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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
2 1/2 stars
I liked that it was a no-brainer, fun novel. I didn't like how cheesy & predictable some parts were. I don't feel like a person can honestly change as much as Darcy did. So my opinion of Giffin as the author went down.
I liked that it was a no-brainer, fun novel. I didn't like how cheesy & predictable some parts were. I don't feel like a person can honestly change as much as Darcy did. So my opinion of Giffin as the author went down.
I mean, it's very readable! It's just so simple. The abrupt personality shift was almost jaw-dropping - no conflict at all changing someone's personality with one conversation. The change was immediate, complete, and permanent. No backsliding at all, from someone who had been completely un-self-examining for thirty years. It felt like the part of the book the author worked on the least. But... cute book.
I liked this one as much as I liked Something Borrowed. I wasn't sure that I would ever really like Darcy, but she did win me over at the end.
I didn't find the characters redeeming. Half way through, I lost track of who I was supposed to be cheering for.
Makes the characters in Something Borrowed actually likeable!
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Girl, go to therapy.
I should preface by saying that chick-lit/romance is not usually my genre, but I tried to enter into the spirit of the thing and not take it too seriously or judge too harshly by the standards of realism. Yet even by these loose standards, I still think Something Blue is an unsatisfying story (and just a few changes would make it better).
Even though it was predictable, I am glad that Darcy and Ethan ultimately end up together; I found their developing relationship the only meaningful part of the whole book. Unfortunately, the resolution ended up feeling unearned because neither character was really developed after the halfway point. The romance with the doctor and the French woman were obvious red herrings designed to waste time, and neither contributed to the development of our main characters.
The problem with these other relationships is that it makes the conflict separating Darcy and Ethan external when it should be primarily internal.
Darcy has a crap-ton of work to do on herself, and yet she has good qualities as well. For one thing, she is extremely imaginative, in a way that feels strangely childish and innocent for such an otherwise worldly third-year old. Ethan is a writer struggling with writer’s block. Why not have some scenes of Darcy and Ethan during late-night brainstorming/writing sessions, where she is able to reframe/reimagine his work in a way that makes the story clear to him? This would have two benefits: Ethan discovers there is more to this shallow woman than meets the eye, and Darcy acquires some much-needed knowledge about the world, which she can now use to impress her fancy new friends.
Not until this point should the doctor even show an interest in Darcy. Only once Darcy gains confidence and starts to make strides in improving her personality and social standing in London (as well as her relationship with Ethan) should she be presented with a second option. As it is, Darcy seems to gain the admiration of this wealthy, suave man for no reason (other than being hot, I guess?), and their boring, flat relationship takes up way too much time that could otherwise be devoted to building Darcy and Ethan as characters.
As for Ethan, Darcy should be the type of woman he would normally avoid like the plague. After all, he knows what it feels like to be cheated on, and here is a woman who not only cheated on her fiancé but then proceeded to destroy all the meaningful relationships in her life.. And yet, she was also betrayed, and some part of him can’t help but sympathize with her because he does know what that feels like. These two sides--sympathy and disgust--are at war within him. His heart is drawn to her, but his mind rationalizes him out of his attraction.
Like the doctor, the French girlfriend can appear briefly, as a safer option for Ethan, but she shouldn’t be a major character. If she is, then let her be more well-developed--maybe Darcy meets her at one of the soirée’s hosted by her friends, and, impressed by her knowledge and sophistication, sets her up with Ethan. Maybe she thinks of this woman as the better version of herself, the one Ethan really deserves. Later, as she grows in both self-confidence and humility, she comes to realize that she is just as viable an option for Ethan as her French counterpart, and that she loves him enough to fight for a future with him.
Both Darcy and Ethan have (or should have) fundamental issues related to trust. Darcy must learn to look beyond appearances (especially her own) and trust that she can be loved regardless of how she looks or what she can accomplish. Ethan must learn to trust a woman whose past is so reminiscent of his deepest pain.
It can still be fun, it can still be quirky, but wouldn’t seeing two characters like that finally get together in the end be a lot more satisfying?
I should preface by saying that chick-lit/romance is not usually my genre, but I tried to enter into the spirit of the thing and not take it too seriously or judge too harshly by the standards of realism. Yet even by these loose standards, I still think Something Blue is an unsatisfying story (and just a few changes would make it better).
The problem with these other relationships is that it makes the conflict separating Darcy and Ethan external when it should be primarily internal.
Darcy has a crap-ton of work to do on herself, and yet she has good qualities as well. For one thing, she is extremely imaginative, in a way that feels strangely childish and innocent for such an otherwise worldly third-year old. Ethan is a writer struggling with writer’s block. Why not have some scenes of Darcy and Ethan during late-night brainstorming/writing sessions, where she is able to reframe/reimagine his work in a way that makes the story clear to him? This would have two benefits: Ethan discovers there is more to this shallow woman than meets the eye, and Darcy acquires some much-needed knowledge about the world, which she can now use to impress her fancy new friends.
Not until this point should the doctor even show an interest in Darcy. Only once Darcy gains confidence and starts to make strides in improving her personality and social standing in London (as well as her relationship with Ethan) should she be presented with a second option. As it is, Darcy seems to gain the admiration of this wealthy, suave man for no reason (other than being hot, I guess?), and their boring, flat relationship takes up way too much time that could otherwise be devoted to building Darcy and Ethan as characters.
As for Ethan, Darcy should be the type of woman he would normally avoid like the plague. After all, he knows what it feels like to be cheated on, and here is a woman who not only cheated on her fiancé but then proceeded to destroy all the meaningful relationships in her life.. And yet, she was also betrayed, and some part of him can’t help but sympathize with her because he does know what that feels like. These two sides--sympathy and disgust--are at war within him. His heart is drawn to her, but his mind rationalizes him out of his attraction.
Like the doctor, the French girlfriend can appear briefly, as a safer option for Ethan, but she shouldn’t be a major character. If she is, then let her be more well-developed--maybe Darcy meets her at one of the soirée’s hosted by her friends, and, impressed by her knowledge and sophistication, sets her up with Ethan. Maybe she thinks of this woman as the better version of herself, the one Ethan really deserves. Later, as she grows in both self-confidence and humility, she comes to realize that she is just as viable an option for Ethan as her French counterpart, and that she loves him enough to fight for a future with him.
Both Darcy and Ethan have (or should have) fundamental issues related to trust. Darcy must learn to look beyond appearances (especially her own) and trust that she can be loved regardless of how she looks or what she can accomplish. Ethan must learn to trust a woman whose past is so reminiscent of his deepest pain.
It can still be fun, it can still be quirky, but wouldn’t seeing two characters like that finally get together in the end be a lot more satisfying?
I love this redemption for Darcy. Emily did an amazing job with this ending and I’m so happy it ended the way it did.
The only thing that made this okay was getting to picture Jon Krasinski a lot in the role of Ethan.
One of my favorite things about chick lit is that they inevitably always take place in either New York or London, and in some cases (like this one) in both!
This was also really clever because it took the most unlikable character from Something Borrowed and told the story of the aftermath of the events in that book through her eyes.
Another great chick-lit read for anyone inclined to it.
This was also really clever because it took the most unlikable character from Something Borrowed and told the story of the aftermath of the events in that book through her eyes.
Another great chick-lit read for anyone inclined to it.
"Something Blue" is that rare book... You know the one with the obnoxious, instantly unlikeable, shallow, vain and bitchy heroine ..... the very same one you grow to not only like but love?!
Emily Giffin's "Something Blue" is a continuation of "Something Borrowed" and although it can be read alone and apart from the first, I think it would lose some charm and definitely some of the depth from the story.
Simply, I found myself swallowed up in "Something Blue". I read it hungrily and found myself truly satisfied.
Emily Giffin's "Something Blue" is a continuation of "Something Borrowed" and although it can be read alone and apart from the first, I think it would lose some charm and definitely some of the depth from the story.
Simply, I found myself swallowed up in "Something Blue". I read it hungrily and found myself truly satisfied.