Love the One You're with

This is one of emily giffin’s book that I read before and the story stayed with me that when I saw it here I just have to get it! Loved it!

As a busy mother, I don't often have time to devote to reading so I have very little patience for books that are either slow, boring or just pointless. Luckily, this book was none of the above: it was entertaining and had enough depth to make the read more than worthwhile. As a married woman, I was surpised that I could relate so easily to the main character, but I guess we all have those long lost loves that have an unexplainable hold on our hearts. There were many times when I grew frustrated at how easily the main character indulged in those feelings to the detriment of her marriage, but then I remembered back to what it was like being so unsure in a new marriage and a new life and it made more sense. Undertaking a lifelong commitment is not an easy thing for anyone, and it takes a while to get into the swing of it (so to speak). Maybe it is taken to a dramatic extreme in this case, but the issues addressed in this book are intelligently drawn out. But whether I agreed with what the main character was doing throughout the book or not, I simply could not put the book down. I thought this book was a smart and, for the most part, realistic look at the challenges of marriage and the author certainly pulls no punches in laying bare the sometimes ugly longings of her character's heart.

I am an Emily Giffin fan. I am an unabashed, unashamed Emily Giffin fan. Her books pull me in the way a good date does, attracting me with a glossy exterior but keeping me interested by revealing a surprising depth. LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH contains the usual smart, charmed female protagonist living in a rather romanticized version of New York. But, in the first chapter, Giffin does something different. She introduces us to the main character's tempting dilemma - a charged encounter on the street with a hot, old boyfriend - before even telling us her name. The character's name is Ellen. She's so analytical that she's practically obsessive compulsive. And she spends a lot of LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH debating what she should - and should not - do about her cute, sweet husband Andy and her smoldering, brooding, dark and troubled ex-boyfriend Leo. While Ellen's happy with Andy, she keeps thinking, "What if?" This is the central problem of many a novel, but Giffin manages to hook the reader in with - dare I say it - some of the most erotic, intriguing flashbacks to Ellen's former relationship with Leo. The husband Andy is a charming character, but, in Ellen's shoes, I would totally bang Leo. Giffin writes him as though he exudes sex through his eyes, through his pores. It's all very hard to resist. And, it must be said, the inclusion of those scenes alongside many snarky references to my hometown of Atlanta kept me very entertained. Strangely though, instead of flying all the way through it as I usually do, I flew through to Chapter Ten or so, then found myself taking a small break from it to concentrate on other things. Around the time that Ellen went to the charming, stylized Atlanta for the first time and then to photograph rock star Drake Watters, I was intrigued again. After that, I was pulled back into the book every time that Ellen's sister Suzanne, a minor character with an edgy point-of-view, appeared on the page, though, for she was the voice I most related to in the long course of the book. The core family of Ellen's in-laws at the center of the book, though, didn't always have my sympathies. In life, I tend to find those sorts of blessed, charmed, passive-aggressive, let's-put-on-a-smile types suspicious. Giffin makes was a very, very interesting move to have Ellen not just marry a man like Andy, but marry into her best friend and sister-in-law Margot's family. Giffin's excellent at exploring the dynamics of female friendship, and the Ellen-Margot friendship is satisfyingly complicated. When Ellen is perplexed by her ex, she loses her chief confidante in Margot, for Margot's loyalty might go to her brother when news of what Ellen's secrets might come out. The changing alliances of the marriage brings out Ellen's insecurity about her place, her feelings about her mother and how her own family must've felt intimidated and outmatched in comparison to the Grahams. Great, great stuff. Of course, the protagonist Ellen might d

I have really enjoyed all of Emily Giffin's novels but this one was far and away my favorite. Ellen, the main character, finds herself leading a more charmed lifestyle than she ever imagined and begins to wonder if there can be too much of a good thing. I know it sounds like she would be a little hard to empathize with but like so many of Giffin's heroines Ellen is instantly relatable and you fall right in step with the way she thinks. Because she is so identifiable you also find yourself (like Ellen) trying to justify what may not be right. The story takes a lot of twists and Giffin throws in moral hiccups to muddy the waters of right and wrong. I rooted for and against about every character at some point and changed my mind over and over again. Bottom line I felt very involved in the novel which for me always constitutes a good book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I received an advance reader copy and read it in a single day...you really get sucked into Ellen's dilemma (deciding between two people with whom she shares deep feelings) and can really feel and understand her struggles and her choices. Even if you don't agree with what she does. Without giving too much away, I will say that the ending is something you may guess early on, but it really isn't all that important to the story. It's more about getting inside Ellen's head and trying to understand why she would even consider doing the things she's (maybe) doing. It's another great Giffin book, and I hope that she has a million more in her. If you're a fan, this is a must have. If you're new to Giffin, this is a good place to start (either this or Something Borrowed).