The Last Romantics

By Tara Conklin

The perfect read for fans of Little Fires Everywhere and We Were Liars.

‘A modern epic … A sweeping look at what binds families together’ Glamour

For the Skinners, their lives divide into two parts: before that heady summer – of unsupervised youth and tragedy – and after. But mainly after.

The events of that childhood summer bound the siblings together fiercely, but the consequences would never be erased. For it’s the million little betrayals echoing through the years that threaten to fray their last fragile ties . . .

Spanning five decades, The Last Romantics is a sweeping, compelling portrait of one family – and every family. It is about betrayal, the responsibilities we bear, and how we can lose – and sometimes rescue – the ones we love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Apr 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9780008323370

Tara Conklin

Tara Conklin was born on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands and raised in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Last Romantics and The House Girl.  

Reviews for The Last Romantics

[clp412 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The character development in this book was fantastic! I felt like I knew all of the siblings. After I received this book it started to have so much buzz and such high ratings! I think this book would be an ideal Book Club book because there is so much to discuss. The siblings make life choices, good and bad, as well as the family dynamic, childhood expectations, etc.

[katybee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received an advance reader copy from the Goodreads giveaway program in exchange for this review. The Last Romantics was a novel that was easy to fall into, well written and nicely paced. The four siblings at the center of the story provide realistic depictions of family dynamics, the good and the bad. There are some serious messages here about the challenges of parenthood, about career building, and about dealing with grief. It was an interesting twist to set parts of the narrative in 2079 with ominous overtones of future climate issues. A good book for readers who enjoy family sagas.

[susan.h.schofield · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an amazing family saga - beautifully written, realistic, touching and engaging. It spans almost 100 years in the lives of the Skinner siblings - Renee, Caroline, Joe and Fiona. It follows them from the death of their father as young children into adolescence and adulthood. It is about the relationships between the siblings as well as their relationship with their mother and as they grow into adulthood, their significant others as well. I highly recommend this book.

[jonri-4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book. The characters were believable. It's well-written. There were a few problems. One was the way it is framed as if it's being told from a vantage point many years from now when all sorts of things are going wrong in civilization but we are never told exactly what those things are and people seem to do most things exactly the same way they do things now.That's a minor quibble though, as the story is mostly set in the past.Another was I found it hard to believe that some things that the author says were kept secret could have been--for example. that Fiona's husband doesn't know anything about her search for Luna, which is portrayed as very time consuming. Overall, though I found this a compellingly good read. I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers program.

[reb922 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story of 4 siblings whose lives were shaped by a period of time called "the pause" after their father's death and another tragedy once they are adults. I liked the story and I felt the pacing and revealing of their lives was told in an engaging manner. This was mostly told via the youngest sister Fiona. One complaint was that I felt like I would have liked to know her better as a character.

[lynnedjb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. Could relate to the characters. I thought the descriptions of "The Pause" were excellent. A couple jaw-dropping moments mixed into very believable, interesting, real life. Up-to-date & modern and yet down to earth. Good storytelling. A very good read. Well done, Tara Conklin.

[silversi_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story takes you through the life of a poet and her family. I found myself both bored and intrigued at any given minute while reading it. There were parts that I felt it really slogged through the mud, so to speak, then other parts that were insightful and interesting. Overall, I'm happy to have read this story, it was a good one.

[3bythesea · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, I really enjoyed this book. It's beautifully written and the characters and wonderfully drawn. It was compelling and when I put it down I found myself trying to squeeze moments out of my day to read more of it. The book focuses on the different responses siblings have to the loss of a parent and another loss later in their lives. It captures how even loving families can struggle in the face of life's hardships.

[kimkimkim-7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A parent dies, a parent retreats and the children are left to fend for themselves. Damaged psyches are left to fester and it gets uglier and more uncomfortable.The book captured my intention and held it until it didn’t. I thought the writing was masterful and while the storyline was weak and somewhat confusing it all unraveled for me when the main character starts and explains her blog. Game over for me. At that point I lost interest but I plowed through to the end.There could have been so much to care about but the real and the abstract and the emotions and justifications were all over the place. Thank you LibraryThing and William Morrow for a copy.

[msnick_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Even though the story frame was a bit clunky, I truly enjoyed this book. The Last Romantics is a well written look at the bonds between family members, warts and all. The characters, all realistically flawed, were very believable/relatable. As for the end of the novel - WOW. Just WOW. I highly recommend Tara Conklin's latest work.

[bonnie.franks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book owned me. Plain and simple.From the first page, I felt that I was being told an intimate story by a unique storyteller. I felt like no one else would or could hear this story, only me. It was so rich, and so loving, and so happy/sad, and so complete/incomplete. I want to read it again already. There is no way to completely describe the writing alone, let alone the combination of the perfect words and the perfect story. It is so touching. As Fiona told the story, sometimes I was her, and sometimes I was her sisters, and always I was feeling for all of them. I still am.Read this book if you are human. You owe it to yourself.Thank you to librarything.com and the publisher for my copy of this book.

[gwnfkt12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The thing about The Last Romantics that hooked me from the beginning was the name Luna. The mysterious Luna had something to do with Fiona's brother's "incident" and I couldn't stop turning pages to find out how. But this isn't a mystery or even a suspense novel; it's a family history, starting from Fiona's childhood, through the Pause when her mother's depression left Fiona and her siblings to fend for themselves and develop bonds between them that would prove tenuous in later years, to the distant future when an elderly Fiona is recounting the whole story through her poetry. I enjoyed reading this book through it's meandering beginnings to its sweeping ending.

[iudita_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of a family, primarily of the four siblings from when they are very young right through to the end of their lives. This is a very softly spoken story and moves at a relaxed pace. No page turning action here, but what you get instead is highly developed characters with complex relationships. You really bond with these siblings, worrying about them in times of trouble and rejoicing with them in times of joy. You become part of the family. I found it to be a really comforting reading experience with themes of the nurturing individual personalities within a family and accepting that life is an ever changing experience that is rarely all good or all bad. The end is fully wrapped up - not necessarily with a bow but very complete and satisfying anyway.

[scotlass66 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A family saga that spans a century. A story of sibling relationships, how they grow close due to a family situation, come apart, and finally come together again, albeit not the same. Conklin does an excellent job looking into her characters lives with a keen insight and a generosity towards the flaws each holds within. Fiona, the youngest sister is our narrator, and her experiences as the youngest in a family of four seems authentic and real. Ultimately, this is a novel about love, what we survive, what we forgive and what we pretend not to know to spare another. It is about growing and reacting to the situations we experience. There is happiness, sadness, challenges, all the things of which life and family are made."We believe in love because we want to believe in it. Because really, what else is there?Because when the lights go out and we sit waiting in the dark, what do our fingers seek? What do we reach for?"

[shazjhb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book. Loved the relationships of the siblings.

[claudiaannett · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book opens with a 102 year old poetess giving a reading in 2079, so I was expecting some kind of science fiction, which I wouldn’t have wanted to read. A few pages in though the author starts answering questions about her life, and most of the book is about the relationship among the four siblings, the roles they played in a difficult childhood with an absentee mother and how they reacted against those roles once they left home, but eventually came together again as best friends in middle age. The four main characters are very believable, but also the plot, loosely based on finding a missing woman, keeps moving forward so it’s hard to put down.

[kayanelson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a very interesting book. In a way the plot is straightforward but the characters are so well done that it makes the plot all the more interesting. I'm not so sure that it needed the chapters that covered the year 2079 but there weren't that many of them so it wasn't that distracting.

[linda.marsheells · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I suppose i should apologize ahead of time for being in the minority of the miniscule minority here. Blame it on my mood lately, the rain, not enough coffee, whatever you like.... I give 2 stars. Disappointed-yes. I read the rave reviews and thought WOW i lucked out with this win from Goodreads! But it was not for me. Lots of potential being a generational family book but...just not up my alley. This must be one of those 'read it for yourself' and see what YOU think books.

[mrsgrits · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars This book was SO GOOD. I love a good family history/family drama and this one did not disappoint. I didn't agree with all of the choices the siblings made and really found myself disliking Noni for a while. In the end, they all look out for each other and love each other the best they know how. I found myself relating to Caroline the most, especially her struggles. I especially loved the way Conklin described how everyone ended. It reminded me of the series finale of 'Six Feet Under'. I wanted to know all the details and how they were all connected. Such a beautiful ending!If you enjoyed Commonwealth by Ann Patchet, you might like The Last Romantics.

[sheila1957 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This follows the Skinner family from childhood to adulthood and how they deal with death, love, and life. I liked this story. I liked Fiona's first person point-of-view. I liked the Skinner children. I was ambivalent about Noni. The character development is fantastic. I came to know each one and could figure out what they would do in a particular situation. I liked how the story starts in the future then flashes back to the present day times as Fiona tells her story. There is a lot to think about in the story and relate it to today's happenings. I wanted to know Fiona's story as much as Luna did. I was riveted.

[jamiebh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book. The family dynamic amongst the siblings was perfectly balanced and complex while remaining relatable to the reader. While set in the future this story provided a non dystopia realistic preview of what the future could be while offering lookbacks to current time and the switch between present and past was done well and seemed fluid. Now I want to read Conklin’s other highly reviewed book, House Girl.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Last Romantics opens with a sequence that inspires reading on to solve the mystery of women named Luna.Unfortunately, despite my love for poetry, romance, and baseball, interest flags because none of the main characters resonate.Unsavory Noni. Joe, the addict. Lying, sex driven Fiona. Boring Carolyn. Good and loyal Nathan. Underdeveloped Will and Jonathan. Uneven Renee.Meanwhile, the plot gets overwhelmed with both family secrets and an abundance of fatalistic foreshadowing.By the time something actually happens, many readers simply will not care.Many practical matters also go unexplained, like where did the money come from to support the family during the three year "Pause?"

[plumcover3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The aging Poet, Fiona, begins to answer questions about her milestone work, The Love Poem, to students both reverent and aggressive in their need to draw the truth from her as an author. Each story has its truth, its context, none quickly shared or understood, and while the inquisitors may get restless with the delivery of interconnecting pieces, the reader will not. The Last Romantics delves into a cluster of siblings whose life threads and memories are tangled together in ways that can be revealed in careful unraveling. Engaging, set later in our century with memories in our present, Conklin keeps us with her through the ride.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher.*I loved Tara Conklin's The House Girl, so I think I had unreasonably high hopes for this book. It is a good book, but not (in my opinion) as good as the author's previous novel. This is the story of four siblings, beginning after the death of their father during their childhood and stretching into the future. Narrated by Fiona, the youngest daughter who eventually becomes a famous poet, this book explores each sibling's life, but also at times, mediates on family, love, secrets, politics, and climate change. Overall, I liked the book and it did offer a compelling story that kept the pages turning.

[christinegrabowski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love a good family saga and The Last Romantics was one of the best I have read it a long time. It seems most sagas are historical, but this one was more contemporary because it was told by Fiona from 2079 looking back on her life, so most of the story took place in the late 70s through about 2010. It helps that those were memorable years for me as well. The story is primarily about three sisters and a brother, all with different personalities, so I believe most readers will be able to identify with one of the characters. This was one book I didn't want to end.

[ibkennedy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well done. Great story.

[bacreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an early review book and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it. I really liked The House Girl but this was much different from that novel. For many pages I was wondering where the story was going and why I should care about the characters. It grabbed me immediately by the first chapter being set in 2079. There were comments that allowed the reader to think that something terrible may have happened but there is never much explanation as to what had happened or was happened. A throw-away line that the 2nd Amendment "hadn't made it" but nothing more. I think the author wanted to put a lot in the book but then ran out of space. By page 168 I was wondering why I was still reading. The last 80 pages of the book were the best but I felt the author was just trying to wrap up the story. There were also a few chapters where I wasn't certain which sister was speaking and would have to go back and try to figure it out. I just think this book could have been so much more than it was.

[jinjer-641812 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

First 40% was good. Last 60% of this family saga dragged.

The best character in the book was Joe and, unfortunately, we didn't really get to know him that well since the book was written in 1st person and we only got to hear what one of his three sisters, Fiona, wanted to tell us.

[tara35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book about four siblings who lose their father and have to raise themselves and each other during the years their mother is in a depression afterwards. I felt that each character was unique and well drawn and I enjoyed reading about their relationships with one another and with the world as they each moved into and thru adulthood. The book begins in 2079 from the perspective of the youngest sibling, a poet who is giving a talk. The author drops many tidbits in these 2079 sections about how the world has changed and what like is life but we never get a very full picture of this. I found this aspect of the novel fascinating and wished this had been developed more. I would recommend this book.

[rglossne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Skinner family is shaped by two deaths. Early on, their father dies, leaving the four siblings with an incapacitated mother who retreats into what they call 'The Pause.' In adulthood, the death of a sibling leaves the other three adrift and dealing with questions surrounding the death. In between those two deaths, the siblings become adults whose lives are shaped by their childhood and family life, as we all are. The story is narrated by Fiona, the youngest, who is a writer and a poet. As she looks back on her life in the telling of it, she realizes that she never had the whole picture, just parts as she could understand them. I enjoyed this book and its exploration of family love, family grief, and dysfunction. The characters were appealing and the story kept me reading.