Something Borrowed && Something Blue

Something Borrowed
June 2004

Something Blue
May 2005

Emily Giffin
Reading Level: Adult

Summaries:

Something Borrowed tells the story of Rachel, a young attorney living and working in Manhattan. Rachel has always been the consummate good girl---until her thirtieth birthday, when her best friend, Darcy, throws her a party. That night, after too many drinks, Rachel ends up in bed with Darcy's fiancé. Although she wakes up determined to put the one-night fling behind her, Rachel is horrified to discover that she has genuine feelings for the one guy she should run from. As the September wedding date nears, Rachel knows she has to make a choice. In doing so, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk all to win true happiness. Something Borrowed is a phenomenal debut novel that will have you laughing, crying, and calling your best friend.

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From the New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed comes a novel that shows how someone with a ‘perfect life’ can lose it all—and then find everything.

Darcy Rhone thought she had it all figured out: the more beautiful the girl, the more charmed her life. Never mind substance. Never mind playing by the rules. Never mind karma.

But Darcy’s neat, perfect world turns upside down when her best friend, Rachel, the plain-Jane “good girl,” steals her fiancé, while Darcy finds herself completely alone for the first time in her life…with a baby on the way.

Darcy tries to recover, fleeing to her childhood friend living in London and resorting to her tried-and-true methods for getting what she wants. But as she attempts to recreate her glamorous life on a new continent, Darcy finds that her rules no longer apply. It is only then that Darcy can begin her journey toward self-awareness, forgiveness, and motherhood.

Something Blue is a novel about one woman’s surprising discoveries about the true meaning of friendship, love, and happily-ever-after. It’s a novel for anyone who has ever, even secretly, wondered if the last thing you want is really the one thing you need.

Review:

Let's start with Something Borrowed.

Rachel is somebody that probably 99% of all women can relate to. Most women have probably felt at some point in their life that they are being overshadowed by their best friend. I know I've felt this way, and it sucks.

The other 1% of the female population is composed of the Darcys. These are the women who live to win and must always be the best at everything.

Obviously this is not scientifically proven, but you get the idea.

I would say that most people are somewhere inbetween the two characters. There are times when you are the shining star, and there are times when you're the scruffy friend.

But what you have in Something Borrowed is a situation where opposites attract- literally. They are the extremes, and it's amazing that it works so well, but it does.

Rachel is so easy to like, because she is relatable. Darcy just the opposite, she is easy to hate.

I loved this book because it was so easy to cheer for Rachel to triumph in the end. You knew she was in an impossible situation-- a best friend or boyfriend situation-- and yet you hoped she could keep both.

Something Borrowed was fluffy and fun, and it explored the intricacies of the adult female relationship. I was happy with it overall. I liked Dex, I liked Rachel, and I loved to hate Darcy.

Then jump forward to Something Blue, where you're forced to listen to Darcy's side of things. Ugh. I almost didn't bother reading it because I hated Darcy so much, and I'm sure a lot of lovers of the first book felt the same way as I did.

To those readers, I have a message: read Something Blue!

The beginning is almost unbearable, because it's impossible to take Darcy seriously, but obviously the point of a book is to show the growth and transformation of the main character, and Something Blue is no exception! I loved seeing her struggle, and seeing her become a better and stronger person.

While these two books are companions, not necessarily a series, they obviously both focus on the same two characters, and over the course of the two novels you get to love them. I enjoyed seeing them change and grow, and at the same time got swept up into the magic of big city living and an adult world that I have yet to experience. This is chick lit at its finest!