A story of love, loss, self discovery, second chances, lies and 5 degrees of separation.
A great book which is a lovely, typical Emily written book! :)

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Emily Giffin and Ballantine Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

I put off reading this book because I had seen some not great reviews for it but ummm... I LOVED this book!!! I could not stop listening to it I needed to know what was going to happen with this love triangle. I knew the “twist” of you want to call it that from the beginning but seeing how it all played out and came together was a journey I enjoyed every second of. The connection between Grant and Cecily was magnetic and I couldn’t help but route for them. I’m definitely team Grant!

Thanks for the ARC, but I failed to get the copy downloaded to my device before it was archived and I was unable to read it in order to provide a review.

My apologies.

I love Emily Giffin but this book felt as if it was written by somebody else. This book was all over the place, and while it still was an incredible page turner, I was mostly doing that for the sake of just finishing and at that point just figuring out how it ended.

It is the Spring of 2001 in New York City. Cecily and her boyfriend have broken up. Not being able to sleep Cecily finds herself in a run down bar trying to forget Matthew. Despite her best friend’s warnings a moment of weakness over takes her and she starts to call her ex. The good looking guy nearby tells her not to make the call. Cecily takes his advice and puts puts down her phone. The pair talk a bit and share one last beer together. As they are about to part and go their separate ways Cecily decides to ask the man what his name is. As the summer progresses Cecily gets more and more involved with Grant.She begins to wonder if Grant is the one. Then September 11th strikes and there is no trace of him.
While I was reading THE LIES THAT BIND I felt like I knew there was going to be a twist and what it was. Even though I like being right I felt disappointed that I figured it out.
I was hoping for a twist that I couldn’t see coming. I loved ALL WE EVER WANTED which was Emily Giffin’s previous novel. I liked THE LIES THAT BIND but felt the story was predictable.
I would like to thank Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Overall I liked this book but I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. This is only my second book by this author so well loved characters she has brought back briefly were lost on me. I can definitely see why other readers would have enjoyed this. There was a lot happening in this book and at times it felt rushed. I love stories set in New York City so that was a definite plus for me.. I did like the dialogue in the book. Overall I’m still conflicted about how I feel about Cecily’s choice at the end.

Romance is not my go to #genre, but it appears that summer and romance go hand in hand, and @emilygiffinauthor is the queen of romance.

In #theliesthatbind, Cecily Gardiner is having second (and third) thoughts about splitting up with her boyfriend. She’s questioning everything about her life: leaving her home (the #Midwest) for #Manhattan for her career, she’s lonesome and homesick. She decides to go to a dive bar to drown out her sorrows. At the end of her ropes, she’s about to call her ex, when a handsome gentleman tells her “Don’t make the call.” And suddenly, Cecily and Grant find each other. But no one in life comes along, without #baggage 🧳. Sometimes the baggage is very complicated. That’s life ...

There are some very interesting #spins in this story. I enjoyed breaking out of my usual usual for a bit of romance. Thanks @netgalley for my copy in return for my review. What’s summer without romance?
#summerreads #summerreads2020 #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookoftheday #beachread #beachreads #beachread2020

Emotional, dramatic, and a compelling page-turner!

Oh my, where do I even start with THE LIES THAT BIND by EMILY GIFFIN? I’m so conflicted. My thoughts and feelings were all over the place while I was reading this and not necessarily always in a positive way. I do have to say though that I absolutely love Emily Giffin, I find her books entertaining and compulsively readable.

My immediate reaction to the story wasn’t always a favourable one but there was definitely something here that kept pulling me back in. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of Cecily and Grant’s insta-love and thought that her relationship with Scottie was one of the most entertaining and enjoyable parts of the story.

I’m all for an instant connection and love at first sight though because I’d be a total hypocrite to say that I didn’t believe in that because it happened to me and I’ve been happily married for 28 years this coming August.

I did really enjoy Cecily’s character though and was totally amused and entertained by her and her relationships with some of the key players.

The story was somewhat predictable but there were definitely some pleasant surprises too though. I was a little miffed that a huge tragic event was used as a backdrop to the story and the direction near the end totally angered me. Oddly though my feelings flipped on me again near the end and I have to say that I kind of liked all the dramatic and eye-rolling scenes.

The book held my attention and let me forget the outside world for a few hours so for that it’s getting 4 stars!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Doubleday Canada for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! I’m a huge fan of this author and was so excited to be given a copy to enjoy and review! This book was an epic romance novel that still had twists and turns which I really enjoy!

The Lies That Bind was a beautiful story overall, but I really must go with the other reviews on this. It was great for most of the story and then the last quarter went downhill.

Some of the things that made the story so enjoyable for me were the references of the popular things that were “in” in 2001. The bellbottom jeans, the CD’s, music hits of the day and more all brought me back to when to my early college days.

The budding love between Cecily and Grant was super engrossing and I powered through several chapters, delving into their relationship, and wanting to know where it would go next.
Additionally, the account of 9/11 also took me on a time travel back to where I was when the planes hit the Twin Towers. The story was gripping and got me hooked and when it was determined that Grant passed away during the attacks, it shook me.

However, when Cecily was befriending Amy, I was becoming increasingly annoyed as that is when the story began to become unrealistic to me. And once she discovered Grant was, in fact, not dead and in runaway criminal, there was no turning back for me; especially as she eventually restarted a relationship with a man who was incredibly deceptive. Not sure how a family who seems super close, would accept that. Again, the book became far fetch to me.

The only drama that I flock to is within the pages of the books that I choose to read, and this book provided plenty of that. I’ve had some ups and downs in my reading over the past couple of months, but this book drew me in from the very beginning and was impossible to put down.

The Lies That Bind was an intriguing read. I was completely invested in Cecily’s story. She was heartbroken, missing her ex-boyfriend, and was seriously considering getting in touch with him. I think I was even shaking my head while I was reading it and thinking No, girl, don’t do it! Luckily, a stranger was able to change her mind before she did something that she might have regretted. She and this handsome stranger enjoyed a couple of drinks and each other’s company and shared a connection that seemed as though it was meant to be.

While I was completely on board with this intense connection between Cecily and Grant, I am a suspicious person by nature, and I was wondering if it was too quick and too good to be true. But as suspicious as I am, I’m also a romantic at heart, and I wanted everything to work out for Cecily. I was quickly enamored by their interactions and their budding new relationship; however, I was hesitant to put all of my trust in Grant’s elusive nature.

This book had my heart beating faster and my apprehension at a high. The angst level in this book was off the charts. There were so many questions, concerning behavior, and I was on pins and needles while I anxiously flipped the pages. There was never a dull moment, and with every turn of the page, I was falling deeper and deeper into the tangled web of their relationship.

The Lies That Bind was intense, emotional, gripping, and brimming with heart-pounding and heartbreaking moments. I was all in, completely invested, and utterly captivated by this story. There were so many twists and revelations, and while I may have figured a couple of things out along the way, it certainly didn’t hinder my enjoyment of this novel. To put it simply, I loved it!

*5 Stars

The premise of the book could have been interesting however the plot was weak, the characters were not developed, non were likable ( except some of the secondary characters), the backdrop was a bold choice and I don't think the author pulled it off. Too many holes in the story and quite frankly (the ending(and consequences) it was a little unbelievable

I am left a little lost for words for this one and I am struggling to put my thoughts in words. The Lies That Bind was a hard one for me to swallow. So I am going to keep this short and to the point with how I am feeling about this one.

The Lies That Bind was off to a great start for me with Cecily and Grant meeting in a bar. I was intrigued when she reaches for her phone and he says "Don't do it--you'll regret it." Setting the story up for an exciting start for me. As the story progresses, a black cloud started to form and an overload of drama was pouring down, and I was drowning in it.

Emily Griffin pushed it too far for me by taking a real-life tragedy and surrounds it with drama and it all left me feeling sad and disappointed. Now, this might just be overthinking things again, so I suggest if you like to see the directions your story goes to look at some other reviews to see if this one is a good one to give a try.

The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin has left me feeling slightly conflicted and, if I'm honest, not altogether satisfied with the way that things ultimately wrap up. That aside, this is a well-written and entertaining read that will please Ms Giffin's legions of fans.

Cecily Gardner is a young journalist living in New York when she meets the charming, enigmatic Grant. Coming out of a breakup with longtime boyfriend Matthew, Cecily is quick to fall into bed with the handsome stranger, and what begins as a one night stand soon becomes something more. Cecily believes that she has met her soulmate, and is devastated for Grant when he confides that he has a twin brother who suffers from ALS and, as his sole carer, he must frequently leave town for extended periods to be with him. No red flags here, Cecily is in love, and isn't love well and truly blind?

So as not to reveal any plot twists, I will say only that I did enjoy this book. Emily Giffin has long been a favourite author of mine, but this time around the plot seemed to be a tad too far-fetched for any real degree of believability. After all, Cecily experiences more trauma over the course of a year than most will in a lifetime. That being said, I do recognize that this is a work of fiction, and encourage everyone to read this for themselves.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC.

Emily Giffin is one of my favourite authors. She publishes a book every two years and therefore the wait is longer than it is for some other authors. The Lies that Bind is a book that was well worth the wait.

The story begins in New York in the late spring of 2001, with our protagonist Cecily Gardner making a decision to get dressed one night to go to a bar. She has recently broken up with Matthew, her boyfriend of several years, who wasn’t as ready as she was to take the relationship to the next level. While at the bar she meets Grant who she feels an instant, overwhelming connection with. Over the next month, the relationship between the two intensifies as they both fall in love, and Cecily quickly gets over Matthew. Grant reveals his is a twin and that his twin brother Byron has been inflicted with ALS - the same disease that killed their mother. Byron has been accepted into a clinical trial in London, and Grant has decided to accompany Byron for the next three months to support him.

Grant returns from London on September 10. Cecily expects him to come directly to her apartment, but as the evening progresses she determines that something has prevented him from coming. Finally, after she has gone to bed, he arrives. They have a night of passion before she awakens the next morning to see that he has already left - presumably to go to work. Cecily is soon alerted of the 9/11 events and fears that Grant may have died in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. After days of searching, she sees a missing person poster with Grant’s photo on it and realizes that someone else is looking for him. She believes it may be Byron who arranged for the posters but what she soon finds out is that Grant had not been as transparent about his life as she thought he had.

I felt many emotions reading this book - romance, sadness and bewilderment to name just a few. There is no doubt, in my opinion, that Cecily gains self-awareness and experiences a period of growth during the time frame of the book - her insight into her relationship with Matthew is a case in point. She is fortunate to have the support of her family and friends. This is an extremely powerful gift which enables her to be able to take a step back and contemplate important decisions, instead of being as reactive as she once was. I appreciate the time spent in developing the characters, which I found to be real and likeable. Overall, the story was entertaining and kept me highly engaged. I recommend this book to those that enjoy historical fiction with a side of romance, and would be a good choice for book clubs.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

4.5/ 5 stars

Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors. So I was beyond excited to get to read her newest book.

Usually I would go into a book like this blind. But for some reason the first lines of the book blurb are in bold. So I ended up seeing one aspect of what this book was about. Although truthfully I think that I would have suspected this anyhow [spoiler tag (because of the city where the story is set and when the story takes place) (end of spoiler)].

I would categorize this book as a combination between Women's Fiction and Romance.

The book starts in May 2001. The narrator is 28 year old Cecily (1st person POV). She is a journalist/reporter.

When the book starts Cecily has just broken up with her longtime boyfriend Matthew. She meets a new man, Grant, at a bar.

The beginning was really interesting and captured my attention. And even though I knew one event that was going to happen, I still had no idea how things would play out.

This book was a lot more unpredictable than I was anticipating. The book took so many unexpected turns. I think that was my favorite part of the story.

At first I was very unsure what the title meant. But honestly this title could not have been more perfect for this story. It fit the story magnificently

There were some really interesting supporting characters in this book. I really enjoyed Cecily's gay best friend Scottie. And her co-worker Jasmine. They were her sounding boards and confidants. And I really liked that she had people that she could talk to about her problems. I also really enjoyed Amy. I don't really want to go into details to say who she is. But I was intrigued by everything about this character.

There were parts of this story that were sad. There were parts that were shocking. There were times in this book where I had absolutely no idea where the story was headed. I didn't know where the romance aspect of the story was going. And I sort of loved that about this book.

I really could not put this book down. Because I was desperate to find out how the story would end. Overall, this was such an amazing and crazy book. And I really loved it.

Honestly this just wasn't my favourite book by Emily Giffin, who is an author that I have followed with great devotion since reading her first book. I love her so much that I have driven two hours from home in order to attend one of her book signings.

THE LIES THAT BIND tells the story of Cecily- a woman who loves two men. One man is steady but slow to commit, another is passionate but hiding something. And then 9/11 happens and changes everything. As we get to know Cecily as well as the men in her life we discover, along with her, that not everything is always as it seems.

Frankly I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters in a significant way. When we gained insight in to Cecily and Grant's relationship I found myself intrigued by both of them and by their potential relationship, but as the plot thickened I began to lose that connection with them.

Despite my great anticipation of the upcoming release of this book, I just didn't love it. The one word that kept running through my head while reading this was "disconnect". I felt like the author was disconnected from her plot and it showed. Previous novels have had something distinctly "Emily" about them, tethering us, as the reader, to her, as the author. I would go so far as to say that the beginning of the book felt like it was written in a different style from the end of the book. At the beginning I was riveted, and by the end I honestly found myself mystified by both the plot and the way that the characters interacted with one another. The plot was saccharine at best and unlike what she usually writes. The result was a jumbled and confusing mess, and this isn't a book that I will be reaching for to read a second time.

I wanted to love this more than I did, but plot holes and disconnected writing made this book a strange read for me. My thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.