First Comes Love

 

Summary (from the publisher): In this dazzling new novel, Emily Giffin, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed, Where We Belong, and The One & Only introduces a pair of sisters who find themselves at a crossroads.

 
Growing up, Josie and Meredith Garland shared a loving, if sometimes contentious relationship. Josie was impulsive, spirited, and outgoing; Meredith hardworking, thoughtful, and reserved. When tragedy strikes their family, their different responses to the event splinter their delicate bond.
 
Fifteen years later, Josie and Meredith are in their late thirties, following very different paths. Josie, a first grade teacher, is single—and this close to swearing off dating for good. What she wants more than the right guy, however, is to become a mother—a feeling that is heightened when her ex-boyfriend’s daughter ends up in her class. Determined to have the future she’s always wanted, Josie decides to take matters into her own hands.
 
On the outside, Meredith is the model daughter with the perfect life. A successful attorney, she’s married to a wonderful man, and together they’re raising a beautiful four-year-old daughter. Yet lately, Meredith feels dissatisfied and restless, secretly wondering if she chose the life that was expected of her rather than the one she truly desired.
 
As the anniversary of their tragedy looms and painful secrets from the past begin to surface, Josie and Meredith must not only confront the issues that divide them, but also come to terms with their own choices. In their journey toward understanding and forgiveness, both sisters discover they need each other more than they knew . . . and that in the recipe for true happiness, love always comes first.
 
Emotionally honest and utterly enthralling, First Comes Love is a story about family, friendship, and the courage to follow your own heart—wherever that may lead.

Review: Despite having different personalities and interests, sisters Josie and Meredith share a happy childhood. But when their family experiences an unimaginable loss, their differing responses to the family tragedy has a lasting impact on their relationship. Now in their late thirties, the sisters have chosen different paths in life but both are unfulfilled. In order to move forward, find happiness, and resolve their differences. 

I enjoyed the sisters' stories and was quickly reeled in. Josie is a first grade teacher who is still single and childless, lives with her male best friend, and is stressing over having her ex-boyfriend's daughter in her class for the year. Meanwhile Meredith is a successful attorney married to a wonderful man and raising a little girl yet she feels unfulfilled and questions her life decisions. Yet both characters were fairly dislikable and annoying. And despite these annoying traits, they get annoyed and angry with each other for other causes that don't seem particularly annoying. Their flaws and their difficult relationship made them feel realistic and more fully realized as characters. However, virtually no other characters in the story had much depth to them.

At heart, this novel is a character study of two sisters whose adult lives have been defined by an early family death. The sisters largely avoid each other, so much of the book just reads as alternating chapters of disparate storylines. I enjoyed Josie's storyline much more and found myself impatiently reading through Meredith's chapters. Yet overall I enjoyed this book and was entertained by the storyline. 

Stars: 3