcoming novel from the well-known author of The Nest, is about two married couples, a friendship, a daughter, and their careers & ties to the theatre. First, loved the narration by Marin Ireland. Second, this book is what I’d classify as a “soothing” audiobook, for me anyway.
Plot wise, not much happens. We’re following two couples, we learn about the current state of their lives and the background is filled in as points of view jump around throughout the novel. There is real emotion though, and I was fairly invested in what was going on. These upperclass actors with fairly mundane trials: a daughter on the cusp of adulthood leaving for university and changing the dynamics between the parents; a ten-year+ career on a medical drama ending and wondering what’s next; an affair coming out of the woodwork years later.
Overall, it was an interesting look at relationships- how they change over time, what they mean at different points in time, how they bloom and wither. I was just carried along into the inner workings of these characters and then it was over. As I said - soothing. Wrapped up in other people’s drama for a bit with some thoughtful moments along the way.
I’d recommend this for people who like character studies. If you liked The Nest, you’d probably like this too. I think this was well written but not overly exciting. An enjoyable audiobook.
Thank you so much to Harper Audio, Netgalley & Harper Collins Canada for an ALC of this lovely book. All opinions are my own. It publishes April 6 2021!

3.8 ⭐️ OVERALL
5.0 ⭐️ NARRATION

🥀 Genre🥀 Literary Fiction

🥀 Premise 🥀 Flora Mancini questions her marriage and her longest friendship when the wedding band her husband claimed was at the bottom of a pond reappears.

🥀 Narration 🥀 Excellent. Perfect pairing with the story.

🥀 Thoughts 🥀 A leisurely paced character-driven plot that explores the intricacies of enduring relationships.

🥀 Thoughts 🥀 It has a perfect open-ended conclusion that is realistic and gratifying.

🥀 Listen or Leave it? LISTEN 🥀

Special thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to and review.

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