Remember the quarter-life crisis? Its prominence in the discourse harks back to a more innocent era, when stories about young urbanites couldn’t be faulted for omitting floods or wildfire smoke and when no U.S. presidential candidate actively fighting multiple felony charges had ever led polls in key battleground states.

Although Naoise Dolan’s "The Happy Couple" takes place in the present-day British Isles and its characters are generally aware of the dire state of the world, its characters are principally focused on understanding their own loves and libidos. The novel brings a more authentic perspective on sexuality than readers might have found a decade or two ago — both members of the eponymous couple are bisexual — but its core concerns are timeless.

That gives the book a certain universal appeal, but also presents a challenge: this is not the first will-they-or-won’t-they wedding story ever told. The author takes a kaleidoscopic approach to storytelling, rotating among the perspectives of friends and family members surrounding the eponymous pair of betrothed.

Each character intrigues, but in a relatively short novel — the audiobook runs five and a half hours — it’s hard not to feel cheated of deeper dives into the characters whose eternal happiness is most immediately in question.

In a situation involving some intentional ignorance, bride-to-be Celine is in a love triangle with her fiancé Luke and his ex-boyfriend Archie. Early in the book, Luke walks out on his own engagement party to accompany Celine’s ex-girlfriend to a hotel. For the author, that’s a bold card to play: Luke’s mistreatment of Celine is so egregious, it’s hard for the reader to empathize with the characters until we apprehend the dynamics of this lopsided relationship.

We eventually get there, more or less, but Dolan seems determined to frustrate readers who want these characters to properly explain themselves. The narrative flits around so we meet Celine’s sister, Luke’s friend (another ex), and spend considerable time with Archie, who’s also being strung along by Luke. When we finally get into Luke’s head, we find a perceptive but dispassionate guy who has a hard time blaming himself for the miseries others seem to invite in accommodating his commitment to never committing.

Audiobook narrators Ayoola Smart and Ben Seymour play it bone-dry, amplifying a sense of emotional distance and exacerbating a shortcoming of Dolan’s writing: although the characters’ life experiences are quite different, their sardonic voices are not. There’s a lot of verbal jousting, but it’s all strained and performative. With lasting joy seemingly elusive, the characters fall back on brittle humor and fleeting pleasures.

If we’re all going to be so miserable, why not just say to hell with it and talk about global warming?

I really loved The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan. Told in multiple POVs, it’s about an engaged couple and their friends who wonder if they should be getting married at all. The Happy Couple are Luke, a serial cheater, and Celine, who’s more interested in her piano than in domestic life or pinning Luke down on where he’s been or why he’s lying about it. Then there’s Archie, the best man, who’s still in love with Luke after a tryst in college; Phoebe, Celine’s sister, who wants to find out the truth about Luke, but doesn’t necessarily plan to do anything with the information; and Vivian who was friends with the couple in college and offers an outsider’s perspective on the couple.

What I loved most about this book was the masterful way it was able to twist my allegiances and perspective as new POVs were introduced. I would be sure I was on one “Team”, and then I’d read a passage from another character’s perspective, and I would see things in a completely different light. And this happened multiple times during the book, until I came to the conclusion I assume the author was after all along—that no individual story can actually tell the tale.

I’m also so grateful to @harperaudio for a free ALC. The audiobook for this one was great and immersive. There were only two narrators, but I didn’t know that until looked it up. I thought it was a full cast recording and I loved the way the voice actors embodied the characters.

I would absolutely recommend this book, but don’t go in looking for perfect characters and an ending tied in a neat bow. I’m not sure I left the book liking any of the characters, but I felt for all of them, and I definitely loved the writing. I think fans of Sally Rooney and anyone who likes a complicated relationship story would love this one too.

I read this audiobook all in one day and while it kept my attention and there were parts of the writing that I enjoyed, I still found the story to be unbelievable and lacked character depth. I liked the rotating POVs and the third person narration but there was an odd part where we get a first person POV out of nowhere and then it cut back to third. That was a weird. People have been comparing this to a Sally Rooney novel but I feel like there was a lot lacking in the character department and isn't that the central focus of a literary fiction novel?

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan is quite possibly the worst book I’ve ever read…sorry to say, as it’s an ARC.

I did not like ANY of the characters…(and that about sums it up)…but I didn’t like the female narrator either (so that was just the icing on the cake.) 😮

The two main characters are Celine and Luke.
We watch as they meet, talk about staying together, marriage, family, etc. But, it never feels real.
Neither one of them are likable characters.
It doesn’t seem like either one really wants a relationship at all!

And then we are introduced to their friends, as well as their ex-lovers. If it wasn’t bad enough already, it goes completely DOWNHILL from here.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperMuse for an ARC of the audiobook.

I definitely would NOT walk or run to get this one…I’d just leave it right there on the shelf! But that’s MY opinion. Surprisingly, I see several 4-5 star reviews on Goodreads. So maybe I’m in the minority here…

1⭐️ for me…
#TheHappyCouple by #NaoiseDolan

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Thanks for reading!! 📖📚

Well written enough, and the audio narration was good it's just that it was a cast of wholly unlikeable characters so I couldn't get behind it. just not for me

I really enjoyed this intriguing story of a couple heading toward marriage, but taking the time to explore past relationships through their own viewpoints and those of a few friends. It was so interesting to see the various interpretations on love, friendship, and commitment. I loved the dry wit and the intelligence of the author's observations and the way she wove them into a unique experience for the reader. The audiobook is very well done and really brought the characters to life.

loved the writing style of this - a unique voice where we see people undergoing emotional things, but the emotional aspect of it is removed. Fascinating, I feel like the reader has to fill in a lot of the blanks which I enjoy! Not for everyone probably, but I would recommend if the above is appealing to you.

The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan is a book I breezed right through. I was captivated by Celine and Luke, and their love story. We meet them just as they are about to get married and over the course of the story we get to learn more about their past and present and what they are bringing into their decision to marry.

Overall, I thought this book was fresh and surprising - I really enjoyed it. The writing mimicked a Sally Rooney style but felt a little less cerebral, which to me is a good thing. The narration by Ayoola Smart and Bert Seymour was fantastic!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the ARC - The Happy Couple is out 11/7/23.

Firstly, the audiobook is incredibly well done. The voice actors are very talented, especially when pulling out many different accents on the same page of dialogue. Lots of dexterity and talent is clear in listening to this, and that does in fact add to how much one wants to listen to it. I found it easy to become absorbed every time I turned it back on.
The story itself, I feel I have to question. I really enjoy Dolan's writing, and find she has very well-developed characters— she produces very clear mannerisms that are incredibly tangible to the reader through only a few pages/minutes of interacting with a character. Regardless of that, I found myself wanting more to be happening in the last third of the book and found that the way things unfolded was anti-climactic. To the point that I kept expecting something more to happen— and then the book ended.
Highly entertaining, especially if you like character portraits and family/friend relationship dynamics. But I ultimately found the story to be unfulfilling.

I had to throw in the towel at 50%. I found myself actively listening and searching for an answer to "so what?" with no satisfaction. This book offered me little to nothing, unfortunately. I typically like lit fiction but this was a no go. Snooze fest. For that reason, I will not be sharing my review publicly on my social media platforms.

An exploration of a couple on their way to the altar told from alternating POVs - the bride, the groom, the wedding guests, etc. Everyone is uniquely flawed, sleeping with each other and struggling to navigate their complicated dynamic. The prose is stunning, I kept going back to re-read entire paragraphs. Very millennial Irish literature/for fans of Sally Rooney. I loved it a bunch.

Honestly, a bore.

I enjoyed the concept but I couldn't force myself to give a shit about the characters. The book felt repetitive and the end was pointless.

I adored this book. Dolan’s commentary about millennial and Gen-Z relationships is biting and uncomfortably accurate. Loved the queerness in here too. Every character of the ensemble cast sang off the page and had personalities, idiosyncrasies, and peculiar beauties all their own. Will be recommending highly to my customers.

I wasn't crazy about the narrator and that took away from the story for me. I don't believe we'll be getting a copy of the audiobook, but probably will grab a physical copy of the book.

This book was about a couple leading up to their wedding day and included flashbacks to round out the story. Throughout the book you see all the reason they should not end up together but understand what is drawing them to be in a relationship. You aren't really sure how it will end until the final pages. It kept my attention but at times was predictable and seemed to included unneeded details.

I listened to 3/4 of the audio version of the The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan. I loved the audio narrator but had a hard time connecting to storyline and characters.

I really enjoyed Dolan’s last book, Exciting Times, and this one didn’t disappoint. The plot wasn’t surprising, and it ended just like I’d hoped it would, but I didn’t need a twist ending to enjoy this book. The writing and descriptions and characters were enough to keep my interest. I look forward to reading Dolan’s next book!

I loved that the characters were not hetero-normative. This novel will be wonderful for discussing the topic of marriage and if it is still a necessary institution in today's society.

The Happy Couple is a refreshing take on a fiction novel about relationships, but the plot eventually runs out while the book keeps going.

Wryly funny, smartly observed, and well-narrated, this is perfect for fans of Sally Rooney-style family dramas.