My FirstReads ARC just arrived in the mail. Love the cover, hope to get to it soon!

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So I started this last night. Truthfully I wasn't expecting much -- though there are only four reviews so far, the average is a sliver over two stars. I told myself I didn't even have to finish it if I hated it after an hour or so.

But I ran a hot bath... and two hours later I was still reading. I really, really like this book so far (I'm now about halfway through it). Noble manages to walk a fine line perfectly: this book is neither "silly" chick lit (that's fun, but secretly you feel a little guilty for reading something so shallow), nor is it the kind of book that takes itself too seriously. So far, I feel like someone who just found out that the cubic zirconia earrings she bought at the flea market are actually real diamonds... I intend to savor the rest of this book.

***

Finished this last night... it was perfect. I wouldn't have changed the ending or, looking back, much of ANYTHING about the book, which is a fairly rare thing for me to say about any book that even comes close to being called "chick lit." I loved every single one of the characters -- they were all flawed, but they were yet sympathetic, and I'd love to have a dinner party and invite them all. The story was complex because of the well-developed and intricate relationships between the characters, not because of not-quite-believable plot twists that are all too common in the genre.

One word to describe my reaction to this book: impressed. ( )

I won this book in a giveaway. It is nicely written and a heartwarming story that you can easily imagine to be someone you've know all your life. ( )