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Monday, November 30, 2020

✱✱Book Review✱✱ The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin

 


The Lies That Bind

by Emily Giffin 


NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the irresistible new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All We Ever Wanted and Something Borrowed, a young woman falls hard for an impossibly perfect man before he disappears without a trace. . . . 

It’s 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York’s East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she’ll ever make it as a reporter in the big city—and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew. 

As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the barstool next to her say, “Don’t do it—you’ll regret it.” Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours—and shots of tequila—the two forge an unlikely connection. That should be it, they both decide the next morning, as Cecily reminds herself of the perils of a rebound relationship. Moreover, their timing couldn’t be worse—Grant is preparing to quit his job and move overseas. Yet despite all their obstacles, they can’t seem to say goodbye, and for the first time in her carefully constructed life, Cecily follows her heart instead of her head. 

Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth. But the questions pile up fast: How well did she really know Grant? Did he ever really love her? And is it possible to love a man who wasn’t who he seemed to be? 

The Lies That Bind is a mesmerizing and emotionally resonant exploration of the never-ending search for love and truth—in our relationships, our careers, and deep within our own hearts.

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Momma Says: 1 star⭐

The Lies That Bind is the first book I've read by Emily Giffin, and if this is an accurate sample of the author's work, it will be the last I read by her. The story had potential, but nothing about it worked for me. The characters were flat at best, and I found Cecily to be unlikeable and selfish. I've read other books that were written around the 9/11 attacks, but I have to say that none were handled quite like this one. Cecily's attitude and actions just felt disrespectful to what was a horrific tragedy in this nation's history. I started to DNF this one several times but pushed through, hoping things would improve. Sadly, they did not and the conclusion went exactly where I was afraid it would go. In the end, I couldn't find anything that I liked about this story and just came away disappointed. 

❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and Ballantine Books

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