Thursday 19 June 2014

Review: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Narrated by: Laura Hamilton
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Length: 9 Hours 7 Minutes
Audiobook Publication date: April 14th 2011
My rating: 4 stars 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91378.Speak_No_Evil

"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?



My Thoughts:
Attachments was such a charming, perfect example of “chick lit” with wacky humor, and a sweet slow burn romance.   

Lincoln is stuck in a life rut at twenty-eight. He’s back at home living with his mother, stuck in a job that pays well but is completely unfulfilling, and still hung up after a bad college breakup.  Part of Lincoln’s job is to monitor the company email for improper usage and to hand out warnings to abusers.  When Beth and Jennifer’s emails wind up in his flagged folder he finds himself captivated by their messages, and this inspires Lincoln to launch out of his rut. Lincoln slowly falls for Beth, just by reading the email exchanges, and he begins to fall in love with her sight unseen. 

“Lincoln?” she asked.
“Yes?”
“Do you believe in love at first sight?”He made himself look at her face, at her wide-open eyes and earnest forehead. At her unbearably sweet mouth.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Do you believe in love before that?”

Beth spies Lincoln in the break room and falls for her “cute guy” as she calls him, without knowing anything about him.  I wondered how this romance would work out, especially in light of the fact that Beth has been in a relationship for the past eight years.

I really felt for Lincoln. He’s the kind of guy who falls hard and so it ripped his heart to shreds when his college girlfriend broke it off, and he’s never quite moved on.  I felt for Beth, too. She’s in a stagnant relationship with Chris who’s emotionally unavailable most of the time. Chris wants space and doesn’t hold the same life goals important, so instead of being married with children at this point in her life, everything is in a holding pattern. Chris was a total loser, IMO, and most people around Beth thought the same thing. It just took a while for Beth to catch up.

As the story plays out, Lincoln, Beth and Jennifer go through some major changes all the while learning and growing from their experiences.  I feel like Beth and Lincoln’s romance was the centerpiece of Attachments, and I was rooting for it the entire time.

I loved this unique story which reminded me so much of the popular ‘90s chick flicks, You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle.  This would’ve been a solid 5 stars for me if I didn’t have to wait quite so long for this couple to actually get together.  The reason for Lincoln holding off was not quite the big deal as the story made out, to me, but other than that Attachments was great fun!  The narrator was upbeat and cheery in her delivery which suited the story perfectly.

Favorite Quote:
“I didn't know someone could love me like this," she said. "Could love me and love me and love me without...needing space."
Lincoln wasn't asleep. He rolled on top of her.
"There's no air in space," he said.



38 comments:

Danielle said...

I picked this up on kindle a while back. It sounds really cute and I love the throwback to those early days of the internet. Lovely review!

Siiri said...

Everyone needs a good chick lit from time to time ;) Although it's a little stalkerish, haha, I just love the sound of this. I love slow burn and I'm glad that Beth and Lincoln suit so well with each other, especially since she isn't a good match with Chris. I'd love to read this one soon :) So happy you enjoyed, Rachel! *giggles at the last quote* ;)

Pooja. S said...

I loved those last lines. And Attachments is my favourite chic lit of all time! I absolutely loved Lincoln and Beth and how it resembled 90s chic flicks! Glad you liked it too, Rachel :D

Amanda Gray said...

Aww man, that last quote, beautiful, absolutely beautiful! I've been meaning to try a Rowell book at some point and I've just never gotten there, but I think this is available at the library, so I'm pushing it onwards and upwards I think. Wonderful reviews Jasprit, thank you for the encouragement! :D

Carina Olsen said...

Aw, I love those quotes. <3 Thank you for sharing. And amazing review :D I'm glad you mostly loved this book. <3 I ADORE Rainbow. But I'm not ready to read this book yet :p Don't read Adult yet.. and I know some things in this book would bother me / be heartbreaking :\ Sigh. But it also seems so good. I'm conflicted, lol. But anyway. I'm glad you liked it :D

Jules said...

I've always wanted to read this ever since I read the blurb. But by the looks of your review, I guess I have to read this sooner than I planned. I can't wait to get my hands on this. :D

Rashika said...

Oh maaaaaan
I do want to read this now. There is something so adorable about the way you make it sound and all those quotes? daww

I hope I can get my hands on a copy soon and you know I'll blame you if I don't like it :P

Fantastic review, Rachel!! :)

Rashika @ The Social Potato

Aimee (Aimee, Always) said...

I haven't watched You've Got Mail, but my mom loved it and I've read a lot of fanfics using that as a basis for their stories. :P I'm definitely going to read this when I can. Lincoln sounds like one of those cute, genuinely sweet guys who I tend to love. ;D

Anonymous said...

I love your review, Rachel! This is such a cute book - I loved it. Glad you enjoyed it, too! Are you planning to read more Rainbow Rowell? E&P is definitely my fav.

Rachel said...

I would like to pick up more by her after "reading" and loving this! I'm thinking Fangirl. I know you loved that one, Brandie. And thanks! :)

Shooting Stars Mag said...

This does sound really cute!! I hope to read this one soon.

Mary @ BookSwarm said...

I liked Lincoln but not enough to finish the story. Yeah, I'm one of *those* people who didn't like this story. I hate when that happens but I just didn't get attached (heh. See what I did there. Didja? *nudge*).

Brandy said...

I love Rainbow Rowell's stories. They just feel so real to me. While this one isn't my favorite of hers (I'm probably leaning toward Fangirl on that), I really loved this story. And I definitely felt for Beth, who couldn't see how much of her life she was wasting with Chris. Not that she didn't get anything out of it and grow herself, but he was definitely not the person for her. I was elated when she finally woke up. :) I hope you enjoy more her books!

Anonymous said...

This sounds absolutely adorable, and like one of the romantic comedies or chick flicks I cannot get enough of! I still have yet to read anything by Rainbow Rowell, and I need to fix this immediately! This one sounds like a fun, cute read, and I plan to read it sometime in the future. Great review, Rachel! :D

Jenny said...

Other than the wait for them to get together, this book sounds AWESOME! I love those 90's romantic comedies, so I have no doubt I'll be a fan of this one Rachel! Sounds like it will be the perfect summer vacation read. Can't wait:)

JennRenee said...

great review. I loved Rowells other books and can't wait to read this one. She knows how to do romance. Sometimes the wait is worth it.

Anonymous said...

Rachel, this sounds like all kinds of adorable. I love the sound of the couple falling in love with each other via emails. I've only read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, but I loved the book. I have one question for you, does Beth stay with Chris for a long time after corresponding with Lincoln?
Lovely review, Rachel!

Lauren @ Love is not a triangle said...

YAY! I'm happy you loved this too, Rachel. Rainbow Rowell is amazing at picking these awkward, quirky characters - who are pretty much losers and turning them into people you can't help but fall in love with. I loved seeing Lincoln's growth and watching he and Beth discover each other. I agree, Chris was terrible. Glad she finally figures that out.

Unknown said...

I got this when it was an audio special and now I can't wait listen to it. Thanks for the review!

Emma said...

You had me at your first line of your review. I loved Rowell's Fangirl and I have this one on my tablet to read really soon. But a bit of adult chick lit and light humour really doesn't harm you in-between YA and NA! I really miss that sometimes. Lovely review, Rachel! :)

Unknown said...

I loved Lincoln and Beth both. They were such fun and relatable characters. I agree though that it took too long for them to finally get together and I would have liked more pages with them actually together but... gosh this was so much fun. This would be a good re-read, I'll have to check it out on audio. Great review!

Rachel said...

Lol, Rashika! I hope you love it then. :)

Rachel said...

You make me feel old, Aimee, lol! Seriously though you should watch You've Got Mail! It's one of my all-time favorite chick flicks! I hope you like this when you get to it. :)

Rachel said...

Haha, Mary! Pun intended? :) Not every story is going to work for every reader, so I completely understand.

Rachel said...

Yeah, I have close to zero patience so I had to speed up the narrator's voice at the end so I could get to the good part faster. I think this would be a wonderful beach read, Jenny! :)

Rachel said...

I think you'd like this one, Nick. And no, Beth doesn't have any sort of relationship with Lincoln, emailing or otherwise until Chris is totally out of the picture. It's an admiring of all the hunky goodness that is Lincoln, from afar. :)

Rachel said...

Yay, Andrea! The Daily Deal is awesome on Audible and that's how I got it, too. I'm so happy I scooped it up because it's an awesome story. :)

Rachel said...

The audio was awesome, Bonnie. If you're a fan of audio books I totally recommend this one!

Rachel said...

This was really super cute, Emma. If you're a fan of RR's writing already I'd wager you'd love this one. :)

Rachel said...

I'm thrilled you read and loved this one, too, Lauren! Chris...ugh! :(

Rachel said...

I'd love to read Fangirl, especially hearing that you enjoyed it even more than Attachments, Brandy. That scene with Chris and Beth at her sister's wedding, dancing, broke my heart. :(

Melliane said...

I only read Fangirl but I really liked it and I confess I'm curious to try something else by the author. This one sounds perfect! thanks!

Keertana said...

You've Got Mail is one of my absolute favorite movies, so of course this became my favorite Rowell read. I adored the romance and especially how these characters had so much else in their lives too so that this felt so realistic and like far more than just another "chick-lit". Like you, I'd have liked to see more of Lincoln and Beth's interactions, but I loved reading this so much it hardly mattered. ;) Lovely review, Rachel!

Steph said...

I love the premise of this book and cannot wait the read it. Wonderful review!

Dre Wolf said...

4 Stars is NOT bad. I really loved this, and it's my favorite among the 3 Rowell books I've read so far. I really enjoyed reading Beth and Jennifer's email exchanges, and I loved how nerdy Lincoln was. ;)

- Sporadic Reads

Unknown said...

Okay, okay, I'll go back and finish this one! I started it and liked it, but then I had other books I wanted to read that pushed this to the backburner. Now I KNOW I'm missing out. That quote is absolutely adorable. Love your review, Rachel!

Henrietta @ Leisure Reads said...

You've Got Mail was one of my top favorite movies of all time! I'll have to check out the audio version. Thanks for sharing, Rachel!

Unknown said...

This might be my least favorite RR, but that's not saying a whole lot because I still really enjoyed it! I think my least favorite part was Chris - like you said, he's such a loser, I wish she would have seen that a lot sooner. But the main romance is so sweet and awkward and adorable; I was pretty much in love with the last quarter of the book. :P Great review!

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