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How do you know if you've found the one? Can you really love the one you're with when you can't forget the one who got away? Emily Giffin, author of the New York Times bestselling novels Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof, poses these questions-and many more-with her highly anticipated, thought-provoking new novel Love the One You're With. Ellen and Andy's first year of marriage doesn't just seem perfect, it is perfect. There is no question how deep their devotion is, and how naturally they bring out the best in each other. But one fateful afternoon, Ellen runs into Leo for the first time in eight years. Leo, the one who brought out the worst in her. Leo, the one who left her heartbroken with no explanation. Leo, the one she could never quite forget. When his reappearance ignites long-dormant emotions, Ellen begins to question whether the life she's living is the one she's meant to live. At once heartbreaking and funny, Love the One You're With is a tale of lost loves and found fortunes-and will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered what if.… (more)
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I liked the book overall, even though it was fairly predictable. However, I did find the ending very rushed. Ellen spends so much of the book completely conflicted and then everything seems to clear up in her head and in her heart in the last 15 pages of the book. I would have liked to see a more realistic resolution to the various relationships strained by Ellen's inner conflict.
I enjoyed Love the One You're With, it is a fun, light read. I got frustrated with Ellen...I mean, she has the perfect life, why screw it up with a loser? But, by the end of the story, I understood why she did what she did and really liked the ending. This was my first read by Giffin and I will definitely read some more of her books!
About half way through this book Ellen Dempsey became so sour, embittered and self serving - all I could think was - PLEASE - let her end up ALONE. She is so unlikable she needs some serious karma to come around and shake her
I just about lost it and tossed the book out the nearest window when she rhapsodized about how amazing her New York friends were for dressing their children in organic black tunics. Oh Lord. Spare me the teenage-like posturing.
If I knew Ellen in real life - I would seriously make it my business to avoid her at all costs.
I'd give this one a pass if I had to do it over. There are many nicer and more interesting characters to spend time with.
After running into her ex-boyfriend, Ellen struggles to
This book was VERY predictable. It was so obvious what choices Ellen would make way before she made them. She tried too hard to justify her actions. Maybe I was so disappointed because I expected it to answer that age-old question?
I have read all of Giffin's novels and by now I know what to expect. The stories come from a first person perspective and concern women in a relationship dilemma. It is much like sitting down over coffee with a best friend and hearing about her woes - the writing is comfortable and the novels offer a gentle perspective on the various problems that can inflict partnerships. The characters are usually somewhat cliched, and some suffer from being one dimensional as well, but Giffin has a warm voice and invites you to feel sympathy for the situation of the main characters. Here as well, it was hard to conceive that Ellen would end up with anyone but the man she eventually chooses - this would be too subversive for a Giffin book.
Here I could identify easily with Ellen - anyone who has had a past relationship end with little explanation and still feels rogue feelings for that person will understand how she got caught up in contacting Leo again when he came back into her life. Giffin explores the ideas of the grass being greener - how those who fall into a rut can see another person or relationship as being preferable, rather than dealing with the problems that exist. I enjoyed Giffin's commentary on how the money her husband earns can be more of a hindrance to Ellen's life than a blessing.
I loved Ellen's enthusiasm for photography and the way that this both led the plot and provided poetic passages that lifted Giffin's writing above that of other 'chick lit' authors. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the shots that she took at Coney Island, and could actually imagine them from the descriptions.
So, this novel was much as I expected and a diverting read on a rainy afternoon, but certainly nothing that would challenge the intellect. Enjoyable and fluffy.
Like Ms. Giffin's other novels, this book is well written and an enjoyable read. I liked that she introduced one of the characters, Hilary, from Something Borrowed as a tangential reference to her earlier work. Ellen is overall an enjoyable character to spend a couple of hundred pages with, even if you do occasionally wonder if she's lost her marbles--I mean, who agrees to move 800 miles on a whim? However, most of the other characters in this novel are total types, so it makes it really hard to get invested and root for them. Andy is "Mr. Perfect" Southerner, Leo is the "hunky artist", and Ellen's best friend Margot is the southern debutante. Even Ellen's sister--the sarcastic voice of reason--is typecast as a typical flight attendant. The novel would have been much more enjoyable if these characters had been a bit more rounded, making them real people instead of caricatures.
Overall, Love the One You're With was an enjoyable summer read. It was a quick read but still funny and smart (as is Ms. Giffin's way). I would recommend this to anyone looking for some good summer chick lit fun. But be warned, this is not the best there is.
The characters while simple had complexity at every turn going through heart throws I think most of us have at the very least thought about, felt or went through! Ellen, a strong, independently yet kind of needy woman goes to college finds a lifelong friend Margot whom once graduating they move to New York (not surprising because Emily Giffin books generally are based in and a around areas she has lived which is a good thing because she paints a picture that makes you see everything playing our like you are there watching everything take place) and live together. Ellen finds love and then loses love only to find love again but this time with Margot’s brother Andy. During Ellen and Andy’s first year of marriage she bumps into her ex-boyfriend Leo whom she starts to miss and the book chronicles the fate and hard road to finding what true love is and how to go about making yourself happy! I hope I wasn’t too vague or to give too much away! ENJOY!
Ellen quickly finds herself at a crossroad. The "what if" question quickly turns into an obsession as she finds herself constantly comparing her life with Andy to what she think life would be like with Leo. Despite the warnings her head tells her about starting a friendship with Leo, she accepts a photography assignment that he set up for her. Agreeing to the shoot, will force her to finally make a decision about her marriage and the woman she really is.
I really liked this book. I have to admit, I put off reading it because so many people told me how disappointed they were with it because it wasn't as good as Something Borrowed and Something Blue. I have to say, I disagree. The reason I liked Ms. Giffin's early novels was it seemed as though the characters were telling me their stories instead of me reading them. This is how I felt while reading this book. I pictured Ellen and I catching up, over a long lunch, after not seeing each other for awhile and she wanted to inform me about her life. Ms. Giffin is very descriptive in her writing, which I thought only added to the richness of this novel.
It is quite easy to judge Ellen and wonder why she makes the decisions she does. To her, it makes sense. She needed to confirm she made the right choice. She needed to move on. Love the One You're With is about walking down the path of "what if" when it unexpectedly comes your way, however, it's also about feeling secure that the decisions you made in the past were the best decisions for you.
Ellen is married to Andy,and has been
This is a typical girly book, full of sentiment and stereotypical characters. However, I appreciated the fact that the main character, Ellen, was not
Overall, I would definitely recommend this quick read to lovers of chick lit, or someone who needs a light summer, looking to escape for a while.
Ellen married the perfect man for her… Andy. In addition to being a successful attorney from a good family, Andy is her best friend, Margot’s, brother. After a long courtship, planning the perfect wedding, and sunning on Hawaiian beaches for their honeymoon, the newlyweds settle into a
That afternoon started like any other. As Ellen traveled through a cross-walk, she was confronted with the face of her past and was met with the eyes of her first true love, Leo. For Ellen, getting over Leo was a long journey filled with emotional hurdles. She was happy to be on the other side of the pain… married to Andy and living the life she’d always wanted. After Leo tracks her down at a nearby coffee shop, Ellen begins to question if she really is, in fact, over her feelings for Leo. Her love for him ran deep into her heart, mind, and soul. Was Leo, “The One That Got Away?” Ellen wasn’t sure. As Leo presses for a friendship to develop after their chance encounter, Ellen struggles with making the right decision, for her and for her family.
The Review
I became a fan of Giffin’s writing when I read Something Borrowed. I had high hopes that I would get to read Something Blue and Baby Proof, however no such luck. I just haven’t gotten around to picking up these two other books. I especially wanted to read Something Blue, as it was a sequel to Something Borrowed. Even though my goal was to read all of her novels, in succession, I just couldn’t pass up buying this book when I saw it in paperback at my local grocery store. Being an ultimate fan of ChickLit, I just couldn’t wait to get this book into my reading list!
I could really personally relate to the heroine of this story. I, too, have had that great love of my life… and lost it. I tried to imagine meeting a wonderful man in my current life and getting committed to one another… and then running into HIM. You know… THE ONE. I’m going to be perfectly honest in saying that it would still shake me to the core. I believe that true love really never does die. It may dim or hibernate, but it never really leaves you. It becomes a part of the permanent memory of your soul. So, if HE were then to share with me that HE’s not over me… misses me… and wants to try again… well, let me tell you… that would have my head spinning! I’m not sure that I’d have the power and the strength to deny HIM and not at least consider it. And, that’s what Ellen must face in this story.
Of course, Andy is the perfect new husband and nothing like Leo, the stormy, hot, sexy, passionate lover that stirred Ellen’s inner being. Andy’s “Mr. Dependable,” and is as reliable as the day is long. He’s loving, caring, considerate, financially secure and most of all committed to Ellen. He also shares his incredible family with Ellen. They love her and have accepted her into their hearts and homes. Logically speaking, Ellen would be a fool to walk away from Andy. Right? Right. But… Leo won’t give up so easily. Now that he’s found her again, he’s going to make his intentions known to her. And, Ellen isn’t exactly running from Leo.
For those of you who have met your soul-mate and have been fortunate enough to build a lasting relationship with him/her, consider yourselves very lucky. Great love is hard to find, but even harder to keep. For the rest of us poor souls who keep our noses tucked in stories of romance and love… well, we’ll keep wishing!
The Rating
On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale,” in the genre of ChickLit, I am giving Love The One You’re With a rating of 8 out of 10. It made me think and it made me hope. And, you don’t know until the very end who Ellen will choose. If you’ve read it, I’d love to know who you think she should have chosen!
I thought of her 4 books this one was my least favorite, but I still really liked it. I fell right in to the character and her struggle between choosing the life (and man) that is safe and secure
Also, I LOVE how cute her books look on my bookshelf. I know I'm not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but I almost gave it an extra star for design.