Saturday, May 28, 2016

First Comes Love - A Novel by Emily Griffin - Four Stars

This book came to me from Random House in exchange for an honest review which follows:  This story was of two sisters and their relationships and lack there of, the family was divided and not really talking fifteen years ago when their brother Daniel died in an auto accident.  Fifteen years into the future and there is talk of a an anniversary, to go and see Daniel's girl friend from that time, and to recognize the brother that was gone.  The two sisters in the story have a very disjointed problematic relationship ever since the accident. They never compared stories between themselves or anyone else since the accident. Secrets finally come out of the dark as the book heads to the future where the sisters are fifteen years later.  Josie so wants a family and a child, that she finally gives up on finding a family, she feels she lost the one man she could have been happy with.  Will was that man and he surfaces in the story as his daughter appears in Josies first grade class.  Josie decides she wants a child and her clock is ticking so she starts looking for sperm doners, in the end she makes a decision that is kind of surprising!  Her sister married her brothers best friend and they have a little girl.  Meredith feels she may have just taken the path of expectation rather than the path that she may have been happier on.  She feels the only thing from her marriage that has gone right is her daughter.  She really can't see why her sister Meredith is doing what she is doing.  The sisters are so very different and the problems are very real, the sisters are characters that are fully developed.  The story is one you pick up and even though it may not be one of those cheerful romance novels, you keep turning the page as you want to find out what happened so many years ago, what has happened since and where are these sisters going to end up by the end of the novel.  A really good read, I think you would enjoy it.

Description as found here on Good Reads: In this dazzling new novel, Emily Giffin, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed, Where We Belong, and The One & Only introduces a pair of sisters who find themselves at a crossroads.

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 family, their different responses to the event splinter their delicate bond.

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 ends up in 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 they need each other more than they knew . . . and that in the recipe for true happiness, love always comes first.

Emotionally honest and utterly enthralling, First Comes Love is a story about family, friendship, and the courage to follow your own heart—wherever that may lead.