Rating: Summary: Great Book!!! Review: OK, I normally HATE chick-lit books, and that was what I was expecting when I picked this up, but actually, I loved it! I read all the reviews before starting this, and seeing as how everyone raved about it, I gave it a shot. So glad I did.
Rachel and Darcy have been best friends since their childhood in Indiana. Now they are both living in NYC and Rachel has just turned 30...and also just slept with Darcy's fiance. When I first started reading peoples reviews, I couldn't believe how they all rooted for Rachel and Dex...but after getting deeper and deeper into the book, I was doing the same thing! I actually grew to despise Darcy. She was so incredibly immature for a woman of 29 yrs. How Rachel managed to stay friends with her all that time was beyond me, but I loved the character of Rachel.
She's so down-to-earth, and I found myself saying a bunch of times, 'I know EXACTLY what she means!!', or, 'I've been there, and that's just what I was thinking to'. The ending was also really good. Half of it was a complete surprise, and I was very satisfied with the other half. I'm really looking forward to 'Something Blue' coming out this summer. Hopefully it will continue the saga of this very entertaining group of people. I definitely recommend!!
Rating: Summary: Nothing ventured, nothing gained? Review: On her thirtieth birthday Rachel slept with her best friend's fiance. Rachel has always been the good one, never done a wild thing in her life until that day. Now she has done the worst thing imaginable to her best friend...well no, acutally the worst comes later when she develops feelings for him and they begin to have an on going affair. Rachel soon realizes that she is in love with Dex, has been for a very long time and wants him all for herself. Selfish? Yes, but she has played second fiddle to her beautiful, out going, everything goes her way best friend Darcy for over twenty years so should she give up her future happiness and potentially the love of her life to save her dysfunctional friendship with Darcy?
I loved Emily Giffin's debut novel 'SOMETHING BORROWED', her writing style was fun and easy and she took a subject that in the real world is pretty taboo and, without making light of the subject made a witty and entertaining novel. My only gripe with 'SOMETHING BORROWED' was that I wanted Darcy to have a little bit more likeability so that the readers desired outcome wasn't so clear cut. I also would have liked a little more closure at the end, by that I mean, I would have liked to know how others reacted to the situation in the end and what happened to the secondary characters after everything was said and done. But, 'SOMETHING BORROWED' was a great first effort from Giffin and comes highly recommended by me!
Rating: Summary: Absolutely recommended Review: Something Borrowed is the story of Rachel, whose best friend since childhood, Darcy, is getting married. The trouble starts when Rachel sleeps with the groom-to-be after her drunken birthday party. On the surface, Something Borrowed is set up to be yet another romp through Manhattan and its shallow lifestyle, with characters who know they shouldn't be engaging in distasteful behavior but do because hey, that's what chick lit is all about.Lucky for the reader, that's not the case here. Something Borrowed is a moving tale of what happens when best friends are no longer "best." It's a situation that is all too common, but one that makes women uncomfortable. After all, boys may come and go, but girl friends are forever...aren't they? When deep female friendships go wrong, it can cause just as much sadness, guilt and recriminations as breaking up with a lover - and sometimes more. Giffin handles this emotional landscape well. While the burgeoning relationship between Rachel and Dex, Darcy's fiancé, does get its share of print, it's the tangled, messy and complicated relationship between Rachel and Darcy that gives this book heart and resonance. Giffin manages to hit the perfect balance between humor and pathos. Unlike other tales told in first person, narrator Rachel tells us just enough so that we fully empathize with her without turning the book into a showcase of neuroses. And Rachel has some easy to identify with problems; she's about to turn thirty, trapped in a job that pays too well to quit, and she doesn't even have a crush object, much less a boyfriend. Meanwhile, the always more popular and always more gorgeous Darcy won't turn thirty for a few more months, has a fabulous job as a PR exec, and is engaged to Dex, a friend of Rachel's from law school. Yet this isn't a tale of jealousy. Rachel genuinely cares for Darcy. They've been friends since grade school. And while being Darcy's friend has its disadvantages - such as never having the spotlight while she's around - being Darcy's friend also has its benefits - such as the reflected glory. However, as Rachel discovers over the course of the novel, sometimes a shared past isn't enough to justify a shared future. And while both Rachel and Darcy have physically moved on from high school, emotionally it appears that only one of them has fully graduated to adulthood. Yet like all habits, her friendship with Darcy is hard to break - even though staying friends means saying goodbye to the love and life she deserves. Something Borrowed is highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: Excellent book for those who love chick-flicky romance :-D Review: The entire book was great, but once I hit the second half of the book I couldn't put it down. I just HAD to find out what was going to happen to everyone!! I hope this Emily Giffin's first of MANY.
Rating: Summary: AN AUTHOR HEADED FOR GREATNESS!! Review: This book is AMAZING and SO MUCH FUN--- a complete page turner. Buy it now and pray that St. Martins brings out that sequel sooner than next summer!! You will be dying to know what happens to Rachel, Darcy and Dexter. With Giffin's easy writing, the characters just come to life! Giffin captures intricacies of friendships like no one else. This is a must read for summer '04!
Rating: Summary: A captivating and engrossing first novel! Review: This is a wonderfully written novel about love and friendship and the best book I have read in a long time. The characters are well-drawn, and the scenes are poignant without being overwritten. I really could relate to the protagonist, Rachel, as I'm sure will many readers. In this sense, Giffin really captures the complexity of female friendships. If this is considered chick lit, it is far more substantive than other books in this genre. I can't recommend it enough!
Rating: Summary: Definitely worth reading Review: This was an easy read and thoroughly enjoyable. However, the writing was only mediocre and, as other reviewers have stated, the book was perhaps a bit lengthy. But I always judge a book based on whether or not I still think about the storyline after I've finished reading it. It's been days since I put this one back on the shelf and I'm still thinking about Dex, Darcy and Rachel. I'll definitely read Emily Giffin's next book.
Rating: Summary: Don't Judge Until In Her Shoes Review: What a great first book. I was also doubtful because of the content; however, Rachel is believable and real. Ms Giffin really develops her characters and makes you feel sorry for all of them. I could not put this book down and was really rooting for Dex and Rachel to make it. And the good thing is it wasn't predictable at all, I wasn't sure until the end how it would turn out. Amazing. A must read!!!!
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