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dphillips's review
3.0
I wasn't underwhelmed; I wasn't overwhelmed. The untraditional family turns kept the book moving along as well as the nice writing. A decent summer read for fans of this genre.
vro521's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
mbkarapcik's review against another edition
4.0
Although this was not my favorite of Emily Giffin's, I enjoyed it and think it deserves a sequel. There's potential there.
celjla212's review against another edition
4.0
There are few things in life stronger than the bond between siblings, which is why, when it is shattered, lives can be changed forever. Emily Giffin's novel First Comes Love explores this phenomenon in quite an emotional offering.
Growing up, Daniel Garland often had to be the go between for his two younger sisters, Josie and Meredith. Josie, the middle child and known for her partying ways, and Meredith, serious, unflinching, perfectionist, couldn't be more different. Then, in an instant, they lose their brother--the rock, the golden child, the glue holding the family together. Not only does the relationship between the two women become hopelessly and instantly strained, but their parents divorce, they lose touch with friends, and more.
The events in this book take place fifteen years after Daniel's death. Everyone's lives have moved forward with time, but their hearts are still broken. Josie, now a teacher, is pushing 40 with no romantic prospects and a ticking biological clock. Meredith is a lawyer, mother, and wife to Daniel's childhood best friend. As the fifteen year anniversary of the death comes around, the sisters clash again and again as they cannot fathom each other's decisions, but they can't stay out of each other's lives, either.
Emily Giffin is a fantastic author with a real knack for getting inside her character's heads. The chapters are told from both Meredith and Josie's alternating points of view, and it's fascinating to see how one sister internalizes what the other meant, when often times they are so wrong about the other's intentions. The reader gets to see both of their true thoughts, feelings, plans, and the ways they hide the truth from one another.
I have 3 younger siblings myself, so I absolutely know about the intricacies between brothers and sisters, and Giffin nails it. So often we have to bite our tongues not to hurt our sister or brother's feelings, but other times they need to hear that truth, no matter how harsh.
I found some parts slightly predictable, but others really surprised me--such as the meeting with Daniel's former girlfriend. I very much enjoyed getting to know the characters, so the book really flew by. I have to say even though it wasn't truly a happily ever after, I was very satisfied with the ending. Emily Giffin has written another probable bestseller.
Growing up, Daniel Garland often had to be the go between for his two younger sisters, Josie and Meredith. Josie, the middle child and known for her partying ways, and Meredith, serious, unflinching, perfectionist, couldn't be more different. Then, in an instant, they lose their brother--the rock, the golden child, the glue holding the family together. Not only does the relationship between the two women become hopelessly and instantly strained, but their parents divorce, they lose touch with friends, and more.
The events in this book take place fifteen years after Daniel's death. Everyone's lives have moved forward with time, but their hearts are still broken. Josie, now a teacher, is pushing 40 with no romantic prospects and a ticking biological clock. Meredith is a lawyer, mother, and wife to Daniel's childhood best friend. As the fifteen year anniversary of the death comes around, the sisters clash again and again as they cannot fathom each other's decisions, but they can't stay out of each other's lives, either.
Emily Giffin is a fantastic author with a real knack for getting inside her character's heads. The chapters are told from both Meredith and Josie's alternating points of view, and it's fascinating to see how one sister internalizes what the other meant, when often times they are so wrong about the other's intentions. The reader gets to see both of their true thoughts, feelings, plans, and the ways they hide the truth from one another.
I have 3 younger siblings myself, so I absolutely know about the intricacies between brothers and sisters, and Giffin nails it. So often we have to bite our tongues not to hurt our sister or brother's feelings, but other times they need to hear that truth, no matter how harsh.
I found some parts slightly predictable, but others really surprised me--such as the meeting with Daniel's former girlfriend. I very much enjoyed getting to know the characters, so the book really flew by. I have to say even though it wasn't truly a happily ever after, I was very satisfied with the ending. Emily Giffin has written another probable bestseller.
samrkenyon's review against another edition
3.0
I won an ARC from a Goodreads Giveaway.
For the most part, this was what I expected from a typical Emily Giffin novel – a quick, light ride free of any real issues that linger in one’s mind once the story is over. I was a big fan of Something Borrowed and Something Blue, but her latest novels have left me wondering how her recent works could deviate so far from those great stories. First Comes Love hooked me in quickly, but I found myself waiting for a “big moment” that never really arrived. The characters weren’t likable, I wasn’t even sure which pairings I should be rooting for, and I’m still frustrated that a teacher (granted, a fictional character, but still!) would endorse the whole “this little boy is only picking on you because he likes you” scenario. Can we as a society please stop promoting this primitive idea? C’mon Giffin, we know you can do better than this. (2.5 stars)
For the most part, this was what I expected from a typical Emily Giffin novel – a quick, light ride free of any real issues that linger in one’s mind once the story is over. I was a big fan of Something Borrowed and Something Blue, but her latest novels have left me wondering how her recent works could deviate so far from those great stories. First Comes Love hooked me in quickly, but I found myself waiting for a “big moment” that never really arrived. The characters weren’t likable, I wasn’t even sure which pairings I should be rooting for, and I’m still frustrated that a teacher (granted, a fictional character, but still!) would endorse the whole “this little boy is only picking on you because he likes you” scenario. Can we as a society please stop promoting this primitive idea? C’mon Giffin, we know you can do better than this. (2.5 stars)
jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
ARC courtesy of NetGalley
I have a love/hate relationship with Giffin's women's fiction novels; she's a gifted writer, but so often the values her books espouse feel discomfortingly anti-woman to me. Unfortunately, I came down on the "hate" side on her latest, in part because of the aforesaid mentioned tinge of anti-feminism, and in part because this story of two very dissimilar sisters cut a little too close to home for me, and not in a validating way.
Sisters Meredith and Josie have such different personalities (Meredith the introverted, quiet rule-follower, Josie the outgoing irresponsible drama queen) that they have never been close. And after their older brother, they grow even further apart. Now, in their late thirties, older sister Meredith leads what seems to be the perfect life: married to a loving husband, bringing up a sweet daughter, working at a successful law firm. But her reasons for marrying her brother's former best friend were complicated, to say the least, and now she can't help but be plagued by the nagging feeling that something in her life has gone terribly wrong. Meanwhile, younger, never-wed elementary school teacher Josie finds herself longing for a child of her own, and starts to research sperm donors to try to make her fantasy a reality.
Giffin portrays the jealousy that drives Meredith and Josie's relationship in unflinchingly painful detail. Meredith, not understanding why a sister who takes so little care with others, can still be so well-loved, continually criticizes and undercuts Josie ("She is a thirty-seven-year-old woman who has never outgrown the concept of popularity" [Loc 430]). While Josie, oblivious in her focus on herself, just thinks Meredith is petty and mean ("Meredith always accuses me of making things all about myself" [1188]). Josie's single mother plan enrages responsible Meredith, and the sisters' relationship goes even further downhill after a secret about their brother finally comes to the surface.
Meredith has a lot more insight into herself than Josie does, and does a lot more growing over the course of the novel. I'm not really persuaded by the book's desire for readers to view the decision Meredith finally makes about her marriage as something positive, though; her "decision" seems to come out of nowhere, a deus ex machina of a choice:
"Always before, his idea of trying felt like faking, even lying. Having another baby. Making our parents happy. Going on family vacations to Disney World and the beach, smiling and posing for photos to promptly post for all the world to see. Going through the motions of pretending to be the perfect family. Daniel's sister and his best friend, brought together by tragedy, yet utterly and totally 'meant to be.' Hashtag blessed.
"But suddenly now, his idea of trying feels authentic, and I see a small glimmer of possibility" (Loc 5252).
Josie, in contrast, seems the same old same old to me by book's end, a fun but still deeply selfish drama queen. Maybe I'm biased, being more like Meredith than Josie in the jealous sister dyad of my own life. But I really think it is more because of Josie's continued self-absorption, as well as her understatedly sexist approach to gender, a take which she believes everyone else shares. For example, Josie's view on going out:
"It's the false promise that has always motivated me, kept me going out weekend after weekend. There is always an agenda; the point is always to meet someone. Even if disguised in the form of a girls' night out. Even if you're one of those people who pretends to actually enjoy going to the movies or eating at a bar alone. Even if you try to convince yourself that you just want to enjoy a nice end-of-the-summer rooftop party" (1106).
Though Josie tells herself this is a "false" promise, it is one she has actively believed for most of her life (and still seems to, given how she attributes the view to everyone else even while she undercuts it for herself).
Even worse, Josie responds to a girl in her first grade class who comes to her in tears after "Wesley called me a 'dumb girl'" by telling her "Sweetie, Wesley teases you because he likes you" (4839). HATE it when adults say that to young girls; it tells you a lot about how they believe power dynamics between the sexes work, and how girls should accept male aggression as the norm, and even welcome it.
By rewarding Josie at book's end, but putting Meredith through the emotional, guilt-filled wringer on all fronts, the novel seems to endorse Josie's less-than-progressive views, something that I did not appreciate.
I have a love/hate relationship with Giffin's women's fiction novels; she's a gifted writer, but so often the values her books espouse feel discomfortingly anti-woman to me. Unfortunately, I came down on the "hate" side on her latest, in part because of the aforesaid mentioned tinge of anti-feminism, and in part because this story of two very dissimilar sisters cut a little too close to home for me, and not in a validating way.
Sisters Meredith and Josie have such different personalities (Meredith the introverted, quiet rule-follower, Josie the outgoing irresponsible drama queen) that they have never been close. And after their older brother
Spoiler
dies in a car accident when they are teensGiffin portrays the jealousy that drives Meredith and Josie's relationship in unflinchingly painful detail. Meredith, not understanding why a sister who takes so little care with others, can still be so well-loved, continually criticizes and undercuts Josie ("She is a thirty-seven-year-old woman who has never outgrown the concept of popularity" [Loc 430]). While Josie, oblivious in her focus on herself, just thinks Meredith is petty and mean ("Meredith always accuses me of making things all about myself" [1188]). Josie's single mother plan enrages responsible Meredith, and the sisters' relationship goes even further downhill after a secret about their brother finally comes to the surface.
Meredith has a lot more insight into herself than Josie does, and does a lot more growing over the course of the novel. I'm not really persuaded by the book's desire for readers to view the decision Meredith finally makes about her marriage as something positive, though; her "decision" seems to come out of nowhere, a deus ex machina of a choice:
"Always before, his idea of trying felt like faking, even lying. Having another baby. Making our parents happy. Going on family vacations to Disney World and the beach, smiling and posing for photos to promptly post for all the world to see. Going through the motions of pretending to be the perfect family. Daniel's sister and his best friend, brought together by tragedy, yet utterly and totally 'meant to be.' Hashtag blessed.
"But suddenly now, his idea of trying feels authentic, and I see a small glimmer of possibility" (Loc 5252).
Josie, in contrast, seems the same old same old to me by book's end, a fun but still deeply selfish drama queen. Maybe I'm biased, being more like Meredith than Josie in the jealous sister dyad of my own life. But I really think it is more because of Josie's continued self-absorption, as well as her understatedly sexist approach to gender, a take which she believes everyone else shares. For example, Josie's view on going out:
"It's the false promise that has always motivated me, kept me going out weekend after weekend. There is always an agenda; the point is always to meet someone. Even if disguised in the form of a girls' night out. Even if you're one of those people who pretends to actually enjoy going to the movies or eating at a bar alone. Even if you try to convince yourself that you just want to enjoy a nice end-of-the-summer rooftop party" (1106).
Though Josie tells herself this is a "false" promise, it is one she has actively believed for most of her life (and still seems to, given how she attributes the view to everyone else even while she undercuts it for herself).
Even worse, Josie responds to a girl in her first grade class who comes to her in tears after "Wesley called me a 'dumb girl'" by telling her "Sweetie, Wesley teases you because he likes you" (4839). HATE it when adults say that to young girls; it tells you a lot about how they believe power dynamics between the sexes work, and how girls should accept male aggression as the norm, and even welcome it.
By rewarding Josie at book's end, but putting Meredith through the emotional, guilt-filled wringer on all fronts, the novel seems to endorse Josie's less-than-progressive views, something that I did not appreciate.
lamom77's review against another edition
2.0
I only got about halfway through this book before finally throwing in the towel. The main characters were so unlikeable and whiny! I kept trudging through thinking the story would turn around and I would start to feel something for the characters other than annoyance, but did not happen.
licurl64's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm a huge Emily Giffin fan, though I haven't been a fan of her past two books. I think First Comes Love marks a return to her old form and this was again a story I couldn't put down. That said, I didn't find it nearly as enjoyable as some of her other books, hence the three star review.
Meredith and Josie are two sisters who just don't get along. The story is alternately told from both of their points of view and they are both pretty annoying, although I found myself sympathizing with Josie more often than not. Meredith just seemed like a stereotypical unhappy housewife, although she's also a part-time lawyer who hates her job. She doesn't hate her job as much as she hates Josie though.
The book deals with the fallout from their brothers death 15 years before and how they are coping (or not coping) in their current lives. Meredith is unhappy in her marriage and Josie can't find love but knows that she wants to find a baby.
Unfortunately, there's not much by way of romance in this book. I think that's a bummer because Emily Giffin does romance very well. It seems like there will be some, but it all falls through. First, Josie's ex-boyfriend Will makes an appearance and there's some tension... but then that storyline is dropped. Josie seems to have a lot of chemistry with her roommate and best friend Gabe... but that never goes anywhere. Then Josie finds Pete on Match.com and he is so sickeningly nice that I was actively rooting for them to "break-up". (I'm not sure you can call it breaking up since they're never really together, although there are hints that they might be? It is really unclear.)
This is one of Giffin's stronger novels of late, but it's still flawed. I couldn't put it down, but I wish it was a little more substantive (and a little more romantic).
I'm a huge Emily Giffin fan, though I haven't been a fan of her past two books. I think First Comes Love marks a return to her old form and this was again a story I couldn't put down. That said, I didn't find it nearly as enjoyable as some of her other books, hence the three star review.
Meredith and Josie are two sisters who just don't get along. The story is alternately told from both of their points of view and they are both pretty annoying, although I found myself sympathizing with Josie more often than not. Meredith just seemed like a stereotypical unhappy housewife, although she's also a part-time lawyer who hates her job. She doesn't hate her job as much as she hates Josie though.
The book deals with the fallout from their brothers death 15 years before and how they are coping (or not coping) in their current lives. Meredith is unhappy in her marriage and Josie can't find love but knows that she wants to find a baby.
Unfortunately, there's not much by way of romance in this book. I think that's a bummer because Emily Giffin does romance very well. It seems like there will be some, but it all falls through. First, Josie's ex-boyfriend Will makes an appearance and there's some tension... but then that storyline is dropped. Josie seems to have a lot of chemistry with her roommate and best friend Gabe... but that never goes anywhere. Then Josie finds Pete on Match.com and he is so sickeningly nice that I was actively rooting for them to "break-up". (I'm not sure you can call it breaking up since they're never really together, although there are hints that they might be? It is really unclear.)
This is one of Giffin's stronger novels of late, but it's still flawed. I couldn't put it down, but I wish it was a little more substantive (and a little more romantic).
cassiethompson's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an easy read that alternated between the POV of the 2 main characters. It really shows the complexity of relationships and the way people deal with grief and guilt. I liked the focus on familial relationships rather than romantic ones.
heroineinabook's review against another edition
2.0
Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm giving this book 2/5 and a "meh" rating as I've read this story before by Giffin who seems only capable of having the two same characters do similiar things except in different bodies and locations. She's also a big fan of alternating points of view of the same situation which gets tiresome when overly used which Giffin apparently is a fan of. The writing seems formulaic and tropey. I just couldn't get into the story or believe in it or even give an eff to what happens to them (or the conflict of the story).
I would not not recommend this book -- Giffin is popular with those who want a bit meatier chick lit because, and I will give her this, she tackles often difficult topics and puts them in palatable chunks, so obviously there is a need for her writing style. But, as I said in the beginning, the flaws on her part and the eye rolling on my part did not justify finishing this book.
I'm giving this book 2/5 and a "meh" rating as I've read this story before by Giffin who seems only capable of having the two same characters do similiar things except in different bodies and locations. She's also a big fan of alternating points of view of the same situation which gets tiresome when overly used which Giffin apparently is a fan of. The writing seems formulaic and tropey. I just couldn't get into the story or believe in it or even give an eff to what happens to them (or the conflict of the story).
I would not not recommend this book -- Giffin is popular with those who want a bit meatier chick lit because, and I will give her this, she tackles often difficult topics and puts them in palatable chunks, so obviously there is a need for her writing style. But, as I said in the beginning, the flaws on her part and the eye rolling on my part did not justify finishing this book.