Something Borrowed
by Emily Giffin
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Book Reviews of Something Borrowed
Book Review: I loved this book!!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Something Borrowed" is a story told by Rachel, an attorney who lives in New York City, along with her best friend from childhood, Darcy, a public relations specialist. Both women are very different, as you see in the first chapter of the book. Their friendship has been strong because of Rachel's down-to-earth sincerity, and Darcy's go-getter alpha attitude. They certainly are a perfect example of "opposites attract", but you soon see how their personalities clash as the story unfolds.
The very first thing that happens in the book: Rachel's 30th birthday party at a bar in Manhattan, Darcy is sent home by her fiance (Dex) because she's too drunk, then Rachel goes back to her place with Dex and they sleep together. So the story is centered around how guilty Rachel is for sleeping with her best friend's fiance even though she keeps telling herself that it was merely a drunken rendezvous and it meant nothing. But as Rachel and Dex do some soul-searching, it did mean something...
This sounds like a character I would definitely not side with, but Emily Giffin is such a great writer that she actually convinces you to be on Rachel's side. I really rooted for Rachel to find happiness and the things she says oftentimes made me laugh out loud. ;) And even though I didn't like Darcy's character, it was because Giffin wrote her so well as a pretentious snob who walked all over Rachel. In my opinion, I felt that Darcy took Rachel for granted for 20 years and she liked to step on her in order to make herself feel good. Although the one complaint I had about Rachel is her indecisiveness to talk to Dex about their situation. Uugh! Thank goodness Hillary got the ball rolling! ;) She was a great character and much better friend to Rachel than Darcy.
Many things happen in the book with Rachel, like trips to the Hamptons, secret get-togethers with Dex, wedding planning with Darcy, and a lot of flashbacks back to how their friendship began. I have to admit that being an 80's child myself, I really enjoyed the pop-culture references when they were younger. ;) And most of all, what kept me so intrigued is the constant question in my head as I read the book: "When will Darcy find out about Rachel and Dex??" That alone kept me on the edge of my seat.
*SPOILER ALERT!!* I really loved the ending of the book, when Rachel and Dex finally end up together. Dex wasn't that strong of a character in the book, and I wish that he was. But I was rooting for Rachel the whole time and she sincerely loved Dex, as he loved her. Darcy just wanted a trophy husband to show off to her mother and friends (it amazed me that they were even together for 7 years, you'd think that someone like Darcy would jump at the opportunity and marry Dex much sooner!).
I was very satisfied with how the book ended and I really wanted more! So, I also read the sequel, "Something Blue". ;) You can find my full review under that book, but in my opinion I really liked "Something Borrowed" better. To me it had more substance and the characters interacted a lot more. But just to find out what happens at the very end of the story, "Something Blue" is an OK light read. :)
Book Review: Someone is borrowed for a night, but their heart might be stolen forever
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read "Something Blue" which is part two of this story, first about two years ago...and even though I loved it, I was pretty sure I had a pretty good grip on "Something Borrowed" and it's story line, but I'm super happy that I decided to go back and read the first novel, it gave me new insight into the whole story, and made it even more intense and entertaining in my eyes. Most readers I'm sure take Rachel's side, after all she's the humble, sweet friend who realizes that her best friend's love isn't as real as her own, and trouble is that they are both after the same guy. Darcy has always been Rachel's best friend, even though she was considered prettier, had a batter tan, hair or what not, all those superficial things that in the end make you sick and miserable because they take space away from real substance which is followed by heartache no matter how beautiful the girl. Few months before the wedding, Rachel and Dex ( the groom to be) end up hanging out at Rachel's birthday party, taking things further than either has expected that end with then sleeping together. First shock follows then new possibilities of what if...what if they were together, what if what they feel is real, more real than Darcy and her perfect life which suddenly doesn't seem satisfying enough to Dex. His feeling for Rachel have been humming under the surface for years, their friendship at law school was strong but Rachel never felt pretty or special enough to even consider a guy of Dexter's caliber to be a match for her. Pretty soon a decision has to be made, Rachel or Darcy, as time ticks away and tension builds Dex is unable to handle the situation until things get really messy, but at least fun for the reader.
I was siding with Rachel, because I felt like their emotions were pure, they didn't do something bad to hurt Darcy, and she really didn't seem to be as in love with Dex as a bride to be would. Which is something totally opposite to what I felt when I read "Something Blue" where I couldn't stand Rachael and I felt sorry for Darcy the whole time. In this book I felt bad for Darcy, her shallowness and all the things she did in the past to make herself feel better in comparison to Rachel ended up hurting her in the end, but people have to go though ordeals in order to come out on top, and hopefully as a triumphant and better person. I thought that Dex perhaps was the bad guy at times, I mean come on, make up your mind, you cant have both girls and waiting till the last minute is not something a responsible grown up would do, a fool in love perhaps but still, that part annoyed the heck out of me! I highly enjoyed the book, and can't wait to re-read "Something Blue" again, in fact reading this book make me want to read all of Giffin's works, she's not only smart but also really perceptive and gives a lot of her own thoughts and soul into these little gems. The books have a lot of truth to them about people and relationships and they are really well told, the story flows off the pages and never loses momentum.
- Kasia S.
Book Review: Clever
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an unique twist on the groom sleeping with the best friend because it was told through the eyes of the cheating best friends. Then, on top of that, Giffin strives and succeeds at you sympathizing with the back-stabbing friend. And make no mistakes about it, Rachel is a backstabber. Yes, yes, I understand that Darcy is a stuck up snob; but no one forced Dex to propose to this woman, and not only that, Darcy and Dex were a couple for 7 years. 7 YEARS!!! This is not a whirlwind romance where things excelled at a rate he couldn't control, and then shortly before the marriage ceremony Dex realized he wanted or had feelings for the best friend. So, okay let say that Dex does realize he has feeling for another woman--look how many months he was content to proceed as planned with the wedding. He had evey intention of having Rachel as his chick on the side. He was playing her. Bottom line. It wasn't until Rachel finally found her spine and forced him to make a decison, did he make the decison to choose DARCY.
Dex who was just so brillant and fearless in law school all of a sudden lost his spine in the same bottomless pit Rachel tossed hers in. The ONLY one who confessed to her misdeeds was DARCY. I give her the credit for coming clean and being the only one coming close to being an adult. Rachel and Dex was content to just slink around. I mean, Darcy found the man crouched in a closet for Pete's Sake. (Yeah, that's a man I would want.) I mean, I would have more respect for him if he busted out of the closet during her confession. No. He waited until she searched the place for him. And I forget, did Rachel ever apologize--or was she cool with just--so, you were cheating, too? Darcy cheating on Dex has nothing to do with Rachel. Regardless of what Darcy's motivation for coming clean to Rachel, she did come clean. Marcus wasn't engaged to Rachel. This whole sticky web of deceit was Rachel and Dexter's fault from jump street. Darcy didn't cheat until fourth of July. AFTER her man stop sleeping with her. After her man having to work ALL the time. The girl rightfully felt lonely. If you can't tell your best friend to back off a guy that you're interested in-then she's not your best friend. She's a woman you're afraid of. End of story. Heck, I think the only people I liked were Hillary and Ethan.
Now, I said all of that and I give the book 5 stars because it was a well written book about totally unlikable characters. I believe Giffin is a talented writer and though I don't like her characters-I was completely drawn into the story (even though I was shaking my head the entire time). The story succeeds in evoking emotion and gives you the feeling of watching a cheesy, but fascinating, reality show.
Book Review: The kind of Book you can read over again
Summary: 5 Stars
The story opens with Rachel out on the town celebrating her thirtieth birthday with a group of friends; among them, her outgoing and popular best friend Darcy who actually threw the party (and is stealing the show already by dancing on the bar) and Darcy's fiance Dex. Incidentally, Dex and Rachel had met years back in law school, having been friends for quite some time before Rachel eventually introduced him to Darcy. Towards the end of the evening after everyone's departed and in what seems to be an open invite to coincidence, Darcy, after having had one too many drinks, makes an early departure in a cab ride to head back home. Thereby leaving Rachel and Dex alone in the bar to talk over a few more drinks, and steal some time together to catch up as old friends. They share a cab ride home, and, hitting a pothole that throws Rachel on Dex's side of the car, literally and in his arms, opens the floodgates in what becomes an illicit love affair.
I was originally outraged at the very concept, but as the story develops, we learn a few things that seem to weave sympathy in Rachel's favor. It's told from Rachel's point of view (the passive aggressive good girl who always tries to do the right thing and play by the rules). The very rules that, Rachel is now learning, doesn't always get you ahead in today's world. We discover that Rachel and Darcy have been friends since childhood. And that Rachel, deep down, resents Darcy. Soon, we come to see why: Darcy is the popular girl, with perfectly proportioned features of beauty that few can surpass. This pretty much allows her to have any guy wants, (or, `ahem', steal any man she desires) and be the object that every woman wants to be friends with, every employer wants to hire. Basically, a life with the red carpet rolled out for her passage. With her combination of beauty, outgoing personality and favorable fortune, every opportunity falls in her lap. Rachel, meanwhile, is the ever so-reliable friend, working in a law firm that she despises. And who, despite her compounding resentment towards Darcy, strangely feels still protective of the friend she's known (and looked out for like a sister) long since her early childhood. During the course of the story, we're not only shown Darcy's selfishness, but we also come to realize how unfulfilled Rachel is in her own life, exasperated even more as she measures herself against Darcy. Meanwhile, the affair between she and Dex thickens. With Rachel having the implicit understanding that what they have will end as the wedding date draws near in September, she begins to ask herself some very hard questions. Questions that deal with her claiming her own happiness, and the sacrifices she must make for it happen.
Book Review: Unexpected
Summary: 5 Stars
I am usually not a fan of chick lit. The little I read involved makeovers, shopping sprees, and way too much brand name dropping. The leads are ditzes who dig themselves into stupid holes of their own making then misplace the shovel to dig their own way out. So a few years back when was traveling I realized I had forgotten my book before heading to the airport, I wondered in to the airport bookstore and stumbled upon the book. My decision to buy the book was based on me wanting to understand why a person would cheat on someone they loved. Frankly, for my own miserable situation at the time it offered no insight, but I was drawn into the story.
I'm not recapping it, because numerous reviews before me have. But I have a few thoughts as to why I gave it 5 stars. First, having doormat tendencies, I really related to Rachel. Seeing a doormat learn to stand up to herself and be willing to turn her back on someone who walks all over her inspired me to to stand up to someone who was at the time walking all over me. That felt amazingly good!
I love the details Giffen has in her books, such as the emaciated hostess with too much lipliner. I can see her standing there, doing her job in a bored manner. I love the 80s references. I'm slightly younger than Giffen, but I'm familiar enough with most of them that it gave me flashbacks to my childhood. I love Darcy, oddly. I also read the sequel, where she is more sympathetic, but the sleepover scene showed a softer side of her, hinting that there might be more to her than the beeotch we had grown accustomed to.
Most of the negative critiques of this book are about Rachel's passivity and Dex's less defined character. My takes on that are, Rachel is a non-confrontational person whose self esteem isn't what it should be. That's what makes her afraid to act. Her character arc in the book is about her growing beyond that. As for Dex, frankly this isn't his story. We only are allowed to see him through Rachels eyes (and in the sequel, Darcy's). A book with a participating character narrating by nature makes the narrator unreliable. But the background on his law school days adds some depth to his character, and Rachel was as attracted to his brains as his looks.
To wrap it up, I love the bittersweet tone of the book. I love that the ending is not a perfectly happy one. I love that people can question Rachel's morals and character, most novelists would not be brave enough to try to write about someone in such a blatantly unsympathetic situation. Giffen really knows how to suck you in and make you keep reading. Kudos to her!