#71 A Review of Something Blue by Emily Giffin

 Something Blue is the second in a two book series written by Emily Giffin.  The first book was Something Borrowed, which I reviewed here.

The beginning of Something Blue begins the same way Something Borrowed ended, just told through the eyes of Darcy.  Darcy has canceled her wedding with Dex, has been sleeping with Marcus, and is pregnant with his baby.  She heads over to Rachel’s apartment to tell her everything that has happened and finds her ex-fiancée Dex hiding in Rachel’s closet, in his boxers.  Completely flabbergasted that her plain jane best friend Rachel is sleeping with her ex, she runs from the apartment yelling back at them to never speak to her again.  Running to Marcus’ apartment she tells him everything and tries to forget about everything.  She tries her hardest to get Marcus to be the man she needs, but he would much rather be a man’s man.  He’s into video games, sloppy dressing, crap restaurants, and just being a complete slacker.  Darcy is realizing that Marcus is not the man she thought he was.  She is regretting leaving Dex and is trying to think of ways to get him back not believing he has any feelings for Rachel.  She convinces Dex to come pick up some things from their former apartment and tries to woo him.  Dex tells Darcy he loves Rachel and that he’ll never love her again.  Darcy can not get over the fact that Dex wants Rachel and becomes truly lost;  her friends want nothing to do with her because she’s pregnant, she’s broken up with Marcus, and she’s in a fight with her parents. 

“For the next few days I cranked up “I Will Survive,” Ace of Base’s “I Saw the Sign,” and other inspiring songs as I racked my brain, trying to come up with a plan, a way to escape the shame of so much rejection.  I needed a fresh start, a change of venue, a new cast of characters.”

It is with this thought that Darcy calls her friend Ethan in London and asks if she can come and stay with him for a while.  Ethan agrees to it but makes her well aware that he does not want to discuss Rachel and Dex with her.  (Ethan is good friends with Rachel as well as Darcy and doesn’t want to be in the middle). Darcy heads over to England and realizes, with the help of Ethan, that she isn’t that great of a person.  Ethan and Darcy have a huge fight and Ethan tells Darcy what a horrible friend she has been, and had the tables been turned Darcy would no doubt have no problem sleeping with Rachel’s fiancée.  Darcy truly digs deep and realizes she needs to change herself before giving birth and wants to prove to Ethan that she can be a good person. 

People say that Something Blue is the better between the two novels.  I’m going to have to disagree and say that I enjoyed Something Borrowed much better.  I can understand why Something Blue is a favorite.  It’s a story about redemption.  You want to see Darcy redeem herself and become a better person.  You want her to find love and happiness.  You want her to become the person she’s always had the ability to be, but chose not too because of her upbringing.

I really enjoyed the larger role that Ethan played in this novel, as he was a great influence on Darcy.  When I started reading Something Blue I was worried about how much I would enjoy the novel, considering it was focused on Darcy.  The journey that Darcy takes is incredibly relatable.  When life gets tough people re-evaluate their lives, their relationships, their friendships, etc.  I began feeling for Darcy: wanting her to succeed, wanted her to find love, to find friendships. As she began succeeding in those sections of her life I began liking her character more, which in turn allowed me to enjoy the novel.  I definitely recommend reading the novel, especially if you’ve read Something Borrowed.

4 out of 5 Stars