Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a sequel for ‘ something borrowed ‘. Darcy’s perspective!!! Way better than the first book.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
it took me 1.7 books to like darcy but i guess i kinda got there in the end? i think my issue with this series is really just an issue with the early 2000s which feels unfair because the books can't help being a product of their time
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Darcy is absolutely insufferable the entire book and I don’t think she had any redeeming qualities, or believe she was a truly changed person following her experiences. She continually proved she was unable to place any blame on herself for any of the things that happened and relationships ruined besides saying near the end that her and Dex just weren’t meant to be together because he wasn’t her true “person.”
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
March 22, 2020
3/5 stars
Something Blue is the companion novel to Something Borrowed and while the books do not have to be read in order, I would not recommend reading them out of order. Something Blue follows 29-year-old Darcy Rhone, who has just learned of her fiancé's infidelity after catching him with her best friend. Darcy's no saint either and has been sleeping with one of the groomsmen, Marcus, but still views this act between her best friend and ex-fiancé as unforgivable. Without fully thinking things through, she decides she is going to marry Marcus and have his baby. Marcus is not overjoyed by this turn of events and eventually dumps Darcy. Pregnant and with no one to turn to but her friend Ethan, she moves into his flat in London.
Boy, did Something Blue not age well. I think that if most readers pick up Something Blue now they'll find the writing insensitive and harmful, and some of the content problematic. I don't think this is too much of a spoiler because it happens in the beginning of the novel, but at some point Darcy decides, pretty spur of the moment I might add, that she wants a baby, so she doesn't let Marcus pull out. Marcus is not pleased with this since he doesn't want a child. This made me SO uncomfortable. The novel is also told in first person narrative through Darcy's perspective and she often belittles people based on their looks. We're not meant to like Darcy or support the things she says, but that didn't stop some of her remarks from making me cringe.
My biggest issue, problematic content aside, was the pacing of this novel. It takes half the book for Darcy to move to London, which in my opinion is when the story really starts to pick up, so for half the novel we're in the head of a terrible person who cares only for herself. I'm not against unlikeable characters, but she was starting to get unbearable at the quarter mark and I considered DNF-ing. Darcy also goes through some extreme character changes in order to try to improve herself, and while I do like this aspect of the novel, her progress happened much too quickly for me to find her changes believable. I also just don't like how much she changed since all of a sudden all her interests were different too. The novel also seems to give off this message that in order to be a good person you need to have a career that helps people, which rubbed me the wrong way. Another, much smaller issue I had was the ending, it felt a bit rushed and I would have liked to see Darcy's relationship play out a bit more, it was also incredibly cheesy.
So why the three-star rating? I read Something Blue a long while ago and it still holds nostalgia for me. Darcy and her love interest are still, to this day, one of my favourite couples. This novel has two of my all-time favourite romance tropes and I can't help but have a soft spot for any novel where one of the conflicts is a friend breakup. Friend breakups are such a difficult thing to experience and I don't think enough novels explore them. I thought the relationship between Rachel and Darcy was one of the best and most believable parts of the novel, and while it's not something that is actively present, it is something that serves as a major hurdle for Darcy and something that she dwells on a lot.
Overall, would not recommend.
<2010
4.5/5 stars
instagram | twitter
3/5 stars
Something Blue is the companion novel to Something Borrowed and while the books do not have to be read in order, I would not recommend reading them out of order. Something Blue follows 29-year-old Darcy Rhone, who has just learned of her fiancé's infidelity after catching him with her best friend. Darcy's no saint either and has been sleeping with one of the groomsmen, Marcus, but still views this act between her best friend and ex-fiancé as unforgivable. Without fully thinking things through, she decides she is going to marry Marcus and have his baby. Marcus is not overjoyed by this turn of events and eventually dumps Darcy. Pregnant and with no one to turn to but her friend Ethan, she moves into his flat in London.
Boy, did Something Blue not age well. I think that if most readers pick up Something Blue now they'll find the writing insensitive and harmful, and some of the content problematic. I don't think this is too much of a spoiler because it happens in the beginning of the novel, but at some point Darcy decides, pretty spur of the moment I might add, that she wants a baby, so she doesn't let Marcus pull out. Marcus is not pleased with this since he doesn't want a child. This made me SO uncomfortable. The novel is also told in first person narrative through Darcy's perspective and she often belittles people based on their looks. We're not meant to like Darcy or support the things she says, but that didn't stop some of her remarks from making me cringe.
My biggest issue, problematic content aside, was the pacing of this novel. It takes half the book for Darcy to move to London, which in my opinion is when the story really starts to pick up, so for half the novel we're in the head of a terrible person who cares only for herself. I'm not against unlikeable characters, but she was starting to get unbearable at the quarter mark and I considered DNF-ing. Darcy also goes through some extreme character changes in order to try to improve herself, and while I do like this aspect of the novel, her progress happened much too quickly for me to find her changes believable. I also just don't like how much she changed since all of a sudden all her interests were different too. The novel also seems to give off this message that in order to be a good person you need to have a career that helps people, which rubbed me the wrong way. Another, much smaller issue I had was the ending, it felt a bit rushed and I would have liked to see Darcy's relationship play out a bit more, it was also incredibly cheesy.
So why the three-star rating? I read Something Blue a long while ago and it still holds nostalgia for me. Darcy and her love interest are still, to this day, one of my favourite couples. This novel has two of my all-time favourite romance tropes and I can't help but have a soft spot for any novel where one of the conflicts is a friend breakup. Friend breakups are such a difficult thing to experience and I don't think enough novels explore them. I thought the relationship between Rachel and Darcy was one of the best and most believable parts of the novel, and while it's not something that is actively present, it is something that serves as a major hurdle for Darcy and something that she dwells on a lot.
Overall, would not recommend.
<2010
4.5/5 stars
instagram | twitter
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a great look at how someone can change even thought it doesn't seem as though they'd ever have it in them. I did get really tired of Darcy's whining and super shallowness...it was more than halfway through the book before she started her transformation and it started to grate on my nerves. I stuck it out, though because I new from the summary that she would change. It was definitly worth getting to that point, though. I'm definitely going to go back and read the first one, the one about her best friend who stole her fiance.