The Lies That Bind: A Novel

Very thankful for a couple of days of bad weather which meant no work for me and plenty of time to read this story. I just love reading Emily's books! Haven't been disappointed yet.

I don’t usually like chick lit but this was recommended by a friend. It was an easy read with a couple of good twists. While it still was the normal chick lit basis with hallmark endings that are too unrealistic for me to believe, I enjoyed the book and would give it 3.5 stars if given that option. But the genre doesn’t warrant four stars for me as it’s not a book I would recommend as not being able to get out of my head or not being able to out down, reserving 4 and 5 stars for that type of book for me.Definitely would be a quick beach read for something light with twists and some solid female strength.

It’s good light reading.Has some mystery in the deveopement, but I didn’t like all the characters and the plausibility of actions.

I’m having a hard time wondering why Amazon allows one word reviews (such as “trash” or “boring”) to stay. The criticism seems not to be from actual readers but from people who are possibly angry about Emily’s recent criticism of Meghan Markle or her political views.Anyhow, I have been an EG reader for almost a decade. I have purchased/read all of her books and enjoyed a handful more than others. While this book is not my favorite, I do feel it is a solid effort by Ms. Giffin and on par with her writing style in general. Without giving too much away, I, along with many readers, was irritated by Cecily; at her web of lies, her inability to tell a simple truth, and of course the ending just wasn’t what I expected. I actually had to read it a second time to appreciate the message: which is how beautifully messy life can be and how Cecily is annoyingly flawed because... well, she’s human. The book also brought me back to the emotions that were running high right after 9/11. (I, too, can attest to making rash life changing decisions after the tragedy). This gives me perspective and some understanding on how Cecily would be able to do what she did so quickly afterwards. Like others, this was a quick read and I wasn’t able to put it down until it was finished. While not thought provoking like her last release, I did enjoy reading it.(I have to add that I was thrilled to see a snippet of Darcy/Rachel/Ethan pre “Something Borrowed” days. Wish that chapter was longer!)

I finished this book in two days. We meet Cecily in May 2001, as she is at a cross roads in life. She is living in New York City for a few years, working as a reporter and questioning her relationship with an ex. She is trying to not call Matthew her ex, while sitting in a bar alone. A stranger says “Don’t do it”.This stranger is Grant, another person alone in the bar at the time. This starts a time when she has a relationship with Grant. He is addressing personal issues himself. This shows how messy life can be and we all have difficult times.Then, the Twin Towers are hit by planes and fall down. People make a lot of decisions during this time in the book, some good and some not so good. I like that we see some characters from two other books. That was a nice surprise.I can relate to this. I remember that feeling of fear and shock. I lived in New York and worked on Wall Street at the time. It was a tough place to survive back in the day. Even if this is not her best book, it makes me feel like I am at home with the mention of places. I lived near the bar 7 B and have been all around my city in the various landmarks.

Cecily had given her boyfriend Matthew an ultimate after several years of marriage. Unfortunately it doesn't go as she hoped. One night she can't sleep so she decides to head to a Dive Bar where she meets the mysterious Grant. They embark on a whirlwind romance until Grant needs to head to Europe for family reasons.Cecily tells Grant she will wait for him over the summer. Matthew reappears but too little too late. Grant returns right before 9/11. 9/11 happens & Cecily hits the ground running as she is a reporter.While covering 9/11 stories, she comes across a missing person poster of Grant. She realizes someone is missing him & he has only 1 brother so she decides to investigate his life. While continuing to investigate she gets some unwelcome surprises. She further infiltrates his life to get answers to her questions.She decides to reunite with Matthew. After a while he proposes. She accepts & is surprised by a new life. Will this surprise cause them to break up?Twists & turns continue to happen to all the characters. I like Emily Giffin for this reason but this book they are unrealistic. This is the reason I gave it 3 stars. It was a quick easy read if you are looking for a beach read.

It has been a while since I read an Emily Giffin novel (or any novel that isn’t directed to first graders #teacherlife because I’m too tired to read for myself at the end of the day) during this quarantine I have rediscovered my love for Emily’s novels.I INHALED this book in one night. I started it last night and fell asleep reading only to wake back up at 4 am unable to go back to sleep until I read more.Emily has this knack of making some flawed characters likable (Cecily, Grant), as well as making some of my favorite supporting characters (Scottie I want you to have your own novel because I adored you).This book kept me guessing the whole way through and like I said I could NOT stop. I have always had a love affair with NYC and I was a Freshman in college at Indiana University (here’s to you Darcy and Rachel) when 9/11 happened and the experience is so forever engrained in my memory. This was a poignant backdrop for the events of this book made me reminisce the good and bad of this time.The love affair I have with NYC and ultimately the love Cecily finds for herself may make this one of my favorite novels of Emily’s.Emily... here’s to you. I also inhaled “All We Ever Wanted” in a day during this quarantine. You have a knack for weaving a world I can’t and don’t want to leave.

Nach dem Lesen der Beschreibung hier bei Amazon habe ich eine Geschichte erwartet, in der dem verstorbenem Ex-Lover so richtig auf dem Grund gegangen wird. Also ermittelt, was da passiert ist, was er getan hat, wer er war und wie alles abgelaufen ist.Nun ja, das hätte so eine richtig spannende Geschichte werden können.Tatsächlich strickt sich das Buch so:45% sind die Geschichte mit ihr und Grand nachdem sie Matthew verlassen hatab 60% der Geschichte kommt sie der Idee sich mit Grant näher zu befassen (was so ungefähr 20 Seiten drüber nachdenken sind und vielleicht 3 Seiten Aktion)die letzten 35 % befassen sich mit allem Drumherum und ein wenigen Gedanken zu den VorfällenKurz: Das hätte man mit einer Kurzgeschichte erzählen können.Das ganze Larifari ist viel Lärm um nichts. Es ist aufgeblasen bis zum Gehnichtmehr - doch in einem schönen gut lesbaren Schreibstil.Nein, ich würde es nicht wieder kaufen - ich habe es zu Ende gelesen, weil ich dachte, da kommt noch irgendeine wahnsinnige spannende Geschichte - nö- gab es nicht.

I’ve read all of Emily Giffen’s books and consider myself to be a fan, which is why I purchased this book. I’m a big fan of chick lit and am very accustomed to the fact that most chick lit books generally end with a semi-predictable ending.I read this book over two days and was quite excited when I started reading it as I hadn’t read anything that kept my interest in a while. I was really enjoying the book until about 3/4 into the book when the plot just started unravelling and became more and more ridiculous. I didn’t expect a serious ending but <<<<<SPOILER ALERT>>>> found a character having faked their death to avoid the FBI, a love child, convenient reactions to cheating and a slap dash post- jail reunion a bit much to stomach. I’m particular disappointed given how much I was enjoying the book up to that point.On another note, this book was only available in hardback, which meant it was probably double the price of the average paperback. While I like the author, I don’t think this book was worth hardback pricing.

The main character seems dull and boring. I really wanted to like this book but the characters are shallow, difficult to like and I feel like if i knew them I’d tell Matthew he dodged a bullet there

I love Emiliy Griffin. I have all of her books. I must say, it is the first time I do not enjoy reading one of her novels. The story is cheesy and predictable and not at all comparable to what she usually writes. I don’t know what happened, but this book is just not good enough for her to have published.

I have been an Emily Giffin fan for years now. This story is gripping in a way that is entirely different from her others, with all of the amazing writing you'd expect from her. Definitely one of my new favourites!