Something Borrowed (2004)

I discovered Emily Giffin with her latest book, Love the One You're With, which my husband bought me as a gift. I felt Love the One You're With was realistic up until the ending which fell flat and left me disappointed as a reader.

Not so with Something Borrowed. Giffin's first book chronicles the saga of thirty year old Rachel, best friend and maid of honor to Darcy, who is engaged to Dex, Rachel's one night Incident turned lover.

Most love triangles are complicated and have been explored countless times in literature. Giffin's book is unique since it not only is told from the mistress's point of view, but the mistress is portrayed as a likable young woman and her morale dilemma encompasses more than just love, but her self-respect and worth as a human being.

The ending was satisfying.

I enjoyed Something Borrowed and would recommend it to everyone who has either been in a love triangle or had a conflicted friendship. ( )

Nothing shockingly awesome, but a good, fun, quick read. A nice break after some heavier books! ( )

Relationship of the 2 girls follows with Rachel doing everything that Darcy wants. She falls for fiancé Dex but constantly questions if it is real. ( )

Rachel White has a big problem! She realizes she's in love with Dex, the fiance of her best friend Darcy. Bigger problem, he loves her back. Now what? This is the heart of the story in Something Borrowed. I saw the movie, but, as usual the book was better. ( )

It has been years since I have read this, so I can give few details as to why I rated it only two stars years ago. Largely, I was forced to read it: I had brought this book on a day trip that stranded me overnight, so I had no alternative. Otherwise, I would have never finished it.

I didn’t find the writing particularly colourful or engaging. I hated the characters; I mostly wanted to punch them and didn’t feel them redeemed in the end. I was bored.

The one thing I did appreciate was that Rachel mourned the loss of Darcy, even though their relationship was unhealthy, and even though she was ultimately getting a better relationship in the end. Usually, I don’t think books (or other fiction media) demonstrate how we mourn the loss of friendships, particularly female friendships. Sure, heartache over a boyfriend or a family member... but a friend can be more wounding. Heck, even in other heartaches, I miss the friend in the boy, not the boy (and sometimes the heartache comes from me realizing the friend left first and I had nothing but an empty boy). The loss of their friendship, even if needed, was still a loss. ( )