Love the One You're With
by Emily Giffin
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Book Reviews of Love the One You're With
Book Review: Oh the drama!
Summary: 5 Stars
Love triangles are nothing new and it takes a talented writer to really make something fresh and moving out of that well worn storyline. But Emily Giffin manages to do that with Love the One You're With. The basic story is nothing new: a newlywed who is in a happy, seemingly perfect marriage until she runs into an ex-boyfriend who broke her heart years earlier. All sorts of unresolved feelings come to the surface and suddenly this happy newlywed isn't so happy anymore.
What Giffin does that makes this book so great is that she takes the reader deep into the main character's head from the moment that the ex reappears, and you start seeing that maybe it's not the ex-boyfriend that's causing all the strife in her fledgling marriage but all sorts of other issues that have been glossed over in her fairy tale romance with her husband, issues like class insecurities, the sense of losing your own identity when you commit to someone else, learning to become a part of another family even though you're scared you'll lose your connection to your own (this is a big issue in this book, as the main character's mother has died and her family is sort of drifting apart). This is a great book that successfully juggles all of these side topics in the framework of a simple romantic storyline. It's like listening in on a person who is trying to figure out what to do about the most important people in her life and Giffin manages to get it right at just about every thought and feeling she has. If you read this book carefully, it has a lot to say about how we choose the ones we love and the life we want.
Book Review: Emily's 3rd Book...
Summary: 3 Stars
I first discovered Emily Giffin with her first and second novels (Something Borrowed, Something Blue). I specially like the little details about the personalities of the characters that Ms. Giffin includes into her books. She truly defines peoples different habits and personalities. I also splurge on the description of different people's lives in the City (NYC).
In this book, brand new characters are introduced. To not ruin the book for any fans I will be very brief, basically the book is about a woman that although married does not know for herself if she truly loves her husband, has settled, or is still in love with her ex-boyfriend. She runs into the ex-boy friend and within seconds after, a can of worms that has been tightly sealed for years just explodes.
My favorite book so far from Ms Giffin is Something Blue. Something Blue was funny, some parts silly, and despite all of the resistance that you could muster against its main character it just won you over.
In this book I missed the comedy. I also wish that the author would have described in more detail the relationships between Ellen and her ex-boyfriend as well as the good things in her marriage.
This is a good book to read for fun over the summer but Something Blue is by far my favorite from this author. I wish she could actually write a 3rd book with those characters.
I wish she could make a 2 (at least) part series again.like she did with her first 2 books. Maybe she'll make this one a 2 part series by writing about Suzanne, Ellen's sister...
Book Review: A Good Summer Read, but not Ms. Giffin's Best
Summary: 3 Stars
Love the One You're With, Emily Giffin's fourth novel, is in familiar territory for the author. The main character, Ellen, is in her 30s, married, and without children. Ellen has a crisis when 100 days after her marriage to "Mr. Perfect" Andy she runs into her ex boyfriend Leo on the street. Ellen nearly throws it all away as she decides if she wants to "Love the One She's With".
Like Ms. Giffin's other novels, this book is well written and an enjoyable read. I liked that she introduced one of the characters, Hilary, from Something Borrowed as a tangential reference to her earlier work. Ellen is overall an enjoyable character to spend a couple of hundred pages with, even if you do occasionally wonder if she's lost her marbles--I mean, who agrees to move 800 miles on a whim? However, most of the other characters in this novel are total types, so it makes it really hard to get invested and root for them. Andy is "Mr. Perfect" Southerner, Leo is the "hunky artist", and Ellen's best friend Margot is the southern debutante. Even Ellen's sister--the sarcastic voice of reason--is typecast as a typical flight attendant. The novel would have been much more enjoyable if these characters had been a bit more rounded, making them real people instead of caricatures.
Overall, Love the One You're With was an enjoyable summer read. It was a quick read but still funny and smart (as is Ms. Giffin's way). I would recommend this to anyone looking for some good summer chick lit fun. But be warned, this is not the best there is.
Book Review: What we will pay money for!
Summary: 1 Stars
Reading is really important to me - fiction and nonfiction. I read a lot - the range is wide. Bet I have read many a fiction book short on content - but this one will always stand out in that category.
I stayed with the book because like the reviewer before me, I too wondered what would happen when the "husband" put it all together (other reviewer: "I was hoping through most of the book that the husband would catch on and divorce her so she would have to start dealing in reality.")
When reading I consciously think: "what will young women just starting out in the world of relationships gain from this book?" I am horrified if a young woman thinks this is typical - especially if she is not from the USA and thinks this is accurate of a young woman in today's society.
Written many years ago in a different time period, Laura Ingalls Wilder books have more character depth and create more empathy for the characters!
"Love the One Your With" could have made a memorable statement about relationships, commitment, fidelity and still have had all the passion and lusting. Instead the character came across as always accessing her wins and losses.
My only hope is that the characters undergo a great deal of character development if there is a sequel to this book. I would not enjoy reading about the character's inner struggle over which preschool will give her children the advantage for attending Harvard - or should it be Princeton?
Hmm... the tediouosness of it all.
Book Review: Great read!
Summary: 4 Stars
I have read the other 3 books by Emily Giffin and I was very excited to see she was coming out with this book. Overall I am very impressed with this book and enjoyed it immensely! The best part of this book is I can relate to Ellen completely. I understand her struggles and how she was feeling. I mean who doesn't have that ex from the past that was no good for them yet you will always have feelings for them? I will say that I was rooting for Andy the entire time. His character was so loving and supporting and he made Ellen happy. You could see as soon as Ellen was getting deeper into trouble with Leo that he was no good for her and brought her back to her former, younger and unindependent self. There were times in the book I was getting so mad at Ellen for continuing down this self destructive path all the while thinking to myself that there would be no struggle for myself, I would choose Andy hands down. The ending while unrealistic is something that every woman would wish for and was a perfect ending for this very interesting book. After all, I don't read too many books for realism, I read them to escape from reality and for a good story no matter how far fetched it may be. I found the characters all relateable, I found Ellen to be a bit infuriating but at the same time I could sympathize with her. I would suggest reading this book if you like Emily Giffin's other books or want a good story that will make you think about love, commitment and sometimes what it takes to realize what is good in your life.