Book Review: The Break by Marian Keyes
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‘Myself and Hugh . . . We’re taking a break.’
‘A city-with-fancy-food sort of break?’
If only.
Amy’s husband Hugh says he isn’t leaving her.
He still loves her, he’s just taking a break – from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together.
Six months in South-East Asia. And nothing she says can stop him.
But when does a break become a break-up?
For a lot can happen in six months. And it’s enough to send Amy and her family of gossips, misfits and troublemakers teetering over the edge.
When Hugh returns, if he returns, will he be the same man she married?
Will Amy be the same woman?
Because if Hugh is on a break from their marriage, then isn’t she?
The Break is the first book by Marian Keyes that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it.
Unlike other romantic genre style books that I’ve read, The Break actually has substance. Marian Keyes takes her time to introduce each character in such a way as to not to overwhelm the reader with too much information.
Not only does this mean the book is enjoyable and easy to read, it also means it makes sense! Some books I’ve read introduce more than one character in the few chapters and mention their relationships to one another and it can get confusing. With The Break it was easy to figure out who was who, along with their relationship to one another.
The story itself had me asking lots of questions. This is a good thing because it really got me thinking. Questions such as: why?, how could Hugh leave?, how could Amy let him and put up with his behaviour then welcome him back in six months time?
I laughed, and at times I felt sad and angry. That’s the power of a great book! The relationship between Amy with Sofie, Kiara and Neeve is lovely, as is Hughs relationship with Neeve, Sofia and Kiara. Amy’s mum is hilarious, especially when Neeve encourages her to get involved in her vlogging channel! Amy’s work colleagues, Alastair and Tim are also very relatable!
What I really liked most about this book is that it didn’t end how I thought it. You know when you read some books you can just predict how it’s going to end? Well, The Break wasn’t like that at all.
I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read another Marian Keyes book!
