I thoroughly enjoyed A Great Marriage by Frances Mayes. This was my first fiction read by the author and I wasn’t sure what to expect. This is the story of Dara and Austin who are about to be married when life takes some unexpected turns and the wedding is called off. Through Dara and Austin’s journey - along with Dara’s parents and grandmother and friends- the complexity of love and marriage is explored. It is also the story of friendship, finding your place, and adapting to what life throws at us despite our best laid plans. I also enjoyed the author’s love letter to the south- with a brief one to California thrown in. Beautiful writing and rich characters made this a memorable read. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy!

As the novel opens we are introduced to a happy family scene with happily married parents having a dinner with their daughter and her fiancee, who are absolutely smitten with each other. Almost immediately the engagement is broken off because of unexpected information revealed to both that changes their trajectory permanently. We follow the outcome for both the prospective bride and groom, as well their friends and families, with a great deal of details about the various settings. All along, we have to wonder, "Can this engagement be saved?" I found myself being impatient with both the characters and the extensive description.

Frances Mayes' "A Perfect Marriage" explores love and loss among wealthy families through Dara Willcox and Austin Clarke's abruptly halted romance. Despite its promising premise, the characters' struggles to connect and the narrative's disjointed perspective shifts detract from the story's depth. While Mayes infuses warmth and humor, the novel may appeal more to readers interested in exploring relationships within privileged circles than those seeking relatable characters and emotional resonance.

While it took me three tries of picking this book up and putting it back down (for some reason the first few pages didn’t capture me), I’m so glad I persisted. I loved this book, every word. The writing was crisp and the story captivating - I truly love a meander through relationships and it made me nostalgic for a different time and place. Thanks for Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.. 5 stars.

Dara Wilcox, engaged to be married to Austin Clarke, is a bride on the run in A Great Marriage by Frances Mayes out on August 13. When the two met at an art gallery during Dara’s weekend in New York in 1995, it was love at first sight, but now Austin’s devastating news from a friend in England has detoured them both.

Her parents are supportive even when she does not give them the specifics for calling off the wedding. She is in shock and in full-on flee mode to visit her grandmother Charlotte in South Carolina and then on to college friends in San Francisco while Austin is headed back home to London to deal with a situation that is going to change the course of his life forever.

Dara contemplates attending law school in California since she is now questioning returning to Washington, D.C. to attend Georgetown Law School. She finds the beauty of driving the coastal highway in California to be a balm for her troubles. Meanwhile, Austin has his hands full dealing with life and death matters in London, finding support from his father and sister.

With enough time, what is the way forward for the couple? When the dust settles, how will their situations shake out? Could they have what it takes to make a great marriage? Or maybe a great marriage with someone else?

Frances Mayes is an author who splits her time between her homes in Cortina, Italy, and Durham, North Carolina. Her 1996 memoir Under the Tuscan Sun was on the New York Times Best Seller list for more than two years and was the basis for the 2003 romantic comedy of the same title starring Diane Lane. Mayes is also the author of Under Magnolia: A Southern Memoir. She writes fiction and poetry as well.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting July 5, 2024.

I would like to thank Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

I started this novel several times, but I couldn’t get past the hodgepodge of characters and narrators. I finally realized that I couldn’t get through the entire novel. I know that I dislike books with TOO MANY characters and names. I’d like to hone in on a few and then meet ancillary characters. If one counted the names in the first 25 pages, my feelings might be clear.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Dara and Austin, young, successful, and madly in love, call off their wedding only days before it’s set to take place, after Austin receives a surprise phone call with far reaching consequences for the young couple and their families.

I was excited to read this book since I loved Under the Tuscan Sun and was interested by the premise. Unfortunately, the book did not come together for me. The dialogue often felt stilted and unrealistic and the changing point of views felt unnatural. It often felt bogged down by unnecessary detail and backstory for secondary characters.

Despite this, there were definitely enjoyable moments within the book, and the plot lends itself to discussions about love and forgiveness. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

I wanted to like this book as I enjoyed previous work by this author. This one failed to keep my attention. There were too many characters and too much going on in the beginning. I found myself skimming most of the book.

I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed the author’s previous work. A GREAT MARRIAGE meanders through a seemingly perfect couple’s engagement and break-up prior to the impending wedding. The reasons for the break-up seem ridiculous and the outcome of the interruption even more perplexing. The female protagonist might make more sense in a different, possibly historic, time period. I could see this couple having a brief, intense relationship; I could not imagine them getting back together based on what drove them apart. This is an odd tale but addictive. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

"A Great Marriage" offers a compelling portrayal of the complexities inherent in relationships, inviting readers to ponder the delicate balance between choice and destiny in the tapestry of matrimony. Set against the backdrop of divergent life paths and unforeseen circumstances, the central characters, Dara Willcox and Austin Clarke, are thrust into a tumultuous journey of love, loss, and self-discovery. As the narrative unfolds, familial relationships, personal ambitions, and unforeseen tragedies interplay to redefine the course of their lives. Through Mayes' signature warmth, humor, and incisive storytelling, readers are immersed in a multigenerational exploration of love, marriage, and the profound mysteries that accompany these intertwined facets of human existence. The novel has a myriad of characters and plotlines. This makes the pacing uneven, with a surplus of minutiae that detracts from the overarching story. I wanted to enjoy this novel as much as I've enjoyed others written by Mayes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Great Marriage has a lot going on and too many characters for me to keep up with. I also found the
first half dragged along with many, in my opinion, extraneous details about things the characters were
doing. The last half picked up the pace and kept my attention. Still a lot of minor details I believe could
be left out. Overall good story; too busy at times.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I was unable to get into this book. I found it to be written as unconscious stream of mind and extremely choppy. The POV was constantly shifting and it was difficult to keep it straight. I read for pleasure but this was arduous task because I couldn't connect due to the author's writing style.

It took me a while to get into this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed Under the Tuscan Sun and was hoping for a similar feeling with this book. This one wasn’t for me. My favorite character was her Grandmother, but otherwise I wasn’t invested in anyone else. Some of the sentences seem like they were written by a different person. You’d have this very beautiful prose and then these choppy sentences. It felt very inconsistent.

Thank you NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for sending this book for review consideration.

Loved A Great Marriage by Frances Mayes! The author of Under the Tuscan Sun hits all the right notes with her beautiful family story. Love, passion, betrayal, tragedy, growth, pain, more love…all swirl together in this delightful book. Touches of literary, art and music references add further to the reading joy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is an engaging romance which makes you think about a beautiful young couple that is about to step into the wonderland of marriage but maybe they shouldn’t.

The girlfriend’s parents, Lee and Rich, from North Carolina will do anything for each other no matter what. They are so much in love. The boyfriend’s mom died and his dad, Michael from London, enjoys books rather than getting involved in a relationship. Now it’s up to the couple, Dara and Austin, to take the plunge and live happily ever after just like a fairytale.

When Dara’s mother accidentally spills red wine all over the table at a dinner gathering before the wedding, I immediately think it’s a sign and I wonder what’s going to happen next. Dara’s grandmother is a psychologist. She wrote a book called, “A Good Marriage” which should have been required reading for two people that were about to say their vows. What could go wrong when everything was set up so perfectly?

While their future was easy to figure out, the book had its own charm and I enjoyed reading about how they were affected by their family and friends. I could easily imagine the characters with their jobs in so many directions. It makes you think a lot about how life sometimes goes so smoothly and then hits a wall. This is a perfect summer read and fun for a book discussion.

My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy with an expected release date of August 13, 2024.

I loved this book. It's the story of engaged couple Dara and Austin, and how one mistake derailed their future. It's about their parents, their friends, their families, and the fallout from one stupid decision on all their lives. It is so beautifully written and sad and charming and evocative. I loved all the characters (with the slight exception of Dara, she just wasn't one of my favorites) and I loved the structure of the book. Highest recommendation.

I slept on this before giving it a star rating because this is a book that you have to sit with a bit. Its, quite honestly, a jarring read at first because Mayes wrote this in one of the more confusing styles I've read in a while. Its almost stream of consciousness? But not? It switches tenses often, and there aren't always punctuation clues (like quotes) but after a while you sort of get into the rhythm of how its written and can settle into the characters.

The characters are what drives this story, along with its simplicity. yes, there is some action and an inciting factor for the central conflict, but both are handled with grace and realism. This book is grounded in reality. Its not heightened in any sort of way. The characters act and react in ways that are so human. I truly enjoyed simply being a part of their lives, of watching them grow and change and learn about themselves.

I am devasted that I could not get into this book. I loved Under the Tuscan Sun and the writing and I was thrilled to see a new novel from Frances Mayes. I did not like the writing of this novel as it felt choppy and it did not grab my attention.

I am a fan of the author's prior works and therefore hoped to enjoy this new fictional book based on a broken relationship. Sadly to say it did not resonate with me but other readers may enjoy it. This is quite a departure for the author to attempt a romantic fictional story.

Dara and Austin meet and fall in love, They are planning their wedding when Austin has to leave to go back to England to face consequences. Dara cancels the wedding and goes on a Eat Pray Love trip on the Southern California coast. What did not resonate with me is the characters are hard to relate to with immense wealth and their personalities left much for the reader to desire without substance. Dara is very vapid and self centered. She so suddenly gave up on the man she was engaged to and went on a no expense spared soul searching trip . Their parents were left to pick up the pieces of the broken wedding arrangments. The parents are a key part of this story with their own happy marriages and expectations of the couple. Not my usual read by the author and perhaps that is why it was so unexpected .

Thank you for this ARC. Unfortunately, I DNFed this one. I just could not get into it. Might be a case of wrong book, wrong time.