Tag Archives: Emily Giffin

The Lies that Bind

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Author: Emily Giffin
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Fiction
Source: Purchased

Goodreads:  n the irresistible new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All We Ever Wanted and Something Borrowed, a young woman falls hard for an impossibly perfect man before he disappears without a trace. . . .

It’s 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York’s East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she’ll ever make it as a reporter in the big city–and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew.

As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the barstool next to her say, “Don’t do it–you’ll regret it.” Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours–and shots of tequila–the two forge an unlikely connection. That should be it, they both decide the next morning, as Cecily reminds herself of the perils of a rebound relationship. Moreover, their timing couldn’t be worse–Grant is preparing to quit his job and move overseas. Yet despite all their obstacles, they can’t seem to say goodbye, and for the first time in her carefully constructed life, Cecily follows her heart instead of her head.

Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth. But the questions pile up fast: How well did she really know Grant? Did he ever really love her? And is it possible to love a man who wasn’t who he seemed to be?

The Lies That Bind is a mesmerizing and emotionally resonant exploration of the never-ending search for love and truth–in our relationships, our careers, and deep within our own hearts.

Ope’s Opinion: This story has characters I really cared about, a story line that grabbed me and kept me intrigued.  You think all  twists and turns are done – nope, there is another one!  The pacing of the story was perfect!  

This would have been a five chair until…

The ending was anticlimactic.  It felt like it was written for a different book.  For me, it felt like Emily Giffin was trying to make the ending like a typical romance novel, when the rest of the book was not typical.  It was being wrapped up in a perfect bow, when it should have been left unraveled.

All We Ever Wanted

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Author: Emily Giffin
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Purchased

 

Goodreads:  Nina Browning is living the good life after marrying into Nashville’s elite. More recently, her husband made a fortune selling his tech business, and their adored son has been accepted to Princeton. Yet sometimes the middle-class small-town girl in Nina wonders if she’s strayed from the person she once was.

Tom Volpe is a single dad working multiple jobs while struggling to raise his headstrong daughter, Lyla. His road has been lonely, long, and hard, but he finally starts to relax after Lyla earns a scholarship to Windsor Academy, Nashville’s most prestigious private school.

Amid so much wealth and privilege, Lyla doesn’t always fit in—and her overprotective father doesn’t help—but in most ways, she’s a typical teenaged girl, happy and thriving.

Then, one photograph, snapped in a drunken moment at a party, changes everything. As the image spreads like wildfire, the Windsor community is instantly polarized, buzzing with controversy and assigning blame.

At the heart of the lies and scandal, Tom, Nina, and Lyla are forced together—all questioning their closest relationships, asking themselves who they really are, and searching for the courage to live a life of true meaning.

Ope’s Opinion: This is not the typical Emily Giffin book ( certainly not what I was expecting to read on the airplane ).  She attempted to tackle too many issues and tiptoed around all of them.  I don’t think she wanted to offend anyone, so she didn’t really face the issues head on.

While I was reading, the story kept my attention, but after I was done, I was disappointed.
** Trying to state my opinion without giving away any spoilers.  The characters were not made accountable for their actions – what kind of message does that send?   The ending just glossed over what happened as if no one was hurt in the process.  There wasn’t any justice.

I will think twice next time about spending the money on a Giffin book.

First Comes Love

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Author: Emily Giffin         love comes first
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: BEA 2016

 

Goodreads:  In this dazzling new novel, Emily Giffin, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed, Where We Belong, and The One & Only introduces a pair of sisters who find themselves at a crossroads.

Growing up, Josie and Meredith Garland shared a loving, if sometimes contentious relationship. Josie was impulsive, spirited, and outgoing; Meredith hardworking, thoughtful, and reserved. When tragedy strikes their family, their different responses to the event splinter their delicate bond.

Fifteen years later, Josie and Meredith are in their late thirties, following very different paths. Josie, a first grade teacher, is single—and this close to swearing off dating for good. What she wants more than the right guy, however, is to become a mother—a feeling that is heightened when her ex-boyfriend’s daughter ends up in her class. Determined to have the future she’s always wanted, Josie decides to take matters into her own hands.

On the outside, Meredith is the model daughter with the perfect life. A successful attorney, she’s married to a wonderful man, and together they’re raising a beautiful four-year-old daughter. Yet lately, Meredith feels dissatisfied and restless, secretly wondering if she chose the life that was expected of her rather than the one she truly desired.

As the anniversary of their tragedy looms and painful secrets from the past begin to surface, Josie and Meredith must not only confront the issues that divide them, but also come to terms with their own choices. In their journey toward understanding and forgiveness, both sisters discover they need each other more than they knew . . . and that in the recipe for true happiness, love always comes first.

Emotionally honest and utterly enthralling, First Comes Love is a story about family, friendship, and the courage to follow your own heart—wherever that may lead.

Ope’s Opinion:  Emily Giffin hits it out of the park again!  She is an amazing story weaver!  Her characters are well developed and you care about them. 

Josie and Meredith take turns tell their story in alternating chapters.  It always amazes me how two different people can see the same event very differently and react to in completely different ways.  Being sisters and being raised the same household doesn’t mean you agree and Emily Giffin showed that throughout this book.

This is not your typical summer read, I feel like it was a deeper story line with characters who are really struggling to figure out what their lives should look like.  It is a family drama story, not just a love story.

5c675-4chairs

Coming Soon….

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…. On a Bookshelf near you!

In June I hope to read….

Here's to UsPublication Date: June 14, 2016
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Goodreads: An emotional, heartwarming story from New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand about a grieving family that finds solace where they least expect it.

Celebrity chef Deacon Thorpe has always been a force of nature with an insatiable appetite for life. But after that appetite contributes to Deacon’s shocking death in his favorite place on earth, a ramshackle Nantucket summer cottage, his (messy, complicated) family is reeling. Now Deacon’s three wives, his children, and his best friend gather on the island he loved to say farewell. The three very different women have long been bitter rivals, each wanting to claim the primary place in Deacon’s life and his heart. But as they slowly let go of the resentments they’ve held onto for years and remember the good times, secrets are revealed, confidences are shared, and improbable bonds are formed as this unlikely family says goodbye to the man who brought them all together, for better or worse–and the women he loved find new ways to love again.

Also Coming Soon….

…. On a Bookshelf near you!

I hope to read…

First Comes Love: A Novel

Publication Date: June 28, 2016
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Goodreads:  In this dazzling new novel, Emily Giffin, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed, Where We Belong, and The One & Only introduces a pair of sisters who find themselves at a crossroads.

Growing up, Josie and Meredith Garland shared a loving, if sometimes contentious relationship. Josie was impulsive, spirited, and outgoing; Meredith hardworking, thoughtful, and reserved. When tragedy strikes their family, their different responses to the event splinter their delicate bond.

Fifteen years later, Josie and Meredith are in their late thirties, following very different paths. Josie, a first grade teacher, is single—and this close to swearing off dating for good. What she wants more than the right guy, however, is to become a mother—a feeling that is heightened when her ex-boyfriend’s daughter ends up in her class. Determined to have the future she’s always wanted, Josie decides to take matters into her own hands.

On the outside, Meredith is the model daughter with the perfect life. A successful attorney, she’s married to a wonderful man, and together they’re raising a beautiful four-year-old daughter. Yet lately, Meredith feels dissatisfied and restless, secretly wondering if she chose the life that was expected of her rather than the one she truly desired.

As the anniversary of their tragedy looms and painful secrets from the past begin to surface, Josie and Meredith must not only confront the issues that divide them, but also come to terms with their own choices. In their journey toward understanding and forgiveness, both sisters discover they need each other more than they knew . . . and that in the recipe for true happiness, love always comes first.

Emotionally honest and utterly enthralling, First Comes Love is a story about family, friendship, and the courage to follow your own heart—wherever that may lead.

What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?

Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!

The One & Only

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the one and only

 

Author: Emily Giffin
Publisher:  Ballantine Books
Genre:  Women’s Fiction
Source:  BookSparks

Goodreads:   In her eagerly awaited new novel, beloved New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin returns with an extraordinary story of love and loyalty—and an unconventional heroine struggling to reconcile both.

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.

But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One & Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.

Ope’s Opinion:  I have heard this book compared to Friday Night Lights.  I agree with this!  If you liked the show, football, and Texas, you will probably want to read this story.  It took me a while to get into this book – there was a lot of back ground you need to understand the relationships between the people and football to enjoy the rest of the story.

The friendship between Lucy and Shea was strong and wonderful.  It was great to see one friend who wanted the family and kids, while another was more into the career, yet they remained close friends their whole lives.

The romance relationships in this book were not my favorite.  I think Shea was smart enough to get out of a bad relationship, but I didn’t really care for the relationship she end up in.  I would have liked the ending to have been different.

Rating: Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
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Coming Soon…

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…. On a Bookshelf near you!

I look forward to any book by Emily Giffin!

the one and only

Publication Date: May 20, 2014
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Goodreads: The New York Times bestselling author of Where We Belong, Something Borrowed, and Baby Proof makes her Ballantine debut with an extraordinary new novel about love, loss, and the ties that bind.

Shea has always lived in the orbit of her best friend Lucy Carr’s family. Lucy’s parents had been Walker University’s prettiest cheerleader and star quarterback, and Lucy’s dad went on to become the indomitable and beloved Coach Carr, one of the winning-est coaches in college football. Mrs. Carr was the elegant and kind all-around surrogate mother, fundraiser, and therapist for the team. Together they are like local royalty, so even if football weren’t a religion in their Texas town, it would still be the center of Lucy’s, and by extension, Shea’s life. It is practically a foregone conclusion that Shea will marry Lucy’s brother Lawton, if Shea can ever break it off for good with Miller, the cutest (and dumbest) guy in Texas. But when Mrs. Carr dies soon after a brief and terrible bout with cancer, it sets off a chain of events that upends Shea’s very existence. Written with intelligence, warmth, and wit, The One and Only is a luminous novel about the choices we make in life and love, for better or worse, from one of our most beloved writers.

What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?

Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!