"The Lies That Bind" by Emily Giffin is a novel that attempts to weave a tapestry of love, mystery, and moral dilemmas against the backdrop of a post-9/11 New York City. Giffin's narrative style is accessible and straightforward, allowing readers to easily follow the protagonist's journey through a web of personal and societal challenges. However, the story sometimes struggles under the weight of its own ambitions, with plot twists that feel more contrived than compelling. While the setting is evocatively rendered, capturing a poignant moment in history, the characters themselves often lack the depth and complexity needed to fully engage the reader's empathy and investment. Ultimately, "The Lies That Bind" offers a mix of intrigue and emotional exploration, but its execution falls short of delivering a fully satisfying reading experience.

A typical Emily Giffin book. Good characters and a good plot. A good easy read. I will keep enjoying her books.

Another instant classic from Emily Giffin. So much depth to these characters and it’s so well written. A wonderful story that I’d recommend,

I find with with Emily Giffin's books that some resonate with me more than others. I like her writing style and explorations of human character, but I had a hard time with the 9/11 plot line. Even though I objectively know that time has past, enough that it's a historical event for my kids, it still feels like something that is hard to touch.

I couldn’t put this book down. It was a good twist. The 9/11 storyline just enhanced it. You could tell where this was leading, but it still good.

DNF

Honestly, this book was horribly written. Did I get far? Nope. But I have read EG's whole entire catalog and I am unsure how this book was not given better or more editing. From the first page, the dialogue and "relationship" was a bit ridiculous.

However, I did go and read a spoiler review and I am super happy that I decided to quit while I was ahead. I def would have hated this more if I finished it all the way.

In my eyes, Emily Giffin can do no wrong. She is like an old friend who invites you to join her once every year or two for whatever adventure or misadventures her characters are finding themselves in and I happily RSVP yes to every one! This story includes a one that got away but did we really know him and the tragedy of 911 inspires both fact and soul searching. Just like with a real bff, you will stay up into the wee hours to find out.

Lovely story that I finished in record time. Enjoyed the different settings and supporting characters. Hoping to read more titles by this author soon!

I love Something Borrowed and Something Blue, so when I saw this book by Emily Giffin I figured I would love it. Wrong. I had to force myself to finish it and I just try to forget it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books , and Emily Griffin for the ARC to review. I really enjoyed this book. I have read Emily Griffin before. This was a great read. I read quickly, and really held my interest. The story line was amazing. I couldn’t get over the way the main character, would just take off for a weekend with a complete stranger and follow him to Europe. Then to find out he dies in 9/11. However, there is a twist which I loved. Great read, high recommend.

I wanted to love this, especially because I have enjoyed a few of Emily Giffins books! She brings that true emotional heart pulling to all her books. The Lies That Bind, definitely started off this way with Cecily and Grant meet-cute but then the trauma porn happened. I think if it wasn't as exploited as it was, it could've been better. But it was almost reliving the events at the expense of a fictional story. It could've been done with more taste and empathy. Cecily was a bit annoying and frustrating at times but it helped with the ending and acknowledging her decisions (and others). Overall, not Giffin's best but will try her others.

Emily Giffin never disappoints. As usual, this one started off strong and kept me interested throughout. Good story telling and character development. Giffin is a relented writer and I will continue to read everything of hers I can get my hands on.

Cecile loves in NYC and is a writer mostly alone in the city, and she is still not over the recent breakup with her boyfriend Matthew. She goes out to a bar to try to keep herself from calling Matthew, and strikes up a conversation with a stranger. In a strange twist, she ends up taking him home with her, and sleeping in the bed with him (in a physically platonic manner, they don’t even actually kiss). Later she and the stranger, Grant, find themselves on a slow-burning, but intense, relationship. After a trip to Europe, Grant returns home on September 10, 2001, and spends the night at Cecily’s apartment.

With the attacks on September 11, and NYC reeling, Cecily makes her way out with her coworkers to report on the tragedy, and she is given a lead on Grant - and she finds out she is not the only one looking for him.

Cecily finds herself in a very tangled web of lies, as she tries to put the pieces of her life back together and create the life she wants. There were a lot of twists and turns, many of them unexpected, and Cecily’s journey is unlike any other I have read. I liked this book because it really made me think, and ponder complicated relationships…I will be thinking about this one for a long time to come.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Might be my new favorite of Emily Giffins. I did not read the premise so I was very surprised by the 9/11 storyline but I thought the story was great,

Emily Giffin is a writer that knows how to write a page turner. This one is no different. It is an enthusiastic read but the twist is definitely going to turn a lot of people off.

I've read and enjoyed quite a few books by Emily Giffin and even reviewed First Comes Love on this blog way back in 2016. I don't know what happened with The Lies That Bind though -- there was a lot I didn't enjoy about this one.

In a bar late one night, Cecily Gardner is trying to stop herself from calling her ex-boyfriend, Matthew. She hears someone implore her not to do it -- that person turns out to be Grant, a guy she forms an instant connection with and quickly falls in love with. The problem is that Grant is about to move overseas.

If the book stopped there, it might have been OK. But then 9/11 in New York City is brought into the mix in a ridiculous, borderline offensive way. Cecily spots Grant's face on a "missing" poster, meaning that someone else is looking for him. She soon discovers that Grant is not the person she thought he was.

The one question I had as I was reading this was "Why?". I'm not sure what the point of this book was, and I kept asking myself why I was reading it. The characters were not very interesting and some of them were hideous human beings. Hopefully Giffin's next book will be better than this.

MY RATING - 1.5

I was not a huge fan of this book. There were way too many storylines going at the same time which made it confusing. There were lots of twists that keep you interested but they were also too unrealistic. I appreciate that the author writes about characters that are fallible. Just not a good read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

It read quickly, however, it seemed very far fetched. It was a little hard to relate to the characters because everything was so extreme.

Whew. Emily Giffin brought it with this one. She took an event that we know so much about and spun it into a fascinating tale of love and searching.

While I didn't find this book as egregious as some of the reviews I had read had led me to believe it would be, it was still not my favorite book by this author. The believability of this book was also really hard, such as the depth of Cecily's feelings for Grant and a lot of very convenient plot points.