This novel is slow to start, but it really gets going in the last third. Cecily, a single journalist, is living in New York when she meets Grant. They connect instantly. However, tragedy strikes and Cecily struggles to find herself in the aftermath of 9/11. I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Nice novel about a girl who falls in love and her beloved dies unexpectedly. His death leaves many questions unanswered.

I have read all of Emily's books and find them to be a good escape. This was no exception. A fun diversion for an afternoon read when the rest of the world seems to be coming apart, more every day. The book was some what predictable but always enjoy the writing and the occasional surprise.

This book gutted me again and again ... I love a love story and this was a pretty great one with twists and turns for interest. This book is a must read ! Thank you to the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

OMG! I’m so confused! I’m pissed! I’m entertained! I’m heartbroken! I’m surprised! I’m so flabbergasted right now!

Normally I’m not indecisive person but this book seems like written by so many different authors or one author suffers from mood swings because that’s a first for me to love this book so much but also hate it truly.
It starts charmingly intriguing, hot and riveting then makes you curse to the characters for several reasons and in the middle a big bombshell changes everything: you turned into a toddler, dripping off saliva and talking gibberish, shaken to the core, and then more drama, angst, trauma….. Then what? The one of the worst endings of the book history (I can compare it with GOT’s, Lost’s final episode or unbelievably the most stupidest screenwriting of Alex’ Karev’s leaving episode of Grey’s Anatomy)

Let me tell you my problem with examples:

Firstly, we’re introduced with our heroine Cecily, suffering from bad breakup, blabbering nightmare about Rachel Green and her “break” with Ross Gellar. (She should see the letter she wrote 18 pages-back and forth-)
She misses her boyfriend so she decides instead of whining at the house, heading to the bar to drink herself numb but a perfect charming stranger stops her before she make a drink dialing to her ex and you know the drill, they talk, they like each other’s company and they decide not to talk about their names, having one night stand. (So, I think this book’s fast, hot and sexy chemistry, a little chic-lit-ish start deserves 4 stars!)

But then the charming, sexy hero gives his name: GRANT! It should be ended with one night but yes unfortunately our soooo naïve, blind Cecily falls in love with Grant who has so many neon plates pointing at him as an “untrustworthy guy”. There were so many signs implicate that she should run without looking back.
He doesn’t take her to his home, introducing her as friend, appearing at her place in the middle of the night, seems like he’s living a double life. What this asshole is hiding?

Okay Cecily, you are young but you shouldn’t act like you just donated your brain cells for saving money for your grocery shopping. Come on girl: the guy says he has a twin suffer from terminal disease and he has to take care of him. But don’t you think most of his excuses he told you are too fishy!

But I have to admit the brother was real and I feel like he was evil twin. I couldn’t connect with the character so well. Eventually my points start to go back and forth between two and three stars.

And then: BANG! Of course from the blurb and the dates, you may see it coming: one of the most painful, tragic events of the world history occurs. Grant dies at 9/11: I have to admit those parts of the book telling the tragedy and afterwards, the psychological breakdown it created on the civilians, their sufferings, anxieties, PTSD, grief are told by the author incredibly impeccable. That was the great example of the perfect writing. It’s so much better than “The girl you used to know” novel’s approach.

And there are so many bombshells, twisty, surprising facts Cecily has to face after Grant’s death which are magnificent. And eventually she returns back to her ex. Now she can have her happily ever after and I’m so ready to give FIVE STARS because of those amazing and powerful chapters.
BUT…. Yes I don’t wanna spill the beans but guess who’s back, back again, Shady’s back, tell a friend! I know we need a little controversy cause it feels so empty without him. ( See! I start to quote Eminem’s Without Me, that’s the side effect book caused on me!)

And more angst, blab la bla, more tears, more painful chapters later (my stars drop to 3 by the way after Shady is back!) we have a really bad conclusion of this starting great, developing well but ending unsatisfyingly story!

Don’t get me wrong! I love Emily Griffin’s books so much and I was delighted to have an opportunity to read this ARC and even though I was agitated by MCs and too many meaningless angsty and heart tearing parts, I was so ready to give 4 stars because it was still above the average and especially 9/11 parts of the story mesmerizingly heart-wrenching and poignantly described. But I didn’t like the ending just a little bit. This is not fair for me and I found it abrupt and awkward.

So unfortunately I’m giving three solid stars. I wish there would be miracle and the author could write another ending to conclude her characters’ stories.

So much special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine for sharing this promising ARC (even I have questions about ending) in exchange my honest review.

I love the way Emily Giffin writes a story and this did not disappoint! It’s a bittersweet love story with a 9/11 element added. There were a lot of twists and turns in the story that compelled me to keep reading. Her characters were interesting and their personalities were thoroughly examined. Highly recommended! #TheLiesThatBind #EmilyGiffin #NetGalley

I'll start this by saying Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors so when I dived into her latest, The Lies That Bind, I went in with high expectations of loving it...and I did...at first. The first half of the book and second half of the book were vastly different for me. I don't want to spoil it but I loved the first half and didn't love the second half of the book. The first half was classic Emily Giffin and the second half was just fluff until the last few chapters when she tried to tie everything together but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

I am eagerly awaiting her next book now that I just devoured this one in a few days time!

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House and Emily Giffin for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Emily does it again! As a big fan of hers I was honored to get this ARC.
I have read all her books.
I loved the characters. locales, and the entire story line. The way it all came together with even some twists and turns, made it an even better heartwarming and bittersweet story.
What an awesome book!

This was such an entertaining book! I love Emily Giffin and this book did not disappoint. I loved how the story was about a girl trying to find love with a mix of surprises and mystery mixed in. I'm not sure if I liked that she ended up with Grant in the end. There was a lot of lying and cheating that I'm not sure I'd be able to make peace with personally. I loved how Emily portrayed the 9/11 tragedy from the NYC resident's perspective. I read this in two days and will recommend to friends!

I have mixed feelings about Emily Giffin’s latest. The writing felt choppy and the storyline was just ok and somewhat predictable. The novel almost felt written by two different authors with the protagonist being presented very differently in the first half of the book versus the second. I can somewhat understand why given the events that took place - she would be a changed woman - but it still felt quite unnatural. None of this felt realistic - the relationships were somewhat shallow and underdeveloped. Having said that, I appreciated the emotional complexity of the ending.

I was happy to have the opportunity to review this title by Emily Giffin. There's a 9/11 component that was cleverly put into this plot about Cecily, on the rebound from a broken relationship, who finds the person she thinks might be "the one" only to have him go missing on 9/11. Only then she realizes what they had might've been built on lies. Cecily is trying to find herself and her future. What is love? Is it that high of a new relationship, or is it sticking with a relationship through all the ups and downs. This was so well told that I read (on my most hated night of the year: the spring time change) until 2:30am to turn the last page. That's a high recommendation from me. Grab this title; you won't be disappointed. Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and Net Galley for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

If the deal seems too good to be true, it must not be, right?

In this newest novel by Emily Griffin, Cecily, shortly after breaking up with perfect Matthew who is afraid of commitment, meets Grant, a handsome stranger who she falls into a whirlwind romance with.

With taking care of his ill twin, Grant's focus sometimes is not what Cecily expects, but she continues to be understanding. Then the World Trade Center falls, and Cecily realizes Grant is missing.

From here, the book adds mystery to the romance, with Cecily working to find the truth about Grant while Matthew enters her world again.

I like the setting and much of the romance of the books, plus I found the mystery to be very satisfying. The only thing I did not enjoy were some of Cecily's reactions to Grant, which I found hard to understand.

Another winner from Emily Griffin just in time for summer.

Emily Giffin consistently writes good books, and "The Lies That Bind" is no exception! The main character of this novel, Cecily, has two good men in her life: Matthew and Grant. Should she choose the reliable, practical love or the reckless, passionate love? And then what happens when one of these men is presumed dead after 9/11? I really enjoyed this book and all its unexpected twists and turns. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good love story. (And who doesn't?!)

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. Cecily heads to the nearby bar to drown her sorrows over a beak up with Matthew. She meets Grant and they have the most wonderful whirlwind romance. Grant dies on 9/11 and when she digs further into his life, she finds out way more than she bargains for. I liked this book but didn’t love it. If you like a Emily Griffin (like me), give it a look!

Emily Giffin has been known for 2 things, beautiful book covers and writing stories that explore difficult subjects and characters who grow from it and her new one The Lies That Bind is no exception.

The story centers around Cecily, who is going through a difficult time in her life career and love wise and finds a silver lining when she meets Grant. I think a lot of the emotions in this story are also heightened by the fact that it also centers around the events of 9/11, which I thought was a great way to showcase love and lost.

While there was a lot of realism to this story, I also found that she used a lot of far-fetched ideas which I bought into for the sake of the story. There were a lot of themes explored and there was so much drama that I wasn't sure who to root for anymore. Overall, I enjoyed reading the story.

Loved, loved, loved this story! This book gave me all the feels many, many times over. I found myself rooting for every character at many different times.

Wow, I devoured this entire book in one sitting! Emily Griffin does an amazing job of making the main character Cecily, so complex and relatable. Cecily is torn between 2 men, her love for both of them, & what she wants for her future, which is something every person I know struggles with. The entire book is filled with drama, love, mysteries, family, friendship, and even laughs. This book is one of the best I’ve read in a long time!

I love Emily Giffin’s books, so I was so excited to receive an advance copy of The Lies That Bind.
Cecily has just gone through a breakup with Matthew, and she meets Grant at a bar in NYC. They have an intense, instant connection and spend the summer of 2001 falling in love. The attack on 9/11 leaves the city, and journalist Cecily, shaken to the core. She’s devastated to see Grant’s face on a missing poster, but who is the woman looking for him?
The Lies That Bind explores love, loyalty, trust, and deception in a thrilling, heartbreaking way. Cecily is left reeling, wondering if the men she’s loved felt the same, and can she trust her own feelings in hindsight?
I was so happy to see that Ethan, Rachel, and Darcy from Something Borrowed/Something Blue make a brief appearance, I love that Emily Giffin’s characters exist in the same universe! I absolutely recommend The Lies That Bind, you won’t want to put it down!

Enjoyable and quick read with honest and believable characters set against the backdrop of the late 90s/early 2000s and 9/11. This is the perfect book for a long car ride, plane trip, beach day, or just a lazy day at home.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48376596

Whenever I get read to read an Emily Griffin book I get the tissues handy just in case! All of her books are so different but very touching in sometimes-unusual ways. When Cecily has just broken up with boyfriend Matthew she is drowning her sorrows in hometown New York at a local bar when she meets Grant and she is immediately drawn to him even inviting him back to her apartment where she awakens in his arms after just a cozy night that doesn't involve sex. Both are infatuated and the relationship grows. But then 9-11 happens and we all know how that affected not only the inhabitants of the city, but everything that we believed to be good and true. Cecily and Matthew reconnect and that's all your'e going to get for plot here. Just know that it's worth reading and if you love Griffin as I do, you won't be disappointed!