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kelseyshockley's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
oxlabyrinthxo's review against another edition
5.0
Attachments is another fantastic book by Rainbow Rowell (who I actually met and got her to sign my copy of Fangirl!) Attachments is about a twenty-something named Lincoln O'Neill who starts working as a Tech guy for a Newspaper and one of his jobs is to monitor the emails that employees send out. That's how he "meets" Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder, by reading their emails they send back and forth. So that's a little creepy, but it endears me to Lincoln because he really is just that awkward about people and he genuinely feels bad about reading their emails and invading their privacy.
Lincoln feels stuck in life. Stuck with where he is and has no room to grow and do something else which is really relatable to me at this juncture in life and he sees a bit of a kindred spirit in Beth who feels the same. She's stuck in a dead end relationship with a musician. (Rule #23 of Amanda's Rules for life: Don't date musicians.) Her boyfriend is also kind of a jerk (Rule #3: Don't date assholes or "fixer-uppers") but sometimes he's a bit endearing which makes it hard to decided if I want Lincoln and Beth together or if I want this tragic stalking to end with them never having met face-to-face.
As the story progresses we learn more about Beth and Jennifer. Like Jennifer is struggling in her marriage because she's afraid of taking the plunge and becoming a parent, though ultimately she does get pregnant and Beth is a bridesmaid in her sister's wedding which brings up a lot of conversation about how she isn't married and her relationship with the musician (whose name escapes me so we're going to call him Bill because I am unimaginative.) So Beth's sister's wedding put a lot of stress on Beth and Bill's relationship.
Meanwhile Lincoln starts to get the hang of adulthood (WHAT ARE THE SECRETS OF IT LINCOLN TELL ME!) He moves out of his parents house and quits his job to get one he actually wants to have and doesn't hate. But before he leaves he writes a note to Beth explaining that he has been reading their emails, that he's sorry and knows it was wrong but that they should probably stop sending emails to each other at work. The books starts to wind down and I'm fearful that my ship won't sail and it's just one of those bitter life lessons we learn about unrequited love and how to respect privacy in this modern age but then ships ahoy! Beth and Lincoln meet in real life when she's at a movie theatre to review a movie and he's there to watch the movie for funsies! So they have a pseudo date which leads to a real relationship!
I really enjoyed Attachments by Rainbow Rowell and I look forward to reading more of her books.
Lincoln feels stuck in life. Stuck with where he is and has no room to grow and do something else which is really relatable to me at this juncture in life and he sees a bit of a kindred spirit in Beth who feels the same. She's stuck in a dead end relationship with a musician. (Rule #23 of Amanda's Rules for life: Don't date musicians.) Her boyfriend is also kind of a jerk (Rule #3: Don't date assholes or "fixer-uppers") but sometimes he's a bit endearing which makes it hard to decided if I want Lincoln and Beth together or if I want this tragic stalking to end with them never having met face-to-face.
As the story progresses we learn more about Beth and Jennifer. Like Jennifer is struggling in her marriage because she's afraid of taking the plunge and becoming a parent, though ultimately she does get pregnant and Beth is a bridesmaid in her sister's wedding which brings up a lot of conversation about how she isn't married and her relationship with the musician (whose name escapes me so we're going to call him Bill because I am unimaginative.) So Beth's sister's wedding put a lot of stress on Beth and Bill's relationship.
Meanwhile Lincoln starts to get the hang of adulthood (WHAT ARE THE SECRETS OF IT LINCOLN TELL ME!) He moves out of his parents house and quits his job to get one he actually wants to have and doesn't hate. But before he leaves he writes a note to Beth explaining that he has been reading their emails, that he's sorry and knows it was wrong but that they should probably stop sending emails to each other at work. The books starts to wind down and I'm fearful that my ship won't sail and it's just one of those bitter life lessons we learn about unrequited love and how to respect privacy in this modern age but then ships ahoy! Beth and Lincoln meet in real life when she's at a movie theatre to review a movie and he's there to watch the movie for funsies! So they have a pseudo date which leads to a real relationship!
I really enjoyed Attachments by Rainbow Rowell and I look forward to reading more of her books.
bhnmt61's review against another edition
3.0
Odd book. A newspaper hires Lincoln to read internal emails that have been flagged for possible violations of company policies. As he reads, he starts to fall in love with Beth, a movie critic. The email conversations between Beth and her friend Jennifer are funny and mostly realistic, and there are some truly sweet moments, like the time Lincoln changes Jennifer’s tire in a rainstorm. But several cringingly odd things happen that you just have to ignore if you’re going to finish the book. And I did finish it. Rowell is a mixed bag for me— I love Baz and Simon Snow, but Eleanor and Park was a hard no. This one is somewhere in between. I just don’t find obsessive love to be all that appealing, but prob not everyone feels that way. And also, at the 80% mark Lincoln and Beth still haven’t even had a conversation. Read at your own risk. TW for a side character’s miscarriage.
emmareids's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
elizabethide's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.5
THIS. This is the book that breaks my reading slump! I just love this story about love and friendship and connection. And the Y2K stuff cracked me up.
“There are moments when you can't believe something wonderful is happening. And there are moments when your entire consciousness is filled with knowing absolutely that something wonderful is happening. Lincoln felt like he'd dunked his head into a sink full of Pop Rocks and turned on the water.”
“There are moments when you can't believe something wonderful is happening. And there are moments when your entire consciousness is filled with knowing absolutely that something wonderful is happening. Lincoln felt like he'd dunked his head into a sink full of Pop Rocks and turned on the water.”
curiouslyjade's review against another edition
4.0
Sweet and fluffy and smart, with a hilariously 90s backdrop.
triin_s's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
breakablecatepillar's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
eesh25's review against another edition
3.0
This novel is set in 1999. There are three main characters (no love triangle, don't worry). All three work at the same office. We have Beth and Jennifer, two friends who often use their office e-mail to message each other back and forth, something all employees have been told not to do. Then we have Lincoln, the IT guy whose job it is to inspect all the e-mails to make sure rules are being followed.
At first, Lincoln reads the work emails as a fun distraction from his boring job. But slowly, he starts to fall for one of the girls. Now all he has to do is go introduce himself ...as the guy who's been reading her e-mails.
Interesting premise, right? And a really fun book too. That's why it was hard to rate. I had problems with it, but I also really like it. There were many good things. The writing, as expected from Rainbow Rowell, was great, with the right amount of emotion and humour. The format of the book was great too. I was so upset when the e-mails finally stopped.
I liked all the characters and getting to know them. Lincoln, for example; even though I knew what he was doing was wrong, I couldn't not like him. He was such a cute, likable and relatable character. So were both Beth and Jennifer. I adored their conversations. They were funny and completely trivial at times. Other times they were meaningful and sweet. Beth and Jennifer's relationship with each other was precious. We don't get to see female friendships like this, often.
I also liked getting to know Lincoln's mom and his sister. They were entertaining. Though I'm surprised Lincoln hasn't going crazy with the two of them constantly being pushy and trying to shove their opinions down his throat.
Honestly, the only drawback of this book, for me, was the romance. And that's why it was a book I found hard to rate. Because while I want to say that it was just one thing and, therefore, not a big deal; it was a big deal.
This a contemporary romance novel. Saying it's okay for the romantic aspect to be lacking is like coming from watching a horror movie and going, "It was a great movie but it wasn't scary." It's the key aspect. And the reason it didn't work was because I didn't see it. I didn't see Lincoln falling for Beth. Yeah, he said she was kind and funny and stuff, but those are such general things. I just couldn't feel it with them. I could see him liking her, but love? Yeah, I didn't buy that.
Another thing, that also comes under romance, was the ending. I didn't like it. And it's not that I didn't like where they were in the end, I just dislike how they got there. It felt wrong because it came out of nowhere. The series of events was all wrong and very rushed. I kind of wrote an alternate ending for it in my head. An ending I like better. They still end up where they do, but in a different way. No offence to anyone who likes the original ending, but it didn't work for me.
And that's all I have to say about the book. I do recommend it because it was a very enjoyable read. But I think it'll work better for romantics and, while I read a lot of romance novels, I would definitely not consider me a romantic.
At first, Lincoln reads the work emails as a fun distraction from his boring job. But slowly, he starts to fall for one of the girls. Now all he has to do is go introduce himself ...as the guy who's been reading her e-mails.
Interesting premise, right? And a really fun book too. That's why it was hard to rate. I had problems with it, but I also really like it. There were many good things. The writing, as expected from Rainbow Rowell, was great, with the right amount of emotion and humour. The format of the book was great too. I was so upset when the e-mails finally stopped.
I liked all the characters and getting to know them. Lincoln, for example; even though I knew what he was doing was wrong, I couldn't not like him. He was such a cute, likable and relatable character. So were both Beth and Jennifer. I adored their conversations. They were funny and completely trivial at times. Other times they were meaningful and sweet. Beth and Jennifer's relationship with each other was precious. We don't get to see female friendships like this, often.
I also liked getting to know Lincoln's mom and his sister. They were entertaining. Though I'm surprised Lincoln hasn't going crazy with the two of them constantly being pushy and trying to shove their opinions down his throat.
Honestly, the only drawback of this book, for me, was the romance. And that's why it was a book I found hard to rate. Because while I want to say that it was just one thing and, therefore, not a big deal; it was a big deal.
This a contemporary romance novel. Saying it's okay for the romantic aspect to be lacking is like coming from watching a horror movie and going, "It was a great movie but it wasn't scary." It's the key aspect. And the reason it didn't work was because I didn't see it. I didn't see Lincoln falling for Beth. Yeah, he said she was kind and funny and stuff, but those are such general things. I just couldn't feel it with them. I could see him liking her, but love? Yeah, I didn't buy that.
Another thing, that also comes under romance, was the ending. I didn't like it. And it's not that I didn't like where they were in the end, I just dislike how they got there. It felt wrong because it came out of nowhere. The series of events was all wrong and very rushed. I kind of wrote an alternate ending for it in my head. An ending I like better. They still end up where they do, but in a different way. No offence to anyone who likes the original ending, but it didn't work for me.
And that's all I have to say about the book. I do recommend it because it was a very enjoyable read. But I think it'll work better for romantics and, while I read a lot of romance novels, I would definitely not consider me a romantic.