Something Borrowed

by Emily Giffin

Rachel Miller and Darcy Rhone have been best friends since childhood. They've shared birthdays, the horrors of high school and even boyfriends, but while Darcy is the sort of woman who breezes through life getting what she wants when she wants it, Rachel has always played by the rules and watched her stunning best friend steal all the limelight. The one thing Rachel's always had over Darcy is the four-month age gap which meant she was first to being a teenager, first to drive, first to everything - but now she's about to be first to thirty. And Darcy still has a charmed life. On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Rachel is shocked to find herself questioning the status quo. How come Darcy gets a glamorous job at a PR firm and the perfect boyfriend, while Rachel grinds away at her despised job as an attorney and remains painfully single. Is it just luck? Or, looking back at their friendship and their lives together, is it a bit more complicated than that? Then an accidental fling complicates everything, and it's time for Rachel to make a few hard choices. And she's suddenly forced to learn that sometimes true love comes at a price ...

• ISBN10: 1844133753
• ISBN13: 9781844133758
• Publish Date: 1 January 2099 (first published 1 June 2004)
• Publish Status: Cancelled
• Out of Print: 15 November 2003
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Cornerstone
• Imprint: Century
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews This is a difficult one for me. I hate cheaters I think if you’re not happy you should end it because cheating does more harm than good.

However Darcy irritated me from the moment she appeared, she is so self-centred. I’ve had a friend like Darcy and I was Rachel. I was always letting my friend take the spotlight while I was in the background until she needed me to look after her. So seeing Rachel get back at Darcy was quite satisfying.

Hilary was a great character. She really made Rachel see the light and stop thinking that Darcy should get what she wants because she’s Darcy.

I also loved Ethan without giving too much away he’s there for Rachel when she needs him the most.

There were a lot of twists and turns in this book. I switched sides quite a few times. Team Rachel and Dex then Team Rachel and Marcus then back to Team Rachel and Dex. I enjoyed the ending of this book and I was eager to read Something Blue.

[Leah]

Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy's fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.

It's a testament to Emily Giffin that I have read Something Borrowed five times and I still don't get bored, I still don't change my opinions on the novel. I don't like cheating - in novels, in real life, I don't like it, I hate it in fact, yet everytime I read Something Borrowed, I root for Rachel. There's something innately wrong with Darcy that always ticks me off. I don't necessarily think that what Rachel does is right, but (and this might sound wrong) Darcy doesn't deserve Dex. I know it's wrong to say that, but ever since I first read the novel, Darcy and Dex never made sense to me and Rachel and Dex did. I even read Something Blue before I knew about Something Borrowed, and still my opinion was unchanged so, you know, it's hardly going to have changed now.

The characters are excellent, I loved Rachel and I understood how she felt. Understood what it was like to have a best friend who always gets what she wants, to have a best friend who constantly outmanouvers you. Everything Ethan and Hillary say about Darcy is correct; it's like it's a game to her, it's like 'Let's see what I can do to beat Rachel today'. That's not friendship, it's like she sees Rachel as an enemy she must beat at all costs and I can certainly see why Rachel worried the Dex relationship was merely her getting back at Darcy. I never liked Darcy. Never. She's consistenly shallow and only thinks of herself. The only time she's in the least bit redeeming is the final quarter of Something Blue.

Emily Giffin is one of the authors who made me a Chick Lit fan and Something Borrowed is quite easily my favourite Chick Lit book ever. It says an awful lot that Giffin's later books haven't held a candle to Something Borrowed. I would love it if Giffin ever wrote a third novel to feature Darcy and Rachel, particularly since the Rachel/Dex scenes are kept to a minimum during Something Blue. Although there's undoubtedly the worry that another novel may weaken what is a truly stellar novel all on its own. If there's one novel that stands the test of time it is Something Borrowed. It is a novel every Chick Lit fan and writer should read because it's simply amazing.

[jeannamichel]

Dexter and Rachel met in college, they’ve been friends ever since. Rachel introduced him to Darcy, her childhood friend. Rachel convinced herself that Dex would never go out with a girl like her. He went out with Darcy and after seven years, they are finally engaged and planning a wedding. On the eve of Rachel’s thirtieth birthday, she gets a bit tipsy and sleeps with Dex, her best friend from college who is marrying her childhood friend. After that, nothing is the same.

In anticipation for the upcoming movie, Something Borrowed, I decided that I needed to read the book before seeing this movie. The book was good. These are one of those books that it would be a shame to judge a book by its cover. The cover is simple, bland, and sort of boring.

The plot is anything but. There is absolutely never a dull moment, where the plot is concerned. Reading a book about an affair (because even though Dex was not married, rather engaged, it still is described as an affair) was definitely new. I was constantly wondering what would happen next—the entire mood of each scene made me constantly worry if the two were going to get caught.

Giffin created such characters that you’ll be rooting for the affair to go on, rather than the wedding. Right and wrong goes out the window. Darcy’s the kind of girl that gets everything she wants—she’s repeatedly described as a child. Rachel, Darcy’s follower, is naïve; she lets Darcy take whatever she wants. It’s a very interesting cast of characters, and they all had their flaws (especially Darcy) but I found all of them quite amusing and I could even relate to some of them.

The writing style is what let me down. The plot kept it alive but the writing took some of the effect away. It was slow at times, but by the end I kind of got used to pacing of the novel. Also the ending left me torn. I wanted everything tied up nicely in a little bow. It wasn’t that, but I was satisfied with part of the ending even though Giffin could add something more about Darcy and Rachel and their relationship—go into more detail about what happened after. I don’t think it had to end on such a somber note.

Overall, the book was great and I can’t wait to see the movie.

[Linda]

Story, with betrayals and new love, and some very guilty feelings indeed.

[violetpeanut]

This was a great book! The main character is completely likeable even though she's doing an awful thing. The flawed characters really make this an enjoyable read because you can sometimes relate - these are "real life" emotions and situations instead of being something out of a fairy tale. This was a very quick read for me. This was the first book I've read from Emily Giffin and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more!