First Comes Love
Fiction
Ballantine Books
June 28, 2016
Advanced Reader Copy
288
Publisher via BookSparks and BEA
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 review:
The last book (The One and Only) I read by Emily Giffin was not my favorite, so I went into this one with a bit of trepidation. My feelings were unwarranted, as I really liked this one despite reasons why I might not have. I was never a huge fan of either of the sisters, but it didn't matter because their stories fascinated me and kept me turning pages to see how it would all work out. For the most part, this book is about the affects of a traumatic event in a family, and how each member deals with it in a different way. The tension is created when each of the sisters doesn't agree with how the other one copes, particularly when a long held secret is revealed. Giffin knows how to move the story along, creates some good secondary characters, and engages the reader in the lives of her protagonists. While I thought the sister's tension was resolved a little too easily, I loved the unexpected ending for Josie, it was not the cookie cutter I was expecting.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read that flowed well, and kept you turning pages to find out how it all turns out.
This book is one of the BookSparks summer reading challenge picks. Click the link to follow along all summer with the book choices for each month. Also follow #SRC2016 and #BestSummerEver on social media for more reviews.
This sounds really good! I have it in my head that Giffin is just fluff but this sounds like it has some real heart to it. I'll definitely have to look for it.
I'm kind of hit or miss with Giffin. I really wasn't fond of the one before this one (My One and Only), and she got a lot of flak from reviewers on that book, but I'm glad I gave her another chance.
She definitely trends toward the romance/women's fiction genre. I was not at all fond of her last book, but I'm happy to see that she turned things around with this one.
I've had my eye on this one but keep holding back. I think I'm one of the few readers in the world who hasn't read Giffin. *gasps* But, I think I thought her books were another trope, maybe? It looks as if I was wrong. This might just be my first Giffin book.