The formula for HOTM:

Weak women characters + Cheating scandal + Blaming parents for the way they are + Forgiveness on the woman's part = $UCE$$. Let's review.

I am getting very frustrated with the cheating scandal that seems to plague all of her books. Haven't we seen this before?

The story begins with Tessa and Nick, a seemingly perfect couple who have it all. A high powered career, 2 beautiful children, rich friends, yet there are cracks in their foundation. BLAHHHHHHHHHHH. Give me something n More...

I am mortified to have to spend precious reading-time on this junk which was inexplicably selected by my book club. Guess we let somebody slip this in without much vetting.

The characterization is lazy and boring.

The men in Tessa's family, though as beautiful as models, are somehow also in 'finance- Goldman Sachs' (oh cool, money) and 'the best pediatric surgeon in the world' (oh cool, money AND he loves children, calling George Clooney)-- and they live in regular suburbs like you & me! Gran More...

(Review was originally posted on Alexa Loves Books)

Heart of the Matter is written in Emily Giffin's style - a strong female perspective, matter of fact and brutally honest. This is what drew me to her book Something Borrowed in the first place, and what has kept me returning time and again despite the delicate subject matter she covers.

I was gripped by the subject matter of this book quite intensely. Kudos to Giffin for portraying the whole concept of adultery in a light that allows us to have b More...

Although I did not agree with the overall story-line and the way it ended, I found myself reading this book without taking breaks, actually reading it in less than a day. I liked the narrative between the two characters, Tessa and Valerie. Honestly, I just wish there would have been more of a completion for Valerie's story. It implies she is going to contact the biological father, which I know will then be the 'real father figure' Charlie needs. I felt the depiction of the women in this novel wa More...

I love the author's style of writing and would have given this book 5 stars if it had an alternate ending option.


*Spoilers* YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Maybe it's just me, but I was unsatisfied with the way the story ended. It wasn't because the story didn't turn out for the characters the way I had hoped, but the fairytale ending was extremely predictable and bothersome. I know the theme of the story was forgiveness, but sometimes things just need to end. Who goes to a different city to get "tipsy" with More...

I'm not sure why, in the spur of the moment, I chose to listen to this audiobook. I had learned enough about the book in the "cheating heroes" thread at Amazon to banish it to my "not in this lifetime" list. But with gloomy weather enhancing a melancholy mood, I decided to embrace depression completely.

Mission accomplished.


Tessa & Nick Russo, it would seem, have a life together that many aspire for yet few achieve. In their mid-30's and married 7 years, they are already enjoying an affluent More...

I remarked to someone over the weekend that all of Emily Giffin's books are about cheating. But they aren't. Not really. Just like cheating isn't usually the cause of a relationship breaking up; it's a symptom of a relationship that is already broken. Cheating is the plot of these books, but it isn't what the books are about. They're about choices. They're about growth. And here, the "heart of the matter" is forgiveness.

In this novel, Giffin skillfully tells the story about two women and the way More...

Read for my April bookclub. First, I have to disclose that this is not my preferred genre and the only reason I read "Heart of the Matter" was because it was chosen by my book club. Now...why the three star rating? I couldn't put the book down but I absolutely hated it. What a weird paradox. Giffin sure writes well and she knows how to pull you into a story but I just found the main characters incredibly frustrating. Although they all had their good characteristics, Giffin surely highlighted the More...

When I began reading this book, actually my first Giffin novel, I had not a clue what it was about. I refused to read reviews, allowing the book's jacket to be my only insight. A wise move since the anticipation simmering page by page and the unpredictability of what lay ahead in the pages of the first two-thirds of this book were terrific.

Therefore, I will do the same; I won't reveal the "heart" of this book. I will only say that Emily Giffin is a gifted writer, as you all knew and I now know, More...

I had a really hard time with this book... for a couple of reasons.
Spoiler Alert:
First, I had a hard time accepting that Nick would have an affair without first discussing any marital problems he was having with his wife. I feel like even after, when he fessed up and asked for forgiveness, he still never really gave a valid reason - "you changed" doesn't really count.
While I completely feel for Tess throughout the story, and feel like she was completely and unfairly wronged - at times I had a di More...

Ordinary story of love marriage and forgiveness. Quick read/

So It wasn't until after I finished this book that I realized that I knew the characters of Dex and Rachel from Emily Giffin's first book, "Something Borrowed". That gave me some better context for this whole story, as it is Dex's sister's story, but reading Giffin's earlier book or books isn't needed to understand this one. First there is Tessa, the wife of surgeon Nick Russo and mother to Ruby and Frank. There is Nick, himself, a specialist in children's plastic surgery. And there is Valerie a More...

I was tremendously disappointed in Giffin's latest book. I am generally a huge fan, and have handed copies of Something Borrowed and Baby Proof to friends who want an entertaining, but realistic and well written novel. One of the most serious problems was the dual point of view. I never found Valerie to be a sympathetic or well-developed character, and thus was jarred whenever leaving Tessa's world. Perhaps Nick would have presented a more interesting point of view, but I found him to be a ciphe More...

Before I continue, I will confess that I did not read the synopsis very well before I purchased this book. This is one instance where marketing and buzz completely influenced my purchase. Had I been paying closer attention, this would have been a book for which I would have thought twice before paying money for it. I might have been willing to read it or listen to it for free, but even then, the topic is one about which I have very strong feelings, so I tend to avoid books with this theme of adu More...

" Kekasih pujaan jiwaku, saat mencermati kata demi kata, bab demi bab hingga menyelesaikan novel karya Emily Griffin, betapa terharu, menilik kisah itu, namaun semua hanya sebuah gambaran dari penulis, Lebih indah dan lebih nyata saat menelaah jalan hidup seseorang yang mungkin hampir sama atau malah lebih dahsyat dibanding kisah ini"

Harapan dan cita-citaku, ingin rasanya mengembalikan sebuah kepercayaan, lebih pada sebuah ketulusan yang hakiki, kekasih puja jiwaku, biarlah semua berjalan seper More...

I really like Emily Giffin's writing style, which has much more depth and intelligence than a lot of chicklit out there (even if she does have occasional nagging problems with tense that would be resolved if she just picked one and stuck with it instead of swapping between past and present). I always find her books interesting while I'm reading them, but they often leave me feeling dissatisfied when I've finished them. She tends to write about the same issues over and over – e.g. infidelity and/ More...

http://trulyrudiono.blogspot.com/2012...

Sudut Bumi, Desember 20xz

Cintaku,
Belahan jiwaku,
Pusat kehidupanku,


Bagaimana kabarmu disana?
Sudah berapa putaran waktu berlalu sejak pertemuan kita yang terakhir.
Sungguh, aku memang ingin kau berada di sisiku, tapi apa dayaku, secara hukum engkau adalah milik orang lain. Cinta memang hak semua orang, begitu juga dengan kita. Tapi kisah cinta kita terbelenggu oleh ikatanmu dengan perempuan lain.

Orang selalu menganggapku perempuan cerdas yang tegar dan mampu More...

2.5* sebenarnya
(view spoiler)[
Sebelum memulai review ini sebaiknya saya ceritakan sedikit pandangan saya mengenai perselingkuhan.
1. Saat tau Tom Cruise menyelingkuhi Nicole Kidman, sampe sekarang saya menolak nonton film-filmnya. Apalagi film si selingkuhan Penelope Cruz. Bayangkan betapa tersiksanya saya saat akhirnya ngalah nonton Pirate of The Carribean #4. Kecintaan saya kepada Johnny Depp bikin saya ngalah nonton filmnya ini yang ternyata ga ada bagus-bagusnya karena emang dinodai si Cruz ini! *subyektif* (hide spoiler)] More...

Sebelum menceritakan kembali isi buku ini, saya rasa nggak cocok kalau belum mbahas covernya. Awal melihat cover buku ini, saya suka dengan covernya yang berwarna hijau lembut yang sebenarnya langsung mengingatkan saya pada jubah operasi dokter di rumah sakit. Lalu tangan seorang wanita dengan setangkai bunga sederhana, oke, ini pasti tentang perselingkuhan, dan voila.. saya benar.

Berawal dari sebuah tragedi yang menimpa seorang anak lelaki bernama Charlie yang memiliki orang tua tunggal, Valer More...

I agree with some of the the other reviews regarding the whole cheating topic. I'm sick of reading about couples cheating on each other, especially after Something Borrowed and Something Blue.

Tessa, is a mother of two children who is married to a pediatric plastic surgeon, Nick, who is a hot tamale. Tessa has recently quit her job as an English professor to stay home with her children but finds that it is not all she thought it would be. Her mother, divorced because her husband cheated on her, More...

This book takes you on a journey you don’t want to go on in real life. Betrayl, lies, cheating. I didn’t see anything so wrong with Tess and Nick’s marriage that he should have even thought for a second about cheating. And why why why choose Valerie? She and Tess couldn’t have been more different. Maybe that was why.

Nick ended up spending more time with Val and her son than he did with his wife and own kids. I really thought he was a jerk and I literally told him that a few times while reading t More...

Yo le hubiera otorgado 2 estrellas y media,pero no me es posible.El libro esta bien narrado,bien descrito...pero esta autora debe buscarse un mejor argumento que la infidelidad.En la mayoria de sus libros esta presente y en este no es diferente.Debido a un terrible accidente que sufre su hijo no reconocido(lo digo xq la autora hace mucho incapie sobre esto,como si esto lo hiciera menos que otro niÑo)Valerie conoce al guapo cirujano que esta atendiendolo,que este es el esposo de Tessa,una mujer q More...

I can see that many people don't like Heart of the matter, and I can understand them. But I was absolutely blown away by this book.

I instantly knew that something will happen between Nick and Valerie and I was pissed off. Valerie kinda annoyed me because she is so closed and over caring for her son. I can understand that, but what I can't understand is why she let herself fall for Nick? Her son is number one for her and she should have known what damage she could cause to her son because of a re More...

Once again I'm underwhelmed by the characters Emily Giffin portrays in her books. Despite an excellent understanding of human nature and the ability to perfectly convey it in her writing, I have to say that I did not like the story that unfolded in this novel. Life is complicated. Marriages are complicated. People make horrible decisions that they can't take back. These are recurring themes in Ms. Giffin's books. I understand all of that but don't necessarily want to read about it in EVERY SINGL More...