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 cipher. We accept Tessa's statements that he has been an acceptable husband and father, but I saw very little evidence of either. And while I understand that there may have been marital issues, I was disturbed by Nick's readiness to spend time with another child, instead of his own.



The primary flaw, however, was that, like Tess, the reader never really discovers why Nick behaved the way he did. The simplistic answer at the end felt very unrealistic, nothing felt resolved, and I saw no real learning curve for the characters. While most of Giffin's novels feel realistic and true, this one felt more like an unsuccessful writing exercise.