Review: All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

Published: June 26, 2018

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Nina Browning is living the good life after marrying into Nashville’s elite. More recently, her husband made a fortune selling his tech business, and their adored son has been accepted to Princeton. Yet sometimes the middle-class small-town girl in Nina wonders if she’s strayed from the person she once was.

Tom Volpe is a single dad working multiple jobs while struggling to raise his headstrong daughter, Lyla. His road has been lonely, long, and hard, but he finally starts to relax after Lyla earns a scholarship to Windsor Academy, Nashville’s most prestigious private school.

Amid so much wealth and privilege, Lyla doesn’t always fit in—and her overprotective father doesn’t help—but in most ways, she’s a typical teenage girl, happy and thriving.

Then, one photograph snapped in a drunken moment at a party, changes everything. As the image spreads like wildfire, the Windsor community is instantly polarized, buzzing with controversy and assigning blame.

At the heart of the lies and scandal, Tom, Nina, and Lyla are forced together—all questioning their closest relationships, asking themselves who they really are, and searching for the courage to live a life of true meaning.

My Thoughts

All We Ever Wanted is a very book of the moment. With the MeToo movement and social media’s effect on how we live our lives, All We Ever Wanted gives us the story of Layla who is at a party when photos of her were taken in compromising positions without her consent. What comes next is how she and the guy who is accused of taking the photos Finch react to what happened and how their parents see things differently than the teens do. Layla goes to rich private school with kids who have everything they could ever want. She doesn’t live that lifestyle, her single dad is doing his best and wanted her to have the best advantage in life so he was thrilled when she got a scholarship but he soon questions if putting her there has done more harm than good.

Nina and her husband live a great life and their son Finch never wants for anything but once they sell their company they have more money than they could imagine and soon Nina starts to wonder if it has changed them. She sees how her husband has changed and is scared if they have given Finch too much. He is spoiled and thinks he is untouchable so when she finds out he is accused of taking pictures of a girl without her consent she is scared she failed as a mom and more worried that her husband and Finch think it isn’t a big deal. Nina knows all too well that this is a big deal and realizes that while she has tried to suppress her past it's about to come to the surface.

I found this novel very on point. I found Nina very compassionate and while she loves her son she wants him to be punished for what he has done. She knows all too well that what he did is a huge deal even when he thinks it’s not. I found the reaction from Finch and Layla were real, teens today have no idea how their actions on social media are very important and that once something is out there it cant be taken back. This made me so mad at times, especially how Layla kept defending Finch because her crush on him made her believe he wouldn’t do that to her. I just wanted to shake this girl silly and scream about what he was doing!

I like how the parents  Nina and Tom had a bond from the start. They understood one another and while nothing happened between them there was always something there, and that was so enduring to me. The respect between them was so magical that you wanted them together. All in all, this was one of my favorite Emily Giffin books, after The One & Only. I enjoyed the message and it speaks to what is happening in the world today. It shows us to take our social media habits more seriously and to realize what we do have consequences. This is one novel that is a must in today's society.

Review: First Comes Love by Emily Giffin

First Comes Love by Emily Giffin

Expected Publication: June 28, 2016

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Format: via NetGalley

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis

Growing up, Josie and Meredith Garland shared a loving, if sometimes contentious relationship. Josie was impulsive, spirited, and outgoing; Meredith hardworking, thoughtful, and reserved. When tragedy strikes their family, their different responses to the event splinter their delicate bond.

Fifteen years later, Josie and Meredith are in their late thirties, following very different paths. Josie, a first-grade teacher, is single—and this close to swearing off dating for good. What she wants more than the right guy, however, is to become a mother—a feeling that is heightened when her ex-boyfriend’s daughter ends up in her class. Determined to have the future she’s always wanted, Josie decides to take matters into her own hands.

On the outside, Meredith is the model daughter with the perfect life. A successful attorney, she’s married to a wonderful man, and together they’re raising a beautiful four-year-old daughter. Yet lately, Meredith feels dissatisfied and restless, secretly wondering if she chose the life that was expected of her rather than the one she truly desired.

As the anniversary of their tragedy looms and painful secrets from the past begin to surface, Josie and Meredith must not only confront the issues that divide them but also come to terms with their own choices. In their journey toward understanding and forgiveness, both sisters discover they need each other more than they knew . . . and that in the recipe for true happiness, love always comes first.

Emotionally honest and utterly enthralling, First Comes Love is a story about family, friendship, and the courage to follow your own heart—wherever that may lead.

My Thoughts

First Comes Love is the story of two sisters who are as different as night and day. Meredith is the responsible sister who has the family and career anyone would wish for. Josie, on the other hand, is the carefree sister who is a teacher but recently has decided she wants a child…right now! The story focuses on their relationship as sisters and as individuals but also is dealing with the aftermath of the death of their brother Daniel decades ago.

Meredith is dealing with being a mother and also a lawyer though she questions if this is what she wants to do with her life. She is also at a crossroads when it comes to her marriage. Though she's married to the perfect man any woman would wish for she isn’t sure if she still loves him, or even if she ever did. She also wonders if she would’ve ever married Nolan if her brother never died, Nolan and Daniel were best friends and they wonder if they truly wanted to be together or if they were just brought together because of the tragedy.

Josie is the sister that is fun and carefree who always did what she wanted damn anyone else. So when she decides at almost 40 that she wants a child by god that’s what she’s going to do. She sets her mind on looking for a sperm donor but is sidetracked when she meets a funny guy on a random online dating site. So when he offers to help her out she figures why not but her best friend/roommate doesn’t feel that a random guy is the right one but that maybe he is. Josie is also dealing with the fact that she can’t shake the feeling that maybe she had something to do with her brother’s death all those years ago.

I’m so on the fence when it comes to this read! I went into this thinking it was about one thing but it ends up being about something different. I liked the whole sister’s relationship thing but what I didn’t like was the whole Daniel topic. I see where it comes into play but I feel like they’ve based their own lives around him even though he isn’t here. In the end, I gave it a solid 3.5 because I loved the dynamics between Josie and Meredith.

Waiting On [147]: First Comes Love by Emily Giffin

Waiting on Wednesday [Wow] is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

First Comes Love by Emily Giffin

Expected Publication: June 28, 2016

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Add to Goodreads * Pre-Order Amazon

Synopsis

In a dazzling, delightful new novel that’s quintessential Emily Giffin, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed, Where We Belong, and The One & Only introduces a pair of thirty-something sisters who find themselves asking: If love, marriage, and children don’t arrive in the usual order, which comes first?

Why I Can’t Wait

Emily Giffin is one of my faves and this one just sounds wonderful! Perfect for a summer read at the beach or just relaxing by the pool, can’t wait!!

Review: The One & Only by Emily Giffin

The One & Only by Emily Giffin 
Published: May 20, 2014

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Format: via purchased copy

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.

But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One & Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.

My Thoughts

This book kicks off my official summer reading. I love, adore and admire Emily Giffin’s writing. I love it because she writes about women for women. I love how she’s so real and makes her female leads strong yet flawed. The One & Only is my favorite thus far. Okay so maybe I’m a tad biased since I’m from Texas and am I HUGE football fan. This read rang very true to me and my Texas roots.

It’s the story of Shea who is working for her old college in the athletic department but who desperately wants to write. She is recently dealing with the loss of her best friends’ mom, who was like a mother to her. While dealing with this she is also on the verge of breaking up with her boyfriend whom no one thinks is good enough for her. She’s basically just going through the motions at this point in her life. All the while she starts to think a little too much about her best friend Lucy's dad. She is torn she knows she shouldn’t be feeling this way, first off its Lucy’s dad and secondly his wife just past. Shea and Coach have always had a connection…football. Besides her writing it’s the one passion in life. While I won’t give it all away this is a story of hope, loss, love, finding yourself and accepting new beginnings. I love how it shows you can find love in all places, even places you never thought you could. I also enjoyed how it played out the romance and never rushed it. Sometimes real love takes its course. It’s something you can’t rush and it will play out the way it’s meant too. It’s something you can’t force and that’s what I loved about this story. Although it’s not the ideal romance it’s one that’s meant to happen, it’s one that despite all the odds against them and everyone telling them it’s a bad idea their love is bigger than it all.

The One & Only is one of those books that just about everyone can enjoy. There is romance for the ladies and then the football aspect of it for the guys. This is one that I pray makes it to the big screen. I can totally picture this as a movie and hope to see it come to life one day. The only thing that I didn’t care for? The Dallas Cowboys references. Lol! As a Houston native and a Texans fan there has always been that rivalry between the two cities but besides that this book is utterly flawless in my eyes. 

WoW [67]

Waiting on Wednesday [WoW] is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

The One & Only by Emily Giffin

Expected Publication: May 20, 2014

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Synopsis...

In her eagerly awaited new novel, beloved New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin returns with an extraordinary story of love and loyalty—and an unconventional heroine struggling to reconcile both.

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.

But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One & Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.

Why I Can’t Wait…

I love and adore Emily Giffin! Her books are amazing and I simply can’t get enough. Plus this one is based in Texas and about football…YAY!!! This Texas gal is truly happy and I can’t wait to dive into this read.

Feel free to link me to yours, I love to see what’s the next big read.