This is the first book I've read by this author and I found the first half of the book to be extremely slow. I didn't feel a real connection to the characters but I was interested enough to keep going and then the second half was full of overly contrived coincidences, far too many to be even vaguely believable. In many ways the writing was engaging and I might give the author another try as I've seen glowing reviews of her other books.

This is the story of a Midwestern girl in NYC who breaks up with her boyfriend in the summer of 2001 and meets another guy in a bar late one night. They seem to have an immediate connection but then 9/11 happens and he worked in one of the towers. She realizes that she never really knew him,

The love story was not that believable in the beginning but as time went on, the book and the characters grew on me. By the end of the book, I was caught up in the story.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for my complimentary eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I have loved all of Emily Giffins books previously except this one I just did not like it. I wasn't crazy about the book as a whole.

Start by saying Emily is my girl and I love most of what I read from her. This one, wasn’t up my alley. I had a tough time kicking it into gear from the get, and then I just struggled. It didn’t captivate me, didn’t really do much for me on the whole. Some folks may have a better time with it, but as this is my review and I am asked to be honest, well there you have it. Wasn’t remotely high on my list of favorites and I give it a three.......

Love and life are the stories of how we live, both the truths and the lies. “The Lies that Bind” by Emily Giffin tells the story of how these truths and lies bring us together when one love ends and another begins. A fast paced easy read, I couldn’t put it down and finished in less than 24 hours.

This was a page-turner, but I didn’t love how it all turned out. The whole story just felt a bit too unrealistic and far fetched for me to really fall into. Not to mention I found I wasn’t really rooting for any of the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy of this book.

Okay - this book has baseless tie to 9/11 that I don't particularly care for. I had a hard time getting into this one and the story seemed fake and unbelievable. I just wasn't invested in the character and I'm usually an Emily Giffin fan who loved her work but this book was not it.

After reading other books by this author I was excited to read her new novel. This one just didn't work for me. It was a crazy, mixed up, unbelievable story. Cecily is very immature with little common sense. The ending was hard to believe. Hopefully, the next book will be a little more coherent.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This felt like the literary equivalent of a telenovela. The need to tie-in 9/11 seemed forced and unnecessary, as did the cameo from some of her previous novel characters.

All that being said, I will read any book she writes because they're always so easy and unputdownable. This wasn't my favorite, but it was the fictional escape I was hoping for.

This light and fluffy read was a throwback to the author’s earlier books. And since I loved those books that was fine. No heavy stuff to read here. Just about perfect for a pandemic read. I appreciated that Cecily finally got a wonderful life. Overall, a four star read. This book was provided by NetGalley and the publishers for an honest review.

This book definitely kept my attention throughout, but it's mainly because I felt like there was a bit of a bait-and-switch. The first half and second half of the book read like two entirely different books, and it was slightly off-putting.

Gave this one a try, and could not finish it. Found the writing to be poor quality and a lackluster story line.

This was a rather interesting book---had some ties to 9/11, and some twists I didn't see coming. After a break up one night at 2am Cecily is a restless and winds up walking to a dive bar. There she meets Grant and the story has us on a roller coaster ride from there. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it. I've ready a few of her other books and will continue to read them if she keeps putting out books like this. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book several months ago and have decided not to read it. I disagree with the author's personal behavior and bullying mentality on social media and choose to no longer use my platform to support her.

Wow! I could not put this book down. I needed to see how it was going to end. There are lots of twists & turns that I don’t want to ruin for you, so I will just say this one is well worth reading. It is a fascinating concept with how 9/11 affected people & might have connected people in ways that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Highly recommend this book!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am split on this book. It was well-written and kept me entertained. But it seemed like two completely different books. The first half seemed like a fluffy romance without much real conflict. Then it took a turn into a soapy, unrealistic drama. None of the characters were likable (except maybe Scottie, the friend), and everyone did some pretty awful and unforgivable things. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it.

Looks like people either loved or hated this book. Count me in the loved category. This book reminded me of Giffin's early books Something Borrowed and Something Blue. Giffin takes flawed characters-sometimes I'm hit and miss on them but I really enjoyed Cecily even if she was a nitwit sometimes-and then throws all kinds of punches at them. This book had so many twists and turns that it kept me turning the pages and staying up late. Sometimes I could kind of see what was coming but I really didn't see the ending. I'm not sure that I liked it but it felt honest to the characters. The 9/11 tragedy is central to the plot and the way that it was used made me mad -that's my only criticism. Other than that, the writing brought that day all back to me which was kind of hard to read. For Giffin fans, there is a cameo by past characters Rachel, Darcy and Ethan. It made me want to read the two aforementioned books again.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC in return for my honest review.

LOVED this book. SO twisty & nuts but I couldn't put it down. I think you have to suspend a bit of belief, but that's what fiction is for. Juicy & fun!

Thank you thank you thank you for an ARC of The Lies that Bind. During this pandemic, I've found it hard to find a book that actually keeps my attention, and I can't put down. This was definitely one that did both! I loved the twists. It kept me reading to figure out how the story ended up.

Another 5 star favorite from Emily Giffin who became an auto-buy author for me after reading “Love the one You’re With” and the “Something Borrowed” series. Emily is incredible at writing about difficult topics and complex characters that are easy to love and hate and love again because they’re just so human. The Lies That Bind is a love story mixed with tragedy and a couple of twists that you might see coming but still thoroughly enjoy the journey to unravel them. As an added bonus we also get to see an old beloved friend from another of her books along the way.

This story opens in NYC in May of 2001. Cecily, a broken-hearted twenty something, takes herself out for a drink in NYC after a breakup with her long time boyfriend. Just as she’s about to use the bar phone to call her ex a charming man walks up to her and says “Don’t do it.” I can’t tell you how many times I could have used that advice form a stranger in my own life. The charmer turns out to be Grant Smith and he and Cecily quickly fall head over heels in love. Their falling in love feels like every hopeful date I ever went on and a just a little bit more. However, we all know what happens next as we reach September of 2001. This is where the story really picked up for me as the truth about Grant and Cecily begins to come to light. I could not put this book down.