I have loved this author's other works but found this too detailed, too many characters, too much plucking at the heartstrings. However, I do love her other works and am happy to revisit them.

A novel about a love that survives betrayal. I love the story of Dara and Austin, but I didn't buy into the fairytale aspect of their story. It is a sweet read, however. I love the extended families.

A Great Marriage was difficult to put down. Although there was a fair number of characters, I found their individual development and their connections to be realistic and compelling. These characters, always enveloped in settings of often elaborate description, were vivid and carefully developed and sometimes humorous. Each character has skills or interests or talents that added to their personalities, and the added references to literature and poetry enhanced their characters.

The plot of the book was realistic and believable even though it was complex and worrisome at times. When the soon-to-be married couple, Austin and Dara, decide to break up just before their wedding, the not to be revealed here tragedy and drama that is the reason for the breakup seems logical. The ending, also a bit of a surprise, is perfectly described and keeps from being overly dramatic.

I highly recommend this book for its attention to detail, it's excellent character development, and its setting.

Thanks to Random House and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

I’m just NOT impressed with this story. The writing style is so abrupt. Characters are not well developed. She throws about a dozen characters at you in the first chapter with little explanation. It felt like she was just launching all her characters at us in a confusing way. The plot was not well developed early on. I decided to abandon it. Sorry for the negative review.

This novel is so chock-full of different characters and narrations that you would expect to be confused. But no! Fences Mayes is better than that. From Dara, the young daughter of Lee and Rich, to those same parents, to Lee's mother Charlotte, to Austin, his sister, father and school friends, and their friends and family you will feel as if you know each of them intimately. Charlotte, for example, is a minor character yet you can see her in three dimensions as Mayes quotes from her books on what makes a good marriage. Even more minor characters, like Shelley's Irish mother can tug on your heartstrings.

And it's not just the characters. Get ready for descriptions of meals, fabrics, furnishings, domiciles, books, and paintings. Again here, chock full and three dimensional. I felt as if I was experiencing every scene, tasting every dish, experiencing each jet lag and inner thoughts. That's a lot for one novel. If you are expecting a typical woman's fiction, this is not that. The novel has complexity and thoughtfulness, and the outcome is hard to predict.


If you enjoyed any of Mayes' previous books, you will surely love this one. I am deliberately not writing about the plot. Better to be immersed as it unfolds.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and enjoy this ARC copy.

At first, I couldn't figure out where this was going, Then the plot twist! Dara and Austin seem to have the perfect relationship, soulmates on the brink of making a lifetime commitment to each other. And then Austin receives some shocking news sending his life and the couple on a different trajectory than either would have ever imagined, Filled with many ancillary characters I became invested in as well, this complicated love story kept me hooked.

I received a free copy of, A Great Marriage, by Frances Mayes, , from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Dara Willcox meets Brit Austin Clarke, and its love at first sight, they start planning a wedding, but end up canceling the wedding, with Austin back in London, and Dara in North Carolina. This was not an easy book to read at all, I did not enjoy it. The book started off very confusing and did not really get any better.

Interesting, but a but slow taking off. Great writing from a great author. Thank you to Negalley, thr author and the publisher for allowing me to read and review.

Generally a book gets stronger as it goes along but unfortunately for me, this one did the opposite. I was immersed in the narrative from the beginning, as we're introduced to a couple just prior to their wedding and her parents, who are still very much in love after years together as well as assorted other characters (work colleagues, best friends, etc.) The writing was well done, the situations realistic, and when an unexpected event out of left field tears the couple apart, I was intriguing to see how not only the couple, but everyone around them, attempted to reboot their lives. The premise was an interesting and unique one and I was hooked until around the middle when things began to go off the rails, pieces kept conveniently falling into place, people acted in uncharacteristic ways, loads of other couples were formed (too many to keep up with) and the straggling threads were so neatly tied up in a bow, I had to wonder if this world was just a little too good to be true.

The first time I read the first chapter I was on a train and didn’t have a way to take notes. When I got home, I re-read the first chapter, taking copious notes, because an absolutely ridiculous number of characters and backstory was simply vomited up all at once. To be clear, I don’t mind taking notes when I’m reading nonfiction and might be trying to learn something, but I read fiction for fun. We meet every person that’s invited to the wedding of Dara and Austin. Every person this family has ever met or glanced at on the street. We meet the dog and the horse. In addition to the number of characters we’re somehow supposed to keep track of, we bounce around several people’s points of view, all within a chapter. Good luck keeping up if you put the book down.

After that awful, preposterous first chapter, at least the story gets more interesting when a mistake in Austin’s past causes Dara to call off the wedding. One problem is, because we go from one POV to another, I never really felt how horrible it would be to have the future you envisioned decimated. I didn’t feel any character’s pain or confusion.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 13, 2024.

Highly recommended new novel by the author of Under the Tuscan Sun. There were many twists and turns that held my attention. I loved it.

I've read several of Frances Mayes' works of non-fiction and always found her writing lovely. This novel, for me, was quite a departure. The narrative frequently switches between first and third person and I found it a bit rambling; it didn't seem natural. I rather wondered if Ms. Mayes was trying out a different writing style, and if she was, it seemed affected to me.

The novel is about a young couple, Dara and Austin, madly in love, on the brink of their wedding day. Then, everything changes when Austin finds out he is going to be a father due to a drunken indiscretion with a past girlfriend. The wedding is cancelled and the whole novel has you wondering whether or not Dara and Austin will get back together.

I received an ARC ebook edition of this novel from Netgalley.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Dara is swept off her feet when she meets Austin. Their lives are going in different directions, which they are trying to make work. Dara makes some decisions in her life that she does not speak of. I treasured reading this book.

When I read this, I didn’t connect the fact that this was written by the author of Under the Tuscan Sun and other great books that I have read. While I have loved those other books by Frances Mayes, I know The Great Marriage will always be my favorite. Such great uplifting characters that you don’t see much in real life but really hope they are out there. Such an honest and difficult wrench thrown into a young couple’s life. Another writer would have likely botched this story, but Mayes pulls it off and makes the reader want to keep on reading. I will now look for more of Mayes’ books that I have not read as The Great Marriage makes me an official fan.
Thank you NetGalley for a ARC.

My thanks to the publisher for the free ARC!

I did enjoy this book, especially the last third once you got to know the characters and the narration became more fluid. It has a sort of dreamlike quality that is very lucid. I like family stories with many main characters and it surely delivers in that department. The ending was sweetly emotional.

However, it was difficult to get into it and I came close to putting it down many times in the first half. These aspects improve, but in the beginning with so many little-introduced characters and writing in first/third person perspectives for all of them, it was very confusing. I also felt there wasn't much in the way of character development, just presumably wealthy people experiencing situations that ebb and flow.

I found the writing style to be a bit rambling and at times unorganized. And as I also felt when I read Under The Tuscan Sun, everyone was a bit too privileged. However, I kept reading to see how everything would work out for Dara and Austin. What I really did appreciate were the kernels of inspiration and insight provided by Charlotte. She was by far my favorite character.

While this book may appeal to a specific audience, I found it to be a slow, unsatisfying read. It reminded me of an Edith Wharton novel without the depth. Its cast of characters was large and difficult to keep straight at first. Its focus on a world of grace, good manners, education, success, and wealth, was its mainstay. While a problem arises early on to give the story a place to go, the course it took seemed unbelievable.

In a nutshell: The book opens at a beautiful southern homestead. Family and friends have gathered to celebrate the engagement of Dara and her English boyfriend, Austin. He is distracted and we, along with him, find out he has good reason to be. A former girlfriend is pregnant with his child.

I won’t spoil what ensues, but the situation Austin finds himself in is unbelievable. How wonderful it would be if a life changing situation arises and everything would be set up for you—money, apartment, support, job, etc. He adapts to these very big changes (except perhaps the loss of Dara) without skipping a beat.

Dara, on the other hand, is heartbroken but has the resources to have an idyllic few months to lick her wounds and decide what’s next.

The writing on the one hand is lush and beautiful. The setting and descriptions overshadow the story. On the other hand, it is annoying. Too much of everything. Too many names to keep straight. Minor character stories that are irrelevant. Too much proselytizing. Endless rambling thoughts. At the same time, it glosses over the complicated and potentially rich heart of the story. Does the reader truly get a sense of what a good marriage is?

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing —Ballantine for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I think this would have held my interest longer, if it was at least somewhat realistic

I honestly did not care for any of these people. It was so far-fetched I couldn't.

I enjoyed The Perfect Marriage mostly because of the author’s writing style. Layered with many well defined supporting character and beautifully described settings, the story of Dara and Austin evolves. A few weeks before their wedding, they are faced with an almost insurmountable crises that postpones the ceremony. Both spend the next few months discovering what is really important in life with the help of family and friends. It isn’t the perfect wedding. The ending is predictable but welcome.

I was very disappointed in this book. It lacked the usual great characters and interesting story that you can usually count on in a book by a Frances Mayes.