Review: Something Borrowed

Title: Something Borrowed
Author: Emily Griffin
Publication Date: June 1st 2004
Source: Bought
Series: Darcy and Rachel #1
Summary (from Goodreads):

"Something Borrowed" tells the story of Rachel, a young attorney living and working in Manhattan. Rachel has always been the consummate good girl---until her thirtieth birthday, when her best friend, Darcy, throws her a party. That night, after too many drinks, Rachel ends up in bed with Darcy's fiance. Although she wakes up determined to put the one-night fling behind her, Rachel is horrified to discover that she has genuine feelings for the one guy she should run from. As the September wedding date nears, Rachel knows she has to make a choice. In doing so, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk all to win true happiness. "Something Borrowed" is a phenomenal debut novel that will have you laughing, crying, and calling your best friend."


                                                                

                     Review

On the eve of her 30^th birthday Rachel she has a little too much to drink and tumbles into bed with her best friend’s fiancé Dex. She’s guilt ridden – in the beginning – and swears it will never happen again, but after a few flirty phone calls and a couple of dates that make Dex jealous, Rachel agrees to spend time with Dex and from there, well it happens again, and again, and soon turns into more than just hooking up.

I made the mistake of watching the movie before reading the book. Never a good idea. My favourite character in the movie version was Ethan. I adored Ethan, so I was really excited to read his character. But a few chapters in it was clear that movie Ethan was really book Hillary. Sure, Ethan was mentioned, even part of the book a little bit, but nothing like the movie. I kept making comparisons to the film, and it wasn’t until I tried really hard to separate the book from the movie (never any easy thing for me to do) that I really started to enjoy the words.

Darcy irritated me with her constant need to be center of attention, but I also found Rachel’s thoughts of their childhood and how Darcy was always there for her enduring. I hated her more than I loved her, but there were things about her character that I actually liked.

Rachel frustrated me beyond words the way she let Darcy walk all over her. She thought of all these great things to say to her, but she never spoke them. Never. She had so much built up resentment towards her friend I really thought her key to sleeping with Dex was to stick it to her. And I also hated how she defended Dex’s behaviour of leading her on and not making a decision about calling off the wedding and being with her, or choosing Darcy and going through with the  wedding. She was too much of a doormat for my taste.

Dex…I’m still confused about how to feel about Dex. I think he’s an ass for cheating on his fiancé but at the same time I find him charming…

My favourite character was Hillary.  She didn’t take anyone’s crap, told it like it was and I more than once cheered when she made Rachel face facts about how Dex was treating her.

The story was well written and quite believable…until the end. I just couldn’t see Dex - a character that was perceived as spineless - having the balls to make the decision he did. But most of us know someone (or maybe even have been that someone ourselves) who have been in a situation like this. Although I was bored reading through the men of Rachel’s past, it was a quick, easy read, and there were parts that made me laugh.