Annie Adams thinks she has it all. Her longtime boyfriend, Nick, is on the verge of becoming a successful film director, her travel column is nationally syndicated, and they’ve got a great dog. Her life finally feels like it is falling into place. Until, out of nowhere, Nick announces that he’s reconnected with a woman from his past and he’s moving out.
Reeling from Nick’s exit, Annie stumbles into her neighborhood bar and finds Griffin, a down to earth chef who seems to be everything she didn‚Äôt know she wanted. Three months later, they‚ are married. And Annie finds herself in a small Massachusetts town — completely unmoored and wondering if she‚ has picked a life on the rebound. When Nick returns, wanting a second chance, Annie’s stuck: truly torn between her husband and the man she may have been meant to marry.
A wry observer of modern love, Laura Dave “steers clear of easy answers to explore the romantic choices we make” (USA Today). The First Husband is her most delightful work to date, bursting with humor, and rife with surprising insight about love, marriage, family, and fresh starts — in the places we least expect to find them.
The First Husband by Laura Dave is the perfect beach read, road trip read, summer read, or any day of the year read. I am thrilled to say that Laura Dave has become a regular author in my book collection. Her writing is fantastic! Dave is brilliant at making complex situations out of characters who desire simple things…the main one of those things is love. With love, comes accepting the fact that every character has their flaws and has their share of mistakes. With these, Dave really brings to light how our decisions affect not only ourselves but those around us as well. As I mentioned in my review for Dave’s The Divorce Party, Dave really knows how to provoke the reader to think about their own actions when it comes to love, life, and the fight to keep a relationship together. Only, in this book, Annie is torn between two men. This might seem be the main conflict at hand but there is a lot in store for the reader to anticipate.
The way that Dave reveals certain plot points, the way that pieces to the puzzle are handed to the readers, it’s done so well! Not only are there great parallels shared between Annie and Griffin, who were raised in two completely different environments, but it is incredibly intriguing to find how well Annie connects with Griffin’s brother and not so well with Griffin’s mother (who still loves Griffin’s ex). Griffin’s brother at times actually has more character than Griffin and his relationship with Annie is often more engaging than her conversations with Griffin. That is until the opening of Griffin’s restaurant, when Nick comes into town to win Annie back. Annie and Griffin’s relationship have quite a few hardships and realistic hardships at that. And the hardships that Annie faces with Nick lead her to Griffin, who encourages Annie to take a look at herself. As a traveling writer, Annie may have thought that she was living the life but all long she was running from it. She really couldn’t make a decision about being with Griffin or Nick until she made the decision to face herself. What’s more compelling than that?
Self reflection always makes for a moving story but the chances that Annie takes throughout this journey make for an even more engaging story. Dave does a wonderful job giving the readers a chance to get inside Annie’s mind as they watch her makes certain choices whether it has to do with herself as individual or as a married woman. The latter was especially for someone such as myself, who has no intention of getting married… especially in the quick way that it happened for Annie. And Dave’s humor is light and fun but also bold and thought provoking, so there is also something to be entertained by. This is more than just a love story. There’s self-love, trust, and taking risks among other themes which are very well crafted in this novel. The First Husband is enjoyable for everyone from teens and beyond. There’s a lot to appreciate here, so you don’t want to be without a copy of The First Husband.
The First Husband by Laura Dave released in bookstores May 16, 2011.