Since reading The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney which I enjoyed, I’ve been anticipating her next novel. I was excited to dive into Good Company and am happy to report that it was well worth the wait.

Good Company explores two marriages through four different perspectives while jumping around on a relatively short timeline. I loved this story and feel like it will resonate deeply with so many who have experienced the imperfections that lay just beneath the surface of all marriages. I found the character switches in each chapters a fun way to get to know their unique perspectives and uncover little secrets hiding in their pasts. The characters where flawed to perfection making them realistic and relatable.

It was a quiet read that may leave some wanting for more. However, life can be mundane, repetitive, and a little lackluster but it is up to use to make it shine and that I think is the point.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars for this enjoyable look at love and marriage with a 14 rating for subject matter and language

Thank you to Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, Netgalley, ECCL, and Harper audio for this ALC.

A delightful novel focused on marriage and friendship. Flora and Julian are just getting ready to navigate an empty nest. Their daughter, Ruby, is set to graduate from high school when Flora discovers a devastating secret regarding a missing wedding ring of Julian's. Flora's best friend, Margo, was privy to the information that Flora discovers. Margo is trying to figure out how she goes on w/ a very sudden career change and a not-so-sudden shift in her husband, David, due to a stroke he'd had many years ago.
This second novel from Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney was a great read. I enjoyed all the characters and I'm loving how she interjects a sense of humor into the harsh realities the characters are facing. Moving, funny and fast-paced.

*Thanks to NetGalley for the audio ARC.*

This is a review for Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. It concentrates on the story of long time friends Flora, Margot, Julian and David. They are involved in acting and theater, in various capacities. When Flora is searching for an old photo of her daughter Ruby she comes across a wedding ring her husband had claimed was lost years ago. This causes her to begin questioning and looking back on the relationship, and the friends realationship.

I am torn on this review because the writing is good with well drawn episodes from the lives of the characters. For whatever reason, though, I just never fully connected with the characters or the story. I think those who enjoy family drama and the theater setting could find much too like here. For me, I would rate it a 3.5.

I listened to the audio of the book and the narrator. Marin Ireland, was excellent.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC>

Maybe it’s the writing style, but this one just didn’t work for me. It left me bored and underwhelmed. I felt like I had read this book 100 times over in other books, and it was a little cliche. I also thought the way it written was a bit all over the place and confusing. However for the audio version I did find the narration pleasing. I’m sure that some people will really enjoy this book, it just really fell flat for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Audio for allowing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

At first I struggled to get into this story as we were told about too many characters too quickly. Because of this I had a hard time bonding to the main character. Also, the background filler of all the acting/voice over drama each character carried was a little boring. I did feel that her growth was coinciding with the strength she had to gain as she learned of her struggles. I did enjoy this book in the end, but it took a lot to get there.

“Good Company” was my first read by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney and I think I just don’t like her writing style. This book was kind of painful. I really genuinely liked the storyline of Margot and her struggles with her life in Hollywood and the secrets of her past she was trying to keep; but the storyline of Flora and her cheating husband just felt so trite and overdone.

The structure of the book truly did not work for me; it was all over the place, the timeline just floated between past and present constantly, and as flawlessly as Marin Ireland delivered the narration of the audiobook it was very hard to comprehend and keep the timelines straight in my head. The acting was very well done and all of the voices she did for the different characters helped, but I did not connect well with the book itself. I’m sure some people will like it, with it being about the struggles of a marriage of actors in Hollywood it’ll tempt a lot of people, but I just feel like it wasn’t well executed and then it just ended…I don’t feel like there was much clear resolution. It needed an epilogue.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy

Cheating, Cheating, Cheating...

I am so very tired of reading about it in books. I don't often read early reviews because I love to go into books blind without reading the synopsis because it's one of those things that makes me happy (most of the time). I also like to figure out my own opinion before looking for others'. Unfortunately, it ends up with me having to read books that aren't my taste, like this one which was given to me in exchange of an honest review.

Good Company follows Flora (but you also get other people's povs), a woman who finds out about her husband's multiple affairs before and after their wedding. Sigh. I was hoping for something else, something other than this cliché plot-point but that didn't really happen. However, if you're looking to read about a failing marriage and what makes a family and friendship I guess this could be for you? As long as you're fine with cheating in books unlike me who is so over it. It's just one too many stories, you know...

This wasn't for me but I hope you'll enjoy it! The writing and story-telling was good. The narrator's voice was also good.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

I really enjoyed this story it was a easy listen . Great story dialogue. The story about marriage, friendships, family and betrayal. I loved the description of the arts and acting. the characters were believable and realistic I highly recommend this book..

No sophomore slump here! If you liked Sweeney's The Nest, do I have a book for you. Good Company centers around two best friends, their husbands, and one daughter. Sweeney wisely made three of the main characters theatre or tv actors (who are somehow endlessly fascinating.) While Margot stars in a long running medical drama (think Grey's Anatomy) she deals with aging, career longevity, and her public appearance. Meanwhile her best friend Flora is a voice actor with roots on the stage who finds her actor husband's wedding ring with some pictures- the one he told her he'd lost long ago. As Flora and Julian's daughter prepares to go to college, Flora and Margot look back on their lives to figure out how they want to go forward.
This is an interesting and insightful family (and found family) drama. Sweeney's tone is perfect and captivating. I love to see author's I like get better and better. I got this one on audiobook and the always superb Marin Ireland is just perfect as the dry and exciting narrator. She does different voices for the main characters, perfectly mastering the spoiled teen, spoiled tv star, and working actor mom who feels like she gave away her identity. You just can't go wrong with Ireland as a narrator and with this book, she is great.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance audiobook. Put this on your TBR for your April 2021 release. I think you'll be hearing a lot about it.

Good Company was my first read from Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. I really enjoyed the narration on this one, but I felt the story was lacking. It was a story I feel like I’ve read before. I liked that the characters were actors and actresses and that that part of their lives was woven throughout, but I just kept waiting for more. It all seemed so rushed, and so many things were happening, and then it was over. The writing was good, it just wasn’t the story I was hoping to get.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for a honest review.

This is the story of Flora. Flora and Julian have been together for 20+ years and have a beautiful daughter they love and a life they've worked hard to build together. Flora and Margot have been best friends and Margot is a famous actress now. While she's digging through drawers in her house to find a photo to give as a gift for her daughter's graduation, Flora stumbles upon her husband's wedding ring that he had lost 15 years ago.

This small act slowly start unwinding her life and having her rethink many of her choices and at a loss for what she should do as a result of this discovery.

I found it interesting that many who read the author's previous novel found this one to be not as good. I felt the opposite. This book is decidedly quiet. Not a lot happens and if you need big things, over the top personalities, crazy twists, loud shouting matches, this is not the book for you. This book, in my opinion, is so much better than that. The characters are well built and each and every one of them is 3dimensional. You can find something to like and something to dislike about each of them. You feel for them and root for them and also shake your head when they disappoint you, which almost all of them do at some point.

This book felt real to me. I could imagine these people in the world, living their blissful-looking life with all the layers of struggle, pain, joy, and hard work under the surface layer. I loved the nuanced struggles of what you tell people and what you keep to yourself. When is it your duty to divulge something that you know about someone else that could completely change their life. How much of what we do is for our own benefit vs others' good. How to navigate a loss that's actually 15 years old but you just find out. How to feel when everything you thought you knew is not what you thought it was but it also kind of is. What makes a marriage, a family, a friendship. There's so much good in this book. So much subtle depth.

I loved the time I spent with this book and if quieter books are your cup of tea, I highly recommend it.

with gratitude to netgalley, Harper Audio, edelweiss and Ecco publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little apprehensive about this book because I unfortunately did not like THE NEST.
But this book exceeded my expectations.

This is a story about two families.
A look at their beginnings, the ups and downs, the secrets and regrets.
It seems as though everyone is chasing the high from one magical summer, and while trying to hold onto that feeling they are slowly learning to accept that lives change, friendships change and marriages change.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to and review.

I really enjoyed the Nest, and was so excited for another book from Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. I am happy to say, the excitement was worth it - I loved this story, although I would have liked for more of a complete ending (which is not the author's way, I know). I liked how the chapters switched from different perspectives; it was even easy enough to follow the switches in characters and timelines over audio and that isn't always the case. The characters where real and flawed and perfect.

Did you see that 2019 movie “Marriage Story” with Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver? Did you enjoy it? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then you might like Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney’s follow up to her blockbuster debut, The Nest.

These are the types of reviews I enjoy writing the least. The ones for books that classically embody the word “fine.” For while there’s nothing inherently unpleasant or wrong with Good Company, there’s not a lot about the story or writing to make the novel memorable once finished.

Good Company also calls to mind the books of Emma Straub or J. Courtney Sullivan. Its rating average will hover in the low-to-mid 3-star range on Goodreads, but people will read it anyway given the author pedigree, beautiful cover, prominent bookstore placement, and inevitable celebrity endorsements. White upper middle class bi-coastal actor types struggle with midlife malaise and marital discord? This will be catnip to celebrity book clubs.

I listened to an advanced copy of the audiobook (9 hours), which luckily features the narrating talents of Marin Ireland. Ms. Ireland is rapidly becoming a favorite voice talent with audiophiles, and she does a great job here as usual. When I see her name attached to a title, that’s often reason enough for me to choose the audio format over print. I’m certainly glad I chose to spend my time with Good Company in hers.

My thanks to Harper Audio for providing me with the ALC via NetGalley. The expected U.S. publication date is April 6, 2021.

I enjoyed the author’s earlier novel, The Nest, and was looking forward to her latest. This story of two families/friends and their marriages was entertaining. The narration was 💯

ARC provided by NetGalley - I really wanted to like this book but I listened until 20% of the way in and just was not at all hooked by the plot or drawn in by the characters so I had to DNF it. It felt all sorts of cliche without having too much depth to really hook me as a reader. Perhaps some in the theater world might enjoy this more than I did but this book was not for me. The characters and plot were not enticing enough for me to continue reading when I have so many other books on my TBR that I am dying to read.

Flora is feeling lucky and content in her marriage to Julian and their current life situation, her only child Ruby is about to graduate from high school, and she has her best friend Margot in her life. Flora finds her husband's wedding ring hidden in the bottom of a file cabinet and unearths the biggest secret of her life that makes her question everything she knows about her life. This book follows lifelong relationships, the complexity of marriage, and the questions a mother asks herself when she becomes an empty nester for the first time.

I really enjoyed this book and found it gripping, relatable, and sweet. The author is skilled at writing the characters in a way that makes it easy for the reader to empathize and to feel a part of the story. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because even thought I really enjoyed the book and characters but it wasn't a page turner for me. I wasn't engrossed in the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Audio for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Story:
This is my first book by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, but I’ve seen the love that other readers have for her novel, The Nest. I was excited to read a book by her that is not in my typical genres. Good Company is about two marriages - Flora and Julian’s and Margot and David’s. Flora’s life is forever changed when she finds her husband’s wedding ring that he claims he lost one summer many years ago.

I enjoyed reading about the lives of these characters. I particularly enjoyed reading about the Hollywood aspect of the story (Margot is a TV star and Flora a voiceover actress). This is very much a character-driven story that analyzes marriages, regrets, life decisions, and missed opportunities. It is not a fast-paced story, but it is an interesting one.

Narration:
Marin Ireland is one of my favorite narrators and I know that I enjoyed this novel more because of her performance. She always elevates the material, especially with these more character-driven stories (notably her performance with Anxious People by Fredrick Backman). Ireland brings each character to life and conveys all of the emotions they feel throughout this sprawling tale.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


Full review to be posted closer to release date.