DebJpole Hello,
Do you like sex and the city? Or can you at least imagine it? Because that’s ultimately what this book is strikingly similar too.
“When you are in a relationship, you are aware that it might end. You might grow apart, find someone else, simply fall out of love. But a friendship isn’t a zero-sum game, and as such, you assume that it will last forever, especially an old friendship. You take its permanence for granted, whuch might be the very thing so dear about it.”
Rachel comes across as part Miranda and part Charlotte – a goody two shoes lawyer who wants to find a husband and settle down. Then there’s Darcy, part Samantha and part Carrie – good looking and always gets the guy she wants…so much so that she is now engaged and set to marry him. Much like sex and the city, these two best friends enjoy nothing more than talking about dating and men. Best friends since childhood, sharing birthdays and the terrifying experience that is high school but these girls are opposites. Whilst Darcy can breeze through life, getting what she wants when she wants it from boyfriends to school grades, Rachel plays it safe and sticks to the rules whilst watching Darcy have all the fun. However, Rachel is 4 years older than Darcy, she should be the first to do everything – be a teenager; first to drive but now she’s the first to turn 30…
“When you’re in love, sometimes you have to swallow your pride, and sometimes you have to keep your pride. It’s a balance. But when the relationship is right, you find the balance.”
On the eve of this milestone birthday, Rachel starts to question everything. How did Darcy get a glamorous job and the perfect boyfriend (whom Rachel loves and has loved since law school) whilst Rachel despises her job as an attorney and is still single?
“Nothing is ever perfect. It is what you make of it.”
Is that luck? Or is there something else? Is it just a bit more complicated? Then an accidental fling occurs, making Rachel question everything she’s ever thought was right and has to make a few hard choices.
Soon enough, she is forced to learn that sometimes true love comes at a price…
“This is why you should never, ever get your hopes up. This is why you should see the glass as half empty. So when the whole thing spills, you aren’t as devastated.”
The book is written from Rachel’s point of view and the sequel, Something Blue, is written from Darcy’s point of view. Don’t worry, it’ll be one of my upcoming reviews.
While there are aspects of this novel I enjoy including the fact that we all know a Darcy in our lives; I can’t stray too far from the fact that this book is mainly focussed on the subject on infidelity not just that but from the viewpoint that infidelity in this book is almost justified and there’s nothing wrong with it because the couple aren’t married yet. But this book is written so cleverly by Emily Giffin that you don’t feel like you hate Rachel or the man in question.
“But I have learned that you make your own happiness, that part of going for what you want means losing something else. And when the stakes are high, the losses can be that much greater.”
Until next time,
D x
