Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to be at the bookstore by myself. I love the bookstore, always have. The store had sent an e-mail with a coupon for 15% off any book, which I saw as an open invitation to visit. I resisted the urge to buy a beverage from the coffee and went to browse through the fiction section, looking for some of my favorites, but was surprised to not find much selection. They had books by my authors (mostly), but it seemed that in many cases, I had read all of the books by those authors that they had on hand. I was a little bummed by this realization. Now, I know that they will order in any book that is available in their vast catalog, but it isn't the same. I realize that with so many new books being released all the time, that you just can't keep a copy of every book - it would be an unwise decision from a financial perspective, but I was disappointed just the same (I'm not required to be logical in my disappointments).

On a plus side, this seeming lack of selection, resulted in me finding a new author. After not finding what I was looking for, I went and started to browse the tables and the stacks of books located there - more eye catching than browsing the shelves and only seeing the spines of the books. As I wandered, I came across the book - Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. The summary of the book on the back hooked me in and I selected it as the book I would use my coupon for...it helped that it was also on the bargain table. I also learned that it had been made into a movie. Now that I have read the book, I really want to see the movie too.

The main character in the book is Rachel White and is set the summer that she turns 30 and her lifelong friend Darcy is planning an end of summer wedding. Darcy and Rachel grew up together on a cul-de-sac in Indiana and now, both live in NYC. Darcy has always been the pretty one, the lucky one, the one that always seemed to get her way. Rachel went to law school with Darcy's fiance and was the one to introduce them. The irony is that she introduced them because she didn't think that he could possibly have been interested in her. When they were out for her thirtieth birthday and Darcy left early after drinking too much, she learns that Dex is attracted to her. As the summer progresses, their relationship continues and Rachel begins to struggle with deciding what is right and wrong and choosing between her heart and her conscience.

The author does a great job developing the characters. Not only did I have an image of what each of them looked like and their mannerisms, but I felt like I could really relate to them. I found myself frustrated with Darcy's seemingly charmed life and rooting for things to end happily for Rachel. And, when the book ended, I found myself wanting to know what happens next. It appears that Something Blue picks up where this one ends, only based on the synopsis it appears that the main character is Darcy - I just hope that it also includes more about Rachel and what happens to her. I think that I will have to pick that one up (once I conquer my current stack of five books that I have to read!).

I recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a good book to read. I look forward to reading more of Emily Giffin's books in the future. So, although I was disappointed that the bookstore didn't have any books I haven't read by my usual authors, it all worked out, because I now have one more author that I enjoy reading and that many more books to fill my days with.

No compensation was received for this post. I bought my own book and enjoyed it.