Something Borrowed : a review

Rachel has always been overshadowed by her friend Darcy. Darcy has always been the prettier one, the happier one, the bossier one, the one who got into the best college, got the ideal guy. Now she is engaged and Rachel is her maid of honor. But one drunken night just a few months before the wedding, Rachel sleeps with Darcy’s fiance, Dex. She decides to put it behind her and pretend it didn’t happen, but that is not so easy. Especially when Dex calls her and says he’s still thinking about her and wants to see her again…

This chick lit novel was fun and engaging, if not especially realistic. It was hard to understand why Rachel would ever want to be friends with someone like Darcy, even given their long history together, though she insisted that she valued their friendship. Dex began to lose his appeal as the story went on too, so I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the way it ended. But it was light and fun and kept my interest. I listened to the audio version and will probably listen to the next one too, as it was perfect for my walk home from work every day.

I listened to the book on playaway, which is a little MP3 player. My mind tends to wander a lot, so I struggle with audiobooks and tend to stick with very particular types of books: chick lit, young adult, and – for some odd reason – Anne Perry’s Victorian-era mysteries. The playaway is definitely my favorite format for audio now – no CDs to copy over to another device, nothing to download, and I can listen to it anywhere, easily. Just get the device from the library, add a battery if needed, and plug in my headphones. The only thing I don’t really like is the display. It counts down the time remaining in each chapter, so the clock is ticking backwards. This confuses me greatly when I’m trying to rewind or fast forward, so I try hard to not miss anything as I’m listening. Because it only counts down the current chapter I have no idea how far through the book I am, which is something I wish I didn't find so important. But that’s a minor quibble about something which is otherwise incredibly convenient. Do try them if you like audiobooks - I bet your library has them!