THE LIES THAT BIND by Emily Giffin

 

I loved this author's book ALL WE EVER WANTED and decided to give this one a chance. I was not disappointed. 

This is a great story with plot that will keep you wanting more. A story of love, loss, deceit, forgiveness and moving on. A love that is either strong and worth fighting for or a love that can't hold up to expectations.

My favorite line from this book is: "WELL, I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. IF YOU WERE MINE, I'D DO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING TO KEEP YOU."

That line explains so much when you read this book and try to decide who you think is a good guy or a not so good guy. 

This is the story of a woman. A woman who is deeply in love with a man. It's also the story of a woman who has a bit of a history with a man. One is destine for her. The other not so much. It took me a while in this book to decide who I liked the most but after hearing both I did finally make up my mind. While I despised one and really didn't care a lot about the other I did finally give in. One melted my heart.

Cecily lives in New York and works for a small tabloid newspaper. She's recently broken up with Matthew who could not commit after dating for four years. She then meets Grant at a bar and they start seeing each other. Grand comes with a lot going on and is not one to jump into bed or a sexual relationship fast.  Even though they both seem to want things to go to a different level it just isn't in the stars so to speak. Grant is leaving for a trip with his twin brother. His brother has ALS and they can get him in a clinical trial in London. He has to go. 

I thought the book was going in a complete different direction when the two started emailing back and forth and was very happy that it was just the one chapter. I would not have liked reading that for long. Not that what they had to say was boring. I just don't like reading emails in a book all the way through. Needless to say they keep in touch.

On the one hand you have Matthew who is familiar and Cecily has known him for four years. Then you have Grant whom she has basically just met but just feels right. Then you have the sequence of events that happen. The awful 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. Then one man goes missing. A lot comes out after this. A whole lot of things that will make Cecily wonder if anyone is who they say they are. If anything is what it seems. The ups and downs in this book kept me turning pages. Kept me wanting more.

This book is filled with so many emotions. The love, loss, found, terror and a few more. It will keep you captivated to the end. You will root for them all in different ways. One will totally have you wanting him but then something happens and you will pull for the other. But the main thing is for Cecily to make the right choice. It's about her life after all. Her destiny and her future. Whether alone or with one of these two men. This is what makes fiction so grand. Things can work out one way or the other. Whether it's always believable or not. It's fiction after all.

I loved this story. I loved the characters. All of them. They all held a very important part in this book. Even Amy, who you will kind of not like but like. These characters are totally human after all. 

Thank you to #NetGalley, #EmilyGiffin, #RamdomHouseBallentinePublishing for this ARC. This is my review.

I was going to give this book 4 stars but that ending made me change it to a big 5/5 stars and a high recommendation. I loved it!