This is a really cute read. As story about love, lies, resilience. A definite recommend for any Emily Giffin fan

In the past, I have adored this author and was excited to have the chance to read and review her new book. Unfortunately, I was mostly disappointed with it. It starts out entertaining with sections throughout that were good but mostly, I found the characters shallow and the plot unbelievable. Then to add in the 9/11 horror as part of the story, was just too much.
Definitely not her best.
#TheLiesThatBind #Netgalley #RandomHousePublishingGroup #Ballantine
2.5/5

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I am a huge Emily Giffin fan and have read all of her novels. I know I will be in the minority from reading a bunch of other reviews but I really liked this story. Is it a sensitive subject? Certainly-so should there be a bit of a head's up about the subject before someone reads it? Yes. With that being said, I really liked and I hope that readers give it a chance and decide for themselves.

Cecily is like any young 20-something--moved from a small town in Wisconsin to New York City in pursuit of a high-profile career as a journalist and looking for her great love story. In 2001, she's working at a small paper and just broken up with her long-term boyfriend. In an effort to avoid calling him, she ventures out to her neighborhood bar at midnight, where she meets a stranger she is instantly connected to. A deep connection is formed between the two in a matter of weeks, but when Grant disappears on the morning of September 11, her world, and life, is forever changed. Giffin's character and story development, as always, are engaging and intriguing. She draws the reader into Cecily's world after 9/11, as she pursues love and friendship, and the questions of what loyalty really means. This might be my new favorite Emily Giffin book-- I read this book in 24 hours and couldn't put it down,

I like books by this author, but this was not one of my favorites. I felt there were too many unbelievable coincidences and the main character was likable but not necessarily lovable - too many secrets.

In The Lies That Bind a young woman, recently single meets a man in a bar. This seems like it will be a pretty straight forward, familiar story, but it is not. Secrets and lies take center stage. However, if not for a stream of unlikely coincidences the story would have stalled. It became unbelievable.

I found Giffin’s new book very predictable and while entertaining at times, not particularly likable. With a strong start, it looked like this was going to be another great book from Giffin .... but, unfortunately, that was not the case. The second half of the book had me shaking my head and asking “really”? With some very unlikable characters and a plot that might have you scratching your head and rolling your eyes, we finally reach the totally unbelievable ending.

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I felt like this was repetitive; and the main character seemed weak. She also seemed to hop back and forth to whatever guy was available to her. Kind of a disappointment.

This wasnt the best book I’ve read by thus author, and I’ve read nearly everything she’s written. I hate to say that I think her books have declined in quality or likability over the years with the exception of the last one. This one seemed to coincidental and not believable.

I am going to apologize to all you book lovers right this very minute. I read this as an ARC, and so I did not deplete my book-buying budget on this hot mess.

The authors' audacity in using 9/11 as a back-drop for this so-called romance was absurd and hurtful to those born before, say the year 1990. This book may be appropriate for teenagers, but this idea was atrocious for anyone that was an adult that year. Yes, the characters were young, but the buying market still relies on those with the most cash, does it not? I am thoroughly insulted by this usage of a tragedy to push product.

The characters were one-dimensional, did not grow, and had no meaningful relationships to add insult to injury. What links they did have, seemed to be tossed together at the writers' whim and didn't mesh. Cecily just seemed to 'bang' anything that was handy and called it love.

The ending? Trite, cliched, and thrown together just so there could be a HEA.

My apologies to the publisher, but I can't give you anything less than honesty

I anxiously await the next book written by Emily Giffin. The Lies That Bind will have you questioning yourself what you would do in a similar situation. The book takes the reader back to 9/11. Some readers may not like this, but I feel that EmilyGiffin captures real emotions of that time period.

Fans of Emily Giffin will enjoy her latest book The Lies That Bind. An entertaining read with a surprise visit from some fan favorites Rachel, Ethan and Darcy. Her latest novel is reminiscent of her earlier works and will be sure to leave fans nostalgic.

Thank you to netgalley.com and Ballantine Books for the early release copy. I’m enjoyed reading a novel that takes place in 2001 as a break from these times, though a story set in NYC in 2001 has its own national crisis in store for these characters. It’s was a compelling read with shades of gray for the characters that I appreciated. Fans of Something Borrowed and Something Blue will love some guest appearances!

Forewarning, there are spoilers in this review. I do not feel like I can adequately share my feelings without addressing the end of the novel.

Synopsis: Cecily has moved to NYC from Wisconsin and wanted it to be everything and more. The year is 2001. She quickly discovers that NYC is not living up to be exactly what she thought. After breaking up with Matthew, she goes to a bar to drink away her sorrow. In walks Grant. Her and Grant have an immediate connection and form a quick relationship. Fast forward to the summer; Grant takes his brother who has Lou Gehrig's Disease to London to seek treatment. They arrive back to NYC on September 10, 2001. We all know what happens the next day...the worst day for the United States. Grant goes to visit Cecily and the next morning he leaves for his job in the Twin Towers. Cecily, as a journalist, quickly discovers that Grant is missing and panics.

I have always been a fan of Emily Giffin's, but I was not a fan of this book. Immediately when I realized the book was set in 2001, I knew 9/11 would have something to do with it. And that was fine, until I felt that she used this catastrophic event to create the backdrop for the love triangle of Cecily, Grant, and Matthew. So the main spoiler, stop reading here if you haven't read yet, is the fact that Giffin used 9/11 as a way for Grant to fake his death and move into isolation. I felt as if this was an inappropriate way to address 9/11 and for the people that truly lost someone in the event.

Also, in the end I felt like it was perfectly wrapped up with a neat little bow. While I understand the book was fiction, it was extremely unrealistic to me and barely plausible.

I gave this book a 2 star rating instead of a 1, because even though I was so angry at the ending, leading up to it was okay. Also I gave it 2 starts because it did provoke a lot of emotion in me.

Maybe next time Emily Giffin.

This book was disrespectful to the people who suffered tragic effects on 9/11. Could not finish it.

My first book by this author. It had a unique plot line for the story and the characters were very well developed. Using 9/11 was very interesting and mostly held my attention. Not a big fan of the ending, a bit too predictable. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity..

I read the book really fast despite my reservations about the choices every single character made. It's well written and character dynamics have been explored well and as with all Emily Giffin books. I just didn't connect with them.

Well, I almost hate to review this book. I like Emily Giffin, particularly her early work, and I fully expected to love this book too.

Love it I did, especially in the beginning! I was thinking YAY! I have this wonderful book to read! And then, it took a turn. I was still okay with it. About 2/3rds of the way in, though, it just went off course, off the cliff and I just kept reading (as it was a galley to review; if not I think I would have stopped, honestly) to be finished.

I was not satisfied at the end, it did not redeem itself.

I wish the book could be rewritten after the first third. It was so good at the start!

I've always been a big fan of Emily Giffin's books, my favorite being The One and Only. Her newest release (out June 2nd), The Lies That Bind, takes readers back to the never-forgotten, tumultuous time of September 11th. The story was not what I was expecting based upon her previous novels, but I enjoyed it very much, nonetheless.

At the start of the story, 28 year old Cecily Gardner has just broken up with her longtime boyfriend Matthew. While Cecily wanted to move forward with their relationship, Matthew was kicking his feet, so she decided it was best to move on. Rather than spend another night at home alone, she goes to a local dive bar for a drink. Here's where her story takes the first wild turn. As she sits at the bar, waffling back and forth on whether to call Matthew or not, a handsome stranger encourages her to put the phone down and not do something she'll regret. Cecily feels an immediate connection to said stranger, a Wall Street day trader named Grant, who is soon planning to quit working and travel overseas with his twin brother, who has ALS. After sharing shots of tequila and talking to one another as if they've known each other for years, Grant spends the night with Cecily, promising to keep in touch and that they will see each other again. Over the next many months through emails, phone calls, and postcards, Cecily finds herself quickly falling in love with Grant, even with the distance separating them. She and her best friend Scottie even travel to London to see Grant while he is there for a trial treatment for his brother Byron.

When Grant returns to New York on September 10, 2001, they spend a final night together, and the next day, the world as they know it, is altered forever. Fearing the worst and trying to hold out hope, Cecily tries to contact Grant over and over to no avail. Her best friend and fellow investigative reporter encourages her to get closer to ground zero and work on the story, and if nothing else, it will keep her busy and help take her mind off of the excruciating reality of losing Grant. While talking to witnesses and other family members searching for missing people, Cecily spots a Missing poster with Grant's face on it, and a phone number to call for information. Thinking that connecting with whomever else is searching for Grant will help her to grieve and heal properly, she puts on her reporter hat and calls the number, with the purpose of writing a story about Grant. Cecily is wholly unprepared for what and who she finds on the other end of the line. I call this plot twist one. You'll have to read it to find out!

Then after reading for a while and getting comfortable again with things as they are, we come to a major plot twist two. Whew! I gotta hand it to Giffin, she really threw me for a loop while reading this!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about love, family, loss, forgiveness, and healing. The writing is solid and seamless, and readers will empathize with Giffin's beautifully drawn, but flawed characters. I highly recommend this book for fans of contemporary fiction.

This was my first Emily Griffin book, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought the plot line was unique and character development was good. I would have liked to have seen the point of view of Grant and Matthew as well, but realize that would have changed the arc of the story. All in all, a quick read. I started and finished it all on one day, which is something that rarely happens.