"Heart of the Matter" - Emily Giffin - 2010


Thankfully, I wasn't reminded of Don Henley until the final pages.  What is up with the song titles for book titles trend?  It drives me crazy, but that being said, that title is pretty dead on - this book is all about forgiveness.  This is the story of two women, a wife and the other woman, told in alternating chapters and interestingly one in first person, and the other in third.  The husband is actually a pediatric surgeon, like the fake boyfriend in the last book I read.  

"Heart of the Matter" surprised me with a guest appearance from my favorite Giffin novel.  I often complain about couples who re-appear in novels after their own HEA but, I loved seeing Dex and Rachel's "perfect" marriage and the little head nod to her daily conversations with Darcy (the somewhat-scorned heroine of 'Something Blue').   I worried that "Heart of the Matter" would read as "Something Borrowed" the sequel, but it holds its own and showcases a completely different sort of love story.  

I flew through "Heart of the Matter" during a lazy Labor Day Weekend afternoon, and it has inspired me to try to get in one more re-read of "Something Borrowed" before Hollywood completely ruins it!