Book Review: "Attachments" by Rainbow Rowell

Summary from BN.com: Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office e-mail. But the women still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can't seem to tell her husband about her anxieties over starting a family. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period.

When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he hardly imagined he'd be sifting through other people's inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company e-mail, but he can't quite bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can't help but be entertained-and captivated- by their stories.

But by the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late for him to ever introduce himself. What would he say to her? "Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you." After a series of close encounters and missed connections, Lincoln decides it's time to muster the courage to follow his heart . . . even if he can't see exactly where it's leading him.

Written with whip-smart precision and charm, Attachments is a strikingly clever and deeply romantic debut about falling in love with the person who makes you feel like the best version of yourself. Even if it's someone you've never met.

*Squee!* That was my reaction after finishing this book. I totally adored this story. It's so cute. I know that's probably not the best way to describe a book, but it really is. I absolutely adored this book.

When you first meet Lincoln and hear about his situation, you rather pity him. I mean, he's in his late 20s, lives with his mom and he's only had one girlfriend his entire life. He's also a computer nerd which normally doesn't equal hip. His job consists of him reading other people's emails. He also isn't very good at standing up for himself. That doesn't normally shout out WINNER to the average person. However as the reader learns more about Lincoln's past and what he really wants, he becomes an incredibly likable character. His job of reading emails introduces him to Beth and Jennifer, two workers in his company. He learns about their lives through their emails which he finds he can't stop reading. It is through the emails that he falls in love with Beth even though he doesn't know what she looks like. I don't want to spoil the story but there's a wonderful twist that happens. I was very happy when I discovered it and guessed correctly.

I love how this book combines the email conversations with regular prose. I love stories that use email/IM/twitter formats but I find that I read those books really fast because of the format. While it's fun and different, it feels rather rushed. By combining the emails with a regular narrative, it allows the unique format to blend with the story allowing for a deeper reading but still very enjoyable at the same time. Through the emails we (and Lincoln) learn the deepest secrets of Beth and Jennifer's lives and there's a lot of emotion that flows out of them.

I think what is best about the story is that Rowell takes the very common boy-meets-girl story and gives a very different twist. It's a bold move that I think played off very well. I couldn't stop reading and I found myself really getting into the story. I cheered at parts. I became very sad at parts. I got angry at parts. I felt the love at parts. It's a truly wonderful book and just so very fun to read. I feel that Rowell has written a winner and I cannot wait to read more from her. HIGHLY recommended.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is published by Dutton (2011)

This ARC was provided for a blog tour with TLC Book Tours

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