First Comes Love by Emily Giffin
First Comes Love by Emily Giffin
Publisher: Ballentine Books
June 28, 2016
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
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 delicate bond splinters.
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 is assigned to 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 that they need each other more than they knew—and that in the search for true happiness, love always comes first.
First Comes Love is the story of Josie and Meredith, two sisters who are still struggling to deal with their brother Daniel’s death that happened fifteen years ago. It’s told in first person by both Josie and Meredith, alternating by chapter. Josie thinks Meredith is a cranky bitch and frankly so did I. Even knowing Meredith’s inner thoughts from her part of the narrative did little to change my mind on her. Meredith thinks that Josie is selfish and immature. She definitely comes across that way but I had much more sympathy for Josie. She seemed well-intentioned and honestly clueless to her tendency to make things all about her.
Josie’s main struggle is whether or not to have a child as a single mother. She hears her biological clock ticking and is getting nervous that time has run out for her to find a husband to be the father of her child. Meredith has a husband and child but now she isn’t sure that’s what she ever wanted. Both of them had such a hard time dealing with their problems that I had trouble imagining how either of them could have a happy ending.
Speaking of the ending, that’s the one part of this book that I didn’t like. It seemed rushed and one character’s fate didn’t feel authentic to me. You’ll know why when you read it. If you do read this book, let me know and we can chat about it! I won’t write any spoilers here.
I think First Come Love is a great offering from Emily Giffin and recommend it to fans of women’s fiction.
(I received a complementary copy of this book for review.)
Other books by Emily Giffin and reviewed by me:
Heart of the Matter
Where We Belong
