“Poeppel has created a story that is well thought out, well plotted, well written, and fully developed. A delightful novel that celebrates the messiness and joy to be found in real life.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “100% page-turning delight…Pull out a lawn chair and prepare to read this gleefully entertaining novel.” –Stephen McCauley, author of My Ex-Life The award-winning, … Ex-Life
The award-winning, “quick-witted and razor-sharp” (Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six) author of Limelight and Small Admissions returns with a hilarious and heartfelt new novel about a perfectly imperfect summer of love, secrets, and second chances.
Bridget and Will have the kind of relationship that people envy: they’re loving, compatible, and completely devoted to each other. The fact that they’re strictly friends seems to get lost on nearly everyone. For three decades, they’ve nurtured their baby, the Forsyth Trio–a chamber group they created as students with their Juilliard classmate Gavin Glantz. In the intervening years, Gavin has gone on to become one of the classical music world’s reigning stars, while Bridget and Will have learned to embrace the warm reviews and smaller venues that accompany modest success.
Bridget has been dreaming of spending the summer at her well-worn Connecticut country home with her boyfriend Sterling. But her plans are upended when Sterling breaks up with her over email, her twin twenty-somethings arrive unexpectedly, and her elderly father announces he’s getting married. She concocts a plan to host her dad’s wedding on her ramshackle property, while putting the Forsyth Trio back into the spotlight. But to catch the attention of the music world, she and Will place their bets on luring back Gavin, whom they’ve both avoided ever since their stormy parting.
“In this funny, profound, and brilliantly alive novel about all the messy, wise, and wonderful chords that love can strike in our lives, Poeppel gathers together fathers and daughters, old flames and new sparks, music, writing and gardening, to explore what it really means to feel at home, and how life can open you up in ways you never saw coming” (Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author).
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LOVED it. So well done. Loved how it all came together, the second half is so propulsive. Loved that the author called the epilogue the coda. Loved all the quotations and musical references (added such a nice layer) even though i was unfamiliar with them all 😉 . I smiled through the whole second half and could see Nancy Meyers having a field day turning this book into a movie. Oh, how glorious that kitchen would be. I loved all the characters and will miss them. Well done!
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel is a quirky indefinable book in the best possible way. Bridget and Will have been two parts of a musical trio since they left Juilliard. After a decade their original violinist, Gavin, moved on alone to huge success. Since then they filtered through a series of replacements. In midlife they find themselves at a crossroad with the trio. Do they take on a new high maintenance member that may bring exposure they want, or consider other options.
At its heart Musical Chairs is a book about family relationships, those we are born into and those we make ourselves. These relationships are exponential with a big cast of characters. I really appreciate Bridget is a woman of an age not often represented in fiction as leading lady. I knew I was going to like the book immediately. It took me well into the book to realize I really liked it, a lot. Any Poeppel’s writing is smart and extremely funny. I highly recommend for readers looking for a hidden gem.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review Musical Chairs. All opinions are my own.
Bridget is excited to spend her summer at her Connecticut summer home. She is hoping for a romantic season with her new boyfriend, Sterling. But, Sterling breaks up with her, her twins decide to come home, and then her dad decides to get married. Needless to say, her summer is not going as planned.
The characters in this novel are just plain wonderful. I love Bridget. She is no nonsense, charming and downright adorable. She handles all life throws at her with ease. (She is wealthy and that helps!) Then there is Will. Will is Bridget’s best friend and he tends to ride on her coat tails.
There are also quite a few secrets floating around. And when these secrets start to come out…better watch out!
Need a good, cute, all around read…This is it! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the author for a honest review.
This was such an original, refreshing read about the complexities that are life! I was highly intrigued and entertained during every chapter. I’m normally not a fan of multiple POVs but I loved how this was written. Just like life, I never knew what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the fancy music talk, the characters, and especially the setting of Connecticut. It made me want to buy a run-down house in the country with a dilapidated barn, and have random people and animals show everyday .
Thank you for my gifted copy in return for an honest review.
What a wonderful story filled with fun, family, hilarious situations, and friends! We start this story with a plan for Bridget and her boyfriend Sterling planning to spend the summer in Connecticut. After a really crappy electronic breakup by Sterling , Bridget is left alone in her summer home to nurse her broken heart. But then her twin children (now adults) come bringing their own problems, and Bridget gets roped into hosting a wedding for her father…and this story goes from one of heartbreak to one of utter chaos. It’s amazing!
The absolute craziness of the story made this so much fun. It just felt light and full of life. Like a busy family reunion where you can’t get a moment’s peace because everywhere you turn there’s someone. I really felt that busy-life-is-upended feeling. Poeppel has done a wonderful job of conveying the environment through her words!
This story will bring tears to your eyes from the touching moments and then having you laughing so hard you’ll still be crying. It’s filled with emotion, heart, and happy feelings.
I highly recommend this if you enjoy character-driven stories of family and friendships!
I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.
Although it centers on two hapless members of a struggling chamber music trio, this novel has a whole symphony orchestra of characters. It’s a Midsummer Night’s Dream of pastoral comedic romance (but over a summer, not one night). It takes a while to really get rolling, but it comes together with lovely complexity and richness. It even made me feel a little tearful at the end, which doesn’t happen very often for me because I hate sappy stuff. Not that I want you to think it was painful getting through the first half, because the writing is strong and witty throughout, particularly on the mothering of adults, and class differences. (The chapter from Jackie’s very proletarian POV is hysterical.) I laughed out loud a number of times. There’s a scene near the end that every straight lonely 50-something woman will find absolutely delightful, if perhaps a bit implausible, and I’m giggling a little just thinking of it. Highly recommended if you’d like an uplifting but thoughtful read. Somebody go make the movie or the mini series, please!
If you like fun, entertaining novels surrounding the world of entertainment – look no further than Amy Poeppel’s novels.
Musical Chairs is a fabulous trip into the classical world of chamber music and follows the lives of Bridget and Will – the best of friends and two parts of a trio.
Amy Poeppel has mastered the mix of humor (there are laugh out loud one-liners), family dynamics,, and character development which once again keeping the reader fully engaged through the happy conclusion.
I can’t wait to see what Amy writes next!!
I love Amy Poeppel’s books and Musical Chairs is no exception. You can’t go wrong with this story of a messy, modern family of musicians in a rambling Connecticut house for a summer. It’s simultaneously clever and hilarious, and jam-packed full of relatable characters who keep the reader turning pages. Grab yourself a cocktail, find a deck chair, put your feet up, and just enjoy.
Musical Chairs was exactly what I’d hoped it would be – fun, often laugh-out-loud funny, occasionally heart-wrenching, but ultimately heartwarming. The characters lives are in transition, and they’ve all come home to spend the summer reevaluating past and future life choices, having fun, and maybe making (or breaking) important connections. Despite the casts varied ages, from twenties to nineties, they’re all contemplating what they really want and how to get it. I appreciated the way the author uses the mess of the house to mirror the characters lives. And I loved that there was such a strong focus on friendships. Growing, and growing up, can be rough at any age but it’s worth it – and much easier if you can rely on the people around you to catch you when you fall and support you through the tough decisions.
What a terrifically fun book! A cellist escapes to her country house, looking forward to a romantic summer with her boyfriend. Yet what she ends up with is her two adult children returning, her cantankerous father with a surprise of his own, her musical trio on the verge of dissolution, and a house that’s falling down around her. This novel is funny and charming and it’s now my favorite of Poeppel’s books, which is saying a lot because I love all her books.
I used to play the cello and loved playing in ensembles, so I could totally relate to this fresh, endearing, and unforgettable story. Recommended!
This was so entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny. The title of “Musical Chairs” was perfect for this Oscar Wilde-like comedy of manners that takes place over a summer mostly in the country (Connecticut) with brief trips to New York. Many of the characters are keeping secrets from each other, some relationships develop and others blow up. As the novel progresses all the disparate pieces come together so that things that seem to have no connection suddenly click into place with hilarious results. Classical music, dogs and cats, lederhosen, and a wedding. A fun novel, especially during this COVID-19 summer.
Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for a digital advance readers copy. All comments and opinions are my own.
Amy Poeppel is my go to author for funny fresh read. Musical Chairs didn’t disappoint in its laugh-out-loud smartness, its keen observation of family relationships – especially parenting adult children. Love all the musical references and boy did this book hit home in light of my three adult children flocking home during COVID!
3.5 stars
Amy Poeppel’s Musical Chairs is a story focused on friendships, family, and love in all its forms. It’s filled with many entertaining and complex characters whose threads all manage to tangle with each other (and oft times knit themselves together) in interesting and unpredictable ways.
The showpiece of this book is definitely the friendship between protagonists Bridget and Will, who are literally just best friends, and the exploration of their friendship dynamic is a delight to read. There’s no element of the “they’ve secretly been in love with each other for years” idea, though there’s definitely a place for that in other novels. Just not this one. Poeppel provides us with many richly sketched characters, all with their own frenetic energies and unique quirks. The dialogue is rich with humor and wit. And the sweet way that everything kind of comes together in the end makes this a delightful and witty summer read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
In this funny, profound, and brilliantly alive novel about all the messy, wise and wonderful chords that love can strike in our lives, Poeppel gathers together fathers and daughters, old flames and new sparks, music, writing and gardening, to explore what it really means to feel at home, and how life can open you up in ways you never saw coming. Set against the backdrops of Manhattan and the Connecticut countryside, MUSICAL CHAIRS is profound, delicious and soul-stirring.
Full of Poeppel’s signature charm and wit, MUSICAL CHAIRS is a romantic-comedy-of-errors with a smart, edgy twist on the possibilities that might be revealed in life’s third act. Touching, full of humanity, and the absolute definition of ‘compulsively readable’!
“What is life but a series of inspired follies? Never lose a chance: it doesn’t come every day.”
I honestly have no idea what took me so long to read an Amy Poeppel book, but I’m so happy I read Musical Chairs right away. This book was charming, witty, endearing, and just a whole lot of fun. I absolutely adored Poeppel’s writing style and I never wanted the book to end!
Musical Chairs is very friendship/relationship focused, but it also has a lot about music in it which was fun and different to what I usually read. I loved all of the characters, even Gavin though he was obnoxious at times. It’s always so refreshing to read a book filled with likable characters and this book is exactly what I needed right now. It’s a slow burn and did take me a bit to get into, but once I did I couldn’t put the book down and it quickly turned from a 4-star read into a 5-star read.
There are quite a few viewpoints and characters in Musical Chairs, but I didn’t have a problem keeping track of them for the most part. They really kept me going and engaged, and I loved all of the family drama. There is also plenty of humor and it had me laughing out loud more than a few times. Lots of great one-liners and funny parts, plus the romances were adorable. This book made Poeppel an autobuy author for me and I can’t wait to read her other books and anything she writes next!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
What kind of writer is Amy Poeppel? Warm, generous, funny, and full of surprises. In her third novel, a large, musical family (and their many friends, lovers, and groundskeepers) assemble in the shabby chicest corner of rural Connecticut over the course of one long, hot summer. What ensues is part classical French farce, part touching family comedy, and 100% page-turning delight. Cue up some chamber music, pull out a lawn chair, and prepare to binge read this gleefully entertaining novel.
Amy Poeppel’s charming MUSICAL CHAIRS made me laugh out loud. Poeppel has a remarkable talent for creating the very best kind of mayhem. Drunken dinner parties, a runaway cat, brilliant musicians, a tattooed florist, drop dead gorgeous twins, crumbling old houses, beautiful Connecticut, secrets and lies–and finally–a wedding, the true hallmark of any delicious comedy. Reading this book was such a pleasure.
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Musical Chairs” by Amy Poeppel, Atria Books, July 21, 2020
BRAVO! Amy Poeppel, the author of “Musical Chairs” has orchestrated an exhilarating, unique, witty, entertaining, riveting and captivating story. The genres for this novel are contemporary literature, family drama, and fiction. The timeline for this story is set in the present and goes back to the past when it pertains to the characters and events. The story takes place mostly in Connecticut, and also in New York. The author describes the colorful, dramatic, and dysfunctional cast of characters as complex and complicated. I love the way Amy Poeppel vividly describes the characters, events, plots, and scenery. I could easily see this being made into a screenplay.
I especially appreciate that this novel does revolve around music. There is symbolism between synchronicity, harmony, and balance in music as well in life with the family, and friends that are in this story.
The female protagonist, Bridget, has many roles in this story. She is a musician, daughter, mother, friend, planner, and more. Bridget and Will have been friends and been part of the “Forsyth Trio”. Varying different people have been the third in this “trio” and it is time to find another to continue to “make music”.
A variety of complications seem to invade Bridget’s space. Her twin adult children find themselves back home in Connecticut. Bridget’s elderly father announces his upcoming wedding, and it looks like Bridget will be hosting this. You will have to read this to see everything that happens!!
I appreciate that the author discusses the importance of family, friendship, loyalty, love, and hope. Each character brings his/her ‘tone” to the final composition,
I enjoyed this witty, delightful, unique, and thought-provoking novel and highly recommend that you read it!